Wednesday March 12, 2008
Went to Convention Center to get Neil’s wristband. Instide it was humming with many voices from crowds of seemingly endless lines. Played Little Radio’s day party at the Red Eyed Fly just a little after 12 Noon. In the parking lot of Red Eyed Fly we helped move a car that wasn’t supposed to be parked there. A man used his pickup truck and tied a rope to pull the little car to a place where it could be easily towed. Hippies, Mods, Rockers, Punks and Freaks parade the streets, but the “Indie” crowd is by far the largest in attendance. Our Little Radio show was outdoors and well attended. We rocked hard: Jim did a backflip and I stomped on my piano with my boots. Brothers and Sisters played after us and they kicked major ass. We got to hang out with our manager Scottie Diablo. I was also interviewed by the Charleston City Paper’s own Susie while Brothers and Sisters played. Two journalists writing for the same paper and we did an interview with each other. After Brothers and Sisters were done we had a whomping good lunch at Star Seeds.









We took some gangsta Chola pics in front of a low rider. We drove to the Beso Cantina around 5:30pm only to find out we were scheduled to play at 10:30pm. Five hours early. All of us but Jason hit up the downtown Austin scene but there were no shows that really caught our ears, which is a little disappointing at a music festival of this size. This was the first official day of SXSW, but there were several pre-shows as early as Monday. We even saw street musicians.



We arrived at the Beso Cantina at the correct time and met Nick from the Spinto Band and his girlfriend Catherine. I’m quite certain they were the only two people there to see us. Our show was mindboggingly horrible. The stage was tiny. Two fo the vocal mics were off during our first song and the sound on stage was atrocious. At some point Jason and I started whaling on every song and Dave hopped on top of the bar and walked down the entire bar during our last song. I turned every knob on my amp all the up and started banging on top of it until it made laser sounds.
Thursday March 13, 2008
Our Dead Oceans/Secretly Canadian showcase was on this night at Mohawk on 912 Red River St.
Wally and I went to Flight Path Coffee House on Airport Rd. I burned my fingers on a hot glass of coffee that had no handle. We peeked into a costume shop next door.
We loaded in around 6 and a cop gave us guff for unloading near Mohawk, but we eventually worked it out. A bus got to unload, then it was our turn.
I had time to see the Cowsills at Central Presbyterian, a church with good acoustics where we saw Donovan and Keren Ann last year. The Cowsills sunshine popped my face off. It was awesome, they played well and sang incredibly high harmonies loudly and—harmonies that soared through the tall dark wooden arches of this church. The Cowsills are the real family band that inspired The Partridge Family. Highlights were 1967 hit “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” “Nuclear Winter,” “We Can Fly,” and “Hair,” from the 1969 musical. The Cowsills were cheerful despite mentioning they were performing and dedicating songs by their two recently deceased brothers. I’m glad I was able to see and hear these songs.
I walked four blocks to Mohawk and we played our packed out showcase. The line outside was long and rowdy. We played to a packed house on the tight inside stage. At the end of our last song we were all soaked in sweat, the guitar players dogpiled onto stage while I jumped as high as I could and slammed into my piano with my hands and boots about 20 times for the last chord. Some of the Dr. Dog and High Strung band members were there to see us.
After the set we went upstairs to the balcony and listened to Jens Leckman perform on the outside stage. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. sat at the table behind us. I ran to the van to get promo copies of our CD. I sliced and weaved my way through the drunken crowd (which had massive B.O.) and slipped out through the inside stage exit, hauled tail uphill a block or two, got CDs, hustled back through the band, bumped through the SXSW masses and back to the balcony. Jim and I walked up to Michael Stipe, trying not interrupt his conversation. I told Jim what to say, we pushed closer, waited for a pause. The conversation went something like this:
JIM: Excuse me, Mr. Stipe. We’re friends with Brian Wilson and Camera Obscura. We’re huge fans of your music and we’ve listened to you since we were kids.
STEFAN: We’re in the Explorers Club and we want you to have two of our CDs. We just played our showcase downstairs. I’m Stefan. This is Jim. [We shook his hand.]
JIM: Sorry to bother you, but we really want you to have our CD.
STIPE: That’s ok. Thank you for the CDs.
I liked it, but Jim said meeting Michael Stipe was nerve racking. He is, after all, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For some reason I didn’t have my camera with me the entire night.
Friday March 15, 2008
Played a day party on the outskirts of Austin at Hank Sinatra’s farm. Chickens, goats, green grass. A rusted 1930s truck door and armadillo statue were on the wooden outdoor stage. A group called Hymns played and we liked it. We played a fun hot set to a joyful crowd. Carrying gear back up the long hill was exhausting in the 90 degree heat. Ice tea, grilled beef ribs, and good spicy salsa were nice refreshments. Jason, Jim and I got sunburns. That evening Dave, Wally, Jim, and I went downtown to see our Anaheim, California friends Thee Makeout Party play a tight set at Speakeasy, which is a difficult venue to find, even for Austin’s natives.






Afterwards we caught Dr. Dog’s wild set at a crowded Cedar Door. Our wristbands got us in fast, but the streets were filled with madness: jaywalkers, honking cars, lines stretching onto crosswalks and sidewalks around venues. Dr. Dog played more slow songs here than the did a little over a week earlier at Charleston’s Pour House, but they still rocked out just as hard. There was a whole lot of dancing and shaking going on. Cedar Door was at capacity, filled with people and press photographers and their expensive cameras.







Saturday March 16, 2008
Played our last show at Lamberts for the Quite Scientific Showcase. Neil, who was ill the entire time, felt much better. Loaded the van for the last time at SXSW. We did a full band interview with a reporter and a cameraman from Columbus, Ohio. A good way to end SXSW 2008. It’s worth the trip.
– Stefan / The Explorers Club
