The SXSW chats continue at the Aussie BBQ in Texas!
Ozzy and Ray of GOONS OF DOOM (Sydney)
How’s your SXSW experience been?
Ray: Yeah it’s been cool! Catching a lot of bands and playing a couple of shows.
Ozzy: Good times.
Is it your first time here?
Ray: Yep. Virgins no more.
Highlights so far?
Ozzy: I saw Adam Green the other night, I really liked him. He was amazing. Really fun, good to see. And we saw Courtney Love yesterday, that was pretty cool. Just seeing the streets and all the people, it’s a pretty amazing place. Rock and roll bands everywhere.
What have the crowds been like?
Ray: Ah, it’s been cool. We’ve really liked doing a lot of people watching. Just sort of hanging out on the street.
Ozzy: Really friendly people.
Ray: It just seems like everyone’s really into music in a big way here. It’s a nice culture shock for us!
Dan, Kat and Jake of CASSETTE KIDS (Sydney)
You’re playing your first ever SXSW – can you tell us about your experience?
Kat: Wow. It’s been an epic week. So epic! We played 3 shows in one day a couple of days ago! That day never ended, it just kept going. But yeah, we’ve had so much fun. Haven’t had any sleep. But I don’t want to go home yet. A bit sad about that already.
Jake: We’re not ready to go home.
What have South By crowds been like?
Jake: They’ve been great. It’s always been weird when you can head overseas and try to expect what a crowds going to react like. We’ve had some really positive feedback. It’s been awesome.
Is it your first time touring America full stop?
Dan: Yeah it’s our first tour *long pause* … in the US *laughs* We’re actually amateurs!
Kat: We’ve actually never played before!
Jake: … that was our first show. Ever.
Dan: But yeah we just finished at the Aussie BBQ here in Texas, it was really good. It was freezing. It’s the first time I’ve ever played a show with a jumper on.
Kat: So friggin’ cold! No one understands why it’s so cold!
Jake: Yeah, like normally it’s 30 degrees. Now today it’s almost freezing!
And as audience members, who have been some of your highlights?
Jake: Me and Dan last night, we saw The Givers.
Dan: They were like a mix between Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit. And we saw a band called the Entrance Band. They were amazing. And I met the bass player, and she was the best bass player I’ve ever seen. She crowd surfed.
Kat: She was awesome!
Dan: And then I met her and I’m like, you’ve got to join our band! And then I found out this morning that she’s the bass player for A Perfect Circle.
Kat: I saw Marina and the Diamonds yesterday. It was so awesome. She’s just really quirky and interesting and charismatic.
Eliza, Rohan and Alex of OH MERCY (Melbourne)
So it’s your first time to SXSW, how’s Texas treating Oh Mercy?
Alex: Yep it’s our first time. It’s been fantastic. We’ve seen some great acts. We saw Midlake the other night, one of our favourite bands. We’re on the other side of the planet – it’s strange, but fantastic!
And how are the crowds here?
Alex: Well we haven’t really played to anyone, have we?
Eliza: *Laughs* No!
Rohan: It’s been small.
Alex: Usually we play to more than 10 people, but here it’s been about, 8?
Rohan: And people have things around their necks.
Alex: That’s right, you see all the different things around their necks.
Rohan: And there are less drunk 18 year old girls.
Is that a positive or a negative thing?
Rohan: It’s unusual!
Alex: (to Rohan) Way to back out of that one! Well done.
And today, you’ve played the Aussie BBQ…
Alex: Fact.
Eliza: It was so cold!
Rohan: I was having trouble holding onto my drumsticks.
Alex: I was having trouble being a talented guitar player.
Eliza: I had a coffee on stage, that was good.
Alex: Actually that was the first time we’ve ever had a coffee on stage.
Eliza: As opposed to like a beer or something
Did it help?
Eliza: Yes.
Alex: It was warm and it woke us up. We played quite early.
Rohan: We played first.
Alex: We played first each day! Big day. Fact.
And if you could give any advice to someone coming to SXSW, what would it be?
Alex: Go on the internet, and rent someones house. Cause everyone around here leaves when the bands come to town, I guess they’re not into it. So we’ve rented someones house for a week, and it’s beautiful and just a second down the road.
Eliza: And they’ve got really cute cats.
Alex: And at the service station a 6 pack of Budweiser is 6 bucks! And they’re 440s, the big ones.
Rohan: About 500mL?
Alex: So yeah, they’re about as tall as a dollar note, which is unbelievable.
Rohan: And they cost a dollar!
We also had a chat with the lovely Tanya Horo from one of my favourite bands, Sherlock’s Daughter. Her experiences were similarly positive, but unfortunately we can’t bring you the full coversation as the audio decided to render itself inaudible! Perhaps a lip reader could help us out here? We’re sorry Tanya! But we wanted to make sure you got a mention on the AU perspective.
Thanks to all the Aussie bands for their time at the BBQ – we’ll try to get more of you next year! And on that note, that does it for the AU perspective at SXSW! Keep your eyes peeled for our special SXSW video which will be premiering later this week. We’ve been hard at work on it, and we do hope you’ll enjoy it!
