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Greetings!

Are you a music lover? If so, I sure hope you spent some time in Austin TX over the last week because over 1700 bands were playing gigs around town! I am still dragging from all of the fun I had. I really tried to pace myself starting with the SXSWi (interactive) parties all the way to Wednesday night when my SXSW 2010 officially began. This was the beginning of the music portion and every year it has the power to amaze me.

I heard a lot of bands, but only paid attention to 16 of them. Strange number right? Well, I am one girl and you have to carefully pick and choose which band(s) you are going to see because it requires a lot of ground cover to get to all of those shows. (See picture of Wendy with one of our ground-covering chariots.)

Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Metric-(Levis Fader Fort) Chick-led band that was surprisingly raw and good. If you were lucky enough to have been at the Muse show, you might have seen Metric play there too!

2. Woodhands-(PureVolume House) 2 guys (1 guy was a keytar/keyboard/synth/singer for the band) while the other guy plays the drums and sings. These guys were fantastic and it wasn’t just the Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka mixed with Lemon Black w/Sweet Leaf Tea! Anyone who can rock the keytar is a winner in my book!

3. Ozomatli- (Auditorium Shores/Gibson Showroom) These guys are amazing! I can’t imagine having that level of energy night after night while on-tour but Ozomatli is made up of some super cool, fun and passionate performers. I’ve talked about it before, but Twitter IS cool. Why? Because I met Jiro (one of the percussionist for the band) via Twitter and scored back stage for their show! Wendy and I watched the whole show from the very front of the stage which took the show from cool, to super-duper-RAD! These guys even dig Sweet Leaf Tea!

4. Stone Temple Pilots-(Austin Music Hall) OHMYGOD! A HUGE TX-sized THANKS goes to Jeff (Gigi and Luke’s buddy) for letting us enjoy the show. I was blown away by how great they were and happy to see Scott Weiland looking not just healthy, but unbelievably spry and energetic. Ok, ok, he was downright sexy! I didn’t see them back in the day and am glad that I didn’t because I really think that the guys are at their peak! What a show!

5. Octopus Project-(Whole Foods Market Flagship Store) This was my first time to see this band and I am forever a fan. I don’t mean to sound lame, but I had no idea that the theremin could sound like a choir of angels. Yes, I’m serious! They were set up under a tent, with trippy visuals and complete and utter surround sound. I was lucky enough to get to chill in the VIP area, but would walk into the tent and be blown away by the crispness/clarity of the music along with the Pink Floyd-ness of the visuals. You guys blew my mind. Thank you for that!

For the sake of time and your attention-span, I’ll lump the other bands that rocked my world together in one paragraph. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (thanks to the 2 guys that were in town filming a movie and eating at 24 Diner Thursday &  Mario from Ozomatli night after STP for your wrist bands. It made seeing BRMC and other bands possible!) was dark, sexy, and as close to good ole new wave as you can get without listening to the Jesus and Mary Chain mixed with Love and Rockets, served with a side of Joy Division. I always hear great things about the band, Holy F*ck, so I made sure to check them out at the Do 512 Party on Saturday and was blown away! It was the perfect band to kick off my crazy night of electronica. Following HF, was the Crystal Method who I’ve never seen before Saturday night and will make a point to see them again. I want to see a show made of MULTIPLE hours of those 2 extremely talented guys. Make sure to click on the link so you can hear one of the songs played at La Zona Rosa. These guys absolutely ripped it up throughout their whole set. Want more? YES PLEASE! I left LZR to bike over to The Galaxy Club for The Black Angels but they were at capacity and since they are an Austin band, I jumped back on my bike and headed back to La Zona Rosa for Pretty Lights. Boy am I glad that I did it! If I could have handled one more day of partying, I would have gone to the show they put on Sunday night too. That’s how good they were and if you are wondering whether or not they lived up to their name, well they did! Very, very, pretty lights indeed! Music sounds like Sound Tribe Sector 9 but with just 2 guys making all of the noise. I was sad when the show ended, as I knew that was it. SXSW 2010 was officially over for @SweetLeafApril.

What was the coolest show you saw?

I like to go out and have a good time as much as the next person, but I work hard to strike a balance between partying and staying healthy. I am training for the MS 150 and have really buckled down on not drinking or staying out late to party but during SXSW, all bets are off. Will I continue to exercise, eat right and bike? Of course, but with a healthy-ish dose of free booze, free bbq and hopefully the occasional cupcake. Then on Sunday, it’s time to get back into training-mode.

I had planned on not starting my SXSW party time until Wednesday of this week when my best friend gets into town but the good times officially started Monday night over at the Good Capitalist Party where  you received 1 free drink ticket. I was kind enough to share my ticket with my friend since I’m not a beer person (I know, it’s a sin, right?) but decided to buy a morning glory muffin so I’d have something in my stomach by the time I started partying. We left the GCP to head over to the Do512 party happening over at The Phoenix enjoyed some free drinks and conversations before heading over to The Belmont for the Gowalla party where Sweet Leaf Tea was a sponsor.

On our way back to our bicycles, I literally ran into Joseph Jaffe (Chief Interrupter at Powered) who was standing in front of Frank while waiting for his table. (If you remember from my SWA post from January, I was on a social media panel that began with an incredibly passionate presentation by Joseph and ended with me getting my first SM crush.) We talked a minute and he brought me inside to meet some of his friends, including Aaron Strout, (VP of Marketing for Powered) who is more than just a smooth-talking marketer with a soul patch and a taste for Sweet Leaf Tea.  He and I have been following one another for a while, so it was super cool to finally meet him!

After leaving the networking fun behind at Frank, we cruised down to The Belmont and rolled right in VIP-style. We got some drinks and watched way too many people try and have a good time, because the rain forced everyone inside and moving about the place was a challenge. My friend and I were hoping to see people get crazy in the rain outside considering Diplo was spinning one hell of a set in the rain, but very few people were willing to turn it into that kind of party. The rain was a shame because it would have been nice to really talk to people, but when there are that many people crammed into one space together, it gets pretty loud and it’s hard to strike up a conversation.

I ended my late night/morning with tacos and a churro from La Mexicana Bakery and went home. More to come later, but I want to know what you guys are out there doing! Holla-back!

Gibson artist and Grammy-nominated veteran songwriter John Hiatt will celebrate the release of his New West Records CD The Open Road and the launch of the 2010 Gibson John Hiatt Montana Signature Acoustic Guitar, performing an exclusive showcase/demo/listening party at the Gibson Austin Showroom.

Come and enjoy some complimentary Sweet Leaf Tea and Tito’s Vodka while celebrating the release of John’s new CD.

RSVP to codey.allen@gibson.com

By, Eliza Cole

SXSW 101:  Don’t Think, Just Eat

As our SXSW vet Happy said in his Survival Guide to (UN)SXSW-Part 2: Just the Tips, SXSW is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and pacing yourself is key.  So here are our expert recommendations on the best, cheapest and fastest Austin eats during SXSW, on and around 6^th:

Be sure to check out this old blog post from the summer for more great chow ideas! Looking for a bad-ass dessert? Try Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts! Remember to bring cash— most of the AMAZING food carts around town don’t take credit!

• The Onion Late-Night Pizza (116 W. 5^th) sells an assortment of pizzas by the slice, along with calzones, salads and pizza rolls.  Their pizza sauce is a bit spicier than most, but is the best pizza near 6^th—grab a slice to-go and enjoy with a cooling Mint & Honey Green Tea!
• Leaf (419 W. 2^nd) is a healthy alternative to fast food that caters to salad lovers with Austin themed salad specials, like the Greenbelt or Capitol City Cobb salads.  Each salad comes with a slice of artisan bread, and there are also daily soup specials.  Grab one to-go and enjoy with our new zero calorie Diet Citrus Green Tea!
• ThunderCloud Subs (360 Nueces #180) is an Austin version of the more popular sandwich chain Subway, but offers a greater variety of signature subs topped with their secret ThunderSauce, like the Texas Tuna and Austin Club.  They also offer hot subs, salads and soups.  Try one from their convenient walk-up window with our new Organic Lemon Tea!
• Stubb’s BBQ (801 Red River) serves Texas style fall-off-the-bone BBQ and classic Southern favorites like fried green tomatoes.  Grab a BBQ sandwich to-go at a concert in Stubb’s backyard and enjoy with the Sweet Leaf classic Original Sweet Tea.
• Best Wurst Cart (E. 6^th & San Jacinto Blvd) is a German-style hotdog cart that opens at night on 6^th street catering to all of the hungry late-night partiers.  Sample a bratwurst smothered in sauerkraut, grilled onions, spicy mustard and curry ketchup with an organic Half & Half Lemonade Tea.
• Wahoo’s Fish Tacos (509 Rio Grande) serves Mexican-infused fish tacos, enchiladas and burritos to the Austin population under the slogan, “Drop in, have fun, eat well.”  Take some fish tacos with you and enjoy with an organic Peach Iced Tea.
• Hey Cupcake! Traveling RV for SXSW (Seen on 6^th, may be near Filter’s Showdown day party) sells a variety of delectable freshly baked cupcakes such as the Michael Jackson, with chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy dessert with the all-natural Lemon & Lime Unsweet Tea.
• Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts Just cruise up South Lamar (heading south) and you’ll see the cute little Airstream trailer on the left side of the road across from Maudie’s. They are open until 2am (HECK YES you read that right!) and accept credit cards as well as cash!

Be sure to take a picture with your favorite food finds and Sweet Leaf Tea pairings and e-mail us here: sltfan@sweetleaftea.com. The best submission wins a case of their favorite tea!

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