SXSW is OVER! SweetLeafDanny’s Top #Winners

By Danny on Mar 21     Filed In Austin, Texas, SXSW     Add a Comment

Photo Cred: Annie Ray .net

Whoa, SXSW 2011 has been a whirlwind of a week + couple days. When I wasn’t slinging homemade goodness, stocking up our parties, getting a sweet new do [photo above], jumping out of a van filled with 3 foot balloons, eating, or sleeping…..I made it out to see some new and old bands, as well as some of my favorite events!

As mentioned in my SXSW prep blog, the Austinist presents: Gonna Get Down VI, was a fantastic event to be at! They had some tasty treats from Haddington’s and Mulberry (two fine Austin restaurants), fantastic music, and ice cold Sweet Leaf Tea. I caught Twin Shadow‘s set and was transformed into an instant fan. They jammed so solid, I left the party, purchased their vinyl, listened to it, and then saw them again a Emo’s the following day. Awesome band! Check out this song, “At My Heels” performed at the fader fort during SX!

Music by the Slice at Home Slice Pizza was AMAZING this year. While there I had Eggplant Romano Pizza [EPIC photo below], a tan, met some really amazing people, and got to see several bands in an extremely intimate setting. My top two band highlights include, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yelton and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. Amazing bands. Thao seriously brought down the house and the crowd was clapping and singing along with her the whole time! Plus, I met her backstage and she was one of the nicest people I have ever met.

Yummmm......

Check out this video of them performing “Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)” at Music by the Slice. It’s my favorite + I was there! :)

As a part of our SXSW plan, we teamed up with Gowalla to create a specialized trip for fans to win awesome prizes! [South by Sweet Spot] We also got to go to their party and saw Matt and Kim and Flosstradamus perform! They were super awesome and brought some electric energy to the crowd, transforming the entire venue into a HUGE dance party! Check out my photo of Flosstradamas mixing up the beats!

Flosstradamus Spinning da Beats!

I also managed to go to a couple other shows to see Toro y Moi, Clock Opera, Black Joe Lewis, White Denim, and a couple others. It was a busy, yet fruitful SXSW. I’m happy it’s over so I can finally take a nap, but it will definitely be a week to remember!

-@SweetLeafDanny

Ringing’ in a New One Austin-style

By April on Dec 30     Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Live Music, New Years Eve     Add a Comment

If you are anything like me, then it’s been absolutely plaguing you about what to do in Austin on New Years Eve. Nevertheless, here’s a list of things that I have been considering, and you should too!

Chris Apollo Lynn:photo belongs to Republic of Austin Blog

1. My boy Covert Curiosity along with lots of other fabulous sponsors (Treaty Oak Rum, Home Slice Pizza, Do512 and more) are throwing a FREE party over at Cheer Up Charlies! Can you beat free? Heck no, especially when it comes with lots of music! (3 stages yo!) Do yourself a favor and get there to see the Marmalakes. They will put a smile on your face!

http://sweetleafteablog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=8219&message=10

2. Another cool FREE party is happening at the very tasty, always stylish, Justine’s Brasserie over on East 5th. First, if you haven’t eaten here yet, do it. And if you’re wanting something a little different, with a nice mix of naughty and classy for NYE, this party might be perfect for you. Come before 10pm and get in on a fabulous sounding Prix Fixe menu inspired by vintage dishes from “Maxim’s” of Paris.

3. But April, I was hoping for something a little more artsy, dark and carnival-like where do I go? I say, keep heading east on over to the Blue Theatre on Springdale Rd. for the Marvels of Carnival. This lavish production is sponsored by our buddies over at Tito’s Vodka and has a lot to offer in the way of entertainment: 999 Eyes Freak Show, Minor Mishap Marching Band, and Interstellar Transmission to name a few. Wear a crazy costume and become a part of the Carnival. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Tickets are $30 at the door.

4. If Burning Man-type parties aren’t your thing, but you’re really hankering for some great music ala N.A.S.A. and a DJ set by LadyTron and a reason to get all gussied up, head over to the Seaholm for the party to be seen at this year, brought to you by the folks at The Electric Company. It’s so oohlala that the VIP areas even get your own waitresses! This will cost you but some of the proceeds go to CharityBash,  It’ll make you feel all warm inside, and that’s not just the libations talking.

5. I’m going to use this slot to share some music-based events with you because it’s important to have options for every kind of person out there, right? Right. Here are some other fun things to do New Years Eve in Austin: Foot Patrol at the ND Studios, or catch Austin’s own metal band, The Sword at the Mohawk, or just sit back at a close friend’s house to celebrate because starting January 1st, it’s FREE WEEK!! You’ll need to have stamina, strength and un-clogged ears for this one. GREAT bands will be playing all over town for free and there is no excuse to miss some of the bands you love, (Quiet Company, The Boxing Lesson, Car Stereo Wars, to name a few) when the cost is zip, zero, zilch. Join me! Lapping it up, preparing for SXSW!

The Boxing Lesson – Freedom – Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

Hat & Mustache Party Revisited

By April on Apr 5     Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Intern, Sweet Bikes, Sweet Consumers     4 Comments

Wow, sometimes I am amazed at how well Happy and the rest of the gang throw a party around here! Can you say absolutely flawless?

This past Thursday night we had a happy hour to raise money for our MS 150 Tea’m involving tea, some booze, and of course hats and ‘shashes. We not only got our party on, but we raised $1700 too! Our Tea’m is larger than in years past, so we needed to find a creative and fun way to raise the necessary funds to get our huge team to Houston, without having to rent a convoy.

Let’s give a special shout-out to our friends at Tito’s Vodka, Home Slice Pizza, our home-girl Annie Ray who is responsible for causing absolute passion-mayhem in front of the camera, Sebastian Nebula for making us shake our butts, and last but not least,  Michelob Ultra and Live Oak Brewery for some tasty brew-ha-ha.

Sweet Leaf Tea folks were lucky to be off work on Friday, but from what I understand most people were not that fortunate and had the infamous Tito’s Sweet-O to thank for one heck of a hang-over and some blurry memories.

Thank Granny that pictures were taken to capture the moment. Enjoy!

Have some pictures of your own from that night? Share them on our Facebook fan page. We’d love to see them!

Photos by, Happy Mercado and Allison Peacock

Announcing the WOXY.com Studio Sessions Winners

By Happy on Mar 15     Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Events, Food & Beverage, Live Music, SXSW, Social Media, Sweet Contests     1 Comment

Thanks to everyone who entered the WOXY.com Studio Sessions contest. Winners get to visit the WOXY.com studio for a private, live recording of a SXSW band (The Mynabirds, The Ruby Suns, Frightened Rabbit, Miles Kurosky, and Bear in Heaven) with noms provided by Sweet Leaf Tea and Home Slice Pizza. Pretty sweet gig, if you ask me!

Congrats to the following shiny, happy people:

  • Eric Alper of Toronto
  • Ellen Davis of Chicago, IL
  • Julia Elizondo of Austin, TX
  • Reagan Flume of Austin, TX
  • Sonya Gonzales of Austin, TX
  • Eric Kotara of Austin, TX
  • Jessica Lindley of Austin, TX
  • Meg Mazour of Austin, TX
  • Luis Mendoza of Los Angeles, CA
  • Sarah Petmecky of Austin, TX

Winners will be contacted via email for details.

Rock on. Have fun.

CONTEST: WOXY.com Studio Sessions

By Happy on Mar 2     Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Events, Food & Beverage, Live Music, SXSW, Sweet Contests, Uncategorized     1 Comment

Ask anyone who’s ever experienced SXSW and they’ll tell you stories of exhaustion, trials, and tribulations. It’s pure madness. Sometimes makes you wish you could just have the bands come play in your living room, just for you.

Listen here, people. We can (kinda) make that happen.

For the first time, our good amigos over at WOXY.com have a slew of bands coming through their studio the week of SXSW in Austin,Texas. They’re giving YOU and a friend the chance to sit in on one of their in-studio sessions. That’s right — you and a friend get to meet the band, enjoy some delicious Home Slice Pizza with some refreshing Sweet Leaf Tea, and stick around for the recording session in an über-intimate setting. Just you, the band, and the friendly WOXY.com folks.

How fracklin’ cool is that?

Choose from the following bands and set-times:

ENTER HERE for your chance to win, plus details.

Winners will be picked on Friday, March 12th, at 5PM CST.

In addition to these bands, WOXY.com will be broadcasting several other in-studio sessions, including You You’re Awesome, Via Audio, Twin Tigers, The Mynabirds, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The Ruby Suns, Frightened Rabbit, Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore, Miles Kurosky (of Beulah), The Besnard Lakes, Bear in Heaven, Avi Buffalo, Surfer Blood, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. Check out their site for more details!

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