Happy’s Post un-SXSW 2010 Thoughts

By Happy on Mar 25     Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Celebrities, Events, Food & Beverage, Intern, Live Music, SXSW, Social Media, Sweet Bikes, Uncategorized     3 Comments

Yowza. What. A. Week.

It’s been 4 days, and I think I’m fully recovered at this point after lots of rest and TLC. I’m starting to think that the human body wasn’t meant for that kind of action, but would I do it again? A resounding ‘hell yes’. This being my third chance to experience SXSW, it never ceases to amaze me how exhausting this particular festival can be. I’d like to consider myself an expert on surviving it, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t catch me by surprise, yet again. Do all you want to prepare yourself for a week of intense music and sensory overload, but rest-assured that an overwhelming feeling will eventually take over. I, too, was overwhelmed. And I’d do it again, and again.

Amidst all the events we sponsored, I did get a few chances to go explore a bit and catch some shows and events. Here are my highlights:

Bike Hugger Mobile Social (3/13)
What a fun ride. Hundreds of cyclists biked around town and ended with a day party at Mellow Johnny’s, complete with freebies, booze, and music. Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Massive Black / ConceptArt.org / The Art Department Present VISIONS at The Mohawk (3/12)
This was probably the coolest party I’ve ever seen at The Mohawk. The entire place was completely transformed, with giant screens all over the place projecting live art being created by artists on-site using Adobe Photoshop, goth-y models and burlesque dancers as subjects, and intense music. Best way to describe what was going on is through this video I found on YouTube. Good times.

Zilker Kite Fest
Not a SXSW event, but it was rescheduled to this weekend due to inclement weather. Ended up being a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon before heading back out into the SXmasses. Thousands of kites above the Austin skyline (and subsequently in trees). Awesome.

The Gowalla Tiki Room featuring Diplo
Gowalla made some incredible strides this year, being the leader in location-based social networking. Amongst their antics throughout the week (including giving away free OneTacos via the service’s platform and swag from their Gowalla-branded mini Cooper), they also threw a pretty sweet shindig at The Belmont. Despite the cold rain, it was probably my favorite SXSWinteractive event. Great music, great people, good times all around. Diplo was pretty amazing on the ones and twos. Yet another reason to get these shoes hoppin’.

ACVB’s Media Reception
The folks over at the Austin Convention & Visitor’s Bureau know how to throw a party. It’s one of my favorite events because it officially kicks off SXSWmusic. They always have it on the mayor’s balcony of Austin City Hall overlooking Lady Bird Lake in all its glory, and invite a few local musicians to gently wave us into the craziness.

Eastbound & Found presented by ZiegenBock, Dos Lunas Tequila, and Sweet Leaf Tea
I’m not featuring this party simply because we sponsored it but more so because our blogger friends (My Old Kentucky Blog, You Aint No Picasso, Ultra8201, Yours Truly, Chromewaves) did an incredible job procuring the lineup. Some of my faves include:

  • Freelance Whales: great sound… looking forward to spending more time with their music.
  • Ume: a long-time local favorite, gotta love a rocker chick
  • Kid Sister: Damn this show was fun. Nice slice of hip hop.
  • Here We Go Magic: Another band I’m looking forward to exploring more.
  • Danielson: Reminds me of Polyphonic Spree, quirky as hell. I’ll take it.
  • Delorean: So what if we’re dancing our asses off in broad daylight? These guys make it happen.
  • White Denim: I can’t get enough of these guys. Sure, their album is impeccable, but their studio work doesn’t do their live sets justice. You just have to experience it.
  • GZA: Bill Murray made his way over to our party for this. Enough said.

Converse ‘Get Out Of The Garage’ Party at The Levi’s Fader Fort
The folks at Fader have (yet again) done a great job at creating an amazing party space out of nothing. This party gave me the chance to see a few shows, notably:

  • Mayer Hawthorne & The County. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, but I’m glad he got a little more soul with his newer stuff. Kinda has a big brass feel to it. Well played, gentlemen.
  • Passion Pit DJ set: You can’t go wrong. Let’s dance. Okay, go.

The Rumbler Lounge (3/17 – 21)
The folks at Knuckle Rumbler don’t only know how to put together a great showcase, but they really know how to throw FOUR DAYS of showcases. I stopped by for the following sets:

  • Glitch Mob (My Old Kentucky Blog’s Bumps & A Pump Party): Seeing these guys do their thing is pretty fascinating. They record samples in the studio of various instruments and sounds, then use touch-screen computers and other gizmos to make music live. It’s hard to explain, but they blow my mind. Every time.
  • Dominique Young Unique (Rhapsody.com Party)
    This was unexpected for me, but this little lady from Tampa has got talent. And she’s young. And unique. Keep an eye on her.
  • Woodhands (Rhapsody.com Party)
    I have to admit that I’ve been pretty obsessed with their sound ever since I got my hands on it. I missed my chance to see them at Monolith 2009 (poor logistics including thousands of people trying to cram into a 200 person room), so I was glad to finally catch them up close and personal. Two guys, and one plays a keytar. Sold.
  • Casxio (Rhapsody.com Party)
    My friends from Austin Eavesdropper told me I shouldn’t miss them, and I’m glad I didn’t. Easily my favorite ‘new’ band of the whole week. They have a fresh sound that’s bound to raise some eyebrows. You can check out Austin Eavesdropper’s coverage here.

Hexdecagon at Whole Foods (3/19)
The Octopus Project was at it again, but this time equipped with a huge tent, speakers surrounding the space in surround-sound fashion, 8 projectors shining choreographed video clips on the ceiling, a mini-arena style stage (set up in the middle of the crowd), and brand new tunes produced just for this event. It was a multi-sensory experience that is pretty tough to describe, but I was in some serious awe. Another toughie to explain — I think they do it best themselves on their site.

Perez Hilton’s One Night in Austin (3/20)
Despite some logistical woes (mostly the porta-potty situation… seriously), they brought some great talent to an exclusive crowd. It was great to see V.V. Brown, Snoop, Alphabeat, Marina & The Diamonds, and Hole. You better believe we was shaking some things. Something tells me all the complimentary Tito’s Vodka might be to blame.

____________

I do want to thank a few folks for making my experience all that it was: Knuckle Rumbler, Brown Distributing (Ziegenbock & Dos Lunas Tequila), PureVolume, Gowalla, the #HTM, GARY! for voluntarily helping sling some tea, WOXY.com, Transmission Entertainment, Giant Noise, my Sweet Leaf Tea’m and interns, and a whole bunch of other folks (this list could go on for days)… so, THANK YOU. THANK. YOU.

There you have it, folks. Until next time…

Happy’s Survival Guide to (un)SXSW – Part 1: RSVP Madness

By Happy on Mar 11     Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Events, Live Music, SXSW, Uncategorized     2 Comments

ATTENTION FELLOW MUSIC LOVERS & FREE-DRINK ENTHUSIASTS: PLEASE, PUT YOUR PARTY PANTS ON AND BUCKLE YOUR SAFETY BELTS. THIS COULD GET BUMPY.

SXSW: The thought either makes you shudder or gets you all giddy. Or both. It’s okay — that’s natural. Whether you’re a SXSW noob or a vet, there’s plenty to learn about surviving the craziest week that essentially kicks off festival season every year. I’m not even going to attempt to school you on everything there is to know (some things you have to learn for yourself), but I’d be glad to share with you some tips and picks.

I’ll kick things off with a slew of RSVP madness, some of my personal unofficial event picks for the week. Of course, you’ll definitely want to check out the ones at the top (hint hint, they’re sponsored in part by Sweet Leaf Tea), but I’ve also included a few other parties going on that are cool in their own right…

SWEET LEAF TEA SANCTIONED PARTIES THAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS OUT ON:

  • EASTBOUND & FOUND (presented by Ziegenbock, Dos Lunas Tequila, and Sweet Leaf Tea)
    Featuring GZA, Delorean, Here We Go Magic, Maluca, and many more
    WHERE: 1001 E 6th St (Corner of San Marcos & 6th)
    WHEN: Thursday, 3/18 from noon to 9pm
    RSVP / LINEUP / INFO: http://sweetleaftea.com/eastbound
  • MESS WITH TEXAS PARTY
    Featuring Man Man, Billy Bragg, Frightened Rabbit, GWAR, Neon Indian, and so many more
    WHERE: 1001 E 6th St (Corner of San Marcos & 6th)
    WHEN: Friday & Sunday, 3/18-19 from noon to 9pm
    RSVP / LINEUP / INFO: http://mwtxparty.com/
  • THE RUMBLER LOUNGE
    Featuring The Hood Internet, Glitch Mob, Cool Kids, Rye Rye, and many more
    Four day parties with impressive lineups! Plus our good friends from Knuckle Rumbler are responsible for all this fun.
    WHERE: Peckerheads (402 E 6th St)
    WHEN: Wednesday thru Saturday, 3/17 – 18, Noon to 8pm daily
    RSVP / LINEUPS / INFO: http://knucklerumbler.com/category/therumblerlounge/

OTHER NON-SLT SPONSORED PARTIES WORTH CHECKING OUT:

MUSIC

INTERACTIVE / OTHER EVENTS

  • FLATSTOCK 24
    Probably my favorite event throughout all of SXSW.
    “Co-presented by the American Poster Institute (API) and SXSW, Flatstock 24 will display the works of more than 100 artists from across North America and the globe. Posters representing decades of styles, colors and techniques will be on display and for sale as well as additional merchandise. Show up early and be ready to be overwhelmed with amazing posters. (You might want to bring some dough since you won’t want to leave empty handed!) The exhibition is free and open to the public.”
    WHERE: Austin Convention Center Level 1, Exhibit Hall 1
    WHEN: Thurs. 3/18 1 – 6pm & Fri. 3/19 – Sat. 3/20 10am – 6pm
    MORE INFO: http://sxsw.com/music/collectors/flatstock
  • AMERICAN APPAREL FLEA MARKET
    “Tens of thousands of your favorite garments to choose from. Up to 85% off, with prices starting at $1. Inventory will be constantly replenished throughout the weekend. RSVP on this event page to receive updates, tips, and be the first to know when new inventory arrives!”
     WHERE: Mexican-American Cultural Center (600 River Street, Austin, TX 78701)
    WHEN: THURS – SAT (3/18-20) 12:00pm – 10:00pm daily
    MORE INFO: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=363185902145&index=1
  • BIKE HUGGER MOBILE SOCIALS
    “Bike Hugger’s Mobile Social is a Texas-sized bike culture event. We’ll ride around Austin arriving at Mellow Johnnys for a BBQ and Variety Show.”
     WHEN: March 13, 2010, 2pm-6pm
    WHERE: Brush Square Park >> Mellow Johnny’s
    Who: SXSW Attendees, Austin Locals, cyclists
    RSVP now at     Upcoming or Facebook
  • GOWALLA PRESENTS THE TIKI ROOM FEATURING DIPLO
    This year, it’s all about location-based social networking, and Gowalla is leading the pack. You won’t want to miss this, but you’ll have to earn your way in if you don’t have an official badge.
    WHERE: The Belmont (305 W 6th St)
    WHEN: Monday, 3/15 9-11pm
    COMPLETE INFO: http://gowalla.com/sxsw

RESOURCES FOR OTHER PARTIES & RSVP’S (YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN, KID):

Godspeed, everyone. You’ve been warned!

Eastbound & Found presented by Ziegenbock + Dos Lunas Tequila + Sweet Leaf Tea

By Happy on Mar 9     Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Events, Food & Beverage, Live Music, SXSW, Social Media, Sweet Contests     31 Comments

Fear not, friends, for this is the one day party you won’t want to miss. In partnership with some of our good friends, we’ve been hard at work putting together a kick-awesome showcase/party, and we’re finally ready to share it with everyone!

Eastbound & Found

Benefitting Drink Pink to Save The Tatas

WHERE:

1001 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX 78702
(corner of E. 6th St. & San Marcos St., walking distance from all the downtown madness, precariously close to some kinda fort)

WHEN:

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Noon to 9PM

THE LINEUP:

Stage One
12:15-12:50 Ragen Fykes
1:10-1:45 Freelance Whales
2:05-2:40 Ume
3:00-3:35 Warpaint
3:55-4:30 Morning Benders
4:50-5:25 Here We Go Magic
5:45-6:20 Maluca
7:00- 8:00 GZA

Stage Two
12:30-1:05 Burnt Ones
1:25 – 2:00 Diamond Rings
2:20-2:55 Kid Sister
3:15-3:50 Slow Club
4:10-4:45 Danielson
5:05-5:40 Delorean
6:00 – 7:00 White Denim

*Follow us on Twitter and add us on Facebook for updates.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Two bars and food available on-site along with other fun stuff from our friends at Harley Davidson, screen printing by Southside Sanctuary, and photobooth by GreenShoeLace.com.

RSVP:

This event is FREE, open to the public (no badges required!), ALL-ages, and capacity HUGE (no waiting in wrap-around lines or cramming into a tiny room!). Hassle-free fun. However, please RSVP by doing the following:

  1. RSVP on our Facebook event page
  2. Friend us on Facebook for updates
  3. Follow us on Twitter for updates
  4. Tell your friends via Facebook  / Twitter / email

GET HERE:

Ride your bike. Hitch a ride. Use your converse. Carpool. Fly. Our goal is to minimize the impact on the neighborhood and environment in terms of parking, traffic, and sound – thanks for helping out with that. You can park your car in all available public and private spaces near the event, and we also have access to parking at 917 East Sixth Street and pay parking lots at 900 Trinity and 406 East Seventh Street.

If you plan to ride your bike (recommended), there will be plenty of bike racks on site for you to use.

FEELIN’ LUCKY?

For a chance to win VIP passes to Eastbound & Found, click here!




NYE @SweetLeafApril Style

By April on Jan 5     Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Live Music     Add a Comment

New Years Eve was well planned out until the cold, windy weather rolled into town. I had three equally cool things planned and I made them all, but I didn’t get to enjoy 2 of 3 as much as I had hoped due to Old Man Winter rolling back into Austin TX.

First Night Austin
I rolled out of my house completely bundled up to a strange look from my neighbors. I guess the 20-30 mph wind gusts made me look like an insane person, but I hopped on my bike and rolled on down Riverside towards downtown anyways. Why? Because that is literally how I roll! I landed in front of City Hall where Artificial Life Preserver was playing some really cool, ambient music and hung out for a moment before searching for my friend. I strolled by some fire art that was neat to look at but not very warm, considering how freakin cold (and windy) it was and then made my way up the 1st Street bridge to look at the crazy LED light show (too bad my iPhone pix did not do it justice) and then over to Auditorium Shores where all of the crazy lights attracted my attention. Awesome lighted art installations (including LED swings that played music-too bad the kids were taking them all up, I really wanted to play!) and more music was filling up the space rather nicely, even with the cold. I wandered back across the bridge to find my friend, only to realize that we were all very cold and it was time to move to the next party of the evening.

The fire was trwirling inside the cool metal cage!

The fire was trwirling inside the cool metal cage!

2010 A Dance Odyssey (Compliments of Gina Chung @TheParishATX)
I rolled up to the Parish, parked my bike right outside and came in to warm up and start partying. Unfortunately, I missed the 2 free drink tickets and most of the food (thanks to Austin Daily Press for the TASTY mozzarella cheese, tomato and pesto sammich!) but got to hear the end of Prepmode’s set. Nice start to an evening of dance parties! Next up was Missions who BLEW my old-school new-wave mind with music that reminded me of New Order but with a very psychedelic feel to it.  I loved them and was bummed that I missed them playing Free Week over at Emo’s on Sunday night. (Looks like I’ll have another chance to catch them at the Mohawk on 1/9!)

Missions in the act of blowing my mind!

Missions in the act of blowing my mind!

Next up was The White Lights, but due to really wanting to see All My Friends over at the Knuckle Rumbler party, I missed them. Had I known that the Crumple Blunder NYE Party was going to be way over capacity, I would have just stayed at The Parish to ring in, but you know how it is when your ESP is just not working. I waited for my husband to arrive since he worked until 10:00 or so and then we headed to South Austin.

Crumple Blunder (Knuckle Rumbler house party)
Dylan and I got to this already over-capacity party and just watched the insanity ensue. People were coming from every direction and  getting into the house where All My Friends were playing took an act of congress. I got to hear a couple of songs but it just got to be overwhelming and I had to get some air outside. Sadly enough we had already missed the free Tito’s Vodka (and it was only 11:30 when we arrived) but a very wise friend of mine (Thanks @BepkoBoy!) grabbed a bottle of the jalapeno-infused, hornit0-mixed Treaty Oak Rum and we got to warm up a little bit while doing some people watching. Post countdown the party thinned out to a very comfortable level (still bumping!) and you no longer had people pushing and shoving their way in, which made dancing to what Richard Gear was throwing down a lot more fun! Dance party raved on well past the time I left which was around 2AM. I was in dire need of tacos from La Mexicana Bakery and it was time to jet.

Me & Chris Apollo Lynn (Taken by Chris!)

Me & Chris Apollo Lynn (Taken by Chris!)

Post tacos? Much needed rest. Ahhhhhh….Welcome 2010!

Knuckle Rumbler & Epiphone Guitar Winner

By April on Jun 22     Filed In Epiphone Guitar, SXSW     2 Comments

I know you all have been waiting on baited breath to find out WHO won the most awesomest autographed guitar on the planet. Haven’t you?

Well, wait no more! The lucky winner of the Les Paul Epiphone Guitar, autographed by artists that performed at the legendary Vaya Con Tacos Party at this years SXSW is…

Karen Phillips excited to rock with her new Les Paul Epiphone Guitar

Karen Phillips excited to rock with her new Les Paul Epiphone Guitar

Karen Phillips! We were almost as excited as she was when she got here to pick up her rocking-cool award! I clapped over and over again, for her as if I had won. Man, what a prize! Thanks so much to Epiphone and the Knuckle-Rumbler folks. They know how to sponsor a contest and throw a party!

More contests to come. Will you be our next winner?