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!




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!

Happy’s Top 9 of 2009

By Happy on Dec 30     Filed In Activities, Events, Live Music, Social Media, Uncategorized, Vacation     2 Comments

Well here we are, folks.

The end of 2009 is finally upon us, even if it feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating it’s beginning.  This year has truly been an amazing year packed with festivals, traveling, and all-around good times, and since everyone else is doing it, I thought I would reminisce my top nine things/events/moments/trips of 2009 for anyone that’s bored enough to read it.

Here we go (in no particular order):

  • Girl Talk at Rothbury Music Festival: Hands down my favorite festival moment of 2009. Before this year, I had never ventured to the land of Michigan, much less a camping-style music festival, and for both of those reasons, Rothbury was an amazing experience. The highlight of the entire weekend was seeing Girl Talk at the Sherwood Court stage at 2 in the morning. Every one of the thousands of people in the crowd was dancing big, but there was enough room not to bump into each other. The music and energy really sucked us in. ‘Til 5AM. It was nuts. My brain a-splode.

    Girl Talk making brains a-splode at Rothbury Music Fest

    Girl Talk making brains a-splode at Rothbury Music Fest

  • Sonoma Wine Country: Another first for me. Before I visited and took a winery tour, I never truly appreciated wine. Learning the process up close and personal did that for me. And if you’ve never experienced the wine country, you need to. Its gorgeous.

    The vineyards at Ravenswood in Sonoma, CA

    The vineyards at Ravenswood in Sonoma, CA

  • City Museum in St. Louis, MO: Yet another maiden voyage for me this year. Other than Chicago (for Lollapalooza), I haven’t spend a great deal of time in the midwest, but work brought me to St. Louis for Life is Good Festival. I had a few hours to kill before hopping back on my flight back to Austin, so I chose to venture to the City Museum.  The best way to describe it is like a giant playground for all ages — tunnels, caves, slides, and other structures made from junk that are all seamlessly put together in the old 11-story International Shoe Company warehouse building. They have a freaking 10-story spiral slide made from the old package chute. Awesome.

    City Museum in St. Louis, MO

    City Museum in St. Louis, MO

  • Monolith Festival / Denver Trip: Back in September, a fairly sizable group of my Austin friends ventured to Denver to catch the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks, and despite the less-than-perfect weather (constant rain and cold), we had an amazing time. It was almost a religious experience to see some of my favorite bands (and some new favorites) at such a beautiful venue with the world’s best natural acoustics.

    Monolith Music Fest at Red Rocks Amphitheater

    Monolith Music Fest at Red Rocks Amphitheater

  • Photography: I’ve always been a shutterbug, but this year is the first in which I’ve ever owned the proper equipment. Last winter, I got my hands on a Nikon D60 and haven’t been able to put the damn thing down. Since 1/1/09, I’ve taken over 16,000 photos, 5,500 of which were usable. Yeesh! It’s a time and resource suck, but its a hobby I’ve really come to enjoy.
  • Music Music Music Music Music: 2009 was an awesome year for music. For me, it was more about new bands and sounds that I discovered either through events like SXSW or through recommendation of friends. Albums that were on repeat all year:
  • Twitter: The Twitterverse really took off this year.  I never thought I would allow myself to admit it, but, to be honest, Twitter has changed my life. True, I can admit that I’ve become somewhat of a social media whore, but I really believe that it has revolutionized the way people interact and exchange information. The kicker for me has been experiencing this medium translate social media in the online realm into in-real-life relationships, business-related and otherwise. This phenomenon leads me to the next item on my list…
  • My friends (the #HTM): Never before have I met such an interrelated group of people who love life just as much as the next person. With a common interest in live music, we’re also all immersed in the world of marketing/promotion in some form or fashion. Looking forward to the future with these cats, and to think we all came into each other’s lives through some extension of social networking. That’s just silly.
  • My Tea’m: Majority of this list wouldn’t have been possible without having worked for Sweet Leaf Tea. I know I sound like I’m just preaching the cool-aid, but I’m being serious. The people I work with are incredible, and I’m thankful every day that I get to promote a brand that I believe in. We’ve been through a lot of changes and faced some intense challenges, but its incredible to think about where we’ve come from and, even more so, where we’re going. The adventure continues!

So there it is: My Top 9 of 2009. Looking forward to another great year in 2010, even if I’m doubtful that I can ever get used to saying ‘twenty-ten’.

Happy New Year!

Inter-Office Guitar Blog Contest: Entry #1

By April on May 19     Filed In Austin, Texas, Epiphone Guitar, Organic, Sweet Consumers, Sweet Leaf Tea Company News     Add a Comment

A couple of weeks ago Adi sent a company-wide email to everyone in the company to get them motivated to blog. What’s the motivation? A free bad-ass, Sweet Leaf Tea-branded Epiphone electric guitar! WOOT!

Watch out for the other 4 entries coming atcha!

slt-geetar1

Entry # 1 by Alexandra Camey

Who is Sweet Leaf Tea?

We’re not your average tea company. We’re a family of friends that care about you and your love for Sweet Leaf Tea. When you see us at grocery stores, we aren’t just trying to sell you a bottle of peach tea. We’re sampling flavors to get expert opinions from people like you. You help us determine what’s great, not-so-good and what will be the next ‘big’ thing will be. And if you ask me what I think about your new sunglasses, I’ll be honest. Aviators aren’t for everyone.

You see us at events around town because our interests are very similar to yours. We believe in good music, high fives, supporting local art endeavors and little league teams. When you see us out, say “hi.” You might get a hug instead of a handshake. We’re just like that.

You’ll find us on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Why? Because we want you to know what we’re up to and we want you to let us know who you are and what you think. We’re an organic tea company that believes Sweet Leaf is more than just a beverage. It’s a way of life and we’re living it everyday and hope you’ll join us on this journey.

Included are some photos of one of my favorite families. I see them often, at Galveston beach, the Art Car Parade and Whole Foods. They are fans of Sweet Leaf Tea and I’m a fan of the super cute kids.

Little Sister

Little Sister

Big Sister

Big Sister

Cool mom rocking our bandana!

Cool mom rocking our bandana!