Discovering SXSW

I must say attending South by Southwest, better known as SXSW, was one of the most enlightening experiences ever. What started out as a small music festival 25 years ago in the not-on-the-music-map city of Austin, Texas has become the biggest and most credible music gathering in the world. (They even give free beer!)

After what seemed like 30 hours from Manila, our 7101 Music Nation Artistic Director, Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, and I finally landed in Austin. The words "exciting" and dynamic" are not normal adjectives used to describe a conference...but in this case, they were spot on.

Ryan and I at SXSW

Three fields were all being celebrated in ten days: Music, Film, and Interactive. I heard that almost 40,000 people were in attendance. 

What was interesting for me, having come from the "traditional" side of the music business, was seeing how none of the perceived "leaders" of the music industry were present. There were no major labels in attendance. If they were there, it was for the publishing talks where legal issues were tackled - and that's a different business unit altogether. In fact, everything was dominated by the independents. What was so refreshing was that no one was ringing the "doom and gloom" bell. Everything was about new solutions and ways to not only survive but to THRIVE in this new music landscape. in fact, these new ideas were all over the place - on pillars, booths, walls, everywhere!

Some of the most interesting talks were the ones led by Alex Ljung and Dave Haynes of Sound Cloud, Chris Poole of 4chan, Matthew Ogle of Echo Nest, as well as the ones from online music review site Pitchfork Media, and internet radio stations Last.fm, and Pandora. 

For me, I was there to explore, learn, network, and to basically be inspired. Keynote talks by Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes, Sir Bob Geldof and Yoko Ono were a thrill for a fan like me. (I will go into greater detail about Sir Bob's fantastic tirade in another piece.) 

 Bob Geldof

Yoko Ono

But the great learning, the huge head-turning talk that was also a belly-aching laugh trip was by Martin Atkins, once drummer of Public Image, Ltd. (PiL) and The Killing Joke. It was a sight to see a fifty-something rebel still on fire, still shocking people, and still passionate about bucking the mainstream. The title of his talk was "Welcome to the Music Business, You're F*cked!" Need I say more? Certainly not a "Sad Punk."

Martin Atkins

I learned lots of things and whilst they may be old news to some folks, it was all quite new and shiny to me: how to really use QR Codes to promote shows, venues, and artists, what it means to "Curate" or "Scrobble", the beauty of API's, the importance of hashtags, and also how to use social location sites like Foursquare. 

Ryan and I also took the time out to watch "Hit So Hard", the documentary featuring the life of Patty Schemel of Hole which was excellent and which I hope we get to show locally. Her story of addiction and recovery is something that must be seen and shared. I am a fan.

Patty Schemel of HOLE

We also queued up to witness R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe curate their new album, "Collapse Into Now" which featured two music videos directed by James Franco. Yes, THAT James Franco of Spiderman, Milk, and 127 Hours fame. It was R.E.M. sounding like its old self and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

One of the talks I really had to see was the Duran Duran interview which was so interesting because it was, again, a story that trumpeted the joys of being independent. After almost 30 years, they're still going strong. Hats off to the boys who also played a tight and crazy set the night before. I felt like I was 15 again!

Duran Duran (L-R) Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, 

Roger Taylor, and John Taylor 

Amidst all the talks, I really enjoyed meeting some of my musical idols. Here I am with Aerosmith's Joey Kramer who confirmed that sadly, NO, Aerosmith is not coming to Manila this year. 

Joey Kramer

Now this guy is a real hero to me. Jonathan Poneman is the guy behind Sub-Pop Records, the original label of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney. Without Sub-Pop, would the world know Grunge and all that it became and stood for? Probably not. Another tip of my hat for the independents who still stand by artists and invest in them - no matter how long it takes. 

 Jonathan Poneman

There was so much that went on and I will break it down slowly but for now, this was the last shot I took of the conference. Though they did give free beer, it was a feast for all of my other senses and I hope to be able to replicate something like this here in the Philippines through Music Nation at some point in time. I will certainly be back next year. I can't wait.