Recording - June 2011 - 51

Favorites People have asked me what my favorite thing was this year, and I must say that it wasn’t a concert or a party, but rather a speech: Bob Geldof’s keynote was most inspiring! A compelling, well-delivered, articulate talk

I did a panel on recording techniques myself and also checked out a number of other such events: Yoko Ono’s interview, panels about music marketing, entrepreneurship, social networking, the future of music, and business/financial advice (turns out that Guns N’

“Punchy” (see Figure 2), bring it to all your shows, travel around the country with it, and make headlines that way until somebody takes notice (Martin Atkins did and further promoted the band who did that!). Or you could play on the back of a moving pickup truck

Austin explodes with music and more—and once again, we’re there
full of educated references that touched upon, intersected and crossreferenced politics, humanity, revolution, and of course music. Angry that the US isn’t angrier about the state of things, and upset with the complacency and the tiredness of the people, Geldof criticized the country’s fear, lack of confidence, and inward-turned attitude. He referred to the music he’s been hearing from the US as “continental naval gazing”. He argued and outlined why the world still needs what he calls “noise with intent” and why the world needs it from us; I urge you to listen to the full speech at: http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_ MP990194 if you can. Amongst the bands I was able to see, some of the highlights were: the Swiss experimental-urban-funk-jazz trio Grand Pianoramax, Canadian experimentaldrone solo saxophonist Colin Stetson, Canadian guitar rocker Steve Hill, Chicago-based tribal-indie-rock band A Lull, Danish quirky-electro-pop diva Oh Land, French comedy-falsetto-punk-rock duo The Inspector Cluzo, mainstream rockers Queens of the Stone Age, Austinbased Norwegian avantgarde-jazz bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and his ensemble, UK’s DJ Yoda, Norwegian sludge-doom-metal band Altaar, and American mainstream rockers Filter— who showed their punk-rock guts by putting on a good show in spite of all the technical problems that plagued their performance. Learning Besides the bands, there is of course the educational aspect: panels, mentor sessions, quickies and interviews with the movers and shakers of the industry, where you can learn so much more than you can from books and from the internet. Although I’ve seen him and heard it all last year, I thought Martin Atkins’ “Welcome to the Music Business—You’re Fucked!” (from the title of his latest book, available at www.tstouring.com) would be a good way to start off. At http://schedule. sxsw.com/events/event_MP5936 you can hear every eff-bomb and learn a lot in the process. Roses bassist Duff McKagan knows quite a lot about that!). Growth and diversity The growth of SXSW is undeniable. This year they have taken over a larger portion of the convention center for panels and talks. Inside the convention center they also hosted the largest SXSW trade show to this day (merging music, film and interactive), the Texas guitar show, the Flatstock 29 art poster show, and for the first time they even had a fashion exhibit area. It was called and drive around town (see Figure 3). Or you could risk your life jumping around on the edge of a balcony of 6th Street playing guitar and trying not to fall to your death (see Figure 4). But even if you don’t get that creative, playing at SXSW still represents a great potential for exposure. If you do get to play and nobody from the industry notices you, you still have an opportunity to make some new fans. And even if you don’t get to play, SXSW is great for meeting managers, producers, engineers, publicists, entertainment lawyers, A&R, booking agents and music lovers alike! They are all there, and accessible! In the music industry, or what’s left of it, it’s all about who you know (or I should say, who knows you!), and networking is the single most important thing you can and should do. SXSW is perfect for building new relationships and alliances! You get to hang out around like-minded people for a week and that is the greatest potential that SXSW has to offer, because, as Bob Geldof said: “It’s when we work together that we take on a sense and an importance that is greater than any of us could ever possibly be”! Go go go 25 years of SXSW speaks to a high level of commitment and love for music, film and technology, the three parts that make this such a great, unique and relevant conference. It is also a business, and every year the branding becomes more prominent, the sponsors are more aggressive, you have to put up with larger crowds, and miss some shows you really want to see (this is my greatest gripe and definitely an area they need to re-think). In spite of it all, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the single most important music industry gathering in the United States every year, and an appointment not to miss! Marc Urselli (urselli@recordingmag.com) is a Grammy-winning recording engineer and producer working in New York. Learn more about his many musical projects at www.marcurselli.com.
RECORDING JUNE 2011

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Style X (pronounced “style by”) and was comprised of boutique designers’ stands, a fashion runway with a jury, and even a flea market. Maybe the last nail in the coffin of the music industry? Maybe just yet another sign of how The Times, They Are A-Changing... South by Southwest is as exhausting as it is fun! You abuse your body by getting maybe 4–5 hours sleep a night and by jetting from one venue to the next, sometimes 20 blocks apart! It wore me out, and I don’t even drink or do drugs.... What’s in it for you? SXSW is without a doubt one of the greatest ways for a musician, band or music industry professional to make new contacts. Getting noticed is getting harder and harder. You can of course build a giant homemade robot, call it

http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MP990194 http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MP990194 http://www.tstouring.com http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MP5936 http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MP5936 http://www.marcurselli.com

Recording - June 2011

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