See, with all the buzz, I don’t even need to put the letters in the right order and you know what I’m talking about. Obviously you’ve seen my ridiculously large and always growing FREE PARTY SPREADSHEET. But because the criteria are so strict to get on that puppy (free party, must offer free food and/or booze), sometimes I don’t get to write about some of the other sweet things that cross my inbox. Mainly, stellar pitches from publicists looking to get their bands lots of PR during the hugest music festival ever.
A sampling of a few that sound good to me (but, let’s face it, I probably won’t go see because I’ll be getting drunk/stuffed/my swag on at the free booze/food/swag parties):
Bands: Apteka, Monarchs, Mull Historical Society, Derek Hoke, Jacob Jones, Francis
Breakdown:
1) My all-time favorite publicist sends this over:
Apteka is the Chicago shoegaze collective that beat NASA’s ass. Apteka came together through a shared affinity for volume and psychedelia in the summer of love ‘06. While on tour opening for front 242 in the fall of ‘05, guitarist/vocalist Adam Lukas met musical kindred spirit Dino Balocchi and compared Big Muff fuzz pedals. They recruited Jesse Hozeny, a human metronome with a penchant for being rather abusive to his drum kit. So hard does Jesse hit that he, in fact, employs titanium core drums sticks. That’s what they use on the space shuttle, mind you. Unbreakable they said. They were wrong. Aptkea 1, NASA 0.
The band completely smashes the misconception that wall-of-sound guitars equates to dull stage presence. Apteka are a rock outfit under swirling lights, swiping their Ride and My Bloody Valentine influences and injecting them with a heavy dose of PCP. The group has a lot of awesomeness generally abounding. Have a listen – http://futuresounds.blogspot.com/2010/02/apteka.html
Apteka is playing two shows at SXSW, both on Thursday, March 18. They hit up the Buzzgrinder/Buddyhead Official SXSW Party at Annie’s West (706 West 6th Street) in the day and the Kill Red Rocket fantastic newgaze showcase at the Metropolis Apartments Pool (2200 S. Pleasant Valley) later that evening. That’s a pool party dudes, so you know you want to be there.
I say: see, with verbiage like that, how can the band not be awesome? Plus god knows how much Austinites love pool parties.
2) Monarchs’ lead singer reaches out:
Monarchs, a soulful roots-rock band based in Austin, is comprised of Celeste Griffin (lead singer), Alex Tomaino (guitar), Josh Halpern (drums), and Phil Ajjarpu (bass). This summer, Monarchs will record their first full length LP with producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Heartless Bastards). Monarchs Myspace Page. In the meantime, scope them at the official City of Austin Showcase on March 17th @ 9PM @ The Ghost Room or one of these unofficial events:
Birmingham Plays SXSW Showcase
Friday, March 19th @ 12PM
Creekside Lounge
Stem and Leaf Showcase
Saturday, March 20th @ 5:00PM
Rainey Manor House Venue
90 I35 S
I say: I have a soft spot in my heart for bands that promote themselves (see: Achachay!)
3. Great Scots:
Colin MacIntyre is one of the UK’s most respected songwriters & performers who performs with a full band under the moniker ‘Mull Historical Society’. A multi-instrumentalist , writer and producer, MacIntyre hails from the Island of Mull (population: 2,000) off Scotland’s west coast. In just a year MacIntyre went from supporting The Strokes on their debut UK tour to selling-out the 2,000 capacity Shepherds Bush Empire, and touring with REM. SXSW 2010 is MacIntyre’s first time appearing at Austin.
http://www.colinmacintyre.com
@ twitter
Colin is to be showcasing at midnight, Saturday March 20th at the 18th Floor at the Hilton Garden Inn. Colin is also appearing Saturday daytime at Fado’s (obvi?).
I say: Sounds like he’s a big deal in Europe, can he hang here?
4. Electric Western Records Gives Good Promo:
Two separate publicists pitched me two separate artists from the same label, and both sounds great if you’re into Americana or Roots Rock. Check out:
4a: Derek Hoke’s forthcoming record, Goodbye Rock N Roll drops March 16th, during SXSW. His first release and establishes him as a strong country songwriter with shades of Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, and Lyle Lovett intertwined.www.myspace.com/derekhoke. SXSW sched:
3/17 – SXSW – The Continental Club – Opening Early for SXSW! – Austin, TX
3/17 – SXSW – Electric Western Records Party @ The Hole In The Wall - Austin, TX
3/19 – SXSW – Flipnotics Coffeespace Cafe @ 4pm – Austin, TX
3/20 – SXSW – Thunderbird Party @ 5pm – Austin, TX
4b: Jacob Jones is a 25-year old singer songrwriter inspired by the music and lives of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and John Prine.
http://www.myspace.com/jacobjonesmusic. His SXSW sched:
Mar 17 2010 – Paradise Cafe – SXSW Party – Austin, Texas (12:30pm)
Mar 17 2010 – Plush – SXSW Party – Austin, Texas (3pm)
Mar 17 2010 – Hole In The Wall – Electric Western & American Songwriter Magazine Present “GET YOUR GREEN ON!” – Austin, Texas (7pm)
Mar 19 2010 – Flipnotics Coffeespace – SXSW Party – Austin, Texas (3pm)
Mar 19 2010 – Thunderbird Coffee – SXSW Show – Austin, Texas (5pm)
I say: I love a good PR firm. Good job, Electric Western Records.
5. Francis is here / Francis just won’t quit
Swedish-band Francis has been shocking and awing American audiences with its unique brand of dark, brooding-indie rock. Their showcases include the Mike Galaxy BandPromote Showcase on 3/18 and the SonicBids showcase on 3/19. With a new album in the works and a self-titled EP just released, don’t miss your chance to see these guys perform, complete with lead-singer Petra wandering through the audience as she belts out her lyrics, before they head back home to Sweden! Download or stream Francis’ music here: http://download.themusebox.net/francis/ /
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/francisishere. Their SXSW sched:
3/18 – SXSW – Mike Galaxy Presents BandPromote Showcase, 12 noon – Guero’s 1412 S Congress, Austin, TX
3/18 – SXSW – MuseBox Showcase, 5 PM – Rusty Spurs 405 E 7th St, Austin, TX
3/19 – SXSW – Official SXSW Showcase, 12 AM – Friends Bar 208 E 6th St, Austin, TX
3/19 – SXSW – Sonicbids Showcase, 4:30 PM – Maggie Mae’s Upstairs 323 E 6th St, Austin, T
3/20 – SXSW – Sweden Goes SXSW Party, 2 PM – Antone’s 213 W 5th St, Austin, TX
… see? Even if I don’t know jack about music, I can come off looking cool when publicists feed me all the right info. Thanks, guys! 
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