A year ago, I was beginning my first tour with an appearance at South By Southwest. I was excited, I was nervous, I was … ready? I don’t know that I was. I dealt with a hotel that had “misplaced” our reservation and given away our room. We had zero time to promote at the festival. We grabbed our credentials and didn’t really see the convention floor. We simply showed up, played a gig, enjoyed one day of music, and then hightailed it out of town headed for Nashville.
Now, a year later, I had a decidedly different plan. And of course, as most plans do, it quickly got shot to hell. Perhaps that’s a bit extreme. It didn’t really get shot to hell - but like often happens at such massive events, the best laid plans hardly come to fruition.
On the promotion front, I ordered flyers this year to be delivered to my hotel. That way, I could get a full day of promotion in on Wednesday prior to our first show on Friday night. I was headed to the venue where I’d perform, and there was a Country Showcase. Great Plan! But, the flyers didn’t arrive on Wednesday…they arrived on Thursday. So, missed opportunity. Such is life. We move on. With flyers in hand, I descended on downtown Austin Thursday for an interview for Sonicbids and SXSW…I was ready to promote! I got a few flyers out after finding parking, then headed over to the interview. But there were not any country showcases in the afternoon (at which I could promote), and I had rehearsal that night. So, I drove back to the hotel to grab my guitar and go to rehearsal. “I’ll take these flyers to the band, and we’ll all be able to promote tomorrow!” I thought. Great idea - if I hadn’t left the flyers in a box by the door in the hotel room as I hurried out the door. GAAUURRGHH! Not to be deterred, on Friday (the day of our first show) I dropped off about 500 flyers to my drummer as he had friends who would be at a Willie Nelson show, and could get them out to Country Fans there. Of course, that show didn’t end til well after our show began. So… the chance on immediate return was basically zero. But…will it turn into a big crowd TONIGHT? Who knows? Still, as far as promotion goes, it’s been a big step up from last year. More people are retweeting and reposting social promo, we have physical promo out on the streets, and we had a lead-in show last night to tonight’s finale. WIN.
As to the external parts of the festival, I received an invite to the Caroline BBQ on Wednesday. The BBQ was fantastic, I got a SICK swag bag, and had the opportunity to talk to a few industry big-wigs in a laid-back setting. I’ve found this is always best. I’m not a shirt-and-tie guy, generally. I’m not big on the bullshit. I like to break things down to their basics and sort it all out from there. That’s what happens at a BBQ. People drop all the guises of being so important, and just enjoy themselves. I guess that’s what happens when there’s a beer in your hand, and bbq sauce dripping from your chin - you can’t really pretend to be better than anyone else. But in actuality, I doubt the folks I talked to fall into the “holier than thou” category anyway. I’m fairly down-to-earth, and it seems I attract the same. Had a great time “networking” (something I don’t really do) at that BBQ, and really need to look at expanding my exposure to these events if I come back to SXSW15. WIN.
On the Convention Floor, I’ve been able to spend some time getting to know different vendors and artists. Posters have always been a pain in the ass to create…and now I have exposure to a number of folks who actually do that for a living. So, I can lean on THEIR expertise (and they on my money) to put myself into better promo position there. A few conversations with Luke Van Whye from VanYTours have opened the door to some cool potential touring opportunities. Also, my creative mind has been turned on by seeing the way some people are designing new guitars, new studio-busses, etc. It’s been a great Festival from that standpoint as well. WIN.
And as for Shows…well, last year’s show at The White Horse was very well attended. The bar had a natural draw, and we went on at 11:30 at night, so the crowd was already hopping. At our first show this year, there was a small local draw, and a few folks we’d been able to promote the show to. The dance floor was far from full, but those who were there were attentive and supportive. Our Sound Engineer, John, was on top of things and dialed sound in well. We borrowed a drum kit from a great country band, The Defibulators (@thedefibulators on twitter) who showed up in the nick of time to get it all set and ready. All told, for a show that was minimally promoted and included 4 players who had only one rehearsal on the night before the show, it was a pretty good little show. Of course, we’re expecting more tonight…a later time slot, more familiarity with the music and with each other…and people wanting to throw down on the last night of SXSW - could prove to be the recipe for a GREAT show. WIN.
All in all, my second SXSW has been a huge step up from the first. I’ve had a great time, made some great connections, and been able to do more of the thing that I love so much - play Country Music for those who want to listen. Any opportunity I get to do that excites me - and SXSW has definitely given me reasons to smile in that regard. Oh, and the hotel got our reservation right…which was awesome.
YEAHCOMEON.
