The first person to seek me out at the Hot Press IMRO stand at the South By South West (SXSW) music convention in Austin, Texas two weeks ago was Beth from Wisconsin. She wanted me to meet her husband Jake because they were going to visit Ireland in the summer and they were hoping I could give them some assistance.
While I mentally rehearsed my list of great music venues I have known and loved, she took out a notepad and asked my advice on really good bed and breakfasts, quickly followed by a request for the times of trains from Galway to Belfast. I made my excuses and they left.
Next, Patrick J O Donnell, President of Skoda, stopped by the stand to give his regards to his cousin Mikey Crotty who designs Hot Press covers (I m doing that right now, Patrick).
And shortly after, I found myself alongside Eoin Colley from IMRO, trying to suggest suitable items for a woman who was looking for Irish instrumental music which could be used while training horses for dressage competitions. We did our best to help, but the thought of stately horses exercising in time to some really sprightly jigs brought a quiver to my lips for which I hope she forgives me.
Yes indeed, you get some unconventional requests at music conventions, some with no musical connotations whatsoever.
For example, when I got home, I found a card in my pocket from the League of American Bicyclists based in Washington. I can t remember how it actually got there but perhaps it s better that way.
Eoin Colley and I were at SXSW as part of a sizeable Irish delegation comprising bands, solo acts, managers, dance djs and others, to interface with the American music industry and, eh, to score massive deals.
SXSW is a veritable talent-fest for the great unsigned of the world but also features panel discussions, a trade fair as part of which Hot Press and IMRO hosted the Irish stand, demo listening sessions, more gigs than you could shake a rhythm stick at. And, oh yes, lots of bars. Streets full of bars. More bars than Temple Bar.
Austin is a very green city, with a cheerful, laid back attitude in sharp contrast to the outsider s view of go-get- em Americans. Musically it s a hotbed of country and southern blues, a more sophisticated version of Nashville. The convention centre lies close to where the Red River joins the mighty Colorado River in an area dotted with a contrary mix of gleaming corporate towers, small shops, modern high-rise hotels and modest wooden shacks inhabited by the town s mix of White, Black and Hispanic communities.
It was on the aforementioned Colorado that we nearly lost some of the finest contributors to the Irish music industry. A group of Irish delegates decided to take a break from all the wheeling and dealing for a boat trip on the river. Shortly after departure disaster struck and the boat started to drift downstream out of control. When eventually it was brought to rest the Irish passengers faced a long walk back to civilisation. Skindive s manager Seamus O Brien claimed to have found part of an iceberg he reckoned had caused the problem, but this claim was dismissed as a crude attempt to introduce Irish compo culture to the USA. O Brien may actually have been suffering from stress at this point as he and his partner Dermot Geoghegan were the hardest working folks out there, having brought in a computer to help sell the band. Their natty full-colour fold-out sleeve for the Skindive CD drew considerable attention and they are reputed to have run up a telephone bill of hundreds of dollars. But there was no iceberg, Seamus, trust me on that one.
SXSW also provides an opportunity to rub thighs with some established names. John Wesley Harding told me how his real name was Wesley Stacey but he was given the full JWH by Hothouse Flowers. Former That Petrol Emotion frontman Steve Mack filled me in on how he had reinvented himself as an internet guru leading the media lab at Real Networks in Seattle. I thought I saw Howie Gelb on East Sixth Street. That sort of thing.
The Irish stand, which was almost certainly the busiest throughout the trade fair, was equipped with complimentary copies of the Hot Press Yearbook, back issues, demos, artist information, Skindive s computer and a special sampler CD featuring the Irish acts showcasing at SXSW and others who had personal representation.
The showcase gigs kicked off to a ripping start with Altan at the La Zona Rosa. A journalist from the Austin Chronicle got it spot on when he told me that Altan were the band that all new Irish trad bands would now be compared to. But the contemporary dance night at the Twist was equally popular, with Bass Odyssey not only packing the venue but causing crowds to gather outside in the cool Texas air to listen to their mesmerising mix of the coolest dance grooves on the planet. No wonder Donal Scannell had a broad smile sculpted onto his face throughout the week.
But the band to create the most immediate interest was undoubtedly Kila. They played twice in one day, first with a modestly crazy set in the convention centre restaurant in mid-afternoon followed by an absolutely barnstorming rave-up in the wee hours at Maggie Mae s. From the Bo Diddley-aye bodhran driven beat of their opening tune, they had both audiences gettin jiggy with them and they drew probably every fifth or sixth visitor to the Irish stand after that.
Another major success was the irrepressible Jack L who had the difficult task of opening the Maggie Mae s showcase. But before he and guitarist David Constantine had finished they actually had the audience singing lustily along. If Jack L does not get a major deal within the next year we need a government enquiry.
Others to impress at Maggie Mae s included a Prayer Boat, whose sophisticated pop drew a huge crowd down to the courtyard-style front area despite the chilly evening. They ve well and truly buried the Waterboyisms of yore and are now ready to take on the world with the lessons learned from their unfortunate experiences at the hands of RCA and Almo Records.
The star of the Irish acoustic night at The Library was undoubtedly Nick Kelly who somehow managed to win over a full room which included a few local yokels with red necks, loud mouths and small minds (Great title for a country song Ed). But there was less luck for Polar, a singer-songwriter from Carlow now living in Switzerland, whose expressive voice was too delicate to penetrate the background hum. Some other time, maybe.
Other acts to impress elsewhere were Acapelicans, a vocal trio from Australia including Belfast-based Sarah Liversidge, Larryland, a band with Alan Cronin from Ireland plus an Australian, a Dane and A Swede, and The Blue Dogs, a local band mixing country rock with a Meters-style feel and boasting some brilliant organ, vocal harmonies and electric guitar.
Of course, the Irish stand became even more populous when the local Guinness people arrived with a couple of kegs of the black stuff. It was quite enlightening to have Americans tell you how they loved the stuff and drink it all the time and then watch them gulp glass after glass without letting it settle!
The demo listening session mainly served
to prove that the information being dispensed by industry experts must sometimes be taken with a large rock of salt. John Durham, manager of a fine rock band from Phoenix, Arizona called Six Point Restraint, was told that he should have used more tracks for recording the demo rather than doing it on 16-track analogue. This pearl of wisdom was spouted by an A&R man who should be told that the purpose of a demo is to demonstrate that an act can sing, play and write, and that industry wisdom repeatedly tells acts not to spend much money on demos!
The Irish rookies on the trip included singer-songwriters Tony Vaughan and Siniad Brady who both seemed simultaneously exhilarated by the buzz and awestruck by the enormity of it all and the massive task awaiting them on their way to the toppermost of the poppermost. If they learned only one thing from this trip that seeing how it goes is not the philosophy to guarantee success in the industry then the visit will have been well worth it.
They may also have absorbed a little about the inner workings of the American music industry and dispelled a few myths. According to experts on the ground, Electronica is definitely not sweeping America. Instead, it seems that every major label is looking for a new Hanson, younger if possible (is it possible?), and there is widespread concern that the major labels won t even listen to a new artist over twenty five years of age.
There was also much hilarity over a magazine called The Musician s Trade Journal with the headline Major Labels Seek Talent over an article that gave no hint of the accidental absurdity of the heading. As one Irish wag put, Major labels are now seeking talent? I wonder why they never thought of that before! But hopes were raised by the rave review for the new Blink album The End Is High in Billboard, suggesting that Irish bands wishing to crack the US will have to find similar means of creeping in under the radar.
Still, you can t send an Irish team abroad without someone scoring an own goal, so this year s wooden spoon must go to Crush, the relatively new Dublin band powered by former Power Of Dreams drummer Keith Walker. They played a storming, teeth-rattling set at Maggie Mae s and caught the attention of Hollywood producer Keith K C Cohen. Cohen was so enthused by the band, feeling that they were perfect for the American market right now , that he called to the Irish stand several times hoping to make contact with them, but neither the band nor a representative was ever there to make the connection.
On the other hand it was also comforting for me, as someone who has attempted to run seminar events in Ireland, to realise that the Americans are not immune to cock-ups. A couple of the people manning their information stand seemed to be competing to see who could find the most mistakes in the official programme, and the internal system regarding the receipt of faxes was labyrinthine to say the least.
Overall though, SXSW was a very worthwhile event. IMRO s representative Eoin Colley had this to say. This was IMRO s first visit to SXSW. We wanted to be there to provide a marketing forum in the US for our members who are songwriters and music publishers in Ireland. If it leads to new outlets for IMRO members, then it s a success for us. It s too soon to tell, but certainly the buzz at the stand was impressive, especially after the Irish showcase night.
So it cannot be denied that the Irish presence made an enormous impact, and full marks must go to Una Johnston and Lisa Tinley at Carpe Diem for seizing the day and making it all happen despite the lack of support from An Bord Trachtala and others who benefit considerably from the healthy Irish music scene. Apart from Hot Press there was no involvement from any other arm of the Irish media and nobody from any of the Irish majors. Still, on a personal note, I really got a buzz from all of those Americans calling me sir . Respect at last? n