SXSW 2007 was certainly an awesome one for Aqueduct this year.  We played to far more people than we ever have in years prior.  Yesterday was the craziest day yet.  I started the day by heading to the Gibson showroom in south Austin where I gave an on camera interview for those folks.  After the interview as I was walking out, Public Enemy was in line behind me to go in and do the same thing.  I shook hands with Flav and Chuck D which totally made up for being shut out of their insanely pack show Friday night.

Then we all headed to Waterloo records, the best record store in Austin to shop and check out some instore performances.  Later in the Day I gave a similar interview for ManiaTV.com, a new internet TV site.  Those kids were really cool and they’re going to play the shit out of our new video that’s being finish up as we speak.

The highlight of the day, if not the whole festival, was our last performance at Home Slice Pizza.  It was a super relaxed affair, a welcome change to the frenzy that was our two prior shows.  So many people came out to see us, it really made our day.  After we were done we sold CD’s out of the back of our van like MC Hammer and then had all the free pizza we could eat.  Best damn pizza in Austin.  Now we’re leaving Austin behind to head for Houston where Aqueduct will give a radio performance and rock Walter’s on Washington tonight.  All in all, we had such a good time this year.  Definitely one for the memory books!

3-16-07
It’s fair to assume that when you come to SXSW you know you’re going to be busy. There are bands and people to see, food to eat, taxis to grab, records to try and score, booze to drink, and so on. Yesterday… well, yesterday managed to feel like three days crammed into one. All in the best
possible sense mind you but, still… yeah… good times!

In addition to all of the great bands and events going on at SXSW, you can always count on a random celebrity sighting. Last year I ran into Owen Wilson and Juliette Lewis, this year managed to walk on by as Wayne from The Flaming Lips was doing man on the street interviews

as well as seeing the guy who played Jon in the new Garfield movies (why do I know that?) walking down the road. Didn’t manage to get a picture of him but, I’m sure his career will survive.

From There it was on my way into the Levis/Fader Magazine party to catch Minneapolis favorites Cloud Cult. Now, here’s something I probably shouldn’t admit but, it falls into the category of “It just goes to show you…” and I feel like sharing. A handful of months ago, Cloud Cult played The Crocodile. I was there. I worked the show and I imagine like any job where you’re focused on working it is perhaps easy to not pay attention to everything around you. In this case it was the band (see, told you I shouldn’t admit that) Now, seeing them at this party all I can say is wow! They were great. Very textural and layered with a really odd (in a good way) pop sense. And there were people on stage painting pictures while they played. How cool is that?
As they finished their set I made my way across town Habanas to go and the Yep Roc Records 10th anniversarybbq party showcase where John Doe, Robyn Hitchcock, Apples in Stereo, You Am I and many other great bands were playing. However before making it there heard the sounds of something coming out of

Latitude 30 that seemed like it might be of interest. The band in question turned out to be The Automatic and they were performing as part of the “New Music From Wales” showcase.

Like a partial cross between Hot Hot Heat and The Faint, this band had such great energy live. Especially for a mid-afternoon set where I’m sure they had several other shows scheduled for the day. A pleasant surprise as to how around every corner at SXSW there is always something exciting happening.

So, moving on from that and still heading to the Yep Roc party, who do I see walking down the road? Singer/songwriter/comedian/pal of mine Rosie Thomas. Sweet girl. Good songs. Great jokes (usually not combined but, she’s crafty… you never know) A small conversation ensues and she’s off with me to the Yep Roc extravaganza.

The first act we caught was Robyn Hitchcock who was joined by Peter Buck (from R.E.M.) and Sean Nelson (from Harvey Danger). How cool is that?! They played an amazingly heartfelt set. Oh yes they did. Afterwards caught a bit of the infectious pop of the Apples in Stereo and then moved on to join Robyn and Sean for tea time. Yes in the middle of all of the hustle and bustle and bbq and beer of SXSW someone still found time to stop and enjoy tea time.

A surreal moment to say the least but extremely memorable and enjoyable.

As we wrapped up our late-day, pre-dinner break and parted ways I found myself scooting across town to the KEXP sponsored Austin City Limits Studios to catch critic favorites Beirut. Loud and dynamic and filled with quirky pop they played to an extremely enthusiastic crowd who seemed to soak up every minute of the performance.

Heading back into town and finishing off a delicious dinner of flautas from Jaimes Spanish Castle, I wandered on over to Uncle Flirtys Upstairs Loft to check out a bit of the Scandinavian themed Nordic Nights showcase. Playing when I arrived was the contemporary sounding (and yet somehow jazz driven) Irina Bjorklund. Again, another pleasant surprise from a band a handful of seconds before I knew nothing about.

Wanting to keep on the move and soak up as much as I could, headed on down to the main floor of Uncle Flirtys and ran into none other than Seattle’s own Schoolyard Heroes. A very loud and dynamic band (slight metal edge but in a really really enjoyable way) that is really impressive to see live.

Right as Schoolyard Heroes were finishing up, received a text message from a friend of mine telling me I had to come on over to Emos Annex stage and check out the Oklahoma City band Stardeath and The White Dwarfs. Seemed like a good idea and off I went. The band turned out to be a very theatrical prog experience influenced by something like a combination of Dinosaur Jr., The Flaming Lips, and King Crimson. SXSW is nothing if not diverse.

Surviving the days festivities, it seemed like the night was coming to a close. However, not wanting to call it a night just yet there was one more performer on my schedule I wanted to see. Toronto based Luke Doucet who I had known through his previous band Veal and enjoyed very much.

Meshing a style of surf, blues, country and indie rock his earnest songs seemed like the best way to send me toe-tapping off to bed in preparation for the following days shenanigans And shenanigans they were…

Well well well, SXSW is certainly underway. We raced into town yesterday afternoon (3/14) at about 2:30 to make an acoustic appearance on XM Satellite radio. The folks over at XMU have been so supportive of Aqueduct, we owed them one. Of course, acoustic for Aqueduct means stripped down electric but nevertheless it was really cool to be able to do that for them. After the “acoustic session” we headed over to load in at Buffalo Billiards on sixth street where the Barsuk Records showcase was being held. The line up was great, Say Hi To Your Mom opened the show followed by Bob Mould. Then the Barsuk bands hit the stage, Rocky Votolato followed by Jessie Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, then we play and Menomena closed the show. All in all it was totally awesome and packed the whole night. I think I was most blown away by Jessie Sykes and her band, as they rocked the house down with their newer heavier sound. We got out of the club about three in the morning and headed back to our hotel where I sat, momentarily, heavy lidded at the computer, said nah, and crashed.

Got off to a busy start this morning, readying ourselves for the NoisePop/Woxy party at Emo’s annex. We played after the Little Ones from Los Angeles, and right before we hit the stage actor/comedian Zack Galifanakous told some jokes and introduced us. The show was a blast! We had much more fun than the previous night as it was far less stressful. Something about playing these day show at SXSW are really a blast. Everyone is more relaxed and laid back, there is free booze and food for people to enjoy. This is why I love to come to SXSW. Going to sign off now and walk sixth street to take advantage of the free day parties while they last. I’m thinking of seeing Public Enemy play a free show tonight. Wait maybe that’s why I love SXSW!!!

3/14/07: Completely underestimated our travel time to Austin.  Texas is Freaking BIG.  Arrived an hour late to our show which we were certain wouldn’t be there for us anymore.  Somehow we were able to play the show case.  Unloaded played 4 songs (Rocky joined us with his harmonica for the last and then played 2 of his own with Eric Paul and I (Sonny) got off stage, loaded back up in the van all in under 30 minutes.  Whew hectic!

 After  the show went to get registered at the convention center.  Ridiculous lines and even more hoops to jump through.  It took more than 2 ½ hrs, while we were starving to death, frustraed etc.  At dinner, Dave and Eric had the extreme pleasure of meeting David Cross, a Slender Means Fav. 

No hotel rooms available for 30 miles plus, so we had the pleasure of sleeping in the van in a paid parking lot after much hussle around town and boos in the system.

3/12/07: Drove from Denver to Albuquerque.  Really tired of the rush so bowed out of the opportunity to sound check.  Played a great show to about 80 or so quite receptive people.  Had a great time.  Stayed in a hotel with Temperpedic beds.  Josh, Paul, Randy and I (Sonny) went to an all night diner, ate too much and came back to the room pretty late.   Decided to sleep as long as possible seeing we didn’t have to be in Austin until wed.  Found a laundry mat where we refreshed underwear and such.  Drove until  5 a.m. on route to Austin and slept about 3 or 4 hrs.

3/11/07: Drove from Provo to Denver. Weather was awesome. Last time we drove through here there was a blizzard that lasted all day. On another positive note, we are becoming skilled at urinating in water bottles, which considerably cuts down on rest stop time. It is advantageous for the road to be as smooth as possible, for sanitary reasons. No solution yet for #2. Show at the Marquee was awesome, lots of people there and the sound was great.

3/10/07: Short drive from Boise, ID to Provo, UT.  Arrived in the daytime and were able to soundcheck at Velour, a really cool, good sounding room.   The venue was decked out in vintage second hand furniture and had a great vibe.   The show ended up selling out with an awesome crowd.  I hope we come back soon. 

Stayed at a gracious friend of Rocky’s house he knew in high school where we were able to find floor space to sleep on, brush teeth etc.  Eric and I slept in the van.  F F F reezing!!!!!!!

3/9/07:  Drove from Spokane to Boise for a show at The Venue.  Sounded really good in there.  Encountered a cooler of beer and a bottle of Jameson, and prevailed. 

Hi this is Sonny from Slender Means.  We began our trip to Austin when we picked up Rocky Votolato and 700 pounds of t-shirts, buttons and cds off of the I-90 freeway. 

We drove to Spokane where we played a sold out show at a cool place called Big Dipper.  We were happy to see a write up in Pacific Northwest Inlander about the show.

We encountered a flask of Sauza Hornita after the show and somehow prevailed.  The rest of the evening was spent playing dominoes in the hotel.  I had a great time, but lost miserably.

From Spokane we’re headed on to Boise.  Keep checking back for more updates on our journey.

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