Tag: SXSWMusicFestival

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Music

Discovering artists in the live music capital of the world

Recommendations of up-and-coming artists seen at the SXSW festival in Austin

VALLEY HUSH

Across from the Hotel Vegas music venue was an outdoor performance by Valley Hush (pictured above) on March 13. I was intrigued by their experimental pop sounds, so I decided to walk over and check out their show. Valley Hush came all the way from their hometown of Detroit, MI to perform for the first time at SXSW. The band’s lineup consists of singer-songwriter Lianna Vanicelli, guitarist Alex Kaye, bass player Mat Hofman and drummer Dave Dionise. Vanicelli has been playing music for the past 10 years, and became the vocalist of Valley Hush when the band formed in 2014. “Our music is a lot of everything,” she said. “We like textured sounds so we use a lot of organic samples. It’s experimental pop, but it can vary—it’s the type of pop music that has a lot of meaning behind it.” According to the band members, music is easier for them and the audience to get into when it has a deeper meaning. “I like to write about what I am struggling with in life, and I think everyone struggles. I struggle with money and jobs, love and relationships,” Vanicelli said. “The meaning of life is a big theme in our last album.”Back in Detroit, Valley Hush has their go-to performance venue: “L Club!” they all said enthusiastically. “L Club is our favourite! Shout out to L Club!” Kaye said. Yet the band is very eager to be playing outside of Detroit. “Detroit is a small scene, and I think we have been playing for almost three years now so we are definitely ready to play more in other cities with more industry,” Kaye said.That’s why Valley Hush will soon be moving to L.A to pursue their music. “We just got funding for touring purposes so we are ready to fucking… sorry. Fuck, whatever! We are ready to fucking do this!,” Hofman said excitedly. “We will be closer to Texas,” he said. “But further from Montreal,” Vanicelli added. The band is glad to have been in Austin for SXSW. “It’s a great festival—the opportunities here are really cool, and just to have five or six shows is a blessing. It’s cool to have one week where you’re playing a shit-load of shows,” Kaye said. “And in the same city—it’s kind of crazy,” Vanicelli added.

JOSH CASHMAN

Australian musician Josh Cashman performing at the Hyatt Regency for his SXSW showcase. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Australian singer-songwriter Josh Cashman performed a soothing, romantic alternative-folk show on March 14 at the Hyatt Regency venue for SXSW. Cashman came all the way from Melbourne for his SXSW showcase. “This is such a worldwide-renown showcase and festival for up-and-coming artists, so [our team] applied for it, not thinking that we would even get it,” Cashman said. Cashman has been taking advantage of the opportunity by scheduling shows in cities across the U.S. “We toured around America for three weeks before SXSW. It’s been a hectic month and a half,” he said.The singer-songwriter has also been playing guitar since his early childhood. “I grew up in a house where we listened to music rather than watching television. That’s why I do music and that’s why music is a part of me,” he said. Cashman described his sound as soft, alternative folk with electronic textures. “Musicians usually describe that [their] genre is a mix of everything that you listen to over your lifetime, the things that you really like, and you pick and choose,” he said. According to Cashman, it’s all about taking elements from artists and genres he likes and creating his own kind of sound. “My music is always changing. I’m releasing an EP later this year, and I’ve got no doubt that the next EP that I will release after that will probably sound a little different—every artist evolves,” Cashman said. The new EP, he said, will focus on personal lyrics about love, relationships and heartbreak.

KEVLAR

Rock-metal band Kevlar performed a killer show at the Dirty Dog bar. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

Rocking the stage at the legendary Dirty Dog bar on Sixth Street on March 14 was the hard rock-metal band Kevlar. Coming all the way from the small town of Erie, Pa., this was the band’s first time performing at SXSW. Kevlar consists of Kelci Margaret on vocals, Anthony Sanzo on bass, Nick Sanzo on drums and Jake Flaugh on guitar. Brothers Anthony and Nick started the band back in 2010. Flaugh joined the band five years ago, and singer-songwriter Margaret came on board two years ago. “They were looking for a new singer, and I have been a part of the band ever since and it’s been amazing,” Margaret said. Kevlar often plays gigs in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo. Their dynamic on-stage energy makes them great performers and a blast to watch. “We always try to put energy into our stage performance as well as in our records,” Margaret said. Kevlar recently put out a single called “Alibis.” “We worked with an amazing producer on it, and we put our whole heart and soul into that—we’re really in love with it,” Margaret said. The band members said they were thrilled to be at the festival. “It’s a celebration of music,” Margaret said. “We’ve never actually played at a festival like this—just to be in a town where people are all here for music and arts is incredible.”

SHADOWPLAY

Alternative rock band Shadowplay drove all the way from New Jersey to perform at SXSW. Photo by Reji Berrouet

An alternative rock band all the way from New Jersey, Shadowplay consists of Andrew Corkery on vocals, Dan Holden on guitar and backup vocals, John Sellers on bass, piano and guitar, Jamile Wiggins on drums and Edward Flynn on bass. Flynn, unfortunately, could not make it to Austin, so Michael Brandt covered bass for the SXSW showcase. The band got to play at the Dirty Dog bar venue on March 14. Shadowplay has a classic alternative rock sound, with lyrics about self-reflection. “Our music is about our life experiences with a twist of surrealism,” Corkery said. “It’s about accepting loss in your personal life, accepting it and seeing the beauty of it and moving on.” According to the band, their music is a cathartic. Although the band hails from New Jersey, they also consider themselves a Philly band, as they play a lot of gigs in Philadelphia. Corkery has also visited Montreal before. “I’ve been to that venue, it was pronounced like, ‘Orange Couch’?,” he said, referring to Divan Orange. “One of our favorite bands is the Montreal band Godspeed You! Black Emperor.”

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Music

A youthful gathering of music enthusiasts

Forty-eight bands of all sorts of genres and styles played at The Blackheart bar over four days

I was strolling down the Rainey Street Historic District, a street known for great music venues and parties during Austin’s SXSW festival. I noticed many young people with festival badges and music equipment gathering in front of The Blackheart patio—I was intrigued. As I entered the venue, I was soon greeted by Christopher Moon, the general manager of NoiseTrade, a PledgeMusic company. NoiseTrade is a website that shares albums of up-and-coming artists for free. Moon is also the music curator for the Clif Bar Bash, an event which took place at The Blackheart bar from March 14 to 17. Moon and his team were in the middle of preparing to showcase their much anticipated lineup.

McNally Smith College of Music students helping with the stage set-up for the first performance by Charly Bliss. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

This was Moon’s 18th year at SXSW and his third year curating music for the Clif Bar Bash music showcases. Moon is responsible for booking bands for this event alongside his team. “It’s a big team, but a resourceful team. We started organizing this event last fall in September,” Moon said. Being a music curator involves a long process of music selection. “I must have listened to 400 to 500 different artists—I want to listen to their music and I want to know that it fits with the ethos of what we do at NoiseTrade, PledgeMusic and also our sponsors for Clif,” he said. “You want to make sure it’s high-energy, interesting, fun and that it’s going to be a good experience for everyone who comes out,” he said. According to Moon, curating music is the best gig. “I get to choose 48 of my favourite bands to come and play at a venue over the next four days, and at least at some point during each set, I can soak in a song or two from everyone—that’s pretty perfect,” he said. Twelve different bands played each day at The Blackheart bar. Each band had their own distinct sound from either grungy pop-rock to alternative folk ballads. Some of the bands included Charly Bliss, Swimming with Bears, Communist Daughter and Temples, who all performed on March 14.

The Blackheart’s backyard

Hanging out at The Blackheart’s backyard, I met up with McNally Smith College of Music students who came to SXSW as part of a music business class. Each student helped to set up the outdoor stage area. Millie Gibson is a vocalist and performer with a vocal major and a minor in business. “I came out here to venture opportunities and meet people and network,” she said. “I have never been to Austin or SXSW, so I thought it would be a really cool opportunity to go with my class and fellow peers and see what was out here.” According to Gibson, the attending SXSW is part of their class mandate. “When we come back from the trip, we are going to talk about our experience, what we learned, who we met and which shows we saw,” Gibson said.

Millie Gibson and Alex Sandberg, students from the McNally Smith College of Music, experiencing SXSW for the first time. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Alyssia Kangas, is majoring in music business and, like most of her peers, this was her first time at SXSW. Kangas has been classically trained in music for the past nine years, she also enjoys jazz music. “I’m really excited to see Communist Daughter perform, I work at First Avenue bar in Minneapolis and I’ve seen them play there and they’re really good—I’m also excited to see Agnes Sobel, Delta Rae and Lincoln Durham which is an americana style band,” said Kangas. Alex Sandberg is an aspiring music promoter and photographer who is also majoring in music business. “I came here for networking. Communication is key—you’ve got to meet these people face to face and make a name for yourself,” said Sandberg.

The Concordian music editor Sandra Hercegova and singer-songwriter Mary Elizabeth Wachs hanging out at The Blackheart music bar.

I also spent some time with Mary Elizabeth Wachs, a passionate singer-songwriter. “I have a big heart, I have big dreams. Part of what drives me as a musician is that I want to be able to share my personal life story with as many people that I can,” Wachs said. Another student from the SXSW class was music business major and emcee, Alex Hall. He has been making hip-hop music for nine years. “Me and my old rap crew, we didn’t have a good business sense,” he said. “I decided that that’s the one thing that we were missing, so I’m going to learn more about it so that we can do music full-time,” Hall said. Each student had their own inspiring story, and they each expressed their delight at being at SXSW and how willing they are to make their musical goals come to life.

 

Charly Bliss at The Blackheart

First to perform on The Blackheart outdoor stage was pop-rock band Charly Bliss. They were hanging out by the stage before the show, so I passed by for a quick chat. The band had driven all the way from New York City to perform for the first time at SXSW. This four-piece pop punk-rockish band consists of lead singer and guitarist Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox on guitar, Sam Hendricks on drums and Dan Shure on bass. “I think our music is very fun, it’s very poppy—we are influenced by pop and indie rock music,” Eva said.

From left to right, members of Charly Bliss: Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox, Sam Hendricks and Dan Shure. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

The band agreed that performing in Austin for SXSW is a right of passage. “You’ve got to do it once,” Fox said. The band will also be releasing their new album, Guppy, on April 21. All the band members pointed out that the album name was Fox’s idea. As they did, Fox put his hands on his cheeks, feigning innocence and gazing off into the distance “There’s an underdog-y feel to our band and our trajectory, and I feel like the title sums it up really nicely,” Eva said. Charly Bliss has been touring a lot lately—in fact, they played at Montreal’s Bar Le Ritz PDB back in January. “We are coming back in a couple of weeks,” Eva said. “We are playing with Operators in Montreal on April 1.” Charly Bliss then took centre stage and performed their first SXSW show with enthusiasm and high-energy. Few venues truly stand out and capture the vibrancy and energy of Austin during SXSW—The Blackheart is one of them.

Charly Bliss rocking out on stage as the opening act at The Blackheart bar. Photo by Sandra Hercegova
Categories
Music

Nile Rodgers speaks to the souls of a million strangers

Legendary music composer Nile Rodgers playing guitar riffs from his hit single with Daft Punk, “Get Lucky.” Photo by Sandra Hercegova

SXSW hosted a keynote panel with composer Nile Rodgers at the Austin Convention Center

“When I was younger, my jazz guitar teacher, who is the single greatest influence on me—other than Bernard Edwards—asked me one day why I was studying with him. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m studying with you because I want to play at concerts, I want to make records, I want to compose, do big orchestral works and films.’ He said, ‘Really? Is that the only reason why?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Oh that’s no problem, you could easily do that.’ I said, ‘Wow, really? How? And he said, ‘Play better,’” said Nile Rodgers.

Nile Rodgers is a legendary Grammy award-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist. He has released numerous hit records over the last four decades. He has greatly influenced popular music—he has over 200 production credits to his name. Rodgers has produced hit records for David Bowie, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson and many others. He is also the co-founder of CHIC, one of disco’s greatest bands. On March 15, Nile Rodgers held a keynote panel at the Austin Convention Center as part of the SXSW festival.

Singer-songwriter Mobley opened Nile Rodgers keynote panel with an energetic performance. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

The panel began with a performance from experimental pop singer-songwriter Mobley. Originally from Austin, Texas, Mobley opened with an energetic performance. He jumped high up on the stage and as he landed slammed on his drums. His high energy on stage, along with his talent, made for an unforgettable performance. Mobley will no doubt be a big star in the near future.

As Rodgers took to the stage, the press swarmed to the front row to get close-up shots of him. Rodgers began his speech by telling us anecdotes on how he discovered success in the music industry. “They told me that they wanted me to talk to you about discovery. ‘Really,’ I said. Discovery? My whole life has been about discovery,” Rodgers said.The musical legend began performing as a classical musician. “I played in the symphony orchestra at the various schools that I went to,” he said. Rodgers never touched a guitar until he was 15. “But I could read music pretty well,” he said. “This gave me a huge advantage—when I started playing guitar, I was a really good music reader from the jump. That helped in my career because guitar players are notoriously known as bad music readers, even though they are amazing players.”

In the 1970s, Rodgers’ got his first job working for the children’s television show, Sesame Street. “I auditioned—they wanted a kid who could read the music for ‘People in Your Neighborhood,’ and ’Rubber Duck,’” he said. Rodgers read the music charts during the audition and got the gig, which set him off on an immense journey of musical and personal discovery. “The great thing about music is that it’s probably just like the universe. We’re just like planetoids, asteroids, just out there spinning around and we’re bumping into stuff. And as we bump into stuff, our trajectory changes and that’s what happened to me,” Rodgers said.

It was in the early 70s, during his gig on Sesame Street that Rodgers met Bernard Edwards, who was a record producer, bass player, singer-songwriter and a fellow member of CHIC. “Bernard Edwards was amazing. He was such an incredible musician,” Rodgers said. “He had such a fine ear, and I decided that I wanted to go on the journey with him.” Rodgers then formed a band with Bernard Edwards called The Big Apple Band. Both Edwards and Rodgers also worked as back-up musicians for a vocal group called New York City. “We had one hit record called ‘I’m Doin’ Fine Now.’ It did well,” Rodgers said. Eventually, the band became The Jackson Five’s opening act, which solidified Rodgers’ lifelong friendship with Michael Jackson. “We became friends forever,” Rodgers said. “I kept bumping into all these wonderful people, and my life just kept expanding. I found that I wasn’t intimidated by stars. I was comfortable with them, and I had some kind of innate talent for being able to communicate with them,” he said.

Whether Rodgers is in the recording studio, conducting a symphony orchestra or producing music for multiple artists, all he wants to do is help as much as he can. “There’s a certain love that I have for that musician, for that situation, because I think that music is the voice that I speak with,” Rodgers said. “And when I am working for you, I try to help amplify your own voice. I try to help you become better than you were because that’s what my teacher used to always do to me.”

A great musical influence for Rodgers was his jazz tutor who tutored him when he was around 15 years old. “I just idealized this dude. He was incredible, such a great musician. His knowledge of harmony was just amazing—he taught me how to play that way. That’s the essence of my style,” he said.

During the panel, Rodgers told an anecdote about the day he complained to his jazz tutor about having to perform top 40 records during a show. “I’ve got to play these bullshit songs like, ‘sugar, sugar, ohhh honey honey’—it’s all lame stuff,” Rodgers said, recounting what he’d told his tutor. Rodgers said his jazz tutor answered that any song that sells and gets to the top 40, top 20 or top 10 is a great composition. Rodgers then asked him, “how can you call, “Sugar, Sugar” a great composition?” “And he said something that changed my life. He said, ‘Because it speaks to the souls of a million strangers.’” Rodgers said this quote was so profound to him. “I wanted to learn how to speak to the souls of a million strangers—it woke me up to the power of what we call pop music,” he said.

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