South by Southwest 2010 Day 2 Blog
South by Southwest 2010 Day 2 Blog
South by Southwest 2010 Day 2 Blog
We sat down with SXSW Festival Coordinator (Latin Division) Alicia Zertuche for an
insightful conversation over liquid breakfast—a nice cup of Mountain Dew (because
when coffee isn’t strong enough you do the Dew). She is essentially the curator of Latin
music at SXSW—a responsibility that has grown proportional to the growing interest in
Latin alternative music. Beyond being a gatekeeper, she has also become SXSW’s de
facto passport liaison, working with the State Department and various embassies to
facilitate artists’ visas. She’s had a few close calls, including some breaking, last-minute
negotiations that helped clear the way for Colombia’s Systema Solar
(http://systemasolar.com/) to make their first showcase—barely. Systema Solar could
very well be 2010’s SXSW Latin alternative breakout artist.
She also shared some other anecdotes, such as Mexico’s surrealist pop band Hello
Seahorse’s near disastrous debut showcase, where after a hellish road trip from Mexico
City, they arrived 20 minutes before all SXSW showcases are supposed to be done for the
night. Other artists in that showcase had played earlier and they had performed an
improvised jam to buy Hello Seahorse time. This is probably the most important part of
Zertuche’s job: getting things done. She made a few calls, sprinkled a few pleas and the
band was able to squeeze in a few songs.
We also asked her a couple of tough questions, such as: “Do you think SXSW is running
the risk of being too big for its own good, and perhaps leaving bands, who cashed in all
their chips just to attend, without an audience, since they are competing with over 85
simultaneous performances?” After explaining that SXSW is about opening doors and
creating networking opportunities, Zertuche said that the onus of promoting their show is
on the bands. “They need to understand that they have to come to South by Southwest to
work,” she said. “The bands that get a good turn out are because they’ve either generated
a strong buzz before even getting here or they work really hard in Austin to promote their
show or both.”
Finally, Zertuche said that she also hoped SXSW could help improve the artistic
collaboration and infrastructure that currently exists in other countries. “I think a lot of
good bands in other countries give up their dream, because they get so frustrated with the
process,” she said. She hopes that bands take some of the spirit of collaboration from
SXSW back home. “They should help each other out more,” she said. “ They should go
back home and share some of their contacts, instead of competing with each other.”
Although Bomba Estéreo broke through at last year’s SXSW, this year presented a new
challenge for the Colombian electro-cumbia conjunto: live up to the hype. They were
invited to perform for a much larger and diverse audience at the Levi’s and Fader popular
off-SXSW showcase “Fort.” They faced the possibility of playing for a large crowd that
might not be too keen on listening to a band singing in Spanish over electro-Afro-
Colombian rhythms. Yes, at the Fort, Bomba Estéreo had to earn its audience.
With their pounding cumbia and champeta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dQwWSXxUrc0) (a Colombian-Caribbean fusion of salsa, jíbaro/gypsy and reggae
dance music also known as terapia criolla or Creole therapy), they converted even the
most no-dancing non-believers into entranced worshippers. About midway through the
set, Bomba owned the congregation and you would have been hard-pressed to find a
body not bouncing. Teetering between divine inspiration and demonic possession, Bomba
ringleader Li was spitting rhymes, as she jumped, gyrated, danced and ran all over the
stage like the most seasoned emcee or the most deranged banshee. And in tight glittery
plants, gold sparkling Chuck Taylors and a loose, raggedy hoodie that did little to conceal
her very revealing swimsuit-like top, she undoubtedly seduced new admirers with her
undeniable street cred sex appeal. She left it all on stage during the climactic closer
“Fuego.” Following the show, I overheard a young white male in his best Spanish
pronunciation yell out to a friend: “Their name is Bowmba Esteriyo! This is the best
f****n band I’ve ever seen!”
During a backstage meet and greet with the band and other artists, we caught up with
Edoardo Chavarin (http://www.edoardochavarin.com/), an entrepreneur and folk hero of
sorts from Tijuana, who co-founded NaCo. (http://www.usanaco.com/)—a hip clothing
line best known for printing funny, misspelled and mispronounced pop cultural
references like: Estar Guars (Star Wars) and Juan More Time (One More Time). We
followed Chavarin with a video camera (video post is forthcoming) as he spoke to LBE
about his craft and showed us some of his shirts and posters that were on display at the
Levi’s store on the concert grounds. One of our favorites: “Levi’s Five O Juan” (printed
on T-shirts and jean jackets).
We then poked our head in at the Sounds of Spain Showcase to catch one of España’s
finest: mid 90s shoegaze veterans Los Planetas (http://www.losplanetas.es/). Although
their small crowd made it possible to watch them in a rare intimate setting, their
ginormous wall of guitar distortion and assault rifle percussion kept me just outside of the
ear-bleed section.
As the sun set and the wind picked up, it was time for our own showcase. LBE and Los
Angeles-based monthly dance party-throwers Automático joined forces to host a SXSW
indie showcase featuring cutting-edge, relatively unknown and unsigned Latin alternative
bands.
Owing much more to Scotland and shoegaze pioneers like The Jesus and Marychain than
anything from their native Lima, Peru, Resplandor (www.myspace.com/resplandorperu)
opened the showcase. It worked to their advantage to play first, as they had the largest
and most diverse audience of the showcase, because—as is usually the case at SXSW—
the buzz and higher profile bands tend to get the later time slots, so the later the gig, the
stiffer the competition. Their delicate vocals diluted by highly melodic, but churning
layers of guitar fuzz rendered their Spanish lyrics indiscernible, which also worked in
their favor when considering how impregnable the language barrier can be. They mostly
performed songs off their most recent release, Pleamar, produced and mixed by former
Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie. The apple didn’t seem to fall too far from the
tree.
There are bands that are products of their environment. Mexico’s Ventilader
(www.myspace.com/ventilader) isn’t one of those. With members hailing from Acapulco,
Monterrey and Mexico City, a little more sunshine would have seemed in order. Instead,
they sounded like they come from a place that snows—a lot. With lyrics doused in
melancholy and accompanied by cascading synthesizers and nostalgic bass lines, this
self-described “electroacoustic” quartet sounded like mope rock card-carrying members
that, ironically, make soothing, even comforting music. As with Morrissey or The Cure,
misery never sounded so good. They aptly opened for José Gonzalez a few years ago and
are currently touring in support of their latest and, arguably, their best release, Guía y
Pasajero. The EP can be downloaded for free at the band’s Web site
http://ventilader.com.mx/.
During the breaks between bands, we snuck a few bars over to the NaCo. Showcase and
caught a glimpse of Gustavo Galindo’s (http://www.myspace.com/gustavogalindomusic)
safe, middle-of-the-road pop offering, if for no other reason than to hear Gustavo
Santaolalla’s latest project (Galindo is signed to Santaolalla’s Surco record label). As it
turned out, Santaolalla, the famed Latin alternative producer responsible for working with
such monumental and genre-defining bands like Café Tacvba, Molotov, Bersuit
Vergarabat and Puya, was in attendance and we caught up with him on 6th Street. We
asked him if after making his name as a risk taker by working with bands that really push
the envelope, he is now playing it safer by working with musicians like Juanes and now
Galindo. He also talked about his SXSW experience. Although it was his first, not too
many SXSW virgins can claim to be speakers, performers and record execs during their
first go. Apart from accompanying his artist Galindo, he was also a featured speaker
during the SXSW Film Festival a few days earlier and he also performed with his
“electrotango” group Bajofondo earlier in the day. Our video interview with Santaolalla
will be posted in the coming weeks.
During another break at the LBE Showcase, we caught a glimpse of Systema Solar, who
as we explained earlier, with the help of Zertuche, barely made it to SXSW. It was their
first performance outside of their native Colombia, and we watched just enough to know
that we would absolutely try to interview them and watch their performance in its entirety
the following day. We will review their next show in our next summary, and give you a
very good reason to come back.
Although his stage banter was kept to a minimum during his 40-minute set, it was
refreshing, smart, funny and almost necessary given his serious commentary. In one
instance, he said, “The record label told me: ‘Joe, we really like your stuff. It’s very
heavy and all of that, but do you think you could maybe write a funny song?’ I said, ‘A
funny song?’ Have you listened to my f****n lyrics, man?’” Most seemed to turn a deaf
earn at the fact that he had just dropped his second f-bomb in church. Pug followed that
up with a “sort of funny song,” which of course, wasn’t funny at all.
He then thanked the crowd for “actually coming out to a place you can’t consume alcohol
—I know that’s actually a problem for some people,” and finished his set with a nearly
perfect live version of his best song, “Hymn 101.” It’s his best song, if for no other
reason than this nugget: “I’ve come here to get high, to do more than just get by. I’ve
come to test the timbre of my heart—oh I’ve come to test the timbre of my heart.”
Paste Magazine wrote: “Twenty years from now, lazy journalists will compare every
halfway decent songwriter to Joe Pug. Mark my words.” While only time will tell, his
performance at SXSW was a helluva start.
Coming up on Day 3: Bands with funny names, highlights from our interview with
Colombia’s Systema Solar and a review of their “musical-visual” show, a review of The
Very Best’s very good show at Levi’s Fader Fort and our attempt to interview them
afterwards (we failed, but we did so with a clear conscience) and our quick impressions
of YACHT and Girl in a Coma.