hitting it like a puff

SXSW2016 has come and gone. I managed to walk a marathon (legit 26 miles) in the 3 days from Thurs to Sat during the music portion. Still marched my ass off prior to this, but still!

Hailing from New Jersey, Wyland (http://www.wearewyland.com/) was a very cool and worthwhile surprise. Performing at the Big Bang Bar on 6th St. I stumbled upon them while waiting for another band to perform at a different venue. The great thing is they had fans here in Austin that were super excited to see them. So watching a new band with a crowd that is excited to see them makes it really fun.

Where as I hate throwing out my opinion of what a band sounded like to me, it seems like it is mandatory in this situation. So you can picture them in your mind and and determine whether or not you would like to find them, here we go. Wyland, ABSOLUTELY reminded me of Coldplay, in the best possible way. The vocals, the guitars, and the keys. It was not just good, it was pretty damn good. With a crowd of adoring, cheering fans, it was easy to get pulled into their sound. I enjoyed hanging out and listening. If if you like that pop, rock, synth sound, find Wyland on the 'net or on tour.

Stephen Castillo (http://stephencastillo.bandcamp.com/releases) was the next performer I saw, at Touche, right next door. Just a man and his guitar entertaining quite a large crowd. I am not certain if he was part of the RedGuerilla Music Showcase or not, but there he was! Playing some Americana style originals. A little bit country, some back roads, and Johnny Cash, is what Stephen Castillo reminded me of. Not the deep rumbling sound of Johnny, but the story telling and guitar playing while talking to the crowd in his sing song voice. This was very cool! I loved Stephen Castillo and with a bar full of people the applause was right! The fact that he is located in Austin is even better. This gives me the chance to see him again without the insanity of CrazyXCrazy2016. I look forward to catching him again and let me know you heard about him hear when we see each other out!

Lets jump to the last artist I will chat about here. This was my mind blowing experience of the entire week. SIRSY (http://www.sirsy.com/) was my mind OH MY GOD and WOW! moment. On this particular evening, while hanging out with the one and only Dave Prewitt of DaveTV (https://www.facebook.com/davetvtx/timeline) fame, while waiting for another particular band on his hit list, we wandered in to see this duo! OH! MY GOD! This is EXACTLY what the heart and spirit of SXSW has always been about. That unknown artist, at a free to walk in, venue. Pouring their souls, out and rocking the shit outta the crowd, was SIRSY...phenomenal! Even on a simple Instagram picture, I had had someone looking them up, contacting me, and telling me they were planning on catching them at their final SXSW2016 performance.

My first impression was hearing them before I saw them. The music sounded good and rocking, I heard the vocals and looked at Dave and sighed "girlie vocals...lets check this out." The music brought us in. Their performance had us scrambling to grab our cameras and record the moment like this was the end of it all. SIRSY is NOT simply a two piece, they are a head scratching, WOW! Dave even surmised at the beginning of a shock and awe moment, they were running a bass track behind them.

Oh no! Just check this out. The guitar player is flawless and raw. Clean enough to be enjoyed, and just edgy enough to make you grin. The lead singer/drummer/bass player was stunning. With a great voice and an even better smile, the drummer is the center of attention, as she should be. Singing and playing drums has always been an impressive task. Now throw in the drum machine for the bass tracks and work that AT THE SAME TIME...DAMN! This is the complete package in a fun sized, rock and roll, smiling laughing, have a good goddamn time with your friends, band!

Thrilled to think the next time they are hear, i can go see them on purpose and take my wife for a performance to die for!

Pulling back the curtain

Looking back on the past year for Live Music In Austin always seems to be an eye opener.

Once again it seems like most main genres of music were heard and seen by Live Music In Austin and Live Music In Texas. We almost made it a full year as well. Starting from Jan.5th all the way to Dec.20th. It was a 349 day journey.

There was, and will always be, my local favorites - which interestingly enough, seem to be everything in the VMG and Lordship Ent. stables! Thanks guys for doing your part in trying to keep the live music scene in Austin 'Live' and full of music. I also fostered a bigger relationship with The Dirty Wormz founder and brain child, Thomas Chapman - a.k.a Smackola. There is a large video project that we are working on. It is not only deep in the mind of Smackola, but a take on the music scene from then, to now, to the future.  Look for it later in 2016.

As for the blog, the reviews, and the photos. As a year in review it went something like this...

There were 11 new venues I went to. Not necessarily new to Austin, but definitely new to me. First time setting foot in places like Threadgills Saloon, Uncle Garys, and The Rusty Mule. From Pflugerville to Gruene Hall, from Dallas to San Antonio, I covered a little ground.

There were 23 local bands that I saw, listened to, took pictures of, and wrote about, for the very first time. From Call Me King to Scorpio Rising, it was pop, rock, country music nirvana proving that Austin really should keep the title Live Music Capital of the World. All politics aside, still proud to be part of this city and do what I do to try and spread the word to the world - and you locals also.

I was also lucky enough to photo and review 20 touring acts, many of which I never thought I would see, much less get up close to shoot. From the ultra amazing stage performance of Mushroomhead, to the cool Americana sounds of Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes. My 2015 also included seeing and hearing Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. I was honored to have been apart of that due to the kindness of Sean Claes from INsite Austin.

With 28 blog posts written in 2015 it boils down to this -

Just under 1 new venue per month, almost 2 new bands per month, and more than 2 blog posts per month, I may not be on the level of Dave Prewitt from Dave TeeVee, but DAMMITT!! I love Austin, I love the Austin music scene, and I will keep on doing this.

Live Music in Austin has 4 blog posts cooking for January alone. Within that are 3 bands I have never seen before. I still have a week to go! If you see me out and about, tap me on the shoulder and say "Hi!", let me know you have seen the blog, read a post, and saw a band I talked about.

Laters