- SXSWorld® Magazine

Transcription

SXSWorld
T h e O f f i c i a l M ag a z i n e o f t h e So u t h b y So u t h w e s t Co n f ere n c e s & Fe s t i va l s
R E A Rv i e w I s s u e / M AY 2 0 0 7
Public Enemy
fight the power
at SXSW 2007
MySXSW: A place for friends
Starting on Page 8
Cyberbullyies: Rubber or glue?
Page 12
Understanding Mumblecore
Page 19
Slacker is a trademark of Slacker, Inc. Actual online experience may differ from photo. Bloc Party and other band names and artwork provided by Vice Music, Inc.
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SXSWorld
T h e O f f i c i a l M ag a z i n e o f t h e S o u t h b y S o u t h w e st
Co n f e r e n c e s & F e st i va l s
Volume 1, Issue 4
Publishers
Roland Swenson, Nick Barbaro, Louis Black
Editor
Andy Smith
Art Director
Jamie Miller
SXSW Contributors
Matt Dentler, Andy Flynn, Hugh Forrest, Una
Johnston, Jarod Neece, Cathy Ricks, Cathy
Ross, Craig Stewart, Ron Suman, Mirko
Whitfield, Scott Wilcox, Luann Williams
SXSW 2007 Logo Design
Decoder Ring Design Concern
Contributors
Betsy Aoki, Tim Basham, RW Deutsch, Melissa
Joulwan, Harry Knowles, Jeff McCord, John
Ratliff, Jenny Smith, Ed Ward
MySXSW Storytellers
Rick Caine, Ryan Carson, Rob Corradi, Liz
Danzico, Vineet Dewan, Paula Gould, Randy
Haecker, Peter Holsapple, Michael Jacobs,
Min Jung Kim, Brad King, Kris Kovach, Jon
Langford, Cindy Li, Gareth Mitchell, Andrew
Loog Oldham, Cecily Rhett, Joshua Segars,
Andy Sheppard, Annie Sundberg, Joe
Swanberg, Michael Toland, Jason Toney, Neil
Turley, Harris Tweed
Advertising
Wendy Cummings, Una Johnston, Katie King,
Hillary Kerby, Luann Williams
SXSW Headquarters
PO Box 4999, Austin TX 78765 US
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Email sxsw@sxsw.com www.sxsw.com
SXSW Headquarters Sales Department
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FILM: Wendy Cummings, wendy@sxsw.com
INTERACTIVE: Katie King, katie@sxsw.com
SPONSORSHIPS:
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Sales: www.sxsw.com/sales
SXSW Music, UK & Ireland
Una Johnston, Cill Ruan,
7 Ard na Croise Thurles, Co.
Tipperary Ireland
Tel & Fax +353-504-26488, una@sxsw.com
SXSW Music & Film, European Continent
Mirko Whitfield, Einsiedlerweg 6
Tuebingen-Pforndorf 72074 Germany
Tel & Fax +49-7071-885-604, mirko@sxsw.com
SXSW Music, Asia
Hiroshi Asada, c/o Rightsscale Inc,
3F EBISU-WEST, 1-16-15 Ebisu-Nishi
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0021 Japan
Tel +81-3-5428-3923, Fax +81-3-5428-3962,
contactus@sxsw-asia.com
SXSW Australia, New Zealand & Hawaii
Phil Tripp, 20 Hordern St, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
Tel +61-2-9557-7766, Fax +61-2-9557-7788,
tripp@sxsw.com
Contents
Taking care of business
to business............................................ 3
News & Notes....................................... 7
MySXSW: 2007 in stories and images.... 8
Cyberbullying..................................... 12
News & Notes..................................... 15
MySXSW: 2007 in stories and images... 16
Understanding Mumblecore............. 19
Harry Knowles’ Top 5......................... 21
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SXSWorld Review Edition / Nov. 07
SXSWorld Preview Edition / Feb. 08
SXSWorld View Editions / March 08
Sept. 28, 2007
Dec. 21, 2007
Jan. 25, 2008
News & Notes..................................... 23
MySXSW: 2007 in stories and images..... 24
Two onsite editions: Film/Interactive - March 9 and Music - March 14. Distribution at over 9,000 downtown
hotel room doors and throughout the Austin Convention Center.
SXSW Live........................................... 31
SXSWorld Rearview Edition / May 08
Ed Ward and the Geezers................... 33
March 28, 2008
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SXSWorld is published by SXSW, Inc. four times per year at 1000 East 40th Street, Austin, Texas,
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Artists discuss SXSW showcase
promotion............................................ 35
Online Content Revealed................... 36
SXSW 2008
Interactive: March 7-11, 2008
Film: March 7-15, 2008
Our Cover
In the midst of the group’s twentieth anniversary tour, Public Enemy drew
20,000 people to the SXSW Dew Music Festival at Town Lake.
Printed using soy based inks on Recycled 10% PC paper.
Music: March 12-16, 2008
Check sxsw.com throughout the summer
for updates on next year’s festival.
S X S W o r l d R e a r v i e w / May 2 0 0 7
Taking care of business to business
A look at companies who are part of the SXSWorld
Acutrack
Electric Sheep
By Melissa Joulwan
By John Ratliff
Who doesn’t want instant
gratification? Acutrack, a
full-service CD and DVD
manufacturer, provides On
Demand Production so musicians, filmmakers, software developers
and instructors can have what they want, right when they want it.
Science fiction writers have known
for years that soon there will be little
difference between how you interact
with a “fictional” online environment
(think Second Life) and a “real”
one (think your local bank). Electric
Sheep, which develops software for
integration with 3D virtual worlds, has
staked out the territory on the border
between the virtual and actual with
impressive results, and as a result, was
a focal point of this year’s ScreenBurn
Arcade at SXSW.
Acutrack’s “retail-ready” packages include CD/DVD duplication,
thermal printing, cases, digital print wrappers, assembly and
polywrapping for orders as large or small as the artist needs,
including just a single unit. Run lengths of 10 copies or fewer,
perfect for last-minute promotions or special projects, cost just
$15 each.
Acutrack also offers complete turnkey services that effortlessly
guide customers through the entire manufacturing process, as well
as custom work such as personalized CD covers for an exclusive run
or fanclub-only DVD releases.
Acutrack’s seasoned experts in graphic design, photo-realistic
printing, silk-screening, packaging, copy protection, video editing
and fulfillment handle all the technical details for creative content
developers.
As the online economies of such MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Games) as Second Life begin to rival those of
offline entities, navigating that territory is increasingly attractive to
even staid traditional businesses. When they finally decide to boldly
enter the world of avatar-based cyberspace interactions, they will
find Electric Sheep waiting there to assist them.
Ironweed Film Club
By Melissa Joulwan
Adobe Systems
By Melissa Joulwan
It’s a nice problem to have. Once your
products are the industry standard, where
do you go from there? From Photoshop to
Illustrator to InDesign to Acrobat, Adobe
Systems Incorporated has developed
applications that are essential to the
creative workplace.
Still, for better or worse, Adobe never gets to rest on its laurels.
Maintaining its position at the head of the creative multimedia
software pack means dealing with a seemingly infinite number of
variables, including the emergence of Flash animation as a favored
online medium, Apple’s switch to Intel processors, and the gradually
blurring boundaries between print, Internet, mobile devices, video
and film.
With the release of Creative Suite 3, Adobe has reaffirmed its
place as the linchpin of the creative software industry. By tightly
integrating its various components for maximum efficiency and
versatility, Adobe aims to continue leading the way into the future
of design.
Like an activist Netflix, Ironweed
Film Club is a DVD service that
delivers provocative, entertaining
independent features and short films
to the mailboxes of subscribers each
month, introducing them to maverick
filmmakers and bringing attention to
social issues in the process.
The club is an offshoot of Act Now Productions, a socially-conscious
media company founded by Adam Werbach, former national
president of the Sierra Club. For a monthly fee, Ironweed subscribers
receive carefully curated films, which they are permitted to keep and
are encouraged to share. Past titles have included Shakespeare Behind
Bars, the story of prisoners who perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest
and explore the play’s themes of redemption, as well as Blue Vinyl, an
ironic exposé of the toxic history of vinyl siding. Last year, Ironweed
featured Salt of the Earth, a 1950s film about a New Mexico miners’
strike which, due to its socialist message, became the only banned
film in American history.
Post viewing, Ironweed urges members to take action by hosting local
screenings and engaging in the online community to, as they say,
sound off on film, media and social change.
Taking care of business to business
Infinite
Response
Slacker
By John Ratliff
By Melissa Joulwan
Traveling keyboard
players face the
dilemma of how to
create their carefullyhoned sounds on the
road while their piano
or B3 organ sits back at home, either too heavy or too precious to
take on the road.
Handcrafted in Austin by Infinite Response, the VAX•77 was
developed specifically so that keyboardists would no longer be forced
to choose between sound quality and portability. Available in five
colors with six different key action weights (from light B3 to muscular
Steinway), the VAX•77 is a MIDI controller that drives any synth
module and seamlessly integrates with a laptop so that the musician
never needs to touch the computer during a performance.
The VAX•77 folds in half to dimensions smaller than an electric guitar,
so it will fit into just about any airline overhead compartment. It is
also compatible with every brand of sustain and expression pedal
available, so keyboard players can access all the nuances of their
home instruments on the road.
Twitter
By John Ratliff
It is hard to argue that the iPod has been one of the most
groundbreaking electronic devices in recent memory, and even
established entities like Microsoft and SanDisk have had serious
problems cracking the iPod’s dominance of the market for personal
music players.
So while at first
glance, relative
newcomer
Slacker.com’s
attempt to do
the same thing
may seem a little
ambitious, that’s
only the beginning
of the company’s goals.
Taking a page from Apple’s playbook, Slacker is intent on creating
no less than an entire music “ecosystem” that incorporates jukebox
software, a to-go player, and eventually satellite radio capability.
The key selling point? Each radio station is completely customizable,
with listeners able to “ban” specific songs and indicate what styles
of music they would like to explore further, much like Pandora’s
Music Genome Project, which breaks music down into essential
characteristics.
MusicIP
By Melissa Joulwan
Is it a stroke of obvious genius or just the logical next step in
online interactivity? Either way, Twitter is resonating like crazy
with the digerati, a fact made abundantly clear at this year’s SXSW
conference, where the company placed screens throughout the
Austin Convention Center so that its users could keep up with
each other. And judging from the resounding buzz throughout the
conference, keep
up they did!
Twitter, which
streams brief
text updates from users – essentially, the answer to the question
“What are you doing now?” to anyone who wants to see them.
Though occasionally utilitarian (John Edwards’ presidential campaign
reportedly uses Twitter to update supporters), the service is primarily
about diversion, at least for now.
Critics who bemoan the web’s destruction of privacy and attention
spans are unlikely to embrace Twitter, but given the enthusiasm
users showed for it at SXSW 2007, that doesn’t seem to matter at
this point.
Got the blues? Feel like dancing?
MusicIP, founded in 2000, can
dynamically generate a playlist to
create the ideal soundtrack for any
mood. MusicIP’s MyDJ technology scans users’ music collections and
builds playlists based on mood, energy, activity or type of sound. For
consumers, it means relating to their MP3 players and song libraries
in a new way. Users, in turn, post rave reviews on the company’s web
site including “I’m on the verge of screaming ... it’s indistinguishable
from magic ... “
But MusicIP offers breakthroughs for the music industry as well as
consumers. MyDJ can be licensed for handheld, auto and home
electronics, and Disney was among the first to use the technology
with its kid-focused Mix Stick and Mix Max players.
And don’t forget the musicians! MusicIP’s goal is to “Know about
all the music in the world,” and its service includes a database of 26
million fingerprinted audio tracks. Recording artists can register tracks
for free while keeping complete legal control of their songs.
Deadlines
2008 panel
proposals
accepted
beginning
June 1
News
and Notes
Podcasts from 2007 Interactive Panels
posted online
Want to hear what you missed at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival? Click to the podcast page on sxsw.com to
hear full-length audio recordings of panel content from this year’s event. New content is added daily to this page,
so be sure to check back often. The podcast page is located at sxsw.com/coverage/podcasts/ – and don’t forget
to click on the “Archives” link at the bottom of the page to get the full range of programming from the 2007
event. Also, check out video clips from SXSW 2007 at sxsw.com/coverage/video/
The most engaging panel
discussions are those
in which experts with
opposing viewpoints
engage in constructive
dialogue about a topic
relevant to the new media
industry. Do you have
a great idea for such a
session for next year? As
with the 2007 event, much
of the 2008 programming
Mastodon
All mobile, all the time:
Entries now accepted for SXSWclick
SXSWclick is the year-round initiative created by SXSW Interactive
and SXSW Film to showcase short-form storytelling via mobile
devices and the web. We are now accepting entries for the 2007
competition. Entries must be under 10 minutes. Deadline for
submissions is June 15. See sxswclick.com for more info on how
your next-generation content can be king of the small screen.
will come directly from
ideas from the SXSW
Interactive community.
These panel proposals will
be accepted beginning
June 1; an updated version
of the SXSW Panel
Picker (allowing the web
community to vote on all
Ownyourc.com takes
Best of Show honors at
Web Awards
these submissions) will
go live later in the summer.
The complete details
on the 2008 panel
submission process will
be announced shortly on
sxsw.com/interactive.
Congrats to ownyourc.com, which won “Best of Show” honors at
the 2007 SXSW Web Awards Ceremony on Sunday evening, March 11
at the Downtown Hilton Austin hotel. For a full list of winners, see
sxsw.com/interactive/web_awards/winners/. Also, check out
the hilarious entertainment at this year’s event (as provided by emcee
Ze Frank as well as Kent and Douglas of AskaNinja.com) at
tinyurl.com/273gpv. SXSW will accept entries for the 2008 Web
Awards beginning September 1.
S X S W o r l d R e a r v i e w / MAy 2 0 0 7
K e n H i tchc o ck
J ay W e st
Above: Matt Mullenweg of WordPress
talked about “Scaling Your Community” on
Monday, March 12.
MySXSW
Above: Internet celebrity Ze Frank hosted the 10th Annual
SXSW Web Awards ceremony on Sunday evening, March 11.
Gareth Mitchell
Gareth Mitchell is the presenter of the “Digital
Planet” program for the BBC World Service.
Cindy Li
Every SXSW I’ve attended, I have made great friends. That’s
why I return each year. Unfortunately, sometimes people
cannot attend for one reason or another, and they are
missed even amongst all the other people. This year, we
were missing Jon Hicks, Jessica Spengler and Kelly McCarthy,
so Glenda Sims created a FlatHicks version of Jon, then
JessiDoll and KellyDoll. These three characters attended sessions, parties and even panels. In some cases, they were the
most popular “person” in the room.
Jason garber
For me, the highlight of SXSW Interactive was the
Dorkbot event on the Saturday night. Dorkbots
describe themselves as “people doing strange things
with electricity” and that’s pretty much all you need
to know. One bloke played classical tunes on Tesla
coils straight out of the school physics lab, another
did a full electronica gig with Atari and Commodore
soundcards strapped together. Oh, and then there
was Jerry Chamkis and his Kosmofone, a gamma
ray detector plugged into a synth playing music
from the stars. Hackers, mayhem and free beer – it
doesn’t get much better than that.
Above: Flat Hicks stands atop the hat worn
by Cindy Li at the “From Tags to Riches”
panel. Below: Dorkbot drew a huge crowd to
Brush Square Park on Saturday, March 10.
A graphic / web designer living in San Francisco, Cindy Li
runs the site designrabbit.com.
Jason Toney
Charlie Llewelin
I could say that my favorite experience of SXSW 2007
was speaking on a panel again or getting incensed at the
speakers of a different panel, but the best overall experience this year was, hands down, arriving late to the
Buzzfeed party at Molotov Lounge. We missed the Ze Frank
performance and many of our friends, but we arrived with
at least an hour left of open bar and DJ Juiceboxxx spinning
records for ass-shaking. Lynne d Johnson, Tiffany B Brown,
Anastasia Goodstein and I got to dance, meet an L Word
cast member and drink our faces off. That’s SXSW - at any
given moment, a dance party is threatening to break out.
Based in Los Angeles, Jason Toney serves as a web producer
for Disney Online. He spoke on the “Blogging the Online
Cultural Divide Panel” at this year’s event.
A a r o n sch a a p y
Brian Alesi
Liz Danzico
Min Jung Kim
10am Monday, and I’m sitting onstage, facing
an almost full room. No matter how much I’ve
planned, I’m not sure the “Get Unstuck” panel
will go well, even with this all-star group. We’re
taking risks, trying out a group exercise with a
roomful of 700 people. But 30 minutes later,
things are super. There’s nothing better than a
panel that can play off one another and read
the crowd, as well as an audience with lots of
smart questions. 50 minutes later, I’ve remembered why moderating a panel is one of the
best experiences there is. Just hope I get to do it
again next year.
There’s always something magical about seeing a
wildly diverse group of smart professionals express
themselves both personally and professionally
while sipping beers and eating roasted animals.
Your head can break when you think about it.
I’ve had the opportunity to discuss Darth Vader
as the ultimate representative of lawful evil and
then immediately slip into conversations about
how companies like Suicide Girls, Threadless,
Dogster, and Vampire Freaks are transforming
their business models and marketing plans to
mimic Starbucks’ evolution from coffee beans to
a comprehensive media and lifestyle brand. You
can’t get that experience anywhere else.
Liz Danzico is the Director of Experience Strategy
for AIGA. She moderated this year’s “Get
Unstuck” panel.
T h o e n B r i a nn e
K e n H i tchc o ck
Above Left: Scheduled Friday evening, March 9, the second
annual Mix at Six provided an exciting atmosphere for
mingling. Above Right: On Saturday evening, March 10,
registrants rekindled old connections and made new
friendships at the frog design SXSW Opening Party.
Left: Will Wright wowed attendees with an amazing demo
of SPORE at his Tuesday, March 13 keynote speech.
Veteran attendee Min Jung Kim of San Francisco
organized the “How to Rawk SXSW” panel at
this year’s event.
Geeks from all over the world experienced some local
Austin flavor at Nuclear Taco Night on Monday, March 12.
At their Keynote Conversation on Sunday, March 11, Limor Fried and Phil Torrone dissected the
world of DIY technology.
Brad King
J ay W e st
Panels that blend old and new media technologies are a
tough sell for the digerati at SXSW Interactive, but not for
me. I showed up at the “Future of the Book” discussion and
wasn’t disappointed. The Internet Archive’s Brewster Kahle
passed around MIT’s $100 laptop, complete with The Owl
and the Pussycat displayed on the crystal clear screen. Kahle
said that the 150,000 public domain books in the Internet
Archive will turn the laptop into an international book
mobile for children around the world.
Brad King teaches new media at Northern Kentucky
University and is the author of Dungeons & Dreamers, The
Rise of Computer Game Culture from Geek to Chic .
10
B RA N DO N ED WARD S
MySXSW
Above: Attendees competed on a video game
system installed in the trunk of a tricked-out
Yaris at the first-ever ScreenBurn Arcade.
Below: John Battelle of Battelle Media spoke
on the “Why Marketers Need to Work with
People Media” panel on Monday, March 12.
Ryan Carson
K e n H i tchc o ck
I was floored by the “Customer Service is the
New Marketing” panel. The founder of Zappos.
com really opened my eyes to what it means to
really take care of your customers and go that
extra mile to make them happy. It was a powerful session!
The all-star line up of speakers for the “Future of the Online
Magazine” panel on Monday, March 12 included Salon
editor-in-chief Joan Walsh.
Ryan Carson is an entrepreneur and web
advocate who has built two successful
web applications: DropSend and Amigo.
Rob Corradi
Joshua Segars
This is the third time we’ve flown stateside for SXSW
Interactive, and the event continues to exceed our expectations. This year’s highlights would have to include Will
Wright’s talk on interactive story-telling (a subject close to
our hearts) and Ze Frank at the Web Awards. Panels-wise,
it seemed like it was the busiest yet with all the presentations packed – a testament to the quality of the festival’s
programming. On a final note, we can’t forget to mention the evening events, with the Fox Interactive Media
party getting our vote as the real rocker.
Rob Corradi is the Creative Director at the Londonbased new media firm preloaded.com. He spoke on the
“Advergames: Making Your Brand More Fun” session at
the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival.
Joshua Segars runs Elemental Blend, a web
design company based in Lubbock, Texas.
Below Left: Monday, March 12 Keynote Interview Dan Rather outlined his views on the failings of mainstream
journalism. Below Right: Kyle Machulis explained the large potential of teledildonics at the popular “Sex &
Computational Technology” panel on Sunday, March 11.
Dust i n D o wn i ng
As a designer turned developer, I’ve felt like
my creative side has been slipping for the past
few years. “After the Brief: A Field Guide to
Design Inspiration” with Jason Santa Maria
and Rob Weychert left me reinvigorated and
full of, well, inspiration. Upon returning to the
grind, I dropped my notepad for a sketchbook,
armed myself with a pocket digital camera to
document the creative world wherever I go and
became a design vigilante. Has it helped? We’ll
see at next year’s Web Awards.
J ay W e st
K e n H i tchc o ck
11
In wake of the Kathy Sierra incident,
blogging community debates responses
to cyberbullying
By Betsy Aoki
“Blog Queen” Betsy Aoki works for Microsoft and has been active with blogging both within the company and
in the wild world of the blogosphere since 2003. The following essay represents her own opinions and not necessarily
those of her employer.
I
n late March, we all had
returned from South by
Southwest changed – a little
jet-lagged, a little jazzed, and rededicated to our true callings whether
they be computers, film or music.
Perhaps that’s why what people
referred to as “The Kathy Sierra
Thing” seemed so especially shocking
when it took the blogs and national
press by storm. The online ripples
Sierra had quickly involved the police.
Was she playing the drama queen
or being grimly realistic when she
cancelled her speaking engagements
and holed up in her house?
What about A-List bloggers Robert
and Maryam Scoble (who also
received some atrocious comments)
taking a week off blogging to show
solidarity with Sierra’s blog going
dark? What about the fellow bloggers
We bloggers must re-examine how our culture
allows online abuse to occur. And as supposedly
innocent bystanders, we all have to ask ourselves
right now, what part am I playing in this?
crossed political gender and industry
lines as people fought to come to
terms with what exactly had happened to Sierra, noted author of the
Creating Passionate Users blog, where
she applies her expertise in cognitive
science to programming and technology-related issues.
OK, so the Opening Speaker for this
year’s SXSW Interactive Festival had
received death threats. But who were
these bloggers she had named, and
what was the story with the websites
where the horrid sexually violent
pictures and comments were located?
12
who lent their efforts to the “Stop
Cyberbullying Day” activities on
March 30? When any bloggers shut
up together (but are really loud about
it), what is really going on?
Things started to make slightly more
sense once Sierra and her longtime
critic, Chris Locke, issued a complexly reasoned and well-thought-out
joint statement in conjunction
with their April 2 CNN broadcast.
The statement came out against
censorship and, as a result of new
information, let the three initiallyaccused bloggers off the hook as the
culprits of the threats. The statement
also showed that simply by communicating, these two online adversaries
had found common ground that
might eventually help resolve the
issue of online abuse. The question is:
If they can, why can’t everyone else?
Then again, other events of April 2
verified what Sierra had feared all
along, that threats of bodily harm
cannot just be ignored. Online,
someone can’t know whether
their tormentor is only a misguided kid using dad’s computer
for “fun.” Or, if the person
responsible is as dangerous as
Jonathan Rowan, who shot and
killed 26 year-old Rebecca Griego
at her office at the University of
Washington in Seattle. Griego’s
murder occurred the same day as
Sierra and Locke’s CNN appearance,
although few in the blogosphere noted
the sadly ironic timing of this tragedy.
Just as stunned Seattle residents
now must re-evaluate the systemic
weaknesses that allowed the UW
shooting to happen, we bloggers must
re-examine how our culture allows
online abuse to occur. And as
supposedly innocent bystanders, we
all have to ask ourselves right now,
what part am I playing in this?
Well-intentioned Tim O’Reilly
suggested evolving an Internet-
G ARY M ILLER
Threats received by 2007 SXSW Opening Speaker Kathy Sierra have forced the blogosphere to reexamine questions of hate speech and anonymity.
wide “Blogging Code of Conduct”
complete with badges to show how
moderated/policed a site is. That, in
turn, set off a huge anti-badge blog
protest in support of free speech.
Perhaps the only thing this proves is
that you can’t get bloggers to agree
on anything, even if they overwhelmingly disapprove of death threats. At
this writing, O’Reilly is looking into
changes as the debate evolves.
Perhaps the most effective strategy
is to keep our focus closer to home.
Some of the more powerful blog posts
it happen, later writing: “When we
see personal attacks, we need to speak
out. We need to tell the commentors
and the people in the chat rooms that
these statements are NOT okay. We
can disagree with ideas but attacking
people personally is NOT okay. If
you have a ‘friend’ who is engaging
in this type of activity, you have to
tell that person it is NOT okay. What
is not okay in real life is not okay in
virtual life.”
Ultimately, what we need is a change
in attitude. The movement toward a
A Code of Conduct?
Technology leader Tim O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Media and the
O’Reilly Network, first proposed a blogging code of conduct
in late March. Based in part on the Blogher Community
Guidelines, his proposal stressed the following points:
1.Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for
the comments you allow on your blog.
2.Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4.Ignore the trolls.
5.Take the conversation offline and talk directly, or find an
intermediary who can mediate any conflicts.
6.If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7.Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say in person.
What is not okay in real life is not
okay in virtual life.
While this code drew significant praise, many of the items
O’Reilly suggested also drew much criticism from the online
community. Popular blogger Jason Kottke posted his disagreements with the proposed code on April 9. A keynote speaker
at the 2006 SXSW interactive Festival, Kottke notes:
on the issue of online abuse have been
those where bloggers stood up and
admitted to enabling the problem.
When Robert Scoble announced
his week-long blogging absence, he
also said in the comments: “And, I’m
sorry to others I’ve sat silently by as
I’ve seen them attacked using sexual
taunts. Shame on me. No more.”
“I don’t want to take one bit of responsibility for someone
else’s words. A person’s words are their own. By taking
responsibility for them, you open yourself up to all sorts of
problems, mostly legal in nature. Why should someone get
sued for slander or libel because someone else posts something on your site? ... [Also] there has to be a mechanism
for anonymous comments, even if they need to be approved
before being posted. As the EFF says, ‘anonymous communications have an important place in our political and social
discourse.’ The missing piece in this discussion so far is: who’s
going to police all this misconduct? Punishing the offenders
and erasing the graffiti is the easy part ... fostering ‘a culture
that encourages both personal expression and constructive
conversation’ is much more difficult.”
Tara Hunt of Citizen Agency wrote
about seeing Mena Trott of Six
Apart heckled at a conference when
she made a call for civility on the
Internet. Hunt felt regret that rather
than speaking out at the time, she let
better blogosphere and a better world
starts at the individual level. Today,
tomorrow, and the rest of your life,
you get to decide if/how you will
defend people that you see attacked,
whether online or in everyday life.
You must help overturn the prevailing
blogging ethos that disagreeing with
people’s ideas justifies attacking
someone on a personal level. With
your help, how we evolve in cyberspace could more closely resemble
the forum for discussion, camaraderie
and constructive disagreement that
the online community creates annually at SXSW. n
Read about the latest modifications (and debates)
surrounding the code of conduct proposal at
blogging.wikia.com/wiki/BCC
13
Call For Entries
Now Open!
Send us your short film
(make sure it’s under 10 minutes)
and a $10 entry fee.
If you’re the Grand Jury Prize winner you’ll
receive a Mac Pro workstation, courtesy of
iThentic, and get
your film screened
at SXSW 2008!
SUBMISSION DeaDlINe IS JUNe 15, 2007
To learn more and submit your film
online, go to sxswclick.com
: …Now in its fourth year, SXSWclick has
fashioned itself into a fresh, evocative and
all-inclusive mobile media festival. SXSWclick
is dedicated to discovering and showcasing
the best short films on the web and beyond…
M E D I A PA RT N E R S :
14
News
and Notes
SXSW Alumni
at a theater
near you
Keep an eye out for these
past SXSW selections as they
arrive in theaters across North
America (all dates subject to
change):
MAY 18
Fay Grim (SXSW 2007),
The Wendell Baker Story
(SXSW 2005),
Even Money (SXSW 2006),
Severance (SXSW 2007)
Attention short filmmakers: June deadline announced
for SXSWclick entries
H The fourth annual
SXSWclick online
shorts festival
returns this summer.
SXSW has created
this event as a way
to share some of the most original web-ready short
films to audiences around the world. The winners of
each category earn themselves a slot at SXSW 2008!
Visit sxswclick.com for updates; the deadline to
submit a short film is June 15, 2007.
HC
raig Zobel’s feature film, Great World of Sound,
has earned a distribution deal with Magnolia
Pictures. The film screened in the “Emerging
Visions” section of SXSW 2007, and will see a theatrical release by Magnolia later this year!
H The winner of our SXSW/Grindhouse trailer
competition, Hobo With a Shotgun, received
a small theatrical run playing in front of the April
release of Grindhouse in theaters across Canada.
Why Canada? That’s the home turf of Hobo creator
Jason Eisener.
H Maybe you missed some of the panel sessions
or screening Q&A’s during the 2007 SXSW Film
Conference and Festival? Never fear, because
we’ve got you covered. The new-media team at
SXSW has compiled and posted a dozen or so
video highlights on our official website,
sxsw.com. Everything from the panel sessions with
Elizabeth Avellan and Morgan Spurlock, to
the Q&A’s for The Ten and Bella to highlights from
the “Blogging About Film” and “Sex Scenes Stay
Hard” panels will be available.
JUNE 1
Knocked Up (SXSW 2007)
And the Award goes to ...
JUNE 8
The 2007 SXSW Film Festival Awards were presented on
March 13 at the Austin Convention Center. Winners included:
You’re Gonna Miss Me
(SXSW 2005)
JUNE 15
Billy The Kid
Documentary Feature Jury Award
Eagle Vs. Shark (SXSW 2007)
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Narrative Feature Jury Award
JUNE 22
Run Granny Run
Documentary Feature Audience Award
Black Sheep (SXSW 2007)
Skills Like This
Narrative Feature Audience Award
JULY 20
The Price of Sugar
Emerging Visions Audience Award
Exiled (SXSW 2007)
AUGUST 3
The Ten (SXSW 2007)
AUGUST 10
The Signal (SXSW 2007)
AUGUST 17
King of Kong (SXSW 2007)
Inside the Circle
Run Granny Run
Inside the Circle
Lone Star States Audience Award
Dirty Country
24 Beats Per Second Audience Award
Pop Foul
Reel Shorts Jury Award
Skills Like This
Dirty Country
Tragic Story With a Happy Ending
Animated Shorts Jury Award
For the complete list of award recipients, go to
sxsw.com/film/festival/past_winners/
Congratulations to all the winners!
The Price of Sugar
S X S W o r l d R E A R v i ew / M a y 2 0 0 7
15
jay west
b r i an b i r z e r
d u st i n d o wn i n g
As a filmmaker, the festival brings an incredibly passionate
and engaged audience. The festival is completely without
pretense but with a lot of organization (the screenings
started on time and were run with incredible efficiency),
and the audiences are demanding and accepting all at
once. The programming was filled with new discoveries
from Europe and some of the best regional filmmaking
I’ve seen. The festival also has a place - in a political/academic film-going city - for politics in cinema. I arrived with
a film about death in Darfur, and the audiences were
not only willing to drive through pounding rain storms to
come see it, but they were also eager to get involved. We
worked closely with a Sudan Divestment group who had
initiated a Texas legislative bill, and the combination was
powerful. The bill passed unanimously, the Texas divestment vote was covered in local TV during the festival, and
the audiences who came to our screenings got the sense
that films can make a difference.
Above: “Theatrical Acquisitions” panel.
Above Right: “Guilds” Panel.
Annie Sundberg is the Co-Director of The Devil Came
On Horseback.
Michael Jacobs
jay west
jay west
A Conversation with Elizabeth Avellan.
I had heard so many positive things about SXSW and Austin
that it was hard not to have extremely high expectations
for my film’s premiere. Those expectations were exceeded
by the warm embrace I felt from the audiences, industry
people and other filmmakers. This embrace also extended
to the accessible and inclusive atmosphere of the panels,
parties, and various other events, and at the end of the
week, it felt like I was part of a filmmaking collective.
Michael Jacobs is the Director of Audience of One.
Joe Swanberg
jay west
Below: Shia LeBeouf attends the Disturbia screening.
Below Right: David Wain and Paul Rudd at The Ten
Q&A. Right: James Blunt Q&A.
k en h i tchc o c k
Annie Sundberg
cha r l i e l l ewe l l i n
MySXSW
Ken h i tchc o c k
Above Left: Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler on the red carpet for Reign Over Me. Above Middle: Gregg
Araki intros Smiley Face. Above Right: A Conversation with Bill Paxton.
For three years in a row, SXSW has been the launching pad
for my new work. A film is a delicate thing, and it needs to
enter the world in a nurturing environment. SXSW shines
a spotlight on personal American indie films like no other
festival and gives them the attention they need to reach
distributors and major media outlets. Matt Dentler and the
rest of the SXSW Film gang have gone so far out of their
way to make me feel at home in Austin that I’m strongly
considering packing up my bags and moving there!
Joe Swanberg is the Director of Hannah Takes the Stairs.
A conversation with Richard Linklater.
jay west
Doug Pray on “Rock Docs” panel.
jay west
k en h i tchc o c k
Vineet Dewan
I was born in the Middle-East and lived in London, New York
and now Los Angeles ... my only exposure to Texas had been
through JR Ewing in Dallas and TV coverage of Mr. Bush’s
frequent visits to his Crawford resort. It’s Texas – didn’t they
burn Dixie Chicks albums here? “They’re going to hate my
film,” I thought. I expected frosty glares from men in large hats
with large belt-buckles and Rush Limbaugh bumper stickers on
their trucks. As I was sent to the “special” security line at LAX
on my outbound journey, I wondered if it would be better or
worse if they would mistake me for being Mexican.
Upon arrival, I quickly discovered a textured and cosmopolitan
city that I had least expected. From “Grand Old America”
to the flickering fluorescents down Film Noir-esque alleys,
I came across a rare combination of the hip, the grungy
and the refined stacked right on top of one another. At the
SXSW screenings, they served meals in the cinema; instead of
previews, they showed 16mm PSA’s from the 1970s. The local
audience was savvy and diverse. Oddly, I felt right at home; for
me, it recalled Soho and Tribeca in New York, the West End
in London and even the warmth and laid-back culture of the
Middle East. Austin feels like a compact intersection of places
I’ve known. “I could live here,” I said to my cinematographer
on the last night of SXSW as we walked back to the hotel,
leaving the sounds of live musicians behind as we stopped to
admire a half-demolished building near a tree of thereminsquawking birds.
Filmmaker Vineet Dewan won this year’s SXSW REEL Shorts
Special Jury Prize Award for Clear Cut, Simple.
Max Minghella, Will Geiger and Blake Lively attend the Elvis and Anabelle premiere.
People ask, why SXSW? For us there is no other fest that is a cool
and as much fun as SXSW. From sold-out screenings to contentious
Q&As to cool panels and smokin’ parties with live music most festivals just dream about. And yes, we did business as well. As a result
of making a splash at SXSW, we are being courted by distributors
and have been invited to many other events, including about 30
international fests. Where we once were afraid that our film would
disappear quietly, SXSW showed some guts and before you knew it
the New York Times was writing about it. Cold beer, hot tunes and
legendary Texas hospitality ... they really are nicer in Austin, and I
have the hickies to prove it.
Rick Caine is the Co-Director of Manufacturing Dissent.
Cecily Rhett
How lucky is a short film filmmaker who gets a call from Lya Guerra
(SXSW Film Shorts Programmer)? In my case, so lucky that I was a
true idiot on the phone, shocked to be invited to my first festival as
a director. From that moment forward, the festival never let me out
of its sight, sending information about passes, travel, hotels, press
information, distributors attending etc. They’re like the agent you
have in your wildest dream, where your dog talks and you can fly
– but it’s a good thing.
cha r l i e l l ewe l l i n
Rick Caine
Above: “New Media Goes to the Movies” panel. Below: Alan Cumming, David Boreanaz and
Karen Black Q&A.
Cecily Rhett is the Writer/Director of Forward.
jay west
d u st i n d o wn i n g
The cast and crew from Everything’s Gone Green.
18
Mumblecore films find
a home at SXSW
By RW Deutsch
F
or many film fans,
Hollywood has abandoned
making movies in which
people, um, act and talk like the
people they, you know, know.
Much like the hip website Twitter,
where users twitter away their time
following random post-its of other
twitterers, a group of films (all
made by a group of friends), which
unconventially depict the lives of
today’s twenty-somethings, has
captured the attention of critics
and a growing number of fans.
These low-budget, often heavilyimprovised films, dubbed
“mumblecore,” have been
characterized by various critics as
“lacking narrative and closure”
and “seemingly shapeless,” with
the characters typically “aimless,”
“awkward and inexpressive,” and the
shooting style “unpolished,” – and
those qualities are exactly what draws
many people to them. More to the
point, these filmmakers have been
touted as descendants of Anton
Chekhov and, most directly, John
Cassavetes.
For the uninitiated, the mumblecore
filmmakers include Aaron Katz,
the Duplass Brothers (The Puffy
Chair), Andrew Bujalski (Mutual
Appreciation), and Joe Swanberg
(Hannah Takes the Stairs). All are in
their mid-twenties and are already
developing a significant body of work.
“My main goal is to explore human
relationships in the world around me
in the most truthful way possible,”
says Katz (director of Dance Party
USA). “I don’t want to speak for
anyone else, but I think that’s very
important to Joe and Andrew and the
Duplasses, as well.”
“There are no rules we follow or
pressure we place on each other
to make certain kinds of work,”
notes Swanberg. And their circle
is constantly expanding, he adds:
“Hopefully, it will eventually include
every filmmaker who is a nice person
and easy to get along with.”
Even though it was Bujalski who first
gave the group its name (for which
he “apologizes for loosing upon the
world”), lumping
them all together as a
movement, he fears,
may serve journalists
and critics but also
could be “dangerous
for both makers
and viewers, who
at their best, aspire
to transcend those
contexts.”
Actress Greta Gerwig in a scene from Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes
The Stairs.
at this year’s festival, but using fake
outtakes from the film, was also crosspromoted through this year’s SXSW
film trailers. And to prove it’s one big
happy family, the movie also features
acting performances from Bujalski
and Mark Duplass.
“These selections represent fiction
filmmaking in some of its most raw
and uncompromising forms,” says
Dentler. “They are not the kind of
commercial films you’re going to see
get a boost anywhere other than at film
festivals. So, in a sense, we’re doing our
job by giving these films a platform to
“My main goal is to explore human
relationships in the world around me
in the most truthful way possible,”
says Aaron Katz, director of Dance
Party USA and Quiet City.
“There’s no objective
and there are no
politics,” Swanberg
adds. “There are just a
bunch of us interested in exploring
the people around us, and SXSW has
made it a priority to showcase this
work. Matt Dentler (SXSW Film
Producer) has made an effort to create
space in the program for personal
American independent films that
don’t belong at Sundance anymore.”
Indeed, over the last few years, almost
all their films have either premiered
or been featured at SXSW. Hannah
Takes the Stairs not only premiered
the world. Plus, it helps that we really
enjoy these films and the stories, or
lack thereof, that they tell.”
“SXSW is one of the only bigger
festivals that takes chances on
unknown filmmakers. That’s a reason
it’s a good fit,” adds Katz. “Ever since
graduating from college I’ve felt a real
lack of community, but since SXSW
2006, that’s changed. It’s good to have
a group of people who care about
what you’re up to.” n
19
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Harry Knowles picks his
Top 5 Films from SXSW 2007
Harry Knowles is the founder of Ain’t It Cool News.
5
#
The Devil
Dared Me To
Directed by Chris Stapp
I was threatened with being banned
from the Alamo Drafthouse forever, if
I didn’t attend the world premiere of
The Devil Dared Me To. I had no idea
what to expect, but what followed
was a hysterical cult wunder. This
comedy about New Zealand stunties
and their battle for respect and just
doing the big jump is hilarious. Did
you see Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights:
The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby? Well,
Randy Cambell (Chris Stapp) is the
real deal, sweeter, funnier and in a lot
more danger. A perfect midnight film!
4
#
The Signal
Directed by David Bruckner,
Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry
waking up insane, as if a homicidal
switch could be flipped in our brains.
The film follows an intimate love
triangle struggling to survive in a
world gone literally mad. I’ve been
describing it to friends as, what 28
Days Later was to George Romero’s
Zombie series ... The Signal is to
Romero’s The Crazies.
3
#
Directed by Park Chan Wook
Had you told me that I’d have two
films that I loved as much as, if not
more than this one, I would have
called you a liar, but that’s just how
strong the programming was this
year. I consider Park Chan Wook
the best director working today.
His films: J.S.A., Sympathy For Mr
Vengeance, Oldboy and Sympathy For
Lady Vengeance are stunning. In a
world that has lost its love of psychologically-thematic violent opuses, his
works are almost like operas without
the singing. This film is Park’s first
non-Vengeance-themed film and has
left some scratching their heads, but it
left me deep in love. A love story set in
an insane asylum in Korea, the film is
as sweet as anything Jeunet has created
and every bit as surreal.
2
#
Directed by three talented directors
from Atlanta, Georgia, this original
indie horror film is ever so slightly
ahead of the curve, as right now both
Eli Roth (Stephen King’s Cell) and M.
Night Shyamalan (The Happening)
are preparing similarly-themed horror
movies. But these young talents
struck first with the idea of the world
I’m a Cyborg but
That’s OK
The Devil Came
on Horseback
Directed by Ricki Stern and
Anne Sundberg
A documentary on Darfur was not
what I meant to be seeing on the
afternoon I happened upon this film
as an after-thought, but what a lucky
break! Genocide is a word that is
mostly written in history books by
people that usually weren’t able to
stop it. The Devil Came On Horseback
is a film documenting a genocide
in progress right now, and one man
named Brian Steidle who is trying
valiantly to get the world to pay
attention. The film is especially brutal
because it underlines how we humans
have lost our ability to stop evil from
happening. This is an incredibly
important documentary. If you’re a
festival, program it. If you’re a politician, listen and take action.
1
#
Monkey Warfare
Directed by Reginald Harkema
From time to time, you stumble onto
a film that is so refreshing and so on
target with who you are that you are
just blown away. Reginald Harkema’s
Monkey Warfare feels impossibly cool,
making garage sales, eBay, and living
off the radar of the government seem
like the way to live. It makes Canada
seem cool. I love that this film takes
its heart from Godard while challenging Tarantino for the king of
cool. I love the beat this film has
and the way it moves while it tells its
story. It is the sort of film that makes
you want to see everything by the
same filmmaker for the rest of his or
her career, no matter how off target
they may become in the future. And
it was fitting that I see that film at
the Alamo Drafthouse at SXSW in
Austin, Texas. Another great experience in my favorite town! n
21
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S X S W o r l d P r e v i ew / F eb r u a r y 2 0 0 7
News
and Notes
You can believe this hype
They may be celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, but when Public Enemy ascended the Town Lake
Stage at the SXSW Dew Music Festival on Friday, March 16, their incendiary power completely enthralled the
crowd of thousands packed along Austin’s Auditorium Shores and had artists two decades younger taking notes.
Sure, they blazed through classics such as “Bring the Noise,” “Can’t Truss It” and the Flava Flav staple “911 Is
a Joke,” but this was no mere blast-from-the-past performance. Chuck D and Flava Flav made clear that their
political convictions are as strong and urgent as ever. Their rebukes of the current government and the Iraq war,
culminated with a mass chant of “F***K George Bush” loud enough to have made the folks up at the Texas
Capitol feel a tad nervous.
Left: Chuck D lets us know how he really feels about our current political situation. Photo by Dustin Downing.
There’s more
to do than
just register at
sxsw.com/music
Norway vs. U.S., Boris Yeltsin and more Yep
Roc new releases
SXSW 2007 may be over, but
we’re still working, so fire up
your browser and click over to
our website to:
H Read the latest music industry
buzz in The Daily Chord
DATAROCK
New Violators
The Ponys
H Watch Music Conference video
panels you may have missed
H Listen to some of the great
music being made by artists
who played SXSW 2007
H Check out tradeshow presenters
H Continue networking with
agents, managers, publicists
and label registrants, as well
as artists, through our Online
Registrant Directory
HA
piece of the Norway music scene arrived
at SXSW this year during the Øyafestival/
Oh My Rockness showcase. In front
of a sold out crowd, three of Norway’s
finest acts (New Violators, Lionheart
Brothers, and DATAROCK) battled it out
with some of the U.S.’s most buzz-worthy
acts, including Cloud Cult, Ra Ra Riot,
and The Ponys. NME recently listed New
Violators and Ra Ra Riot as two of the top
ten acts from SXSW, and The Ponys, Cloud
Cult and DATAROCK are currently completing worldwide tours.
H Treat yourself to that SXSW
H Polyvinyl releases Not Worth Fighting, a 7”
from Someone Still Loves You Boris
Yeltsin at the end of May. There is no
word on whether it will contain a free drink
coupon in honor of the recently deceased
former Russian leader.
H The latest editions from past SXSW faves
Ian Hunter (Shrunken Heads) and Nick
Lowe (At My Age) will be at your local
music store during May and June via Yep
Roc. While you are waiting, check out Are
We Not Horses from Rock Plaza Central,
who rocked this year’s Yep Roc showcase.
t-shirt you forgot to buy
Want to be a part of SXSW 2008?
We’ll start accepting showcase applications in late August, with application deadlines in mid-October if you live outside the U.S., and
the end of October for U.S.-based artists. Once again, the entire process will be electronic all the way from the initial online application
to uploading MP3s (you can submit three) and press kits. That’s right, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection, so you can
save on postage, stress and time. Begin checking our website, sxsw.com, in August for details.
S X S W orld R e arvi e w / M ay 2 0 0 7
23
st e v e n d e w e ll
j e ssica atti e
MySXSW
jay w e st
Left: Slash, Tom Morello, Nuno Bettencourt and Perry
Farrell have a sing-a-long at the Parish. Above left: The
Tamale Kingpin Chingo Bling. Above: Badly Drawn Boy
at Stubb’s.
Michael Toland
B rook e M arro q uin
Knowing that I would miss Robyn Hitchcock’s main
showcase, I made a point to catch his set at the Day
Stage in the convention center. I’ve seen him many times
before and knew what to expect, so I saw this as just a
way to pass a pleasant half hour. I was wrong, though
– instead of his usual acid pop musings, Hitchcock
accompanied author/producer Joe Boyd. As Boyd would
read excerpts from his autobiography White Bicycles,
Hitchcock would perform a period-relevant song.
Hearing Hitchcock perform songs by Nick Drake, Syd
Barrett and the Incredible String Band as enhancement
to Boyd’s fascinating stories was an unexpected treat.
Peaches gets married during her interview at Studio SX.
Michael Toland is the Editor of High Bias LiveJournal.
D avid fox
Kris Kovach
p e t e r pric e
While preparing to interview Peaches for Studio SX this
year, I thought I’d better bust out the brass brassiere
for this one, so I quizzed my straight friend Dee, a big
Peaches fan, about what she’d ask her if given the
opportunity. Dee surprised me by firmly stating, “I’d ask
her to marry me!”
Above: Amy WInehouse, far from rehab.
Below: Jamie T at Stubb’s
During the interview, in the bright, hot Plexiglas box on
the SXSW trade show floor, I tossed my stack of lame
index card questions in the trash and proposed on behalf
of my hot friend.
Leaping from the chair where she was coiled, Peaches
slammed against the clear confines and bellowed:
“WHERE is SHE???? Bring her up HERE!!” The crowd
parted and Dee emerged, clutching her breast like a
pageant hopeful, blushing and gasping in disbelief.
Above: Peter, Bjorn & John at La Zona Rosa.
Below: Ghostland Observatory at La Zona Rosa.
antonio r e yna
sarah k e rv e r
Next, in an “Only-In-Texas” moment, a sweet-faced
woman with a baby on her hip walked up. An ordained
minister, she gamely agreed to officiate the impromptu
ceremony. White feather boas were produced to be
wrapped around Dee’s neck and tucked as a “ bustle” in
the backside of her miniskirt.
I didn’t really get an official interview question asked or
answered in all the excitement, but Studio SX did its part
to challenge the sexual status quo, which seems to be
Peaches’ life mission anyway, so Amen to that, y’all.
Kris Kovach works for Penny Purse Productions.
GARY MILLER
C harli e L l e w e llin
Former Strangler Hugh Cornwell at Elysium.
Exiting Stubb’s, I next headed for the nearby Elysium,
a long-running goth club in which I saw Skinny Puppy
and Revolting Cocks in my misspent youth. I arrived in
time to catch the last two songs by Bird, a group fronted
by Mark Burgess of the ‘80s band the Chameleons. His
swirling, hypnotic brand of shoegaze rock captivated,
and the warm reception from the audience seemed to
have made his long trip from Hamburg worthwhile.
gary mill e r
Randy Haecker
From left: Perry Farrell, Rick Farman, Una Johnston and
Neil Turley.
Neil Turley
Above: Isaac Hayes in the house at the Stax
50 Revue. Below: Somewhere below him are
the rest of the Riverboat Gamblers.
Another longtime veteran of the rock wars was up next,
Hugh Cornwell, the former vocalist of the Stranglers.
Since leaving the Stranglers in 1990, Cornwell has
continued to tour and has recorded a string of solo
albums, the most recent being 2006’s People Places
Pieces. Shortly after arriving on stage past midnight,
Cornwell recalled his first and only previous time in the
city. “Austin, you’ve changed,” he said. “When I was
last here in 1980 there were no tall buildings.” Cornwell
was referring to the Stranglers’ 1980 gig at Club Foot, a
time when the first song from his SXSW set, “No More
Heroes,” was fairly new and winning fans in the States.
We also talked in detail regarding SXSW’s move toward
sustainability in 2007. Una Johnston spoke eloquently
of the methodology behind going carbon neutral not
just as an event but as a global organization. I helped
the audience to understand the ever-confusing world of
carbon management, (REC’s) Renewable Energy Credits,
and carbon offsets. Rick Farman, of Bonnaroo, showed
us that we have power with our events to facilitate
change by insisting that vendors utilize innovative
technologies. It was amazing to see the not only representatives from the largest festivals in the country but
the founders, Chief Operating Officers and other leaders
all present and looking to make a difference. We had
folks from SXSW, Capital Sports Entertainment, Superfly
Productions, Xingolati, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, and
Telluride Bluegrass festival. We thank everyone for their
participation and look forward to changes to come.
tho e n briann e
jay w e st
Randy Haecker is a Publicist for Sony/Legacy.
charli e ll e w e llin
A few short minutes into the panel, someone in the back
accidentally switched off half the lights. Rather than
accept the apology as a disturbance, Perry Farrell, being
the artist that he is, embraced the opportunity to start
reducing our environmental impact in that moment.
The 50% reduction in light during the presentation not
only reduced our footprint by demonstration but also
changed the atmosphere, making it more comfortable
for everyone in the room. It’s amazing how as a society,
we deliver what we think is appropriate, and we accept
what is provided for us without question. It struck me
during this panel how important it is for us to communicate and use creative solutions to reduce our impact….
to question the industry standards. Do we really need all
that light?
Neil Turley moderated the “Greening the Entertainment
Industry Panel.”
sarah k e rv e r
antonio r e yna
Above left: GO!GO!7188 at Japan Nite. Above right: Blonde Readhead at Emo’s. Below left: UGK heat up Thursday night. Below right: Satellite Party featuring Perry
Farrell at Stubb’s.
MySXSW
Andrew Loog Oldham
brian bir z e r
sarah k e rv e r
Above: Mastadon shred at Dew Music
Festival. Below: That’s Lily Allen.
jay w e st
I got off the plane late on Thursday and raced with
luggage and laptop to see The Ponys at Emo’s Jr., then
met up with the Music.com crew. For the next several
days our nights were filled with music and movement,
beer and salted meats and congratulatory cheers before
ending with the sunrise. Saturday’s shows seemed to resonate best with me, Kings of Leon at Stubb’s and Oslo,
playing somewhere on 6th, standing out most among
them. The night sky was warm and open to us, and the
rooms full and driven, with the bands invigorating the
audience and audience reciprocating the energy. We
didn’t plan out every moment of our day and night, nor
race frantically from showcase to showcase. We simply
happened upon many great performances and people,
sharing moments with friends, old and new, running
into many serendipitously. SXSW is great that way.
jay w e st
Paula Gould
Above left: Boris’ gong show. Above right: Cris
Kirkwood, back in action with the Meat Puppets at
Emo’s. Below: Cardiff’s The Automatic.
j e ssica atti e
Noted author and SIRIUS Satellite Radio DJ, Andrew
Loog Oldham was the Rolling Stones’ manager and
producer from 1963-1967 and was part of the
“Monterey Pop at 40” panel.
gary mill e r
I decided to treat myself to a “busman’s holiday” this
year by coming again to SXSW, a kind of reward for
having finished my third book. I got asked to join
Michelle Phillips and Lou Adler on the panel celebrating
the 40th Anniversary of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.
That was a joy and a jog for the mental suitcase as to
how far we have come and not come in 40 years. I saw
Pete Townshend speak and he gave of the truth that we
are denied from world leaders of other domains. Pete
was forthright and on. His musical night with Rachel
Fuller was full of past, present and promise. My old mate
Gruff Rhys was at SXSW in fine solo form. How many
acts take the stage with table and props? Gruff does and
remains a happy magician showing us his tricks, be they
solo or furry. Freakiest act I saw was the Japanese band,
Pistol Valve, A-fun in B-movie mode. It’s the diving about
I enjoy, running into old faces and meeting new ones.
Speaking of faces, I met up with Ian McLagan who’d
sent me an e-mail saying that it was time we stopped
living in the past with each other. We met, hugged and
moved into the now. I’m glad about that and I’m glad
about SXSW because after all these years it’s still serving
up hope, bands and data. Well done!
Paula Gould works for Music.com.
Montreal’s Besnard Lakes at the Mohawk’s Patio.
j e ssica atti e
j e ssica atti e
amb e r novak
Above: Mika delivers a pop smartbomb. Below left:
Daniel Johnston beats the devil. Below: Cold War Kids
at La Zona Rosa.
sarah k e rv e r
The Cinematics at Flamingo Cantina.
Above: My Brightest Diamond at Antones. Above right: The undeniable Sharon
Jones and her Dap-Kings. Below: Mexico’s Allison strikes a pose.
Andy Sheppard
During their rare acoustic performance on the SXSW Day Stage,
Scott Rinning and Ramsay Miller, the two front men from
Glasgow’s The Cinematics, had explained that their career began
busking on the streets of Glasgow, and that when they were
feeling adventurous, they would feature the late Jeff Buckley’s
rich and complex music with Rinning also explaining Buckley’s
great influence on them. Then as a finale, the pair performed a
haunting, pitch perfect rendition of Buckley’s “Grace”.
brian bir z e r
As the lads stepped off the stage, they were approached by two
ladies, one of whom introduced them to the other: Mary Guibert,
mother of Jeff Buckley. It took just a split second for the enormity
of what this meant to register.
Guibert stood calmly, beaming at the two, before saying that
their performance had made her shudder and stop in her tracks.
Rinning was so overwhelmed that he had to disappear to the
dressing room while Miller composed himself and continued chatting. Guibert expressed her appreciation of how artists and fans
are managing to keep Buckley’s spirit alive and strong.
Jon Langford
Saturday night at the Red Eyed Fly for the Bloodshot showcase and as usual, The Waco
Brothers have been chosen for that precious 1:00 am spot. I’ve spent half the night outside
trying to get drunk friends in, but with the line down the street, the guy on the door is unimpressed at the number of “wives” we have with us tonite. Once we get onstage, all is well and
things get pretty lively; it’s a bloody long road from a KUT session at 11:00 am to where we
are now, but we’re still firing on several cylinders. I’m sure we’re running overtime, so Deano
and I commence the big guitar smashing, string-snapping finale of destruction only to see
the stage manager (digits aloft) gesturing 10 more minutes ... Oops, disaster! But just at that
moment, Danbert Nobacon (late of Chumbawumba) dives onstage in a gleaming white Elvis
suit complete with cape to save the day and lead us through a rousing annihilation of “Folsom
Prison Blues.” Next day on South Congress, some bloke asks me how we got Graham Parker
to dress up in that Elvis suit ...
Andy Sheppard lives in London, England.
j e ssica atti e
Jon Langford is a member of the Waco Brothers and a founding member of the Mekons.
Below Left: The Watson Twins at Central Presbyterian Church. Below right: MuteMath and
the long-awaited return of the Key-tar.
th e on briann e
amb e r novak
john carrico
Above: Kid Koala tweeking at the Parish. Below: Flaming Arrows
Mardi Gras Indians!
28
gary mill e r
MySXSW
Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller at Attic Jam.
Harris Tweed
Above: Austin’s Spoon at the Merge
showcase. Below: TIlly and the Wall on
the Beauty Bar Patio.
This SXSW was another lovely confab of old friends, new
acquaintances and great music. I was proud to sit next to
Donovan at the BMI songwriters’ panel and be regaled by
tales of Swinging London. I enjoyed seeing kids playing in
the Lego morass at the bottom of the escalators. I danced to
the brilliant music of Seth Lakeman and his amazing group
(and finally got to shake hands with his talented brother
Sean who’s been a penpal for years). I cruised through
Flatstock, amazed at the phenomenal talent in the poster
world today. Mostly, I was thrilled to see that so many of the
folks that I ‘came up with’ in this business are still at work,
trying to get good music to unsuspecting ears, be they musicians, writers, publicists or managers…
Harris Tweed is from Cape Town, South Africa and was
one of the first two South African artists to showcase at
SXSW this year.
T ho e n briann e
Peter Holsapple is a founding member of the dBs and has
also played with REM and the Continental Drifters.
amb e r novak
Peter Holsapple
On the whole I’d have to admit that our week at SXSW
was absolutely overwhelming – there was way too
much to take in, just too much to experience. But it was
equally enriching for us as a band. The excess of stimulus
left us feeling completely incapable of making even
simple decisions during the week of the festival. But on
our return home, the experiences have been converted
into inspiration. We are now even more desperate than
ever to get better at what we do, to create beautiful
music, to experiment and push boundaries, and to work
as hard as it takes to make music all we ever have to do
(if we so choose.) So really, I guess you can say we’re just
plain grateful for the opportunity to be there.
Above: Brighton’s Pipettes at the Beauty Bar Patio.
Above: Rickie Lee Jones slays at the Parish.
Below: Some guy from the Stooges.
cam e ron jordan
john carrico
Above: Mumm-Ra preaches at Red 7 Patio. Below: PPT
at the packed all-Dallas hip hop night at Visions.
Above: Chicago’s Maps & Atlases at Emo’s Lounge.
Below: Ozomatli at the Dew Music Festival.
john carrico
jay w e st
jay w e st
Below: The Good, The Bad & The Queen.
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30
Blaze TV plans a bright future for SXSW Live
W
hen Pete Townshend
went off on a mini-rant
during his SXSW Music
keynote appearance about streaming
music over the Internet (“We want it
live!” he roared), he was inadvertently
advertising the Blaze TV-produced
SXSW Live Broadcasts, which were
actually in progress as he was speaking.
The broadcasts, which Blaze TV
managing director Conor McAnally
describes as an attempt to “share a
microcosm of the festival with the
viewing audience across all media,”
would go on to impress even the most
media-savvy of registrants – including
Townshend, who on his blog (www.
petetownshend-whohe.blogspot.
com) later pronounced SXSW Live
“a slick and professional high-budget
TV production that really set a new
standard for SXSW.”
in multiplex theaters
nationwide. McAnally
envisions a scenario in which
viewers would buy one ticket
and then move among several
theater screens, each playing a
different set of performances
by different artists, similar to
how conference registrants
move freely from venue to
venue. “The idea is that a
punter buys a ticket and
gets two hours of SXSW,”
says McAnally. Whether
theatergoers will embrace
being presented with several
options at the same time is
an unanswered question, but
Blaze TV is test-marketing the
idea in Boston, Nashville and
Dallas over the coming
year to find out.
One rave review from a rock legend
does not a business model make,
but Townshend wasn’t the only
one singing the praises of SXSW
Live. “Everyone who’s seen it has
been enormously impressed,” says
McAnally. Though there were a few
support and logistical hiccups – the
cost of building a studio practically
overnight in the Austin Convention
Center was “inordinate” – overall the
project was a roaring success. Not
bad for a first shot at converting the
ephemeral nature of live performances
into media accessible via the web
(through Grouper.com), mobile
devices (through Verizon), satellite
radio (through XM), and live TV
simulcast (through DirecTV).
Regardless of the results of
that venture, one thing is
certain; SXSW Live will again
be a part of SXSW next year.
McAnally hopes that even
more artists will queue up to
perform now that they have
seen how well it went for
those who did (artists included
Rickie Lee Jones, Razorlight,
Lee “Scratch” Perry, The
Buzzcocks, Ozomatli, Mando
Diao and many others). “In
terms of the promotional
value, the two hours they
spent with us was well spent,”
he says.
“The key thing is to find a way to
share the extraordinary performances
that SXSW offers while not interfering
with the ... nature of the event,” says
McAnally, and to that end Blaze TV
will be adding digital film to the
mix as part of an ambitious plan to
replicate the SXSW Live experience
ALL PHOTOS BY BARRY J. HOLMES
By John Ratliff
From top: Set-up for a show at
the Bat Bar, one of two stateof-the-art SXSW Live stages;
Razorlight; The Buzzcocks;
Lee “Scratch” Perry.
It is not often that you get
your demands met just by
walking from one end of a
building to the other, but
in the case of Townshend’s
heartfelt plea for broadcastready live music, Blaze TV
and SXSW Live have the
ready answer: Got live if you
want it! n
31
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Brothers
Luna
since 1995
Lou
nge
Who You Are
l
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To learn more about TicketWeb, please call
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www.bluhammock.com
32
The Cranky Geezer’s Guide To Surviving SXSW
A
song I heard sung a lot at
this year’s SXSW was “I’m
getting too old for this. I
don’t know if I’ll do it next year.” And
although several of the folks making
this complaint were younger than
I am, I had some sympathy, having
sung a variation of it myself from
time to time.
There were way too many bands on
the program, and, from what I could
hear, a lot were treading familiar
ground, which I think represents the
state of contemporary music pretty
accurately. I’m sure there were new
bands worth hearing, but, like a lot of
cohorts my age, I’m not inclined to
download a bunch of MP3s to find
them. Plus, lots of the ones with the
biggest buzzes were on at midnight
or 1:00 am, which, these days, is too
late for me.
But, as the folks who run SXSW are
always at pains to point out, it’s a professional event, not a consumer one,
which, to me, means that the panels
and interviews are an equal attraction to the nighttime revels. Maybe
it’s because I’m a former SXSW
panels coordinator myself, but I seem
to spend a lot more time indoors
during the day than a lot of my fellow
attendees. The lure of fighting for free
beer and food in the middle of the
afternoon has paled, and the attraction of learning a little more about a
business which seems to be going over
Niagara Falls in a barrel wins out.
To me, the question comes down
to deciding whether SXSW is
geezer-friendly or if geezers are
SXSW-friendly. You may feel as
cynical as I do about a panel on
the convergence of mobile phones
and portable music players (yes,
apparently TDK – Those Damn
Kids! – really do listen to music on
their phones), but I was riveted by
the “Idiots Unite” panel, in which
a bunch of young music business
types tried to figure out what the hell
is going on in their business. Two
additional pluses were the presence
of fellow geezer Seymour Stein, and
the fact that this discussion had
started as a blog. I had no dog in this
particular fight, but I was fascinated
– and somewhat comforted – to see
that these people were as lost as I was
about what was happening, as well as
offering ideas for moving forward.
One of the more positive recent
developments at SXSW has been the
rise of the interview. The subjects are
almost always older folks, musicians
or not, yet these events seem to draw
plenty of TDK as well as geezers. I
was lucky enough to be able to lead
one this year, with Joe Boyd, one
of my heroes and a very important
figure in rock history. (And for your
david fox
By Ed Ward
Jon Dee Graham and Ed Ward
to see is much easier than you think.
For instance, I was intimidated by
the line for the Stax 50th Anniversary
show, but I not only got in, but found
the place full but uncrowded – and
the chance to see Booker T and the
MGs live was totally worth the wait.
The Ponderosa Stomp preview and
its parade of history is another SXSW
One of the more positive recent developments
at SXSW has been the rise of the interview. The
subjects are almost always older folks, musicians
or not, yet these events seem to draw plenty of
TDK (Those Damn Kids!) as well as geezers.
totally false geezer/TDK dichotomy,
howzabout Iggy Pop, who’s older than
I am but still impossible to think of
as old?)
event I hope becomes a tradition.
There’s always a slew of talent that
has nothing to do with the Next Big
Thing, and I appreciate that.
If you spend the days catching up,
you also shouldn’t feel bad about
using the nights to slide back. I’ve
found that leaving the pursuit of the
flavor of the week to TDK (while still
responding to fervent recommendations from trusted members of their
tribe) is liberating, because catching
up with stuff you have always wanted
My advice is simple: do your business
at SXSW, but give yourself enough
slack to learn and be entertained.
But do it at a leisurely pace; at your
age, you’ve earned it. Let TDK suffer
the heartburn and hangovers. They’ll
survive, and so will the music that we
all come to Austin to celebrate in all
its diversity. n
33
DISTRIBUTION
SXSW_0107art.pdf
3/23/07
10:16:55 AM
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
34
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sarah k e rv e r
Self-reliant
promotion is key
for showcasing
artists
By Tim Basham
F
or many an artist, just
being selected to showcase
at SXSW ranks as a major
accomplishment. “We were super
stoked. As an independent band
taking pot shots at the world it was
really exciting to have something
like SXSW come through for us,”
says David Moffatt, guitarist/vocalist
of The Dirty Skirts (one of two
South African bands at this year’s
conference). “It would be our first
international festival.”
But being chosen is only the beginning if an artist wants to ensure a
successful “launch” during SXSW.
In addition to the normal logistical
matters like securing airfare and
hotel rooms, an overseas artist can
encounter special challenges. In the
case of U.K. band Kava Kava, getting
the proper permission to leave the
country was tough enough. “Visas
were the main shocker,” says singer
and frontman Pat Fulgoni who
doubles as the band’s manager. “I
could only get four out of six visas, so
we had to train up a new drummer
and saxophonist.”
Even then, all the effort to simply get
to Austin can become meaningless
if no one hears you play. The trick is
finding how to successfully promote a
showcase.
“Everybody makes the flyers,” says
singer/songwriter and SXSW veteran
David (dah-VEED) Garza, who has
run the gamut from handing out
cassettes to major label success to
producing CDs on his own label.
“But everyone’s flyers are covered over
within two to three
hours. You do them
anyway because
it’s kind of a gut
reaction. You make
postcards. You pass
them out. You have
to trust someone to promote you.”
Garza’s manager, Gil Gastelum,
believes it helps to go to the panels at
the SXSW Conference portion of the
festival. “Study that music reference
book you get at registration and see
who is there,” he says. He feels that
artists can still promote well without
having a manager: “Artists without
representation have a lot more
freedom to go out there and build a
D.I.Y. story. Be ready to talk about
yourself as an artist.”
At SXSW 2007, Scottish sensation
Paolo Nutini was part of the huge
Esquire showcase at Stubb’s BBQ that
also included The Stooges, Spoon and
Kings of Leon. Profile-wise, Nutini
had quite the opposite introduction at
his first SXSW a year prior.
Paolo Nutini
“Study that music reference
book you get at registration
and see who is there.”
they first saw him at SXSW that year,”
says Luba. “And I know for a fact that
almost no one saw him. More than
anything, the power of SXSW for
Paolo wasn’t so much what happened
here but what it said to everyone back
home. It’s like this mythical thing.
NME and Q picked it up. We got real
press on that side.”
Having just signed with Atlantic,
Nutini had a management team
in place even though his first fulllength album was months from being
released in the U.K. and a year away
from its American release in 2007.
“We basically called all our friends,”
says Paolo’s co-manager Mike Luba of
Madison House.
But for the artists who feel the need
to do it all themselves, Garza expresses
concern about where they put their
focus. “What makes it sad is a lot
of musician friends spend more
time designing their own websites
and updating their MySpace,” he
says. “They spend more time doing
that than writing songs and actually
practicing their instrument, becoming
a better musician and bringing something new to the world” with what he
calls “the language of music.”
But now that his album These Streets
is an international hit, that early
SXSW appearance becomes the stuff
of legends. “It’s ironic now, but I talk
to people all the time who say that
And with some 1580 artists from
around the world all playing during a
hectic few days, getting heard – in any
language – is the reason for being at
SXSW in the first place. n
35
Ad Index
AOL.............................................................6
Acutrack, Inc..............................................14
Visit sxsw.com
Check out panels, interviews and performances you may have missed, connect
with other registrants and sign up for updates on next year’s festival.
Associated Content....................................10
bizboxseries.com........................................14
Bluhammock Music....................................32
The Dering Corporation.............................20
Harmony Hotel..........................................30
IFC.............................................................16
SXSW Online Coverage of 2007
indie911....................................................28
Check out the audio and video coverage of SXSW 2007 at SXSW.com. View hours of conversations,
events and music, from SXSW Keynotes to SXSW Interviews and Panels to Day Stage entertainment
and events. Hear the bands that played SXSW 2007 and see trailers of the films that played the 2007
Film Festival. sxsw.com/coverage
Jakprints....................................................22
SXSW Online Registrant Directory
Muzak.......................................................36
Use the SXSW Online Registrant Directory to connect with other SXSW registrants. Add people to
your contact list, message them and plan meetings in advance with this helpful tool:
sxsw.com/toolbox/reg_directory/
NAIL Distribution........................................34
Access the Mobile Registrant Directory from your smartphone or web-enabled mobile device. This
stripped down version allows registrants to search, build a contact list, and message other registrants
from your phone: sxsw.mobi
Radisson....................................................20
SXSW Listserves
Sign up and get conference-specific SXSW News delivered to your inbox.
lists.sxsw.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/musicgen/
lists.sxsw.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/filmgen/
lists.sxsw.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/intergen/
36
mFlix............................................. back cover
Miller Brewing Company..............................2
NAMM......................................................34
Omnirox Entertainment..............................36
SXSWclick................................................. 14
Seagate Technology.............inside back cover
Slacker................................ inside front cover
TicketWeb.................................................32
Yaris............................................................4

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