Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2010 > March > 03
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Jack White’s label to install “pop up shop” at Frank
Jack White’s Third Man Records has been using temporary retail installations in L.A. New York and London to sell merch and music, and they’ll do the same thing at SXSW this year. White’s wife Karen Elson will even perform on Saturday March 20 at 7 p.m. But White will be on tour in Australia with Dead Weather.
The location is Frank, the fancy hot dog joint at 4th and Colorado.
The Third Man pop-up shop will sell exclusive vinyl of label acts, show the White Stripes’ documentary ‘Under Great White Northern Lights’ and offer copies of Jon Wayne’s raw and deranged ‘Texas Funeral’ album, the debut of Third Man’s reissue series. And there’s pinball, too.
The Third Man shop will be open for business noon to 8 p.m. from March 17- 20.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
France Rocks SXSW, Mrs. Jack White warbles
The French delegation to SXSW is throwing a bash Thursday March 18 at Klub Krucial (603 Red River). Le actione starts at noon. The password is “I have ‘Nutty Professor’ on Blu Ray.””
12:00 - 12:30 p.m.: Cocoon
12:45 - 1:15 p.m: Soko
1:30 - 2:00 p.m : Uffie
2:30 - 3:00 p.m: Dead Sexy Inc.
3:15 - 4:00 p.m: The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads
4:15 - 5:00 p.m: General Elektriks
5:15 - 6:00 p.m: Brodinski
* In other SXSW news, the gorgeous British-born model Karen Elson just recorded an album and will sing songs from it Saturday March 20th at a couple of free parties. Elson will appear at 4.40pm at “The Garden Party” at the French Legation Museum (802 San Marcos Street), then at 7:30 pm at Frank Restaurant (407 Colorado Street).
Although Jack White’s wife Elson and first real band Goober and the Peas are playing SXSW and the White Stripes doc is screening at the film portion, J.W. is in Australia with Dead Weather.
* Bloodshot Records has just announced the lineup for their annual party at Yard Dog. It’s Friday, March 19th.
12:15-12:45 The Silos
12:55-1:25 Whitey Morgan & the 78s
1:35-2:05 Ben Weaver
2:15-2:45 Ha Ha Tonka
2:55-3:25 Rosie Flores
3:35-4:05 Justin Townes Earle
4:15-4:45 Exene Cervenka
4:55-5:25 Deadstring Brothers
5:35-6:05 Waco Brothers
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
SXSW 2010: 10 questions for Hey Champ
Hey Champ, a Chicago-based electropop trio with soaring synths and insistent dance-worthy melodies, describe themselves as the “the third greatest thing to come out of Rockford” — second to Cheap Trick and “the older brother from the TV hit ‘Blossom.’” Guitarist and vocalist Saam Hagshenas and drummer Jon Marks first played together as teenagers and reconnected years later in Chicago under the Hey Champ moniker. They were joined by Pete Dougherty on the keys and synthesizers. In 2008, they garnered a high-profile fan in hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco, who squired them about the country as his opening act. With an album dropping in the summer and a freely downloadable mixtape of compelling remixes — including songs by Passion Pit and the Cool Kids — spreading throughout the music blogosphere like a virus, the band just might be the second biggest thing to come out of Rockford before long. Dougherty answered our questions via phone.
Will this be Hey Champ’s first year playing SXSW?
No, last year was our first time playing, so this will be our sophomore South by Southwest. It was really cool. We were in town for almost a week. For five or six days we got to play a lot of good shows all over Austin. Although we stayed at this La Quinta on the highway outside the city so it was really hard to get to every gig. We learned a little from that experience and we’re staying downtown this time. So I’m really looking forward to not having to take all those cabs.
Were there any other lessons from your festival experience last year that you’re keeping in mind this time around?
Just to try and do all we can. It’s a pretty busy experience. You have to juggle playing a lot of shows, but at the same time there’s so much to see. There’s always a conflict like, “Oh, I wanna go see so and so, but we have to be at sound check in eight minutes.” But you try to catch as many shows as you can and have as much fun as you can and be open to random encounters. You just run into people on the street and in crowds and it’s really cool. I think at our last show last year we saw the guy who plays Roy on “The Office” at one of our shows bobbing his head, and that was kind of a weird highlight for me. There’s always gonna be something you can’t plan for that just crops up.
Okay, so having played both SXSW and the similar CMJ Music Marathon in New York, give it to us straight: which one is cooler?
South By, for sure. I love New York, and it’s a cool place to have a festival, but when you’re playing New York you’re bound to be crashing on other people’s couches and being cramped every minute of the day. And especially coming from Chicago, where winter basically lasts until May, I like being able to be in downtown Austin. By March it’s spring in Austin. There’s a lot more shows during the daytime, and it’s a really cool environment.
You’ve gotten a lot of attention on blogs, and traffic on the music blog hub the Hype Machine, from the “Winner’s Circle” remix tape. Does it ever feel a little odd that you’ve gotten as much love for your remixes as for original Hey Champ songs?
Oh, totally. It’s kind of crazy. I think there are a lot of people out there, especially people who find out about us through the Hype Machine, who think we work as record producers or that we’re just one guy and not an actual band. Which I think is funny. We’re going to release our album this summer, and it will have some of the elements of the remix stuff, but is still very much a rock album and a band album. So it’s a very different sound and I think that will show people a different side of us. At the same time, we’re always working on remixes and production and doing both angles. Hopefully we’ll get the message across that we can do both and that we do put a lot of effort into the live show and playing instruments and not just twisting knobs and whatnot.
How does the time investment on making remixes compare to making original music?
Well, when we do a remix, in some ways, it’s like making a song. Because we basically try to create a whole different track underneath the vocals, with new instruments. But time-wise I’d say it really depends. Some remixes just happen really quickly and some we have to work at for a long time before we’re happy with them. And the same thing is true with songs. Sometimes we come up with something right away and sometimes we come up with something that needs a lot of work.
Hey Champ really picked up a lot of momentum after Lupe Fiasco took you on tour and signed you to his label. How did that come about?
He saw the video to our single “Cold Dust Girl.” Some of the people who worked at his studio were actually friends of my band mates Jon and Saam, so they found the videos and Lupe really got into it. It was kind of funny because when he first got in touch with we really didn’t know what he was booking for. We thought he wanted a remix or some beats. But what ended up happening was we signed with his label, First and Fifteenth, and went on tour with him. It all happened very quickly, and it was a great experience.
I know that label hit something of a road bump last year. Are you still on it?
We’re no longer affiliated with it. But we do have a new situation we’re really excited about. We can’t announce it yet, but we have moved on to another record label. Our first album is called “Star,” and it’s ready to go. We’ve been working on it for a long time and it’s been ready for a while, so we’ll be releasing it in June or July.
Jonathan and Saam first started playing music together as teenagers before reuniting and playing under the Hey Champ moniker later on in Chicago. Where did you come in?
I went to college with Jonathan at Princeton, and he was a class above me and we kind of lived down the hall from each other, and we’re both totally into music and started sharing songs and jamming pretty regularly. He was probably the best drummer I’d ever seen. When he graduated he moved to Chicago and reconnected with Saam and they started gigging. As I got closer to graduating, he said “Come move to Chicago! Do it!” and once I finished school I decided to just go with it. At the time Jon and Saam had just started getting into remixes and getting more into electronic-style pop music, where it had been more of a straight-up rock thing, which was where I came in.
You grew up in New York, went to college in Princeton, New Jersey, and now live in Chicago. How does the music scene there stack up to other places you’ve been?
The Chicago scene is great. It’s pretty small when you get to know people, but at the same time it does have a ton of history and a big footprint. There’s a lot of great music coming out of here and there’s a big emphasis on dance music, because it’s in a lot of ways the home of dance music. And in New York there are so many bands doing electropop or things in the same vain that I think being in Chicago where the scene is a bit smaller has been good for us. There are Djs who have kind of adopted our songs all over the city, which is amazing.
You’ve opened for a pretty diverse group of artists — Passion Pit, Lupe Fiasco, Justice. Do you have a favorite act you’ve shared the stage with?
That’d be hard to say. We’ve opened for a lot of people in completely different genres. But I think probably the best experience — and this is going back a little while — was when we opened for Sebastien Tellier. That’s probably still my favorite, just because he put on such an incredible live show and is such a character.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: Scorpio Rising
Scorpio Rising has been described as one of Austin’s best industrial/electronic rock bands. Front woman Madam Scorpio was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2009, but promises she will give the SXSW performance everything she’s got. Backing her up on stage will be band mates Wohttps://mt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-cgi/mt/mt.cgi?_mode=view&type=entry&id=16837903&blog_id=544nderbred on bass and guitar, and D.J. Bixler on drums. The official SXSW showcase is Thursday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the Ghost Room. Madam Scorpio shared her thoughts about the upcoming festival with us via e-mail, and also suggests you check out their recent music videos to accompany the songs in our streaming player below.
Describe your sound.
We like to call ourselves Millennium Disco…which sounds like Madonna and the Rolling Stones.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase?
We will be playing the songs from our new EP “The Last One Standing”; we have not played a couple of them live yet. Attendees will for sure get a lot of Wonderbred rockin’ his bass and fringe upfront and center along with drummer DJ Bixler kicking the groovy beats with all his acrobatic stick skills. Madame Scorpio will deliver her dose of vocals to complete the set.
What other acts are you excited to check out?
Glad to see VoiVod is playing. Will also try to see Sixteen Deluxe, it has been a while to see them play…
Are you planning to go to any panels?
Will play it by ear, there is a lot to check out so pretty much show up as early as possible and roam the panels … and tradeshows.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners?
Depending on the weather…go to the lake-pale face park…or stay in Austin and check out the greenbelt…sculptured falls…walk up and down the drag, South Congress-check out some shops and places to eat and drink…
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? Flamingo Cantina on Sixth is always a great place to see live music. Emo’s is usually a cool place to check out a band. A lot of the venues preferred have closed…clubs open and close so much in Austin, you don’t get a chance to even dig a place anymore.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? Go see live music any day of the week.
Finish this sentence: ‘Industry folks and visiting bands, while we love having you as guests of our city, please don’t… ‘ Litter our streets and pick fights.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: The Black
Rock ‘n’ roll band The Black will play their official SXSW showcase on Wednesday, March 17 at 12 a.m. at
The Ghost Room. The band is comprised of Jason Chronis on bass, Matt Simon on drums, Alan Schaefer on guitar, and lead vocalist and guitarist David Longoria, who answered our SXSW questions via e-mail.
Describe your sound. Rock ‘n’ roll music influenced by Elvis Presley, the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams, The Beatles. Like all of these, but not really like any of these.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase? You can expect to see four males playing rock ‘n’ roll music. No beard show. We’ll shave these huge mops we have on our face.
What other acts are you excited to check out?I haven’t seen the list! maybe somebody will show this to me soon.
Are you planning to go to any panels? Where are these panels? If Bruce Springsteen is going, I will too.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners? The Greenbelt is really amazing if you like the outdoors.
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? Some cool Austin venues are Beerland, Emo’s, Continental Club.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? Sweat buckets and buckets full. Though I think you can probably do this in Houston, too. I’ll have to think about this.
Complete this sentence: ‘Industry folks and visiting bands, while we love having you as guests of our city, please don’t…’ Please do enjoy yourself, place your litter in wastebaskets, wear sunscreen, smile. I find if you tell people to do things, rather than don’t things, they’ll listen to you.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
10th anniversary of unofficial SXSW kickoff party
When Guitartown started hosting it’s SXSW kickoff party ten years ago, they were one of the few, if not the only, free Wednesday day parties. In recent years, they’ve teamed with Cary Baker of Conqueroo and the party just keeps getting better. Here’s this year’s lineup, at a new location, Joe’s Bar and Grill at 506 West Avenue.
No RSVP or credentials needed:
Three Olives Vodka Stage (Front)
11am David Olney Nashville, TN
12pm Freedy Johnston New York, NY
1pm Dave Faulkner (The Hoodoo Gurus) Sydney, AUS
2pm Stonehoney Austin, TX
3pm Emory Quinn San Antonio, TX
4pm The Cardinal Health San Antonio, TX
5pm Steve Poltz San Diego, CA
6pm Wirepony San Diego, CA
7pm Anne McCue Nashville, TN
8pm Triple Cobra San Francisco, CA
Hornito’s Tequila Stage (Back)
11:30am Tom Freund Venice, CA
12:30pm Randy Weeks Austin, TX
1:30pm James McMurtry Austin, TX
2:30pm Jon Dee Graham, Austin, TX
3:30pm The Silos New York, NY
4:30 Austin Collins And
The Rainbirds Austin, TX
5:30pm Chip Robinson Raleigh, NC
6:30pm Thundersosa Austin, TX
7:30pm The Band of Heathens Austin, TX
8:30pm Raul Malo Nashville, TN
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: Zlam Dunk
At The Drive-In meets Daft Punk? That’s a hefty claim. Zlam Dunk sound engineer Jason Buntz came up with this clever comparison, and upon several listens, the similarities between the groups do become apparent. Their electronic punk rock sound could be a refreshing addition to this year’s alternative music offerings at SXSW. The San Marcos band wants you to dance like there’s no tomorrow at their official SXSW showcase Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. at B.D. Riley’s. The guys will also play several other day parties and shows, so if you don’t get your fill of dance-punk the first time, check out our side parties database, or list of side parties to find out where else you can see them rock out. Ross Bennett and Daniel Vega answered our SXSW questions via e-mail.
Describe your sound. Our sound is something that almost everyone describes differently. We call it dance-punk. The unholy alliance of dance and punk music. Both shine through in our studio efforts as well as our live show. We have been compared to bands like Passion Pit, to the likes of bands such as Murder City Devils. Recently in the studio, our engineer Jason “Computer Boy” Buntz, said we sound like At The Drive In meets Daft Punk.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase? Attendees can expect one of the rowdiest, most intense dance sessions they have ever encountered. They can expect a full fledged party attack. Hopefully they will be ready.
What other acts are you excited to check out? I am excited for Freelance Whales, Local Natives, Classixx, Minus the Bear, and Fang Island just to say a few!
Are you planning to go to any panels? There are several panels that we plan to attend. This is our first year as an official artist, so we plan to take advantage of everything we can.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners? Must go to Barton Springs, or some sort of natural body of water. That is really most important. There are so many good places to eat and drink that everything else is preference!
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? Emo’s has my history. The Parish is beautiful and a great experience. There’s good shows at Mohawk too, but I have to feel extra hip to make it out there.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? Probably things that are unimportant to visitors… since they aren’t from here. But I do like that newish place Frank. Go get a delicious hot dog.
Complete this sentence: ‘Industry folks and visiting bands, while we love having you as guests of our city, please don’t…’ run over cyclists, leave your trash, cigarette/beer cans everywhere, be rude to the wonderful people working at all of these amazing venues/ please don’t trash the places we play/ think you are awesome for being here and being in a band. Everyone else is in a band too :)
Tracks and photo (above) courtesy of Zlam Dunk.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: Brownout
Trying to fit Austin band Brownout into a single genre of music is a task even the most accomplished music connoisseurs might find difficult. The nine-member band is comprised of members from another Austin favorite, Grupo Fantasma, and you might also recognize some of them from previous bands such as Blimp and the Blue Noise Band. Similarly to the way in which their pedigree is blended, Brownout excels in weaving together many different stylistic elements from Latin funk and Motown to psychedelic rock, to create a truly unique and exciting sound. The first release Homanje, was a local hit, winning the Austin Music Award for Best Latin Contemporary Band in 2008. Check out the band’s fourth appearance at SXSW this year at the Scoot Inn, for their official showcase on Thursday, March 18 at 8:20 p.m. Guitar player Beto Martinez shared his thoughts and recommendations for SXSW 2010.
Describe your sound. Funk with elements of Latin music.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase? A high energy show featuring nine musicians, lots of percussion, horn section and dual guitars. Music you can get down to, or stand and stare at.
What other acts are you excited to check out? Camp Lo, High on Fire, Timber Timbre, Weedeater and a whole bunch of stuff you ain’t never heard of. I probably won’t get to see anyone, actually.
Are you planning to go to any panels? Nope.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners? Barton Springs. Drinking beer all day and passing out in the hot, hot sun. Oh yeah, SXSW.
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? Outside.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? Wear cowboy boots with shorts and yell, “Keep Austin Weird.”
Industry folks and visiting bands, while we love having you as guests of our city, please don’t… Puke at the foot of my car door or at my foot.
Tracks and photo courtesy of Brownout.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: Uncle Lucius
Singer/guitarist Kevin Galloway moved to Austin from Freeport in 2002, and started pursuing his musical career as most fledgling musicians do — with a series of open mic performances and solo gigs around town. Three years later, Galloway met Hal Vorpahl, another Austin transplant originally from Lufkin. The two decided to form what would later become the band Uncle Lucius when Houston’s Mike Carpenter joined them in 2006. The group quickly found their niche in the Austin outlaw country scene. Drummer Josh Greco joined the band in 2009, and since then the members of Uncle Lucius have established themselves as a solid southern rock band, and from some of the answers Galloway provided us with via e-mail, a southern rock band with a sense of humor, too. The official SXSW showcase is at midnight Thursday, March 18, at Valhalla.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase? Tears of joy, carnies, snakes, flags, dragons, wave caps, oneness, Ray Romano, a horn section and a cello player. We are very excited to be playing right after the legendary Guitar Shorty. If you don’t know who he is, I suggest you do some research.
What other acts are you excited to check out? We are also looking forward to seeing Smokey Robinson, Dead Confederate and Broken Bells. We will also be checking out OK Sweetheart … a Denton band we played a show with a couple of months ago on a very eclectic bill. The lead singer has one of the most beautiful voices you’ll ever hear.
Are you planning to go to any panels? Yes. We are very excited about the SXSW decision to allow all artists access to all panels. We will be fanning out and taking notes, hoping to make the most of the opportunity.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners? We say get out in nature to get the blood pumping and find your center. A hike along the Greenbelt offers just that. If it is warm enough, we suggest a dip in Barton Springs pool. If it’s an interesting conversation you are looking for, we suggest you find Leslie, the local cross-dressing mayoral candidate. When you find him, ask him about big brother and the police state. Be ready to take notes.
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? Threadgill’s World Headquarters and Stubb’s Waller Creek are great outdoor venues. We think The Saxon Pub is the best intimate listening room by far. For jazz, it’s the The Elephant Room. You can never go wrong with the legendary Continental Club.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? Cold beer and shuffleboard at the Horseshoe Lounge.
Tracks and photo (above) courtesy of Cash Edwards.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
SXSW party update: Yet more Brooklyn Vegan and South by South Mess
Highlights include Roky Erickson and Okkervil River, Suckers, Wye Oak, the Besnard Lakes, Andrew WK and Broken Social Scene’s Jason Collett.
In other Andrew WK-related news, Zorch, Tape Bombs, Covert Curiousity and DayBowBow/No Words will be presenting South by South Mess on Friday, March 19. Running an astonishing 12 hours from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. at the 21st Street Co-Op, 707 W, 21st St. in UT’s West Campus neighborhood, the free-of-charge show includes A Sunny Day at Glasgow, Ume, DD/MM/YYYY, the aforementioned Andrew WK and more.
Full lineups for both parties are posted below the jump
Brooklyn Vegan and M for Montreal Party
Main stage:
12:00 p.m.: Wye Oak
01:00: The Besnard Lakes
01:45: Think About Life
02:30; Holy Fuck
03:15: Voivod
04:15: Andrew WK
04:55: Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
Side stage:
12:30 p.m.: Jason Collett
01:30: Beast
02:15: Duchess Says
03:00: Suckers
03:45: Plants and Animals
04:30: Local Natives
South by South Mess
4 p.m.: Signals (Los Angeles, CA)
4:45: Aa (Brooklyn, NY)
5:30: All Tiny Creatures (Madison, WI)
6:15: Electric Electric (France)
7:00: Screens (Brooklyn, NY)
7:45: Collections of Colonies of Bees (Milwaukee, WI)
8:30: Daniel Francis Doyle (Austin, TX)
9:15: Zorch (Austin, TX)
10: Ume (Austin, TX)
10:45: Still Life Still (East York, Ontario)
11:30: Pattern is Movement (Philidelphia, PA)
12:15 a.m.: DD/MM/YYYY (Toronto)
1:00: Maps and Atlases (Chicago, IL)
2:00: A Sunny Day in Glasgow (Philidelphia, PA)
3:00: Andrew WK (New York, NY)
Porch music provided by Matthew and the Arrogant Sea (Denton, TX)
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
Austin at SXSW: The Band of Heathens
Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist have come a long way from their weekly Wednesday performances at Momo’s in 2006. These songwriter sessions paved the road for the formation of the Band of Heathens with the addition of Seth Whitney on bass and eventually John Chipman on drums. The southern rock group hit #1 on the Americana charts in October 2009, making them the first independent band to hit #1 on the chart twice. Their official SXSW showcase is at 1 a.m. Saturday, March 20, at the Amsterdam Cafe. If you can’t make the showcase, you can catch the band rocking the Gibson Room at Maggie Mae’s during the Gibson Guitar SXSW Day Party on Thursday, March 18th, starting at noon. Gordy Quist (guitar, harmonica, vocals) answered our SXSW questions via e-mail. Check out their featured tracks below too.
Describe your sound? Dirty harmonious.
What can SXSW attendees expect at your showcase? To get lucky.
What other acts are you excited to check out? The Low Anthem.
Are you planning to go to any panels? No.
What are some Austin must-do or must-sees for out-of-towners? Grow a beard and go bowling at the High Ball.
Where do you like to hear live music, when it’s not SXSW? The Saxon Pub, the Parish, and Antone’s.
What’s your favorite ‘only in Austin’ thing to do? To be weird.
Tracks and photo (above) courtesy of The Band of Heathens.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Austin at SXSW 2010, SXSW 2010
First person account of Chile earthquake by SXSW-bound musician
Tessie Spoljaric-Woodgate of the Austin-managed Chilean band Intimate Stranger tells us about surviving the 8.8 earthquake that ravaged her adoptive home country Saturday. The first-ever showcase of Chilean bands takes place at Maggie Mae’s on Saturday March 20. Three of the bands will also play a benefit for earthquake relief efforts March 23 at the Parish.
“Every once in a while you get tremors in Chile, where the floor just shakes a little bit. And every ten years or so you get an earthquake.
So on Saturday morning at 3am when we were in bed and I felt the bed move I just nudged Lautaro (my husband/Intimate Stranger’s guitarist). Then I realised it was completely dark (we usually keep on a small light for Leonor - our daughter) and that the house was shaking hard. We both got out of bed, Lautaro took Leonor out of her cot and went towards the bathroom - the strongest part of our house.
I remember I got sort of stuck in the bedroom walking around in circles because I was completely shocked at how the floor was moving up and down, side to side. How I later imagined being in a tempest on a ship would be like. I had been in a deep sleep, I didn’t react logically, it was surreal. It seems people respond differently to
earthquakes, some people loose control and totally panic, I just remember feeling confused. I got to the bathroom door and the three of us stood under the door frame and held on to each other tight and waited for it to stop. There was so much noise - glasses smashing, the foundations of the house creaking so loud and a deep sound - I kept thinking the roof was going to fall down or that giant rocks were going to come tumbling down from the mountains. I felt so small. I was surprised Leonor wasn’t crying - she has good hearing but loud sounds don’t seem to bother her. It lasted a long time - 3 minutes thinking it was going on too long.
When it finally stopped we stood there for quite a while taking in what had happened and then we went back in the room and I went to find some candles. I could only find birthday cake candles. While I was in the kitchen I noticed the sky was misty - smoky and bright from the full moon. We found out later that a chemical factory exploded and the fumes had covered the city. We live on the outskirts of town, just
under the Andes, so it felt suddenly quiet around the house, but I could hear down below was full of sound - cars and sirens - people leaving their houses, bars and night clubs. We found out later that Mogles (our drummer) had been in Loreto (a club we often play in) at the time and afterwards the club goers poured in to the streets of
Bellavista - walking around rubble enmasse to their homes.
We stayed in bed, didn’t sleep much as there were a lot of aftershocks. I even felt one earlier this afternoon, 3 days later. A few hours after the earthquake we were dozing when I heard someone banging at the door in a frenzy - it was Lautaro’s brother. He had been an hour away at the beach with his grandmother in her 11th floor seaside apartment, which had completely split in half. She told me that she could see all the way down through the middle of her apartment to the bottom of the building. She didn’t seem fazed. She told me how they had escaped and that she had lived 2 earthquakes here before. We sat in the kitchen listening to the radio.
I didn’t realise how badly effected other areas were until we got our electricity and phone lines back on Saturday night. It’s different when you see it all live on the news. And everyday there are new places, new missing persons.
I was so glad when I finally got to speak to my parents. I was worried because Ihadn’t been able to contact my family and let them know that we were OK.
We are fortunate nothing happened to our family. Ok we still don’t have water and bathing by the swimming pool makes this place feel like a campsite, but a lot has happened to a lot of other people. After hours of watching images of devastation on the south coast, hearing survival stories of friends, empathising with those who have lost their homes and those who still haven’t heard from their families - the after feeling of the last few days is sad and tired. One of the worst cases closest to us is Pape - singer and bassist for The Ganjas who lost his home, his family home and his business. Here’s hoping his time at SXSW will give him new energy.
There are stories everywhere. Mogles told me today about his friend that just managed to escape the tsunami by zooming up a hill on a bike, and another guy who got swept by the tsunami nearly a mile from his home and survived! Not to mention the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Conception (the eye of the earthquake) where the army is now the authority and the media constantly talks of “collective psychosis”. How people react after catastrophe - with their homes destroyed, no food, no communications, nowhere to buy essentials… Chaos. Taking over the supermarkets, fires, organising themselves in to groups in fear that the little they have left will be taken away, arming themselves against “bad” people who are taking advantage of the situation…
The new government has a lot of work ahead of them and those who have lost everything will need the help they deserve.
Despite everything and the general mood here - we (Intimate Stranger) and the other bands are really eager to play at SXSW and go on tour. We are looking forward to some exciting gigs - including the show at the Parish in Austin, where all three bands will play as a benefit for the people of Chile in conjunction with Caritas.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2010
