South by Southwest was a whirlwind. Here's me stretching with Bill "Ghost-bustin' Ass" Murray as a group of us waited for our delayed flights out of Austin. We ran into him stretching his legs over a trash/recycling receptacle and pretty much tagged teamed the poor guy for some photos. He looked dead hungover, but was gracious in the moment and chatted with us about the festival and where we were headed from Austin. As it happens, he made quite a few rounds at SXSW this year. Here's a video of the famous actor tending bar at the Shangri-La: Bartendin' Bill Murray.
That's Lizeth Santos in the second photo. She's the wife of Rafter Roberts, and one-woman cocktail drum kit playing extraordinaire, Smile Now Cry Later. She gave me her EP, and Rafter gave me a few records, including his new one. I ended up reviewing it (quite favorably!) for San Diego CityBeat. Great indie dance pop. Here's the review: Rafter: Animal Feelings.
I ended up doing a house swap this year. My new friend Sara stayed at my place in Seattle, and I had her nice house in north Austin all to myself to write and re-write. Which is pretty much what I did for the good part of the day, and when I was through, I went into the city to see all the music and meet up with friends.
I had a single assignment due each day: one artist interview. I had my pick of hundreds of artists, but chose the following four, a diverse bunch. You can read them - and my SXSW wrap up - here:
Basia Bulat: Interview, SXSW
Imaad Wasif: Interview, SXSW
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson: Interview, SXSW
Blue Scholars: Interview, SXSW
Overheard at SXSW: A Week's Worth of Random Quotes
Shortly after my interview with Imaad Wasif, the apple I gave him during our interview turned up in LA Weekly (along with a snarky comment about my tape recorder). You can read the blog post here: Imaad and The Apple.
Oh, my goodness. The random places and people and things that converge in Austin in March. It's just bananas. More for you soon!
