Predominant thoughts for me this year were:

1. Ach, my back is killing me… who knew that a top-tier hotel like the Driskill would have the worst beds ever. I slept on the floor all week.
2. Where is Glasvegas playing? (I saw them three times. Super-fan alert!)
3. Crap, I forgot to eat AGAIN. Starving.
4. No, I really don’t want another high-quality local microbrew… but twist my arm, they’re FREE.
5. Holy shit I have a lot of work to do next week.
6. Was today worth the $400 it’s costing me daily? As I put it to KEYE-TV (Austin’s CBS affiliate, naturally they misquoted me AND misspelled my name): “Not having a badge is kind of like being on the B-Team,” meaning, if you want to hang with the big dogs and actually get any serious work done, you need to go whole-hog. Duh. Multiple cases in point:

Um…

mind if I do a J? Yes, that’s Jeff Dowd, the real-life Dude who does indeed abide. But that night it wasn’t White Russians, it being St. Patrick’s Day. Try Guinness & whiskey. He talked to me for two hours; no idea what the hell he said.

Sweet, sweet Cary Brothers. Of Hotel Café Tour/Garden State soundtrack fame. Doing his standard, goofy pose-for-pics face. Adore him.

Becky from Slow Club, climbing down from stage to get right into the middle of us for the song “Christmas TV.” Somehow, everyone in the room knew the words. Quite lovely.

Apparently Justin Kirk from Weeds has killer taste in music… met him at the Mark Olsen/Gary Louris show at the Driskill. Hot.

Up close for Australian new-wave rockers Dappled Cities… fucking brilliant.

Clearly I’ve got a thing for Scotland, here’s Found at the British Embassy showcase (easily the best venue during the festival — imagine this, a government that actually funds tours!)… was delightful to finally meet Ziggy et al. after e-mailing over the last few months. By the way, that screen behind them, all things that you might lose, things that might be “found.” Genius.

Of the tens of thousands of people in Austin last week who would’ve thunk that I’d meet the Austrian iPhone programmer who purchased my business partner’s badge through eBay? Or that he’d quickly become one of our favorite people to hang out with all week. Serendipity.

SxSW survival kit available at a local pizza joint… vitamin C, Tylenol, condoms, chocolate… all the essentials… for someone?

Damnwells lead-singer and dear friend, Alex Dezen at our showcase. They blew the roof off in spite of missing original lead-guitarist David Chernis. Although clearly, he was missed:

Awwwww…

Montréal singer-songwriter, friend, and roommate for the week, Chris Velan (at Threadgills) who raided my closet and appropriated my Havianas all week.

Not the greatest shot I took but Winterpills (also at Threadgills) who I caught up with later for dinner. Margaritas? Pshaw. These guys don’t fuck around and went straight for Tequila Kamikzes. Yikes!

Semi-random. A mermaid carved out of an orange peel spotted en route to the Driskill during a midday pit-stop. Only in Austin.

Glasgow rockers James et al. from Glasvegas. The first time I saw them at Mohawk alongside Blurt editor-in-chief Scott Crawford, sweating my balls off and didn’t care a damn bit. Also the first time all week I was officially having pure fun (work does actually happen at this thing, believe it or not). The place was jammed. 90° day that was.

Our HEROES (Andrew & Dave from JamBase) who helped us score Stubbs/Spin Magazine party badges! Love them! Hello more free beer, free Haviana flip-flops (which, thanks to Chris Velan I desperately needed) and whatever else they were hocking at this party. No matter how much I think Spin is a piece of crap, they threw a good one:

Glasvegas (show #2 for me) at Spin party. Pinch me. Front row baby! Blissed-out of my mind. Pant, pant. Joe Strummer reincarnated anyone? Oh Jesus, James is the epitome of shit-hot.

Same party for Echo and the Bunnymen. Perry Farrell introduced them (he is so weird). Notice that Ian is wearing a fucking wool pea-coat. It’s 90°. Is he out of his mind? And while the Bunnymen were great, Glasvegas outshone them easily. Of course, I’m slightly biased.

Yup, you guessed it, Glasvegas again. Third time for me, twice that day. This go ’round opening for Primal Scream who were pretty freaking spectacular themselves. Again though, I’ve got it bad for the Scots so… no surprise Glasvegas were the stars on this night as well, which included a dreamy, spaced-out version of “You Are My Sunshine.” Mind blowing. And without warning during “Daddy’s Gone,” the audience started singing, sort of taking things over for a moment, one beautiful amazing moment where the crowd was making its own magic. Truly an incredible thing to be a part of. When people know the words to your songs because they too have seen you every chance they could in Austin. Good to know I wasn’t completely alone . Did I say mind-blowing? Now that was a $400 day worth every penny.

Whew. Now what? Oh right, back to reality.

See you guys next week. xo

So it’s off to Austin, Texas for me this Saturday. Going all-out this year for a 10 day stint, covering interactive, film & music at SxSW. If you’ve been before, you get that this is a fairly brave undertaking. Which is why I’ve got tons of Emergen-C, Tylenol, and eye-cream ready to go with. And I purchased an iPhone over the weekend to make it easier to navigate all those texts, etc., I feel so 21st century! God damn, this thing is friggin’ cool. It’ll be perfect once I transfer my “Truth Hits Everybody” ring tone from my old phone. In any case, by the end of Sx, all the walking, talking, the late nights, the tacos and Lone Star Ale having taken their toll, I’m sure I’ll feel at least 10 years older. But it’s a small price to pay. Showcases I’ll be at below, in case you happen to be in town . I’ll have a blog for you guys next Monday for the full report of the front half of the festival, at least insofar as much as I can take in the first couple of days. In the meantime… here’s what’s been spinning around the office this month so far:

Simone White, Yakiimo


If you haven’t met Simone just yet, the above is a decent taste… a commercial that played all over Europe and the UK with her song, “The Beep Beep Song” from the first album, I Am the Man. Spectacular record. The new one on the way is Yakiimo, with a release across the pond scheduled for June. Working on getting it out here as well. I think of her as a modern-day Joni Mitchell. Fave tracks from Yakiimo include Victoria Anne, Candy Bar Killer, and You Are Loved. You can hear them all here. Totally worth the import price.

Clem Snide, Hungry Bird

When Eef Barzelay isn’t busy doing his solo projects (which I equally adore) he’s got his hands full with Clem Snide. Always a good buy. My picks: Me No (a rocker!) and Pray, so very R.E.M. Hear them here.

Glasvegas, Glasvegas

Lamely, the actual video is no longer embed-able (Columbia Records, you fucking idiots). But still, holy crap, this is heaven. So very very Brit Box. Glasgow pop at its uber-finest. Genius name. Can’t get enough and can barely stand the wait to see them in Austin. So God damn brilliant. Echo and the Bunnymen meets The Family Cat. Double-shit hot.

Sometymes Why, Joey

Yep, it’s a Concrete Blonde cover, gorgeous. You can get it on their new album, Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine.

Michael Miller, I Made You Up

Unfucking believable. It’s a creeper so make sure you hang with it. Really hard to decide favorite tracks because the whole thing just builds. Nonetheless, “Munkie,” “Sweetness,” “Carolina Skyline,” “Gomer Put Your Fist Down,” “Sutures.” Hear them here. I’m telling you, this is a five-star record, all the way. Due out this summer. Pete Yorn, Tracy Bonham, Amy Correa and others guest. Plus it’s an all-star backing band. How the hell isn’t this guy famous? Working on that.

That’s all for now, talk to you guys from Austin next week. Here’s where I’ll be among other places:

• Breath of Fresh Air Showcase 12-6 PM, Wednesday 03/18, Threadgills, 301 W Riverside Dr (Brownshoe, Jeremy Messersmith, Romantica, Chris Velan, The Secret, Life of Sofia, Amy Speace, Winterpills, KaiserCartel, The Damnwells)
• Bloodshot Records Showcase 12-6 PM, Friday 03/20, Yard Dog, 1510 S. Congress (Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Ben Weaver, Charlie Pickett, Exene Cervenka, Deadstring Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, The Meat Purveyors, Dex Romweber Duo, The Silos, Andre Williams, Justin Townes Earle, Rosie Flores, Waco Brothers

xo

dear hole in my head through which the foul winds of winter blow,

they say i don’t need you. i beg to differ. without you, the wind would not whistle through in that musical way; it would become very hot and stale in here; nothing would leave or be let in. so i am told you are not only a benefit to me but here to stay. from you, things are allowed to leave that may have felt trapped; others are let in that may be unwelcome.

its hard to let things in during this kind of New England winter — or out. i’m inclined to never, ever leave the house. when i do, my body clenches up, my shoulders hunch and ache, my lungs hurt. i try to take long gliding strides but i keep slipping on the ice, so i pussyfoot.

an hour long walk through the world, walking gingerly and trying not to fall, knotted up in various forms of mild pain, is how i take my exercise these days. and i listen to music, using a small electrical device that pumps sounds through tubes, and i look for things on the ground and in the air, and always i hear the whistling of you, the hole in my head.

listening to music isn’t what it used to be, you know. now when i take in that which used to feed me, i am mainly only reminded that it did feed me once — the hunger for the old Leonard Cohen album, now sated, for example, is somehow lacking. but still in spite of the unwelcome perspective i now i have, sometimes music enters my life with that old alchemy when i am not looking. perhaps this is age; perhaps it is the new electrical devices that make it all so easy that nothing is precious anymore.

i think about this as i trudge through the March snow and stumble and wipe snow from my face. last night i woke during the Nor’Easter wailing outside to get a glass of water and then could not get back to sleep, realized that you, the hole in my head, had been cut off by a strategic cave-in, made worried lists in my steamed-up mind, wrote nonsense words on chalkboards, failed pointless tests — and music was playing the whole time. Not from my electrical device! this went on for about two solid hours until i finally collapsed into sleep from over-exertion.

here is a sampling of the music that was playing:

• Carol Brown by Flight of the Conchords — mainly just one verse and chorus, over and over.
• God and Suicide by Blitzen Trapper — a song i don’t know that well, so again, just the first verse over and over.
• Little Boy Ghost by me (new song in progress) — the whole song.
• Moonbeam Song by Harry Nillsson — mainly the melody, i don’t know all the words, but it builds so beautifully.
• Bridge by Lucy Wainwright Roche — just the chorus. of course, over and over.
• You Always Hurt The One You Love by the Mills Brothers – the best version ever. before the swingy beat comes in on the guitar. i enjoyed hearing it, with even the scratchy vinyl sounds.
• some weird classical music riff that repeated over and over — i think it was a Mozart phrase that was welded clumsily onto a Souza march, and never resolves. pure sonic hell.
• And Then..? by Miracle Legion, melding with the version that Winterpills (my band) has recorded for a Mark Mulcahy covers album.
• a troubling chord progression for a half-baked new song that has only a title: Three Drops of Blood.
• Queen Bee by Neil Halstead. that drum beat, the chorus — ‘what did you say, hey hey girl?’ — calming and also in my twilit mind unsettling. what DID you say, hey hey girl?all this, a soundtrack for midnight worry, midnight lists, midnight tests, while a storm carries on outside, more snow, filling in all the holes, and come morning, the wind still whistled with conviction through my porous head. i need you.

Philip

hadley, ma, march 2, 2009

Winterpills are on tour by the way, you can catch them (and me!) in Austin at SxSW:

Breath of Fresh Air Showcase 12-6 PM, Wednesday 03/18, Threadgills, 301 W Riverside Dr (Brownshoe, Jeremy Messersmith, Romantica, Chris Velan, The Secret, Life of Sofia, Amy Peace, Winterpills, KaiserCartel, The Damnwells)

Signature Sounds Showcase 8PM-1AM, Wednesday 03/18, The Velveeta Room, 6th St. & Red River (Caroline Herring, Peter Mulvey, Chris Smither, Eilen Jewell, Winterpills)

Join us for a great evening of music!

Guest post this week from a new fave artist (who I can’t shut up about) Chris Velan. AND… he’s Canadian :

Dear Frozen Winter Lake (a.k.a. Lac Mercier),

While you’re out there in the dark, crusted over with ice and snow, I’m in this warm lake chalet, cheered on by the requisite crackly fireplace. In this part of the world (the Laurentian mountains in Quebec), at this time of year, weather is everything and right now it’s a reasonable -5 on the Celcius tip (multiply by ⁹⁄₅ and add 32 if you live in the US or Belize). I can’t help it, though, I really can’t. It’s what IS right now. It’s the is-ness of the situation.

I half-wish that I could be writing from the road with touring stories from towns named after Spanish saints. That will come later on in April when the great thaw begins and I head out to peddle my music. But for the moment, it’s just you and me — You with your (unheard but felt) Darth Vadar mouth-breathing in that unsettling primordial silence and me tippitytapping away, personifying inanimate objects such as lakes.

I chose an autumn-blooming plant called, Solidago, as the title for my latest album after leafing through an old faded book on horticulture. The plant’s more well-known name, “Goldenrod”, sounded like a porn take on a James Bond film so I opted for its Latin counterpart — which really jumped out from the page at me and captured my imagination anyway. The title (for the album) is a nod to this sense I’ve always had of myself as being a hard way learner in the more abstract lessons of life. There was something in the name that I found reassuring and calming — maybe it was the “solid”. Whatever it was, the name stuck and I kept it as a sort of gentle reminder that there is a place in this world for those who are slow to come around to their own truth — and that not all who wander are lost. I have since learned other things about the album’s namesake. It has healing qualities (it’s traditional kidney tonic) and produces dark strong honey (I love honey something fierce). It’s the state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska. And Thomas Edison experimented with it as a natural domestic source of rubber prior to the invention of synthetic rubber in WWII (apparently, Henry Ford gave him a Model T with Solidago tires). No shit.

Why do I even bring up the subject of a late-blooming plant? I guess it’s because I feel a little like you right now, Frozen Winter Lake. There’s all kinds of unseen activity percolating below your unmoving surface. But when that warm spring weather melts away your ice, it’s also going to heat you up and mix your thermoclines, raising life from your depths. That’s what I’m waiting for. And though I may need some time to get my bees together, come late summer I expect to be in full bloom.

Chris

www.chrisvelan.com