el Jefe's		SXSW Experiential
After a five-year layoff, el Jefe returned to the greatest Music festival in the south, namely South By Southwest, aka SXSW. Under the guise of Johnny Chiba, CMJ Indie Sales Samurai, I stealthily pursued bands & labels, art & artists, parties & bbq, good peeps & evil spirits for four straight (ahem) days of fun, frolicking non-stop boppin musicality and austin texas hospitality. Here's highlights of a wild and crazy fest: pics, animations and storytelling courtesy of el Jefe aka Johnny Chiba. Click small pics for big pics, yep!

 

WED MARCH 15 - DAY 1

 

Dengue Fever	Teenage Harlots	Gracer	Apathy
Chiba's got the fever!	Guerilla Punk Rock Assault!	Graceful, forceful, feel it!	Apathy vs Slayer...?
IODA Party at Emo's Annex starred Dengue Fever, ethno-friendly 5-piece band playing Cambodian songs from the 60's with a new wave jazzy touch. Although I appreciated the fever of the lead dengue, and exuberance of Osama Bin Guitarist, and the mighty oak bassist, I'd stick to Cambodian Rocks (Parallel World, 1996) a great cd that features amazing guitar work from musician's most probably buried in The Killing Fields. Damn Khmer Rouge! Khmer, I'll kick your ass!	Teenage Harlots ejected outta van next to Todd P's party at Ms. Bea's, rolled down banner, and rocked out 3 quick tunes, drums ensonced in van, and speaker atop. Singer was in your face, inside, on top of van, back in and off they sped. "Pretty cool" I told Todd. He said "I don't know who they are, it's a guerilla performance." Cool! Impromptu Teenslut performances were spotted thruout SXSW. Nice work!	Revelation Recs' showcase at club Redrum (Murder backwards, ie: The Shining. Great book/bad movie saved by histrionics of Jack "Here's Johnny" Nicholas. Hated the kid, he ruined it for me.. redrum, redrum...) So, yeah, saw Gracer. They were tight, bright, with elements of heaviness on an ebb-and-flow graceful kinda indie showgazer tip. All work and no ploy make Chiba a dull boy.	Jefe's no rap fanatic, but appreciates the latest mashup mixes from Apathy. Babygrande Recs' showcase also featured Immortal Technique and Jedi Mind Tricks, who I missed, but I did catch the way-cool Slayer shirt worn by the apathetic dude rapping his white balls off. After dissing Atlantic Recs and pledging his love for an employees, I used my immortal jedi trick technique to slip the fuck outta there

 

Bound Stemss	Serena Maneesh	Goblin Cock - rock around the cock
Bound Stems for Glory!	Serena Manena Hasta Manana	Goblin Cock: Cloudy and Clear Stages A Head
Bounds Stems quirk-rock highlighted a Flameshovel Records Lava Lounge showcase. Earthy, mirthy indie rockin the male female, kinship, clickin an upbeat personified stembound frolic. Smoke em if you got em. Bound Stems I mean. Flameshovel!	Riddle of Steel raved about Serena Maneesh ala Sonic Youth meets My Bloody Valentine, so I checked em out at Emo's. Maneesh and his gargantuan amazon bass player who dwarfed Corey Parks and her ex-Nashville Pussy. I was impressed by the energetic Maneesh, the throbbing, thrashing, strumming and straight out rockin chordage of the manly Maneesh and his crack band. Nice and loud, with whipping guitar leads ala old Velvety Undergroundlings. Man oh Maneesh, where's the Sheesh? here tis: Serena-Maneesh.com	Animated Cockoid Goblin Cock is the mind of Pinback's Rob Crow gone to the dark side, Luke. This smoky stage wielded new songs not on Bagged and Boarded, the great Absolutely Kosher Recs' cd of death metal stoner rock with a melodic twist of lemony crow. Robed and armed, this is true Cock Rock. Did I hear a Tears for Fears cover? Time for next showcase, Robbie! Tell Sheryl Jefe says yo!! Jefe's Goblin Cock view from CMJ Music Marathon 05: lotsa pics, animations, video link etc. CMJ05 Goblin Cockoid I love Goblin Cock! Now buy the cd before Rob Crowe turns into a Lady, dammit! Absolutely Kosher!

 

GORCH FOCK - go-go fock yourself
fock you and you and you		Wow! Austin's Australian Cattle God Rec's showcase headliners Gorch Fock were a total cacaphony of profound sound! White clad singer played rusty trombone & screamed his face beet red, with 2 drummers, 4 guitars + bass, fockin crazyshit cranked to 11. Australian Cattle God Recs Click psychedelic pics below for good fockin gorch	fock me Amadeus!

 

Other Wed eve shows: The Nice Boys @Club DeVille (Birdman Recs showcase) , Six-Shooter Recs' Quien Es Boom? and Mogwai at Stubbs (open air guitar ambience floating in 2am skies... great way to end the night... shweet dreams, Jefe!

 

THURS MARCH 16 - DAY 2

 

ICU

Walking down 6th Street, heard the familiar emanations of ICU, a band I work with at Radical Recs. Didn 't know ICU were in Austin or playing, but that's SXSW, just show up and you can get 2 or 3 gigs at any number of clubs. Sludge punk Pee Wee & drummer Mike rocked as a duo. Heard they got in a fight with the folks they were staying with... uncool! :(

 

AN ALBATROSS = ANAL BAT ROSS
Cruised up Red River Rd, thru a clusterfuck of day parties. GSL/Skyskraper Mag had Room 710, and lo and behold, the frenetic An Albatross set to liven up yourself! The antics and screamage stylings of the lead singer (I'll call him Anal Bat) never fail to amuse. Last I saw Anal Bat, they were kickin it at CMJ Marathon, with 2 keyboards. Now there was one, and the guitar bass combo seemed a deadler force, more death metalicized, if you may. Anal Bat's shirt was amazing! Ace Fu Recs put out the new Anal Bat cd, GSL Labs put out the vinyl. Click Anal Bat pics for big shots. Ross!
anal bat at large	what a shirt!	fashion kill machine bat

 

Helmet Plod on Page!

Emo's Annex beheld Helmet, purveyors of heavy chordage are back! Page Hamilton still has his Helmet ON, and Warcon Recs inked them to their nubie nubile label. Sludgy and solid, sounding just like they did 15 years ago, it's a plodding experience... in the meantime Warcon!

Novillero Minty Hoot!

Mint Recs Hootenanny at Headhunter's hosted Novillero, whose smooth indie flavor is a regular party, lotsa smiles on stage and off! Woo hoo! Hello to Randy, Yvette and The Beas! Bees? Buzz! Mint!

 

JAPAN BASH!!

The Emeralds are Go!! right across from convention center was a nice park with parties and performances held daily. Today's Japan bash brought a slew of bands, from punk to trad; many seem to be taken care of by the Australian Cattle God /Benton Recs peeps. Lotsa cameras!

The Emeralds are from Yokohama Japan, do you know them? These Emeralds rock! Cool leathers, sunglasses, and rock star shirts. The Emeralds are rock n roll movie stars. The girls love these rock n roll gems. Riffing songs about rocking and dancing and rocking some more. Way Coolness! Click below for Jefe's leathery animated Emeralds art!

Emeralds Animate	Mandala Animation	Mandala Esmeralda	Cool Collage

Ellegarden
Ellegarden do the pop punk better than most snot-nose american punk poppers. Tight and mighty, and mighty tidy, this is a singalong garden of sonics. Cut school skateboards & fun. cool cd covers. click right one 4 animation! good energy translates to cool PR photo. click!

 

Keisho Ohno
Keisho Ohno played the Shamisen, a traditional japanese guitar-like instrument, and he wailed! Accompanied by trombonist, handsome keyboards and a Neil Young-looking drummer, KO was a jazzy-rockin fusion of fun, and the guy never stopped smiling... or wailing! Welcome to Amelica!

Controlling The Famous		Dr. Dog	Scott H. Biram
now rock rock rock, rock steady	who's your cunt roll? i'm famous!	Hey BullDog!	the H stands for Hell
Checked out Controlling The Famous, future stars from LA, signed to The Militia Group. Very tight with a good attitude, this band means business! Some mike problems had the singer/guit jump in the audience and shout it, shout it, shout it out loud! Click CTF cd cover & The Militia Group webpage at right	Controlling The Militia Group	Beatlesque harmonies from Let It Be-era, Dr. Dog make insta-fans on first listen. Park The Van Recs' stars-in-the-baking are worth hearing twice as their songs burn holes in your memory. The Flamingo Lounge was a happy place when the Dog took the stage. Singalong yo! Park The Van, Walk da Dog!	Bloodshot Recs star Scott H. Biram is that gruff guy with a gruff voice and gruffer guitar. A captivated crowd dug every word and story. Jesus loves an animated Scott H. Biram Bloodshot Biram page

 

Part Chimp

Part Chimp, Part Chiba, Part Chunky Monkey. A whole lotta chunky chordage laid out by PC's heavy dudes with heavy-ass guitars. Monitor Recs showcase had the un-Gentle Ben, Big Bear, play earlier. Part Chimp, Big Bear, Oxes. Monitor's got a damn zoo going on! Monitor this! See a cool Part Chimp movie here

 

KILL THE VULTURES
Locust Music showcased Kill The Vultures - three ethno-friendly lads (Nomi, Crescent Moon, and Advizer) rappin over the barebones beat of DJ Anatomy, chillin on a table, crosslegged and crossmixin' the minimal KTV. At 1AM, the seats of The Hideout's mini-theatre were welcome rest, and KTV were a welcome show...case in point. Laid back with a positive message, the boyees tooks turns quipping, ripping and posturing up a mini-storm of urban noir sense-ability. A small personable flow, I recognized some beats from the excellent Jib Door/Locust Music release. Click their pics and links, man! killthevultures.com click KTV logo for Jefe Vulture Animation

 

PARTS & LABOR
Ended the eve with Parts & Labor, critics' darlings or darling critics? The melodo-noise crafti-work of P&L resonates from Brooklyn to Austin, clubs and farmlands cross country. Yodeling vokes soar atop Christopher R. Weingarten's fat propeller drumbeats and the guitar, keyboard shmorgasbord of hairy sonic amplification and manipulation. P&L have signed to Jagjaguwar Recs. See fab Jag webpage here Official P&L: partsandlabor.net See Whiney the drummer Animated and Illuminated! Click4Jefe's Parts & Labor review at Todd P's Parking Lot Noisefest

 

 

FRI MARCH 17 - DAY 3

 

Sarathan Showcase Two Loons For Tea & Art

started day at Sarathan Recs' showcase, label prez Jonathan and wife Sarah's band Two Loons For Tea. Melodic moody moving acousta-sensous sounds. Nice, but not so loony. and Thai food! The Firehouse Lounge's dark room featured art show, I couldn't help keying on Bela Lugosi-likeness, and JohnaTHAN's guitar pointing out psychelic vagina art! Aahhh, art and thai grub... thx Sarathon Recs!

 

Headed northeast outta downtown for Vice Kills Texas Dead party, with a stage set up outdoors on a large expanse of grass and dirt. Priestess was a band I needed to see, their Hello Master cd held serious activity at la casa de Jefe, thanks to Indica records. This band is the real thing, they're loud and heavy with great songs and melodies. They reminded me of a Canadian AC-DC, more song-oriented, and the drummer looked like Angus! And he did a drum solo! Good live band this Priestess! Click pic for Priestess Guitar Goddamination Animation Superfastguit click here Priestess Hello Master cd contains intristing graphics within. click thumbnails for separate looks, including skull and cd cover uptop. click here for Priestess Guy Animatory

 

Fuck By Fuck Y'all and Fuck by Fuck You
country fest... click!	this guy's got askull&bones smile, y'all!	click4 fuckyou lineup... yup
Will the wonders of Australian Cattle Gods Records never cease? After delivering 50 Japanese folks and bands for today's Japan Bash and tomorrow's Japan Night, the ACG cartel and HQ serves as homebase for non-SXSW activities, Fuck by Fuck Yall and Fuck by Fuck You, 2 all-day events of country and noise punk rock, performed on the Typewriter Museum stage, in the backyard. Free beer, free bands, including DMBQ, PARTS&LABOR, GORCH FOCK and tons more! Ya know what? Fuck You South By South West! I'm kidding. Click for animated skullular flyers

Genghis Tron	Genghis Tron executed and electrocuted at the Flamingo Lounge; full-frontal screaming from the lead apeman who descends to the keys for ambient needs. The guitar player blasts off into a death metal riff and the Tron is on fire! Great histrionic theatricalities! Or should I say, nice Genghistrionics! Genghistron.com

 

Goldrush

Cruised across street to Nuno's Upstairs to see Goldrush. I met 3 of the guys on airline stopover from NYC - Austin. Nice guys! Like most SXSW bands, the 'Rush played at least 3 or 4x, parties and showcases. Nice songs, lead singer's chops garner warranted attention; the band is a solid anchor, with a keyboard player who leans towards a noisy edge, then picks up a guitar and adds a distorted cluster of sounds. I told the guy he was the "meat and potatoes" of the band. In his english accent he asked: is that a compliment? By jove, yes mate. meat catch a Goldrush at Better Looking Records

click4 Jefe's 'Rush Collage

 

Silversun Pickups		Dangerbird Recs Showcase		Peter Walker
Let the Silversun shine in		I was in & out of Dangerbird Recs showcase, but managed to pickup bits and piece of Silversun Pickups thrash and strum singalongs, as well as the tasty arrangements and vocal stylings of Peter Walker. Shmooth and shweet sounds from his Young Gravity cd went down well. Dangerbird Recs	PW Bass Player Animator	my gal is a Peter Walker.... fan!

 

DMBQ - far east, far out... by far, the best band in the land masked marauders rock! talk about biting guitar licks! another double bubble bite! click! hang in there dudo!

I 'd gone to see DMBQ perform in Brooklyn a few months back, only to hear the horrendous news of the band's tragic van accident that day, which took the life of drummer China (ex-Shonenknife). It seems the band was in and out of the hospital, and back on the road with a new skinpounder within weeks! Such a heroic rock band from the land of Japan! DMBQ fed my curiousity and my rock quotient in spades, Ace! Never have I seen such pure rock god exuberance from the 2 lead guitar players, like Blue Cheer meet MC5 dish it out in your face rock! Standing on speakers, guitar in mouth, donning gas mask, DMBQ were stars!! The crowd was a good mix of American & Japanese males & females, drunk women throwing beer at the band at regular intervals. Chiba was knocked around for sure, but this experiential was well worth the bruises and beer-stains. DMBQ played a number of songs off their cd The Essential Sounds From the Far East... What a band!

i scream you scream we all scream for DMBQ y'all wild and wooly double guitar attack! Tora! Tora! Tora! gas mask animated here. Superfast gas animask end of show, drummer climbed on audience's heads to play! Danger Will Robinson! Psychedelic photos below!! Point and crick!

double your pleasure guitar-god-elica click for big blowup sounds are active! shine on! another duplicitous psychedelic pic

More DMBQ collage art, animations and manipulations. Click here and there!
this is a ghost pic	DMBQ Phalanges cd animated	beautiful cover art, animated mandale here	glorious Jefe collage of cd art from Essential Sounds From The Far East	DMBQ gutar hero collage of Jimmy Page bow trick .Animated here

SAT MARCH 18 - DAY 4

Flatstock was held in the Austin Convention Center. I made the mistake of waiting until Saturday to check out the alternative art, rock posters and artists on display. There were hundreds of stalls and each one had something that caught my eye. I could've spent a whole day perusing the art of rock. But, alas, it was time to party with CMJ!

 

The Bellrays rocked in inimitable rock fashion at CMJ's Sat afternoon party at Room 710. Along with POS, Rainer Maria, Catfish Haven, and The Churchills, the added treat of free Dos Equis beer was that much shweeter. The Bellrays played the last SXSW Jefe attended at Spin's Closing Night Party. See Jefe's 2001Bellrays review here

Bellrays' Lisa Kekaula's rock & soul entrances all	Room 710 staff appreciates catching some Rays of Rock	Bellray babe beltin it out as drummer tightens seat belt
this is a weird weird pic! click!	Double babe-age bad-ass Kakaula	Bellrays rock the Jefe action shot!

 

Facing New York (in Austin)	i'm the face if you want it
Wonka Vision mag party was a few blocks away, so I hopped, burped & skipped to Habana Calle 6. Met the cool peeps at Five One Inc, Eyeball and Astromagnetic Recs. Show was running late, only time to see Facing New York, who straight up rocked Jefe's face with a blistering guitar attack. Go to Five One Inc

 

Cruised back to Fuck By Fuck You Fest, along with buddy Scott Beiben (Bloodlink Recs, The Lost Film Fest, and Evil Twin Booking). and his all-girl crew. We missed DMBQ by minutes, but lo and behold, they were playing again merely 2 blocks away at Todd P's blast at Mrs. Bea's. P's at the B's. Once again, DMBQ were tremendous, straight up crazy guitar rock, culminating in yet another drum kit breakage, this time in the middle of the audience with a giant white rock. Rock! Singer/guitarist and bassist were jumping so high, they knocked out the christmas lights, leaving Todd P. to hold a yellow spotlight on the band for remainder of performance. Audience emotions taken to fever pitch, hot horny female ripped off the shirt of lead DMBQer. Sexy rocknrollers! Kickass DMBQ! Long Live China