We didn’t go to SXSW this year, but a lot of people we know did. We’ve thrown out the invitation for them to document their experiences here, in a little segment we’re calling SXSWland Tales.
This recap comes to us from our friend Dylan Gibson, who you can normally find working for 3oh3, Hellogoodbye and Silverstein – but last week he was down in Austin helping out Matt and Kim. Here’s a story from his SXSW night where he moved from behind the scenes to front and center.
A week before SXSW, my friend Adam told me he might need me to play bass for his band American Tomahawk at a couple shows since I’d already be down there. I told him I’d be happy to, just let me know 100% either way in the next couple days so I could practice the songs a bit. A day or two later, he let me know that his normal bass player would be playing, running back and forth between his band’s shows and Adam’s. Totally fine with me.
Cut to night of this showcase. I’d had several drinks before, as you do at SXSW. I headed over to see American Tomahawk play. Headed in the venue and had to use the bathroom, and ended up getting in line right behind Adam. He asked if I’d gotten his text, and I hadn’t. He then asked, “Which songs do you know the best?”
Instant nervous energy/ adrenaline kicked me out of the drunken haze I was experiencing into something completely different. I wandered up to the stage, put my jacket down, met the other guys who were playing in his band now, picked up a random bass and cable, sound checked and played the first song. Mark still hadn’t shown up, so I played one more, which is this video.
Funny to watch now. I can hear some mistakes and I can tell that I’m not as comfortable as I would have been with a run through of the songs, but fuck it, that’s rock and roll.
Leave a Reply