2008 SXSW Music</h1> <article> <h1>Ahhh, Spas at SXSW Hotels</h1> <p>Annie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:06:36 +0000</p> <p>Lucky you! Several Austin hotels have great spas to help you work out the kinks and stress from the non-stop action at SXSW. After a long day of panels and maybe a longer night of shows and networking you may need to retreat from the chaos and enjoy some quiet time.</p> <p>Most hotel spas offer day rates so you can enjoy their facilities and services even if you’re not a registered guest. Check the hotel’s web site for day rate policies, hours of operation, arrival and check-in times, and cancellation and no show fees. Contact the hotel directly to make your reservation.</p> <p>Check out the spa menus in advance (most are available online) for each hotel’s specific spa body treatments, skin care, specialty therapies, and packages. Here are some hotel spas to choose from:</p> <p>The Tower Health Club & Spa at the <a href="http://hotelreq.sxsw.com/hotels/30">Hilton Hotel </a><br /> The Spa at Four Seasons at the <a href="http://hotelreq.sxsw.com/hotels/9">Four Seasons Hotel</a><br /> Trinity Spa at the <a href="http://hotelreq.sxsw.com/hotels/136">Omni Southpark Hotel</a><br /> Three Springs Spa at the <a href=”http://hotelreq.sxsw.com/hotels/81”>Barton Creek Country Resort & Spa</a><br /> Away Spa at the <a href="http://hotelreq.sxsw.com/hotels/110">W Hotel</a></p> <p>Don’t let the daily grind wear you down -- plan a couple hours in one of these fine spas to rejuvenate yourself.</p> <p>If you haven't registered yet <a href="/attend">click here</a> to checkout all SXSW has to offer.</p> <p><span class="caption">Photo courtesy of the Tower Health Club & Spa at the Hilton</span></p> </article> <article> <h1>The Daily Chord - Friday, February 10</h1> <p>andy — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:30:34 +0000</p> <p></p> <ul class="bullets2"> <li> <strong><a href='http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/grammys/la-et-clive-davis-20120210,0,6069598.story'target='blank'>Party preparation with Clive Davis<br /> </a></strong>Post from LA Times. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/02/tunecore-first-itunes-match-royalties-are-magic-money-out-of-thin-air.ars'target='blank'>TuneCore says nice things about iTunes Match<br /> </a></strong>Post from Ars Technica. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.smdp.com/hc.e.73457.lasso'target='blank'>Musicians protest removal of 31 Grammy categories<br /> </a></strong>Story from Santa Monica Daily Press. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/clarence-clemons-nephew-jake-clemons-joins-the-e-street-band-20120209'target='blank'>Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake Clemons joins the E Street Band<br /> </a></strong>Item from Rolling Stone. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://pitchfork.com/news/45388-video-bruce-springsteen-we-take-care-of-our-own/'target='blank'>Springsteen posts video for "We Take Care of Our Own"<br /> </a></strong>Item from Pitchfork. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.billboard.com/news#/features/paul-mccartney-the-billboard-cover-story-1006154352.story'target='blank'>Macca makes a left turn<br /> </a></strong>Interview from Billboard. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/arts/music/sinead-oconnors-how-about-i-be-me-and-you-be-you.html'target='blank'>Sinead O'Connor profiled<br /> </a></strong>Article from NY Times. </li> </ul> </article> <article> <h1>Artist Profile: Elias Haslanger</h1> <p>james m — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:24:58 +0000</p> <p>Local Austin jazz saxophonist <a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS15320">Elias Haslanger</a> has not only been compared to greats such as John Coltrane (Haslanger sites him as a huge influence), but has also performed with the likes of Maynard Ferguson, Harry Connick, Jr, and Asleep at the Wheel.</p> <p>His lyrical playing has been making its way around the music scene for some time now, helped in part by four internationally acclaimed solo albums. Elias, whose's stage presence is a large part of his charm, has come a long way since his younger years. At one of his first performances in front of a large audience, Elias says he embarrassingly "kept trying to blow" his sax, but simply "could not produce a sound." One of the best pieces of advice he ever received was to "play the room," which he does full force. Elias is such a serious musician with the aim of mastering his talent that when asked if his life were a reality TV show, he would call it "Stop Watching a Stupid Reality Show and Go Practice Your Instrument Instead." Obviously, Elias' hard work and neglect of reality TV is paying off for his career, and I highly suggest every jazz fan check out his show at this year's SXSW festival. <i>- Malia LiVolsi</i> </p> <p>Check out videos from SXSW Showcasing Artists on our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/sxsw">YouTube Channel</a>, and be sure to <a href="http://sxsw.com/attend">register now</a> to discover a world of music at SXSW 2012..</p> </article> <article> <h1>The Daily Chord - Thursday, February 9</h1> <p>andy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:57:11 +0000</p> <p></p> <ul class="bullets2"> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120207mccartney#EHR7MOaAg4X4M2K24hb-1g'target='blank'>Macca pulls albums from streaming services<br /> </a></strong>Story from Digital Music News. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/02/in-world-of-copyright-craziness-bittorrent-inc-soars-to-new-heights.ars'target='blank'>BitTorrent and the legitimate use of file-sharing<br /> </a></strong>Post from Ars Technica. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://paidcontent.org/article/419-spotify-itunes-expansion-helping-wmg-hit-digital-music-milestones/'target='blank'>Digital revenue boosts Warner Music's bottom line<br /> </a></strong>Story from Paid Content. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.billboard.com/#/news/rock-hall-inducting-bands-of-6-iconic-members-1006139762.story'target='blank'>Rock hall inducting bands of six iconic members<br /> </a></strong>Story from Billboard. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/08/tech/social-media/lady-gaga-social-little-monsters/index.html'target='blank'>Lady Gaga launches social site<br /> </a></strong>Story from CNN. </li> <li> <strong><a href='http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/02/merle-haggard-pneumonia-recovery-health-tour.html'target='blank'>Merle Haggard hits the road feeling better<br /> </a></strong>Post from LA Times. </li> </ul> </article> <article> <h1>Artist Profile: Motoponys</h1> <p>james m — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:47:50 +0000</p> <p><br /> Seattle group, <a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS15568">Motopony</a>, creates their distinct sound by combining "seemingly conflicted sounds, and the feelings mapped over them." All perfect harmonies and musical intricacy, their sound could be described as Radiohead meets Belle Brigade. </p> <p>Member Buddy Ross describes their sound as all of his favorite sounds "rolled into one." Bandmate Daniel Blue, however, has a much more extensive description:</p> <p>"It is the sound of a million round river stones washed to the beach from the Olympic Mountains and then pounded slowly by Pacific tides into sand. Our sound is the drone you hear on a full moon in the misty alpines when your blood is pressed to your ears. It is the breath of a condor fighting the last whips of rain as it conquers the clouds into the daylight. It is the last Hundred years of English lyric, thought through the first thousand years of Greco-Roman philosophy. It is the sound of the sun realizing that she is not infinite and that someday she too will burn out." [sic]</p> <p>I'd say that's a pretty enticing offer. <i>- Malia LiVolsi</i> </p> <p>Check out videos from SXSW Showcasing Artists on our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/sxsw">YouTube Channel</a>, and be sure to <a href="http://sxsw.com/attend">register now</a> to discover a world of music at SXSW 2012.</p> </article> <article> <h1>YouTube Designers Give UX Insight at Trade Show</h1> <p>Peter — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:09:00 +0000</p> <p>How do you design something for every user on the internet? How do you change the interface of one of the most widely used websites? YouTube will be at the <a href=” http://sxsw.com/trade_shows/next_stage”>Next Stage presented by Marvell</a> discussing how to design a product that is so widely used by so many different people.</p> <p>Visual Designer Rebecca Bortman, User Experience Researcher Heather Traher, and User Experience Designers Marc Hemeon, Joshua Sassoon, & Jason Carlin will be revealing the thought process behind the familiar YouTube layout and features. The <a href=”http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_OE00941”>YouTube Refreshed: How to Design for What the World is Watching</a> panel takes place Tuesday, March 13 at 3PM.</p> <p>The SXSW Trade Show events schedule can be found <a href=”http://sxsw.com/trade_shows/about”>here</a>.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Son of Kick: Way Past 11</h1> <p>kevin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:07:27 +0000</p> <p>West London producer, DJ, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist <a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS18050">Son of Kick</a> brings his super-charged "Psychostep" live set to SXSW 2012 along with his debut album on his own <a href="http://soundcloud.com/waywayrecords">Way Way Records</a>.</p> <p>The skull-bursting cautionary tale in the "Playing the Villain" video was created by Australia's <a href="http://www.gluesociety.com/">The Glue Society</a>, and has been viewed almost 4 1/2 million times since August.</p> <p>There are hundreds more videos by showcasing artists to check out on the <a href=http://youtube.com/sxsw">SXSW YouTube Channel</a>. Final registration deadline is this Friday, so <a href="http://www.sxsw.com/attend">register now</a> and discover a world of music - including bass-drenched heavy electro Psychostep! - at SXSW 2012.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Sonicbids Official SXSW Party: Tasty Teaser</h1> <p>Chris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:23:36 +0000</p> <p><a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/">Sonicbids</a> connects tastemakers at SXSW with emerging talent from all over the world. In the past three years, they’ve invited buzz bands like Temper Trap, The Jezabels and The Parlotones to headline their SXSW party. This year’s <a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_HB1832">Sonicbids Official SXSW Party</a> presented by JanSport continues to spotlight great emerging music. While we can’t give away the full lineup just yet, here’s a sneak peek at some of the 12 bands that will be rocking their stage at Maggie Mae’s, Friday, March 16, 11:30am – 5:30pm:</p> <p><a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?artist_id=197676">ANR</a>: Miami based pop rockers, ANR (formerly known as Awesome New Republic) gained buzz with their latest release, Stay Kids. Lead by Michael-John Hancock’s cutting vocal, these boys are a <a href="http://sxsw.com/node/10033">can’t-miss at SXSW 2012</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?artist_id=292399">Voltaire Twins</a>: If you’re looking to get down at SXSW, look no further. Aussie-based pop-synth duo is known on the festival circuit to get feet moving. Proving an international hit, their single, “Animalia,” has received remixes from producers like Lifelike, Moullinex and JBAG.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?artist_id=322543">Hotfox</a>: Recently crowned JanSport’s Battle of the Band winner, Hotfox will ascend on 6th street bringing with them their Bloomington, Indiana indie rock expertise. They may not have the name recognition of fellow Indiana native Axl Rose, but their version of lo-fi rock will make all the bad go away. </p> <p>Find out which bands will round out this lineup, RSVP and support your favorite artists <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sonicbids">here</a>. </p> <p>About Sonicbids<br /> Sonicbids is the leading matchmaking site for bands and music promoters. Since its launch in 2001, Sonicbids has grown into a global network of more than 335,000 artists and 25,000 promoters, which includes exclusive partnerships with events like SXSW and CMJ. Learn more at <a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/">www.sonicbids.com</a>.</p> <p><span class="caption">Photo of Sonicbids Official 2011 Party by Pia Siaotong.</span></p> <p><span class="caption">Photo of ANR courtesy of the band.</span></p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-frontimage"> <div class="field-label">Frontpage Image: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-frontcaption"> <div class="field-label">Frontpage Caption: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Sonicbids Official 2011 Party by Pia Siaotong </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Check Out SXswag!</h1> <p>Peter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:51:01 +0000</p> <p>Don't wait for March to cash in on the all the goodies available to you as a <a href="http://sxsw.com/attend">registrant</a>. Head over to <a href="http://sxsocial.sxsw.com">SXsocial</a> right now and you can redeem magazine subscriptions, software discounts, free business cards, music samplers, and much, much more. Your swag rewards are just a <a href="http://sxsocial.sxsw.com/swag">few clicks away</a>, so head over now to cash in big.</p> <p>Interested in participating in SXswag? Contact the appropriate account executive <a href="http://sxsw.com/marketing/contact">here</a>.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Artist Profile: Michael Guy Bowman</h1> <p>james m — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:22:37 +0000</p> <p><br /> Los Angeles' <a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS15370">Michael Guy Bowman</a>, best known for his soundtrack work for the webcomic <a href="http://mspaintadventures.com">Homestuck</a>, is bringing his trippy, electronic beats to this year's SXSW. Combining techno and classical rock guitar elements into his unique songs, Bowman is a must-see for all.</p> <p>Bowman said recently in an interview I conducted, that the first piece of music he ever bought was the <i>Digimon</i> movie soundtrack, which includes tracks such as. Smash Mouth's "All Star" and Barenaked Ladies' "One Week". His lifelong favorite musical artist, however, will always be David Bowie who he says is "cruelly underrated and misinterpreted by Americans." For his show, Bowman encourages fans of his music from Homestuck to arrive as their favorite trolls, and warns SXSW to expect venues "full of kids with grey body pain, clown horns," and "buckets." The best piece of advice he ever received was from his high school percussion instructor, Michael A. Hernandez: "set yourself up for the best odds possible." Bowman has implemented this into his daily life, and his music seems to implement the phrase as well. <i>- Malia LiVolsi</i> </p> <p></p> <p>Check out more videos from SXSW Showcasing Artists on our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/sxsw">YouTube Channel</a>, and be sure to <a href="http://sxsw.com/attend">register now</a> to discover a world of music at SXSW 2012.</p> </article> </main></body></html>