Controversy’s SXSW 2009 Experience

Every year, throngs (not to be confused with the subject of one infamous Sisqo megahit) of music appreciators converge in Austin, TX, the alleged Music Capital of the World. Every year, Austin, TX is made a little more uncomfortable by the ever-expanding group that visits. And yet, every year, some relatively unknown musical act puts on such a show that catapults them to a status that so greatly dwarfs their previous status that even more artists are inclined to sell whatever soul necessary to partake, multiple times over, if possible.

Okay, I’ll admit that my strategy for South by Southwest may seem flawed. I went to the hip-hop shows. Before any rotting vegetable is thrown, it should be understood that a number of popular hip-hop acts have come through in recent years and some of the aforementioned breakout stars etched their way into the limelight per SXSW. Add to that the fact that everyone comes to see the indie bands, making the hip-hop shows significantly less crowded and therefore much more enjoyable, and I stand by my strategy (which differed from years past, where I would just try and see bands that I was told were cool or look for really weird stuff. I only did a little of that this time.).

Image courtesy of www.damagecontrolradio.org

Wednesday night was, for all intents and purposes, not the peak of SXSW, but the show I went to shed some light on some acts that I had recently become interested in. U-N-I are an underground hip-hop group, at the moment. Unfortunately, I walked into the Wednesday night show as they were performing. I say it’s unfortunate because they were one of the best acts I heard all weekend. Their energy was really high. Their lyricism came through beautifully, thanks to this being one of the only acts that had enough sense to yell at the sound dude to turn their mics up over the music that normally covers everyone else up. They had a lot of style and confidence, engaged the audience, and seemed generally like they were excited to be there and like they were supposed to be there. The crowd was very responsive and the music was great. It was like eating dessert first!

In that same showcase, Blue Scholars performed very well, and Blu did a good job, despite a demeanor that seemed like he would’ve been just as happy being anywhere else. In fact, he seemed like his state was quite altered, which was certainly appreciated by some.

As I stated earlier, when doing SXSW, I do try and see some stuff I wouldn’t normally be exposed to. Thursday night was Japan Nite at Elysium, and Sparta Locals was a really good Japanese band there. I’m not sure if it would’ve been better if the lead singer and apparent spokesman for the group hadn’t been speaking broken English, but the band’s relatively exotic chord progressions, infectious energy on stage, and overall demeanor all contributed to a really enjoyable stage show.

Image courtesy of www.flickr.com

Later on that night, we changed gears and went back to hip-hop, although some wouldn’t even classified some of what we listened to as such. At any rate, Lady Sovereign’s set went well. She seems to be one of those many artists that has a lot of talent but can’t seem to consistently find a broad audience. It’s unfortunate. After her came Asher Roth. His current big hit “I Love College” was a huge hit, but his charisma and fun stageshow seem to indicate some staying power, or at least, some staying power for right now. Finally, despite being hoarse, Kid Sister came out and performed. Her show featured a couple of dancers, a lot of dance music, and hoarse vocals. Needless to say, it left something to be desired, but it was still a good show, as long as you don’t mind letting loose a little and just having some fun dancing and being entertained (as opposed to being as mentally stimulated as you would at maybe a Mos Def show, etc.).

Image courtesy of www.nme.com

As hip-hop is fairly easy to define according to which region it comes from, on Friday night, we moved to the dirty south. I felt lucky to experience one of the pioneers of the dirty south movement and a trailblazer for all those small-vocabulary rappers from Atlanta. But truthfully, Big Boi’s a star in his own right, and a very good lyricist. It’s truly telling of Austin and SXSW, but this was actually one of the least crowded shows we went to. It was in the Austin Music Hall, so there was plenty more space, but it occurs to me that a few years earlier, I would assume this show would’ve been much more packed in. At any rate, Big Boi mixed in some Outkast and some of his solo work, deftly transitioning from party song to political number and back again. Despite him not looking like any superathlete, he brought a lot of energy and got a solid response from his audience.

Now, I’m not in the best shape of my life, either, and I don’t really drink that much. Blame it on me no longer being single, but even though I’ve been working out a lot lately, the alcohol takes a toll on me. Suffice it to say that when I go out to stuff like this, I feel I should be drinking. If for no other reason, we’ll say that I feel that I should be doing my part to support the venues that host these shows. By Saturday night, we were fairly well exhausted. But that wouldn’t stop me from seeing one of my favorite hip-hop acts of all time, Dead effing Prez!!!

Image courtesy of www.damagecontrolradio.org

Unfortunately, Dead Prez seems to have moved from Brooklyn to Atlanta and their upcoming album reflects it in the beats. That being said, the whole rest of the show was a lot of southern hip-hop that just didn’t compare with what they were doing. I like Bun B okay, but not like the rest of Texas, which loves him. And before Bun B, whom was just before Dead Prez, it was local acts, again, with fairly limited vocabularies. All that being said, by the time Dead Prez was ready, the majority of Bun B fans had left. It was very very strange to see how Caucasian the audience was considering lines from Dead Prez like, “I’m down for runnin’ up on some crackers in their City Hall.” I’ll pause to allow some reflection on this irony. *Pausing* Okay, that having been said, I’m mostly a white guy who mostly agrees with Dead Prez, so I guess I just assumed I was more marginalized than I am. At any rate, Dead Prez came on and just seemed like stars from the first moment. I yelled nearly every word of nearly every song at them in unison. Their energy was high and they had a lot to say. It’s obvious that they’re genuinely concerned with the state of our country’s people, and they actually took a few moments out to talk about the incident in Oakland with the police shooting. The show was so great that I just wanted it to go on all night. It was easily the most exciting show, despite my apparent bias, even better than U-N-I and Asher Roth and that Japanese band, the Sparta Locals.

I figure I learned something from SXSW. Austin’s hip-hop scene is fairly nominal and a very mixed bag, and I think that some of the hip-hop shows probably suffered as a result of the lack of substantial buzz for hip-hop in Austin. It really made the shows a little less enjoyable, I have to admit, and I’d imagine the artists aren’t as geared up to perform for a half-empty venue as they are for a full one. That being the case, I might change my strategy next year. Then again, I might be performing next year, and I might just have a full venue, if I’m lucky. We’ll see. All in all, it was a fun time.

Headlines This Week 3/20

• If you’re the boss, you get to bring your dog to the office. Make that dogs plural. Valentino Garavani, the Italian fashion designer who reigned for 45 years before his retirement in September 2007, never went anywhere without his six adorable pet pugs. They, along with celebrity fans such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Hurley and Sarah Jessica Parker, all turn up in Valentino: the Last Emperor, a fascinating new documentary about the designer. People.com
• Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone are engaged. The designer and his ad executive boyfriend, who have been together for about a year, will go public with the news beginning Thursday, when they arrive in Brazil wearing rings. The couple is headed to Martone’s native Sao Paolo for a fete celebrating the Marc Jacobs multibrand store there, which opened in January. They have not set a wedding date. WWD.com
• I don’t need to be a bride to know the importance of wedding attire, and neither does Net-a-Porter. The site has just launched a cool wedding boutique and it’s filled with beautiful offerings for everyone in the bridal party. Each category — bridal, bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and guest — provides an in-depth selection of designer dresses and accessories. Think of it as an upscale online bridal salon minus the frumpy frocks. FabSugar.com
• An UPSIDE to the financial crisis: The auditor of Crocs has “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to stay in business amid falling revenue. Praise! NYMag.com
• So you’re in Austin. Whether you’re there for South by Southwest, taking in the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo or live there permanently, you might get a sudden itch to go Texas on your wardrobe. Statesman.com
• A Project Runway finalist is accused of using her cat as a weapon during a spat with her ex-fiance. Kenley Collins told the New York Post that the Brooklyn police report exaggerated the incident. She calls it “a miscommunication.” USAToday.com
• It’s amazing what a little contorted posing and photoshop (I’m assuming) can do for an overweight songbird. Adele is the latest chunk monster to get Voguefied. Annie Leibovitz shot this image of the recent Grammy winner, creating a shape that is a far, far cry for her normal build. FashionIndie.com

Ten Minutes with Kori Jones of I-Rok Gems

For jewelry designer Kori Jones, 2008 has been a pretty mellow year. While her husband has been serving in Iraq, she managed to successfully launch her jewelry business I-Rok Gems. She was voted one of the Top 20 New Designers in Texas. Then, four weeks ago she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Wonder Woman, try to keep up!

Texas-based Kori started out as a buyer for a small chain of bead stores. It was there that she realized she just cultivated her gift as a designer. Being a buyer just wasn’t enough. Kori started designing, manufacturing, and creating her own line of jewelry. Her first line, The Italian Collection, is inspired by the Venetian tradition of glass blowing. She uses bold colors, modern designs, and unique shapes to set her designs apart from the masses. Kori’s latest creation is inspired by Mother Nature’s natural forces—Earth, Fire, Water, and Air—“to express the goodness that is all around us.” With a new baby, a thriving new business, and a husband on his safe return home, Kori Jones has an incredible amount of goodness around her. Thanks for sharing some of it with us!

Oligoville: Describe a typical day in your life.

Jones: Well this year has been particularly interesting as far as trying to balance starting a business, giving birth to my first child four weeks ago, and dealing with my husband’s departure to Iraq for the year. I would say a typical day involves a lot of multitasking that includes: designing jewelry, contacting stores, delegating the workload, and more recently trying to do all that while keeping up with a new little girl.

Oligoville: When did you know that you just had to be a designer?

Jones: In 2007. I had worked as a buyer for nine years for a local bead company and then tried my hand at being a sales rep for a jewelry company out of California and finally realized that I should be trying use my skills to make something of my own happen. I had been making jewelry for ten years by then and my past jobs had helped me make some good contacts, so I decided to try my hand at designing full time in November of last year.

Oligoville: What three things got you where you are today?

Jones:

1. A love for jewelry!
2. The support of my husband.
3. A desire to try and incorporate being my own boss while doing something I love.

Oligoville: On a typical day, describe what you’re wearing and where you found it.

Jones: I prefer to wear more basic clothes with more exotic jewelry. It has been a while since I shopped for clothes due to being pregnant, but I love to buy local jewelry designers from Austin places like Parts and Labour on South Congress and Adelante on 38th.

Oligoville: What advice do you have for aspiring designers?

Jones: Love what you do and find people who can help you market yourself.

Oligoville: What do you do to kick back, relax, and let loose?

Jones: My husband and I are outdoor people and we enjoy traveling. We also like to go scuba diving and caving.

Oligoville: If you could dress any celebrity, who would it be and why?

Jones: Uma Thurman because she looks great in bold jewelry, she is fierce in her fashion choices and she is a strong independent woman (not to mention gorgeous).

Oligoville: If you were not a designer, what would you be?

Jones: Well I am enjoying being a mother. But I would also give teaching some thought.

Oligoville: What superpower would you like to have and why?

Jones: I would be like Barbara Eaden from “I Dream of Jeannie” … I could blink and things could be organized or cleaned up just like that.

Oligoville: When did you last laugh out loud?

Jones: Today and as often as possible.