Fender's Guide to SXSW 

Broadway Calls lead singer/guitarist Ty Vaughn.

Hundreds of musicians hoping for a break (and even some who’ve already made it big––Hole, Thurston Moore and Stone Temple Pilots, for instance) will converge on Austin, Texas, in mid-March for the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival, which features acts from around the globe on more than 80 stages downtown.

Fender will have a home base at two locations right in the thick of the action: Gear Alley at the Austin Convention Center and Filter magazine’s Showdown at Cedar Street. 

Here’s what’s in store at both locations:

The Fender booth at Gear Alley will be stocked with our latest featured products and a live demo of Fender’s Worldwide Band Jam Powered by eJAMMING® AUDiiO. We’ll also have kiosks where visitors can register for a chance to win a Fender American Special Stratocaster^® guitar.

Oregon punk rock trio Broadway Calls is one of many Fender-wielding bands slated to perform on the Gear Alley stage during SXSW. They’ll go on at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 18.

We’ll also have Fender gear on display at the Cedar Street Filter party, including the soon-to-be-shipped G-DEC® 3 amps. In fact, we’ll be giving away a Fender G-DEC 3 Thirty amplifier for those who register at this location. Look for us upstairs at Peche above the Cedar Street Courtyard.

Danish indie rockers the Kissaway Trail are the first of many of our Fender artists set to play the Filter bash at 1 p.m. that Thursday.

After Thursday’s Cedar Street Showdown, Fender will host an exclusive listening party with Melissa Auf der Maur for her new solo project, Out Of Our Minds (OOOM), upstairs at Peche from 6-7 p.m. To refresh your memory, Auf der Maur was the long-limbed redhead beauty who played bass for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins before striking out on her own.

The Cedar Street festivities continue on Friday, March 19, with two of our favorite bands taking the stage: Australian rockers the Temper Trap and British alternative rock trio Band of Skulls.

Band of Skulls’ U.K. brethren Athlete, the Boxer Rebellion and Frightened Rabbit close out the Cedar Street Showdown on Saturday, March 20.

For the complete Cedar Street Showdown lineup, click here. 

Fender also plans to hit the downtown Austin streets to catch both SXSW and Red Gorilla Festival acts by some of our other bands, including:

Bigbang. Billed as “Norway’s greatest live band,” Bigbang has drawn comparisons to R.E.M. and Double Trouble. They’ll play at the Crappy Records/Oglio Records party at the Cedar Door at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17.

Flying Machines. The soaring New York rock quartet headlines the Converse party at the Fader Hut at 9 p.m. Thursday, March 18.

Gift Horse. These Fender friends from Athens, Ga., are playing several SXSW shows. Check those dates at their MySpace page.

AutoVaughn. Fender’s Road Worn contest-winning band has a few shows scheduled. Catch them at the Thirsty Nickel at 5:30 p.m. on March 18 and at the Chuggin' Monkey on March 19 at 10 p.m. 

Visqueen. Rachel Flotard and company will be playing new album Message to Garcia at a handful of SXSW shows. Over the past few years, Flotard has lent her bold voice to Neko Case albums Middle Cyclone and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Case returned the favor with backing vocals on Visqueen’s “gigantic sing-a-long record with gangs of handclaps, hooks that kill, and the exalted blessing of electric guitars and cello.” 

Band of Horses. The Seattle/South Carolina sextet plays Thursday night, March 18, at Stubbs Bar-B-Q, hopefully playing new material off highly anticipated third album Infinite Arms, slated for a May 18 release.

The Black Angels Photo by Briana Purser

Black Angels. Called “disgustingly good” by Michael Schulz of our artist relations team, this Austin-based psychedelic rock band will be out and about in its home town throughout SXSW. Check show schedule at Black Angels MySpace.

Speaking of artist relations, our international team has recommended that we catch these acts from beyond our borders (check band websites for SXSW dates and times):

Fighting With Fire. Alt-rock/punk from Derry, Northern Ireland. Fighting With Fire MySpace  

Ghost of a Thousand. Punk quintet from Brighton, U.K. Ghost of a Thousand MySpace 

Failsafe (formerly Duckhunt). Hails from Preston, England and is influenced by all manner of punk, reggae and metal. Failsafe MySpace 

Twin Atlantic. Alt-rock straight from Glasgow, Scotland. Twin Atlantic MySpace.  

And So I Watch You From Afar. Post-rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a reputation for energetic live shows. ASIWYFA MySpace 

Finally, friends recommended that we catch Andy Clockwise—actually multi-instrumentalist Andy Kelly, whose act has been described as “Prince meets the Pixies meets Björk meets Sly & the Family Stone meets Beck meets the Ramones meets the Velvet Underground.” Since we’re fans of all the above, we’ll take the tip. Andy Clockwise MySpace. 

 

More Artist