The WFUV Road Trip: The SXSW Report -- in case you missed it!

Well, the first WFUV Road Trip has come to an end, as has this year's SXSW festival. But we had two intrepid reporters braving mass quantities of beer, BBQ -- and of course, music -- to get us the scoop on just what goes down in Austin at this time of year. From Emmylou to Aqualung, WFUV's Rita Houston and Alisa Ali covered a lot of ground, and luckily had a mic in hand to record some of the highlights.

So check out their three days of reports from SXSW, and also take a listen to Rita's stop at the NPR "All Songs Considered" SXSW Roundtable.

- WFUV Road Trip: The SXSW Report (Day 1)
- WFUV Road Trip: The SXSW Report (Day 2)
- WFUV Road Trip: The SXSW Report (Day 3)
- NPR "All Songs Considered" SXSW Roundtable

Enjoy!

Sarah Wardrop
- WFUV Music Interview Producer

Roller Derby is the new Black

TXRB was the entertainment on the final night of SXSW. That's Texas Roller Derby. When i was a kid the roller derby on channel 9 had such an impact on me I was psyched to experience it live for the first time! There's DEF a retro/hipness to it now. Back in the day it was more like scary old ladies with too much make up. Now its mega tattoos, torn fishnets, and scantily clad tough girls! Once we caught on to the actual rules--yes, apparently it's not just about toppling the skater in front of you, it was pretty fun. The players all have clever names too like Smother Teresa, Axel Rosie and my fave, Lucky Harm. I'm not sure if this trend is catching on here in NYC yet, but i'm thinking if my FUV gig ever gets boring I'll start up a Roller Derby team. I'll just need a tough name!

more from SXSW

Amy Winehouse, Cold War Kids and all the 'old guys' were the stories coming out of SXSW for me this year. Turns out my search for the 'new Supremes' came true in UK star Amy Winehouse--she has that old fashioned STAR POWER, great voice and solid songs. On stage, she's a bad girl too --you just can't take your eyes off her. Oddly, the title track from her new album is a Baby Love rip off. Check her out tho! SXSW is generally all about new artists and debuts but this year the old guys did it for me. Stax Records Revue, Lee Scratch Perry, Public Enemy, Emmylou Harris, Iggy and the Stooges, Rickie Lee Jones and Vashti Bunyan to name a few.

Stax and Lee Scratch Perry broke a long stretch of white guy rock and it was liberating to actually dance and enjoy the groove of music. Talk about groove--Booker T and the MG's! It was good to see Isaac Hayes too altho he was looking a bit frail. Williams Bell did Private Number and then Eddie Floyd came out. Wow! It was so cool to see these guys too (OK, DISCLAIMER HERE--BEWARE ELITIST STATEMENT COMING:) in a setting of music lovers and critcs as opposed to a casino or on some greatest hits/olides tour. I wonder if that matters to them. One thing is for sure, they probably make more money at Foxwoods.

Speaking of greatest hits tours, Rickie Lee Jones is NOT on one. She is def on her own trip and groove these days and i am so moved by her new material and her love of it. I caught her a few times live and even on the radio once at KGSR. Which, btw, is a really good commercial station with the occasional really bad song. You'll hear Prine, Townes, and Dylan but then get thrown off by Shattered or I'm Goin Down or bad Squeeze. But they had Rickie on for like 30 minutes just playing live and talking. I was glued to the radio and that usually only happens back home for me!

SXSW - Rita Houston

It's an odd experience to take in live music in the daytime but that's
part of the experience in Austin. then again it's also pretty unusual to
drink margaritas at 12noon too. It actually all started for me with Forro
in the Dark at breakfast! Next time your in Austin you must check out Las
Manitas-i recommend the vegetarian Huevos especial con Migas washed down
with a watermelon aqua fresca. Two tables down offered me the opportunity
for the first POUNCE of the day--martha wainwright. Alisa wasted no time
pouncing on her faves, Cold War Kids who will likely emerge from SXSW with
a much higher profile. A stop at a Starbucks for a midday, post margarita
pick me up was music filled with the new and better looking CSNY! Have
you heard about the Low Stars yet? They played acoustic over the din of
barista calls of 'Venti Venti Venti'. Alisa headed south while i went
east. She found Money Mark, Aqualung and a grilled cheese. I found some
fancy sushi and sake! Off to the night time shows. more later

SXSW Recap - Alisa Ali

So SXSW is over and my head is still reeling from the madness of it all.
My socks were rocked off. My gut had been sufficiently filled with shinerbock beer and bbq and my feet are killing me.

I saw some great shows. Too many to recount right now. But I would have to say that Andrew Bird was my favorite... followed very closely by the Stooges reunion.

Andrew Bird...Ahhh so complex and beautiful. Swiftly switching from violin to guitar and back... all the while exhibiting his magnificent whistling abilities. Now, I thought I could whistle a tune, but boy, that guy really blows...in a good way. His performance was captivating. He had the whole room hanging on his every word & note. It was really mesmorizing and mysterious although no eggs were produced;)

& Iggy Pop. Yeah, Iggy pop. No, you don't need no stinkin shirt. BUT would it kill you to wear some pants that didnt threaten to fall completely off? But thats Iggy, huh. Nobody wears their pants lower. And how is so buff? He's like 60! But you know, that dude can rock. Hard core. He jumped into the crowd and was singing while being completely surrounded by adoring fans. At one point, he points up to the VIP section and says, " hello VIPs." "Hello NOBODY'S!" Oh man. That was great. Immediately afterwards, he starts singing "my idea of a good time is killing everyone" hahaha. Don't worry though. No VIPs were injured in the Stooges rock out. In fact, Kirsten Dunst was seen dancing unstage - unscathed - during their last song. By the way that girl is SKINNY. She doesnt look it on screen, but in real life she is very skeletor. But thats rock and roll chic isnt it.

Theres so much more to tell, like Peter Bjorn and John throwing swedish fish into the audience and crowds playing on a slip and slide of BBQ sauce, but that will come later. I gotta flight to catch.

(just kidding about the fish and BBQ sauce by the way. They didnt really do that. But it would have been a lot cooler if they did;)

-Alisa Ali -
WFUV producer.

P.S. Austin ROCKS!

Crowded House Webcast on March 17th

The newly reformed Crowded House will perform for a special live interactive webcast Saturday March 17th at 6pm New York time (10pm GMT). The band will perform from their rehearsal space near Bath, England. You'll be introduced to their new drummer and new songs from their just completed Time on Earth due out in June. Their first tour in a decade kicks off at the Coachella Festival in California on April 29. Visit www.crowdedhouseofficial.com to hear the stream.

Bubbie Kweller can cut a rug

You are about to watch the video of the year thus far. Ben Kweller's 82-year-old grandmother dancing to his latest song "Penny on the Train Track."





It's gold, Jerry. Gold.

Houston does Austin

Rita Houston reports back from SXSW in Austin

Peter Buck’s body language was screaming ‘don’t approach me’ as he sat in a first class aisle seat on the flight to Austin. Such is SXSW. U get Peter Buck on your plane. I did not say hi. Funny thing is I had my big headphones on sending out my own message I guess.

SXSW is spring break for the music business. At a time when the entertainment industry is in total flux and the music ‘business’ is shrinking fast, SXSW continues to grow. This is the place where the indie is the mainstream. Bands you, and I, have never heard of and may never hear again, get their shot. With thousands of bands playing from all over the world.

I’m listening to The Supremes on my way down wondering If I’ll catch a band that's all that---with that ‘star potential’. The next Supremes? Yeah, where are they? That’s what I’m going to look for. Baby Love, Come See About Me---you only need to hear those songs once to remember them. And the vocals, wow, those girls could sing. I caught Diana Ross on American Idol just 2 nights ago. It’s a sign. This is my mission---I must find the next Supremes.

I’m only half joking as SXSW features SO MANY bands with buzz both real and imagined it can make a girl cynical about what really matters. We’re all running around checking out these random bands but it’s all so indie and so niche based it won’t really have an impact. Or will it? Isn’t this where Norah Jones first attracted national attention or Franz Ferdnand or??? So, is that BIG STAR here—the one with old fashioned star power who can save the business??? I’ll let you know….

Dennis Elsas at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony

It's 1AM backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria and the show just ended. Once again I had the honor and great pleasure to be the announcer for the event.

This year's inductees certainly represented a wide and diverse spectrum of the rock world. From the legendary Ronettes (with Ronnie Spector in amazing voice) to the passionate performance and acceptance speech of Patti Smith, the thunder of Van Halen to the intensity of REM and the introduction of Hip Hop to the Hall with the sounds of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

There were loving tributes to Amhet Ertegun and James Brown, the always entertaining Keith Richards to welcome the Ronettes and an all-star jam featuring presenters Eddie Vedder, Stephen Stills, Keith and just about all the inductees that showed up. Noticeably absent were the Van Halen brothers and David Lee Roth, but that didn't seem to detract from the night's celebration.

Earlier in the day at rehearsal, Patti told me how happy she was that the song "People Have the Power" - written by her late husband Fred Sonic Smith - was used for the all star finale.

For the first time the entire show was broadcast live on VH1 Classic and AOL. A two hour highlight version will appear this weekend on VH1.

R.I.P. - Ian Wallace

Drummer Ian Wallace died recently. He lost his battle with esophageal cancer on Thursday, February 22. He was 60 years old. Ian was born on September 26, 1946 in England. Ian was a former member of King Crimson and a very successful session drummer. As a session musician, he played drums for Bob Dylan (Street Legal and At Budokan albums), Alexis Korner, Ry Cooder, Don Henley, David Lindley, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Jon Anderson, Crosby Stills and Nash, Brian Eno, Larry Coryell, Peter Frampton, John Fogerty, Dave Mason, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Steve Marriott, Al Kooper, Glenn Frey, Tim Buckley, Lonnie Mack, Billy Joel, Otis Spann, Sting, Steve Winwood, Bob Seger, Jimmy Buffett, Jo-El Sonnier, Procol Harum, Alvin Lee, Robben Ford, Linda Ronstadt, Boz Scaggs and Warren Zevon. In 2003, Ian joined the 21st Century Schizoid Band, a group featuring former members of King Crimson, and formed the Crimson Jazz Trio. He was also part of the groups Fission Trip and the Wallace / Trainor Conspiracy. His lone solo album was Happiness With Minimal Side Effects.
But, it was his tenure as a member of King Crimson that Ian is probably best known for. Ian was King Crimson's third drummer, replacing Andy McCulloch in early 1971. Ian remained with King Crimson until the spring of 1972. During that time, King Crimson released the studio album Islands and the live album Earthbound. This lineup featured King Crimson mainstay Robert Fripp (guitar and keyboards), Ian Wallace (drums), Boz (Burrell) (bass and lead vocals), Mel Collins (saxophones, flutes, keyboards) and Peter Sinfield. This edition of the band toured extensively and has been documented on a number of live albums from the King Crimson archives. Unfortunately, Ian is the second former member of this lineup of King Crimson to recently pass away. Boz Burrell, who was also the longtime bassist in Bad Company, died just five months before Ian on September 21, 2006. Boz was also 60 years old.

Darren DeVivo
3/4/07

Julianne Moore is hot!

I went to see "The Vertical Hour" on Broadway last night at the Music Box Theatre on West 45th Street. The show, which ends it's run this coming Sunday, stars Julianne Moore. In the words of Ed Norton, "Va va va voom!!"

Darren DeVivo
3/4/07