SXSW, Tomorrow Happens Today Starting March 12
By John K. Bates
Published: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
South by Southwest is on the near horizon again! From fairly humble beginnings in 1987, the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX has become one of the best and most influential Interactive, Film and Music Festivals in the world. I suppose that reflects two things. The tenacity and skill of the event’s organizers and the convergence of all types of media brought on by the rise of the Internet and digital media. My first experience of South by Southwest was way back in 1994, the first year that had a conference and festivals for the film and Interactive Festival. I spoke at the Interactive Conference and really enjoyed hobnobbing with the very early pioneers of the Interactive industry. For those of you who use it, Twitter hit its tipping point at SXSW in 2007. This year SXSW begins on March 12th and runs through March 21st, 2010.
Last year, as will happen again this year, a fantastic set of industry luminaries converged on Austin, TX to discuss the Interactive industry, make connections and party together. Some of the highlights for me included a panel moderated by Henry Jenkins of former Director of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Program, who has now come to Los Angeles to teach at USC. He became an instant hero of mine in 2008 at SXSWi. Henry is unabashedly upbeat and genuinely respects and loves people. His 2006 book “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide” examines the clash between Old and New Media and more importantly, between the cultures they engender. The fact that new media enables a culture that goes beyond just being a spectator and opens up being a participant, as well, brings about a social dynamic that is both terribly threatening, yet potentially extremely valuable to older media organizations. His bottom line is that fans present a wonderful opportunity if they are nurtured and treated with respect. Their participation with, and love of shows and other media properties is invaluable and when big media companies try to shut them down, or reject their participation by closing down fan websites, etc. they risk making themselves irrelevant as fans move to properties which value and welcome their participation. For anyone who is interested in, or makes their living in any media field I highly recommend http://henryjenkins.org along with his book.
As the Interactive conference wound down the music conference began. The IQ level went slightly down, but the already high “Party-Q” level skyrocketed. Downtown Austin turned into an enormous party. On every corner, at every bar, in every park and even some alleys music was played and parties were had. The downside of the music festival at SXSW is that you just can’t be in two places at once. It has led me to focus on the good stuff I do see, instead of the good stuff I end up missing. So, let me tell you about some of my favorites. First, I got to see one of my favorite bands for the first time; Gomez played on the enormous outdoor stage at Stubb’s, a world famous bbq restaurant. Gomez plays a very interesting mix of alternative/blues/indie rock and you can find them at http://www.myspace.com/gomez.
Then, I missed one of my favorites, Andrew Bird http://www.andrewbird.net/, because I was so taken with a Reggae artist I had never heard of before, Mishka http://www.mishka.com/. I am not a big Reggae fan, but Mishka is set to cross over to fans of other genres. I was truly blown away with how good his songs were. Not the usual “it all sounds the same” of some Reggae bands, but rather a very melodic, beautiful collection of songs, played by excellent musicians. His new album “Above the Bones” is excellent. One of his celebrity fans is Matthew McConahay, for what it’s worth.
If you’re interested in the Interactive/Internet space, Film, and/or Music watch for articles referencing South by Southwest SXSW this week. It is already interesting to go to Twitter and search for SXSW, as well. You can get a real feel for what’s going on: http://twitter.com/#search?q=sxsw
As they say at SXSW, tomorrow happens here, and from my experience, they’re right!
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