>From our fine music writer, with a KC slant but good anyhow.

It's a longshot in the Lone Star state

By TIMOTHY FINN - The Kansas City Star
Date: 03/24/00 00:01

AUSTIN, Texas -- The South by Southwest Music Conference is
supposed to give unsigned bands a shot at getting record-label
deals, but most musicians know going in that it's a shot in the dark. 
"There is a drawback to having 900 bands in one city at the same
time," said Rex Hobart, who brought his Misery Boys to Austin last
week to perform at the conference. 

"I'm not sure how much real listening gets done there. Most of the
powers-that-be seem to spend most of their time in the corner
talking with other businesspeople." 

Either that or they're at the bigger venues watching the big-name
performers like Steve Earle, who packed an outdoor venue on a
cold, stormy Thursday night, and Patti Smith, who drew more than
5,000 people to Waterloo Park north of downtown Austin on
Friday. 

Hobart & the Misery Boys weren't trolling for a record deal,
though. They drove all night Wednesday to play three short gigs in
two days: at a record store and then at a party and a showcase for
their label, Bloodshot Records of Chicago. The compensation: an
official wristband, which provides access to all music venues, or
$125 in cash. 

"We had a good experience," Hobart said. "For all intents and
purposes, it's a schmoozefest, but our label has pretty firm footing 
in the Austin scene, and that's the primary reason we went down there
-- for some exposure. It was cheaper for us, having a label, but still
we didn't do the wristband thing. We needed the gas money." 

Another local band, Mike Ireland & Holler, played Friday night to a
couple hundred people at the Ritz Lounge in downtown Austin. 

"It was really fun and really hectic," Ireland said. "The whole thing 
is overwhelming, really: thousands of people trying to crowd into bars
to see all these shows. For the bands, it's chaotic. You've got 15
minutes to throw your stuff on stage, tune everything and get going.
Then you have 40 minutes to play, which for us was nine songs. It's
all over pretty quickly." 

Ireland is shopping for a label deal after he and Sub Pop parted
ways last year. "We've been talking to a few labels," he said, "and
some of them actually showed up to watch us play and meet with us
afterward. 

"So, yes, overall it was encouraging and worth it. But I think people
go down to Austin with this idea that they're going to get
`discovered,' and I really don't know that there's much of a
possibility of that." 

Like Hobart, local band Hadacol played a showcase for its label,
Checkered Past. The scheduling wasn't exactly ideal, however. At
the same time Hadacol was performing, Patti Smith was wrapping
up her show at Waterloo Park; Whiskeytown and then Shelby
Lynne were playing at the Austin Music Hall; and Ireland & Holler
were performing at the Ritz. 

"We had a great time, and it was worth it all," said 
guitarist/vocalist Greg Wickham, "but the scheduling was kind of 
frustrating. Acts like Holler and Whiskeytown are right up our alley, 
so it's a tough choice for a lot of people who like our kind of music. 
Last year we had an even tougher draw. We played at the same time as 
Lucinda Williams and either right before or after Tom Waits." 

For Hadacol, whose gig got a big recommendation from the weekly
Austin Chronicle, the payoff was a chance to play for some
promoters and writers from overseas. 

"We're hoping to do some kind of European tour this summer," he
said. "Our manager talked to a promoter from Sweden who said
we've been favorably reviewed over there. So we're a `known
commodity' in Sweden, which is kind of bizarre. We also met up
with a writer from Q (a British magazine) who gave our record a
really good review last year. 

"I think the (conference) has changed. To some extent, I think it has
become a way for a big label to see some signed acts and pick up
an artist from a smaller label. It's got to be tough being an unsigned
band hoping to get a deal. All the signed acts and showcases steal
all the attention." 

As someone who saw just a couple of forgettable unsigned bands at
the conference, I can second that assertion. The highlights of my
three nights: 

Neko Case and Her Boyfriends: Case is a redheaded spitfire
from Virginia who lives in Seattle and writes original traditional
country songs. During her 40-minute set at Antone's, she cussed,
sipped bourbon and filled the packed house with her powerful
voice, which sounds at once like Patsy Cline and Maria McKee. 

Shelby Lynne: Not too many people figured she'd reproduce the
satiny, orchestral sound of her celebrated new record, "I Am Shelby
Lynne," especially in the clangy, cavernous Austin Music Hall. But
she did, without the strings but with well-orchestrated guitars,
keyboards and vocals. 

Steve Earle: He's working out a new band and playing material
from his new record (due in June), and he played outdoors on a
cold, wet night. Still he rocked hard for an hour, playing lots of
favorites and closing with a bombshell: a true cover of Nirvana's
"Bleach." 

Calexico: They added a pedal steel guitar and then some horns to
the guitar, standup bass and drum, but all that sound didn't
overwhelm this trio's enchanting cactus-country shtick. 

Martha Wainwright: Nice pedigree. Her father is Loudon
Wainwright, her mother is Kate McGarrigle, and her brother is
Rufus Wainwright. Martha sings folk-pop, but with enough soul to
separate her from a legion of crystal-voiced pretenders.