This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ).
The Kominas!
SXSW Interview Questions:
1. Where/When are you playing?
We’re part of the Heavy Metal Islam showcase on Friday, March 20th at Club 115…It’s basically an “all-star hour” (starting at 11pm) or “taqwacore” or “muslim punk” bands getting together and playing a few songs each.
2. How did you get your SXSW gig?
Mark LeVine put this show together
3. Is this your first time at SXSW?
Yes, it’s our first time
4. How important do you think it is to have an “official” showcase?
We’re more interested in meeting/networking with bands/industry people, but are very thrilled to actually have a showcase. From what we’ve been told, even though you might have a showcase, you still need to make sure you do everything you can to make the most of your time at the festival.
5. What do you hope to achieve by playing at SXSW?
We will only be in Austin for like 2 days, we’re all driving from
Chicago, Boston, Canada, etc… so we want to leave a mark…We have a documentary due out this year as well about Muslim Punk rock for which we’ll be shooting the final scenes (all the taqwacore bands in the US went on tour a couple of years ago and this is our reunion, so we want to try to make it a great show)…The Kominas are the only band from Boston, but there will also be Vote Hezbollah, Secret Trial Five, Al-Thawra, and Diacritical….
6. How do you plan to use the conference to promote yourself?
The aformentioned documentary will be part of some sort of panel there a few days before the gig…The author of “The Taqwacores” (the book that started it all) will be there as well.