Boston Band Crush Archived Article: Festival Crush: Calumet-Hecla at SXSW

This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ). Calumet-Hecla, fresh off a tour of Brazil are making the trip down to SXSW, here’s what they had to say about it:

SXSW Interview Questions:

1. Where/When are you playing?

We are playing our “official” show below:

SXSW/BR
BRAZIL OFFICIAL PARTIES ON SXSW
EVENTS SUPPORTED BY BM&A / ABRAFIN / TRONCO
Fri – 03/20 @ Palm Door: 401 Sabine St.
After-hours Caipirinha party
12:30am – Calumet-Hecla (USA)
1:15am – Nancy (Brasil)
2am – Pterodactyl (USA)
2:45am – Holger (Brasil)
3:30pm – Starfucker (USA)
4:15pm – Max Tundra (UK)
5pm – Los Pirata (Brasil)

We are actually getting into town on the night of the 18th and hope to be getting on some “unofficial” shows on the 19th and possibly 20th, and 21st. We shall see!

2. How did you get your SXSW gig?
Our official showcase is being sponsored/put on by our booking agency from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tronco Productions. You can find them here:
, and

We have been on Tronco for about a year and they just recently brought us to Brazil at the end of last year, late Nov/Dec. The tour was an experience of a lifetime as Brazil is an amazing country, not to mention we also got to open up for Helmet and The Vaseline’s on two dates! It was also one of the first tours of a project that Tronco is setting up to bring US bands to Brazil. Touring in Brazil at the moment is like stepping back in time to touring in the states in the 80’s. There is not a large DIY community/network set up yet, however when people hear that a band is traveling from the states down there, they flock to the shows in support. Tronco is also working with two other bands from MA, Ketman from Boston, and The Motel Matches
from Hardwick. Ketman is actually just about to go down on the same tour we did, next month.

3. Is this your first time at SXSW?
Yes, this will be the first time at SXSW for everyone in the band.

4. How important do you think it is to have an “official” showcase?No we don’t think it’s that important. We’ve had many of our friends play SXSW and they all tell us it’s all about the experience and it’s not super important to playan “official” showcase. There can be just as many people at the un-official ones as the official. We shall see.

5. What do you hope to achieve by playing at SXSW?
We hope to be able to get our music out in front of a new audience and at the sametime taking in all that the fest has to offer. Not to mention getting some sun, seeing some great bands and having some caipirinha’s!!

6. How do you plan to use the conference (beyond your show) to promote
yourself?
We are going to be bringing down a bunch of free copies of our recent EP 5:13 to give away to people at our shows, or just in general. We also may setup a link on our site to download some of our music during the fest. Jason may also be speaking on a panel discussing our recent tour to Brazil, which may also provide some exposure to the band.

7. Are you attending any of the actual conference? Are you attending
other shows, what shows/bands are you looking forward to?
I think we’re going to try…all depends on what happens when we get down there. As far as the bands??? Man, that’s tough…I (Jason) think each of us would mention several different ones. As far as myself, I’m looking to try and see Tyveck, Gallows, Maps and Atlases, Obits, the life and times…just to name a few.

8. Do you expect that Boston will have a strong showing this year?
From the looks of it yes!! There also seems to be a bunch of bands that will be going down this year and playing, but just not official showcases. Should be a blast!!