This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ).
Muck and the Mires were kind enough to answer my SXSW questions, and I think there are some real insights here in how to maximize your SXSW experience.
SXSW Interview Questions:
1. Where/When are you playing?
We were fortunate to get a fantastic showcase. We are playing right before The New York Dolls on Friday March 20 at Smokin’ Music presented by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co, 504 Trinity Street. Our set is 11:30pm.
2. How did you get your SXSW gig?
Like most bands, we apply every year. At first we did not get in, so in 2006 we decided to create our own buzz and bought plane tickets to Austin and set up our own shows right on 6th Street. It worked, and we have been fortunate to have made some valued contacts, friends and fans at the festival, and every year we try to build a little more on the previous year¹s success. We hope it continues!
3. Is this your first time at SXSW?
This is our third official showcase.
4. What was your experience at past SXSWs?
Our shows at SXSW have been fruitful and have generally been on good nights in good locations, but with so much music happening all at once, and everyone there vying for attention, you really have to work hard to get the people you want to see your band at your show, regardless of time and location.
5. How important do you think it is to have an “official” showcase? Well a SXSW show is always better because they do a fantastic job of promoting their shows, and you get the opportunity to reel in all the people with the pre-paid wristbands, but for us, just playing in Austin was helpful and I believe helped build our valued relationship with the festival.
6. What do you hope to achieve by playing at SXSW?
Most importantly, we hope to have a great time and play an incredible show. Those two things seem to go hand in hand for us. We want to win over some new fans and hopefully make some new ones. And of course hopefully make some new fans who are also important music industry people.
7. How do you plan to use the conference (beyond your show) to promote yourself?
We have a stalking and hawking plan. We’ll be stalking the industry people, and when we find them, we’ll be hawking our new album, Hypnotic, produced by Rock legend Kim Fowley. We’ll be pushing www.muckandthemires.com for those who’s suitcases are too full to take our physical product home with them. Everything they need to know about the band is up there.
8. Are you attending any of the actual conference? Are you attending other shows, what shows/bands are you looking forward to?
We will probably go see The Sonics, and artists we have played with before such as The Woggles, The Uglybeats and Wayne Kramer of the MC5. We will also be going to the conference. The first year, we opted for the money instead of the pass, but last year we decided to check things out, and we ended up meeting all sorts of people in the industry. We convinced VOX amplification to come to our show and we left Texas with an endorsement. We also signed with GHS strings. We had Kim Fowley with us last year, and he was a riot. He’s not afraid of anything, so we got to do things like crash the green room and meet ex-Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
9. Do you expect that Boston will have a strong showing this year?
I hear there are quite a few Boston bands going down. I’ll have to read this blog! Its funny…you usually see some familiar faces on the plane. Last year we were on Jen Trynin’s flight…two years earlier, the Neighborhoods crew.
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Thanks again to Muck and the Mires for taking the time to answer our questions, be sure to catch their CD Release party April 17th at TT the Bears.
