This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ). Blues-folk songstress Eilen Jewell is headed down to Austin before heading over to Europe, and took a few moments to answer our probing questions.
SXSW Interview Questions:
1. Where/When are you playing?
On Wednesday, my band and I are playing the AMU Communications showcase at
Giddy Ups, followed by a Signature Sounds/Mongrel Music showcase at the Velveeta Room. Then on Thursday we’ll be at Opal Devine’s (Penn Field) for an unofficial showcase with 3rd Coast Music. There will also be a healthy dose of radio shows and interviews sprinkled throughout the three shows.
2. How did you get your SXSW gig? My booking agent and record label worked their magic.
3. Is this your first time at SXSW? This will be my second time performing at SXSW. The first time was 2007. Our second record, Letters from Sinners and Strangers, came out later that year so we were looking to promote the new release.
4. If you’ve gone before how did it go?Our performances went well. At the time though it kind of felt like we were just a drop in a bucket. The effects of our shows were felt for months afterwards, when the gig offers started coming in from presenters who had first heard us there.
5. How important do you think it is to have an official showcase?I’m not really sure. I know there’s a lot of opinions out there about that. We’ve played official and unofficial showcases and they’ve seemed equally
well-attended and worthwhile.
6. What do you hope to achieve by playing at SXSW? I want to hear some great bands, make some new fans, and eat some good tex-mex food in the sunshine. And no, I won’t use that as a lyric for a song.
7. How do you plan to use the conference to promote yourself? Hmmm…I’m considering doing something obsene and getting arrested. There’s no such thing as bad press, right? Sometimes it seems as though it might take something as drastic as that, but we’re actually just planning on passing out little cards with our performance times on them.
8. Are you attending other shows, what shows/bands are you looking forward to? I’m hoping I’ll be able to catch the Doug Sahm Tribute, the Iguanas, Dave Alvin, and our fellow Boston pals Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles.
9. Do you expect that Boston will have a strong showing this year? Wealways have a strong showing, from what I understand. We’re just a great city for music.