Alas, another SXSW is in the books. A wild frenzy of live music, panel discussions, pedicab rides, tacos (and beer), networking, late nights, and crowded bars – somehow it all makes for the premier music conference in America.
As Music Director, it’s invigorating to step away from our basement studios to appreciate the profound difference KCRW makes for independent music around the world. I was especially gratified to be able to move through different music communities in attendance at SXSW. From Alternative Rock, to Electronic, Folk, and World Music, staged at …

SXSW is over.  It took me an eternity to get home.  I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.  But — what an amazing 5 days of music!  It’s rare that I get to be in a time and place where my only obligation (in between radio shows) is to see as much music as possible.
SXSW is a remarkable music festival because its key is community and enthusiasm.  Being together with thousands of people who just want to immerse themselves in music is quite remarkable.  Yes, there were music …

I’ve missed a few days of blogging and my only excuse is that I was trying to see as many bands as possible at SXSW before returning to LA. Now I want to share some of the highlights. Here it goes:
Band That Exceeded My Expectations:
Surfer Blood (They were the talk of the festival and I chased them for days before finally catching a show.)
Also, The xx. Very sexy, cool music. And you can check that out here
Best Stage Banter:
Tie between Soko and Courtney Love. Both were explicit and very …

Austin rocks – and the music festival has only just begun!
I arrived @ midnight on Friday for my first SXSW Film festival experience and its been great – I’ve seen really good films, the vibe is relaxed and very sociable- allowing me to meet lots of the film making community , the local cinemas are terrific – especially the Alamo theatres & the Paramount where you can enjoy a beer and good food during the movie!! – and taxi drivers know where they are going! …

Tara McPherson is a renowned visual artist who has been dubbed the Princess of Poster Art by Elle Magazine. LA’s rock scene was a huge inspiration for her, as was the punk feminist themes of the Riot Grrrl movement in the ‘90s. In her Guest DJ set,  you can hear how she got her start as a poster artist for artists like Melvins, Beck and Modest Mouse.
Tara is exhibiting her work here at SXSW as part of Flatstock – an art exhibition dedicated to rock posters at the Austin Convention …

From November to March every year, SXSW dominates my thoughts — which bands we want on KCRW’s showcases, who we’ll feature on our live broadcasts of Morning Becomes Eclectic, and much more. Then I get here and it all goes by in a flash! Last night, I caught a local band – Shadow Shadow Shade — in a small room at IFC studios where they taped the performance for broadcast. The tiny room made it that much more exciting and the band was solid. A 7-piece that would delight fans …

Every year I get into Austin at the tail end of the Interactive portion of the SXSW conference, which means I get to watch a city flooded with tech folks turn into what some people call rock ‘n’ roll Spring Break. The transformation happens almost overnight and its a blast to witness. You start to hear rumblings about which big bands are playing secret shows (I hear a big English rock trio is playing Stubbs on Friday) and which smaller bands are the ones to watch (so far — Broken …

I stumbled upon The Whigs at a day showcase during SXSW a few years ago. They’re a tight garage rock trio from Athens and all of them are incredible musicians, but I immediately focused in on their drummer Julian. He seemed to have super human strength and speed and I couldn’t take my eyes of him. I got their debut record and to be perfectly honest, it didn’t totally blow me away. Not after the live performance I had witnessed.
About 4 years later, they are now readying the release of …

Orange County natives Voxhaul Broadcast have been getting steady airplay on Morning Becomes Eclectic in the last few weeks and we wanted to shed some light on this up and coming local band. First off, a sneak peak of the music — this is “Shoot the Breeze” off an unreleased demo:
Voxhaul Broadcast: Shoot the Breeze
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Their music is catchy guitar rock with a heavy soul influence (love those vocals!). Voxhaul Broadcast is preparing the release of a batch of new songs produced by Chris …

Denmark’s Choir of Young Believers will play KCRW’s night showcase on Wednesday, March 17 during the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, TX.  We hosted the band on Morning Becomes Eclectic late last year and the session was so fantastic, we immediately asked if we could feature them at the event. The band is the brainchild of Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, who performs his grandiose pop with a rotating cast of supporting players. Their stunning music is marked by magisterial melodies and a healthy dose of cathedral-grade reverb.
Hear a sample online at …