SXSW Watchlist: Bowerbirds
Bowerbirds are a band we have given tons of love to over here at ATH, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see their name pop up when we talk about bands we want to see during SXSW. These guys have been doing their thing musically now for close to 4 years, all the while touring the country from coast to coast. Their sounds fall into the indie-folk category with plucked acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, and a less is more approach to music. Also as stated previously, we’ve seen Bowerbirds twice in Austin over the last year or so and we’ll be waiting in line to see them again. Leading up to SXSW, we had the chance to shoot some interview questions over to leading man Phil Moore. Follow the jump for some SXSW oriented questions with Phil.
ATH: If you were creating a festival, who are the headlining acts? Who would never be allowed to play?
Phil: Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimi Hendrix, Riche Havens, Santana, The Greatful Dead, and we’d make sure Joni was there this time. Bands like that. On the other hand, Bowerbirds would not be allowed to play because they would be too busy taking psychedelic drugs and stripping and having the best time of their lives or at least they wouldn’t be born yet.
ATH: Are there any bands you want to see while you’re in town for SXSW, or are you just going to go with the flow?
Phil: CALIFONE for sure. I want to see them twice, once with the feature film and once without. And………Antlers, Basia Bulat, Bear in Heaven, Broken Social Scene, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Cave Singers, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Deer Tick, Frightened Rabbit, Hammer no more the Fingers, Japanther, Lost in the Trees, The Love Language, Midlake, Sarah Jaffe, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Sleepy Sun, Sharon Van Etten, Wye Oak, The XX. Who knows, could happen.
ATH: We have three options: BBQ, Tacos, Beer. Which is the most important to you on your visit to Austin?
Phil: Tacos from the taco wall. Really, though, we are all about the bi bim bap and bubble tea from the korean place down the street.
ATH: Seeing as the whole music industry is in town for SXSW, what you think about the current state of affairs with the music industry? Does it need to be fixed? Any ideas on how to do that?
Phil: I don’t see anything gravely wrong with the music industry. It’s normal in any industry for the suits to want to be close to the artists and throw a party. The artists get a lot of free stuff and get to have a good time. If people think there is something wrong with the music industry, I would invite them to take the “industry” part off and play guitars and banjos and accordions in the living room with their friends. Both are fun times.
ATH: You have one twitter post to promote your band at SXSW, what does that post say (140 characters)?
Phil: Bowerbirds play wed 11pm @Club de Ville. Thursday 1:30pm @Mohawk. free muti-colored to-scale globes of the earth to the first 800 people.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/northernlights.mp3]Download: Bowerbirds – Northern Lights [MP3]