SXSW Interview: The Academic
I think one of the greatest things about SXSW is finding new artists from other countries; it’s better than free beer and swag. Today we get to catch up with the Irish indie rockers, The Academic. Jump below to check out what they had to say when we passed them our questionnaire.
ATH: For a lot of bands, this is their first time coming to SXSW, Austin, or even the United States. What are you anticipating for your arrival into our town? Anything youre really hoping to do (again) while youre here?
The Academic: We couldn’t be more excited to play SXSW for the first time, especially after reading and hearing so much about Austin. I guess we don’t really know what to expect but we’re fully ready to embrace the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ side of things!
ATH: For most SXSW sets, you get 30 minutes to leave a lasting impression. Whats your plan of attack? You have a set list mapped out yet?
The Academic:We have done a lot of short 30 minute sets from gigging around the UK & Europe festival circuit so we are pretty used to it. Our set list isn’t quite mapped out yet but the plan of attack is always to go with the flow and make sure everybody has a good time.
ATH: The festival caters to music fans, but food and booze are an important aspect of the fans and the bands. Whats your bands food and beverage of choice?
The Academic:It would be a sin to not try some Chili while we’re in Texas so we’re ridiculously excited for that. Breakfast Tacos sound incredible too! And of course Guinness is always our beverage of choice.
ATH:Describe the music community where you come from – Does everyone work together? Is there lots of competition?
The Academic:We are from the outskirts of a small town in Ireland called Mullingar. Its a town which has always encouraged and embraced musicians. There is a great local music scene there at the moment and people help out each other wherever they can.
ATH: What are a few bands we in Austin and the States might not know about that should be on everyones musical radar?
The Academic:There’s a lot of new Irish bands that should definitely be on everyone’s radar. Be sure to check out Fangclub, Otherkin and Saint Sister if you haven’t already.
ATH: Lets say your band has been booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street (where a lot of shows are set up). The lineup features thrash metal, hip-hop, spoken word, and you. The sound is horrible, the lineup is not your style, and the crowd seems angry at the world. How would your band deal with such a situation?
The Academic:Regardless of whats going on, we would just get up and do our thing, crank the PA up to 11 and enjoy it as much as we can. We always go out and give it everything regardless. No point worrying about things you cant control.
ATH: Whats your favorite album to come out in the last year? Whats playing in the tour bus/van?
The Academic:It’s pretty tough to choose between Mistki and Frank Ocean. Both are such honest and incredible records. I think the last thing we listened to in our van was some old school Kings Of Leon!
ATH: What are your bands thoughts on and experiences with streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, Youtube etc? Are you sticking to services like Bandcamp to sell and distribute?
The Academic:Thankfully all our experience with the streaming services have been generally positive. We get a lot of messages from fans around the world saying that it is where they first heard our music so for us that can only be a good thing.
ATH: Clearly coming over to the SxSW to play shows is something a lot of bands are excited about, but what are some other life or musical highlights for you this year? Wed like to get to know you.
The Academic:It’s been a crazy year for us and we’ve had so many amazing experiences and highlights, I guess selling out shows on our first UK and European tour was a highlight. At the moment having an opportunity to record our debut album in Los Angeles has been an amazing experience. We also released our first video for our single ‘Mixtape 2003’ which we’re really proud of.
ATH:Arent you happy we didnt ask about Trump?
The Academic:Yes.
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