SXSW Interview: Friendship

No, the SXSW interviews are far from over people. We are going to continue blasting you with these things right up till next week. Hopefully you are enjoying each band’s unique take on the same set of questions pertaining to SXSW, touring, and band life in general. Up for me today is Philly based Friendship who are currently on my list of must see bands during the week. I’m happy to share their take on our questions after the jump.

All questions are answered by band member Dan Wriggins.

ATH: Every Year there is a lot of hubbub concerning corporate sponsors and pay to play and what not at SXSW. As a band, what’s your reason for coming to play at the festival? What do you hope to get out of it?

Owen Ashworth, who performs as Advance Base and runs our label (Orindal Records), asked if we’d like to tour down with him. He’s a wonderful guy and songwriter, so we said “yes.” I’m hoping to share our music with others, and to have a good time.

ATH: For most SXSW sets, you get 30 minutes to leave a lasting impression. What’s your plan of attack? You have a set list mapped out yet?

I wouldn’t want to write a set list until we get to whatever venue we’re playing. I also wouldn’t want to play the same exact set multiple times in the same town. For our sake and the audience’s.

ATH: The festival caters to music fans, but food and booze are an important aspect of the fans and the bands. What’s your band’s food and beverage of choice?

We are driving from Philly to Cleveland today. At the Wawa, I had a roasted veggie hoagie and Jon had 2 sizzlies for 2.99. At the Sheetz, Mike had a hoagie, and I think I saw him with a banana. Peter got poppers, fried pickles, and chips. No clue what Evangeline ate.

ATH: There are tons of bands coming into town. Who would you ideally like to play with of the 1000s of bands gracing our city? Make your own optimal line-up.

Everyone else on Orindal blows my mind. This year it’s Karima Walker, Hello Shark, Advance Base, and Greg Jamie. I’d also add Lomelda, a force the magnitude of which we have only begun to feel.

ATH: We are partial to SXSW obviously, but what festival do you feel is the best around?

Waking Windows does a lot of things right. Always wanted to go to Big Ears. This year’s Thing in the Spring looks awesome. In 2012 I ran a festival in Maine called the Cranberry Folk Festival. It was a blast but I’m not doing it again any time soon.

ATH: Let’s say your band has been booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street. 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

That seems alright to me, aside from bad sound. It’s always hard to perform when the onstage sound is lousy. But we have done it enough times to know how to truck through.

ATH: What’s your favorite album to come out in the last year? What’s playing in the tour bus?

“Tiny Houses” by Hour is the best record I’ve heard this year. We played with Wendy Eisenberg a couple nights ago in Philly, and have her CD, “collected early works” in the truck today. It’s incredible.

ATH: Who wins the World Cup this summer?

I asked everyone in the truck. Jon said “Philly baby! Go birds!” Mike said “Spain.”

Thanks again to Dan for making the time to speak with us. Here is the band’s most recent single “If You See My Beloved”.

Friendship currently have the following dates lineup up next week:

March 14(afternoon): Austin, TX @ Mash Movers Day Party

March 17: Austin, TX @ Cherrywood Coffee