Meet the SXSW Band: Alex Dupree
I loved listening to last year’s Thieves LP from Austin’s Alex Dupree, so I quickly penciled him in to catch at this year’s SXSW festival. But, seeing as Keeled Scales (his label) had already hipped us to his work, we wanted to make sure everyone else was aware, so we reached out with our set of questions and got some answers back.
Whats the name of the band/group? Where are you from?
Alex Dupree, from Austin.
Describe your groups sound using only adjectives or superlatives.
Highly narrative rolling thunder folk.
What was your most recent release? Any planned releases for 2023?
Live in Chicago came out a few weeks ago, Thieves came out last summer. Both with Keeled Scales.
Why play SXSW? Whats the draw for the band? What about this festival will bring you to Austin?
Why not? I’m already here… plus it will be fun to catch up with music friends, new and old. It’s nice when everyone is in the same town.
Hmmmm…it would probably be a qawwali festival, that’s a kind of music I’ve always wanted to experience live. But there would be son jarocho bands too. And Hildegard and John Coltrane would do an improvised set to headline. But it’d all have be in some seedy, profane space. Like a Vegas showroom or something.And Elvis’s band would be there to lead karaoke after.
What has everyone in the band been listening to, or, what plays in the tour van/car/bus?
When I got to drive around with Eamon Fogarty and Max Knouse, that was a real education. They have much better taste than me and know so much more about music. Eamon Fogarty introduced me to Richard Dawson and The Blue Nile. Max turned me on to JJ Light and Pavement (hey, I got there eventually). Plus so many others that I’m not thinking of now.
Obviously you have seen or heard about the issues coming up this year about fair pay for artists at SXSW? Care to offer any insight or comment?
SXSW needs to pay up. But also, do artists really need it anymore? If you know of anyone who has materially benefitted from an opportunity that came through SXSW, I’d love to hear about it. I can’t think of anyone. Why not a boycott next year if things don’t change? Let’s all get together in April instead…
Weve been seeing more and more artists get into the food and beverage game, whether its pierogies from Pavement or Deftones beer. If you ever got into the game, what would be your food or beverage and what would it be called?
I think someone could make a killing selling good (ie. Hruska’s) kolaches in LA. Especially if it was from one of those sidewalk carts late at night or maybe outside Dodger stadium. If that street vendor existed, I could support that. It wouldn’t have a kitchy name though. Just a hand-painted sign that said “Good Kolaches” with a painting of a kolache on it.