Guitar Remains At the Heart of Texas Festival
Beck, Waits, Williams at South by Southwest
James Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 1999
URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/19/DD36403.DTL&type=music
The guitar cases were the first items off the plane Wednesday in Austin, Texas, home
of the annual South by Southwest music conference, which takes place this week.
The music industry may be casting about for a new sound to flog, but the guitar still
rules in Texas. On Wednesday night the veteran six-string dazzler Jeff Beck showcased
his new album ``Who Else?'' at La Zona Rosa, tweaking his showy instrumentals with the
anxious hubbub of electronica.
No one danced, of course. It was still rock 'n' roll, catering to a predominantly male
audience with a collective case of slack-jaw. ``Hot damn!'' hollered one observer.
The festival organizers have been working to include a wider variety of music -- this
year's lineup includes showcases for hip-hop and rock en Espanol -- but songwriting
remains the prime focus at SXSW. Nouveau troubadours Beth Orton, Sparklehorse and the
Old 97s are playing some of this year's most highly anticipated gigs.
Tomorrow's rare performance by Tom Waits, Sonoma's master of the eccentric ballad, is
the conference's most coveted ticket.
Yesterday, Southern-drawlin' sweetheart Lucinda Williams delivered the keynote speech
at the Austin Convention Center, the hub of SXSW. Proving that the stubborn rock 'n'
roll lifestyle still appeals, Williams' ``Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'' recently beat
out ``The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' for 1998's top album in the influential
Village Voice critics' poll.
Her simple message, nervously accompanied by acoustic versions of some of her best
songs, called for recording artists to stick to their guns. ``The whole music business
has become corporate, and that's the problem,'' she said. ``I don't think the major
labels are working anymore.''
The record companies are wondering the same thing. This year's panel discussions
include a debate about downloading music from the Internet, one about Wall Street and
the music industry and another titled ``How Will Consolidation Affect the Indie
Scene?''
Other panels weren't quite so business- minded. One yesterday, called ``I Can't Help
It If I'm Still in Love With You,'' celebrated the late Hank Williams' enduring
influence; another, taking place today, looks at the long history of nonsense lyrics
in rock 'n' roll.
On the Sixth Street nightclub drag and in the outlying clubs, the atmosphere is
anything but academic. On Wednesday, several Bay Area bands vied for attention from
the talent buyers, artist-and-repertoire people and other industry reps on hand.
Sacramento's Deathray, featuring two recently departed members of Cake, guitarist Greg
Brown and bassist Victor Damiani, unveiled its Britpop fixation at the Steamboat, one
of Sixth Street's more collegiate venues. Earlier in the day, the band mem bers made
the rounds of Austin radio stations, playing a $5 Casio keyboard they picked up at a
pawn shop ``straight from the airport,'' according to singer Dana Gumbiner.
Another no-frills joint called the Buffalo Club featured two bands on Sacramento's
Future Farmer record label, Jackpot and Joaquina. With a wry hillbilly attitude (they
covered ``Highway to Hell'') and some impressive jazzy interplay among the band's
three members, Jackpot reconfirmed itself as one of Northern California's better live
bands.
With little name recognition to speak of, however, its audience numbered in the dozens
-- mostly University of Texas students, not Los Angeles talent scouts. A thousand
bands will play in Austin before the weekend is over, many of them to crowds not much
bigger than they're used to at home.
``Half of me feels happy to be here and the other half feels stupid,'' said Jackpot's
bassist Sheldon Cooney, drinking a beer in a courtyard behind the club after his
band's set.
His outfit, a short-sleeve dress shirt and a striped thrift-shop tie, made him look
like a traveling salesman. Highly appropriate, given the self-promotional frenzy of
SXSW.
Earlier in the evening, several blocks to the east of the commotion on Sixth Street,
the San Francisco- based punky Latin soul band Los Mocosos headlined a relaxed
community event on an outdoor soundstage next to a Little League game.
Texas is treating Los Mocosos well right now, with Latino and alternative radio
stations picking up on the band's new single, ``Brown and Proud.''
Perhaps flush with his group's mounting success, lead singer Piero el Malo (formerly
with Los Angelitos) poked some good-natured fun at his hometown. San Franciscans think
all Texans wear cowboy hats, he said.
``What do you expect from a bunch of tofu-eatin' hippies?''
