I was making the arduous journey through the labyrinth of pedi-cabs and equipment laden masses that is SXSW when I encountered Jordan Cook and crew. Here were three guys just sitting in the fading sunlight on a curb restringing their guitars when I approached. I had been looking for a band that I could interview about what it was like to come to SXSW without any means and holding only hope for that big break. “Nah man, we’re not homeless this week, thankfully,” allows Jordan when I asked if they, like numerous bands this week, were staying at the fabulous Car Hotel. “These cool ladies have just been letting us park our car here, so we’re gonna play a bit for em.”
Brighton MA shared the road on Red Bull’s Rock the Route with Young Jesus. The Chicago-based band enjoyed a week of having a camera crew in their face capturing every minute of their experience. From taking shots out of a stiletto shoe to homemade Halloween costumes and feedback from guest celebrity judges, the guys consider it to be one of the best weeks of their lives.
I caught up with Brighton MA as they were cashing in their awarded studio time at Red Bull Studios. While sitting on the couch chatting over lunch, the fire alarm went off, causing everyone to scamper outside in the name of preserving their hearing. That was definitely a first but it didn’t stop the band from regrouping and sharing stories from Red Bull’s Rock the Route with ChinaShop:
If I remember correctly from those battle of the bands competitions I witnessed in high school, you’re usually stuck with half-assed garage groups, and, depending on your rate of alcohol consumption, the musicianship may or may not improve over the course of the evening.
But it may be best to stay sober for Red Bull’s Rock the Route, a tour-de-force which escalates the talent, the competition, and the pressure of what would otherwise be just another BOTB event. I didn’t want to miss a moment with Brighton, MA or Young Jesus, both Chicago-based indie bands who’d never ventured outside their home state. Tonight both were to be baptized in the debauchery of the infamous Viper Room and its tiny stage, which still seems best suited for a troupe of munchkins. One group had to wedge themselves onto the stage, set up, play fast, and break down faster so the next group could get their turn.
Yep, that’s David standing on his head again… and yep those are “The New Politics,” A 3 piece Rock/Pop trio originally haling from Copenhagen Denmark. The group consisting of David Boyd, guitar/vocalist Soren Hansen, and drummer Poul Amaliel released their self-titled debut album June 13th of this year and played the Viper Room Tuesday night to a room full of zealous fans.
If Bigelf was a sex act, lead singer and keyboardist Damon Fox says they would be 69, “you’re giving and receiving, it’s a good flow of pleasure.” On Friday the band was metaphorically in the alley bent over, giving it away like a boozed up skank. Fox jokes that the psychedlic rock group’s “gigantic surge of sexy wattage” was responsible for blowing the power – literally. As the band was mid-song, toward the end of their set, the power at the famously friendly Rusty Spur went out. It’s not the first time Bigelf has sucked a venue dry – Fox says they’ve blown the power out at the Viper Room, a venue in Sweden and about a dozen other times. It’s no surprise when you consider the amps needed to power a Vintage Hammond C3, a vintage melatron, a mini-moog, a Groupamster Echoplex and several other analog oddities.
Anyone close enough to feel the sound waves thrown from Bigelf’s stage can’t help but notice a delicately placed Yoda figure perched on top of the keys. The Yoda, “harnesses the evil forces,” says Fox who makes sure to keep the sci-fi zen master close at hand. Tonight, the band was almost without the Force. “We were leaving tonight to park the van and I didn’t have him… so I went back to open the trailer and get him out because I realized that tonight was going to be one of those specifically chaotic, heinous nights and I needed Yoda. Do or do not, there is no try.” Read the full story →
