Category Archives: Get to Know

SXSW ’09

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austin_texas

It’s currently 61 degrees in Madison and 81 degrees in Austin. In about 24 hours I will be exchanging my 3 layers (t-shirt, sweatshirt and wind breaker) for probably just a t-shirt and enjoying that 81 degree weather. I will also be leaving my beloved winter cap behind for a week of little to no sleep, thousands of bands, free beer and Texas barbeque.

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This is not my first rodeo.  I have been to SXSW the past two years and have seen some great music and some not so great music. I have been moved by the likes of Beirut and Phosphorescent only to be disappointed by A Place to Bury Strangers and The Mae Shi and also puzzled by acts like Telepathe and Free Blood (insert any other act who is equipped with only a mic and an ipod).

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I have spoken with agents, some who embraced me with open arms and others who shut me out of their conversations or just asked me about the Music Committee’s budget. I have even been snuck into sold-out Cursive shows by band members of Bishop Allen only to be snubbed by other band members like Sam from the now defunct Narrator, who I had hung out with in Der Rathskeller only a week prior after I booked his band.

This year brings a whole new can of worms. I am ever closer to graduating college and it doesn’t look like my English major is going to pay off anytime soon. I am feeling the pressure of the future and the real world and with that this year’s trip has some added importance because I feel compelled to rub elbows, aggressively, with the industry’s best in hopes for a job in the future. At least I’m not Peter Truby, a 5th year senior with 3 majors and not a clue in the world what he wants to do but waste all his talent and intelligence in the music business.

On a more positive note there are some really great bands playing that I am looking forward to:

Abe Vigoda, Black Joe Lewis, Crystal Stilts, Cut Off Your Hands, Department of Eagles, Dirty Projectors, Ecstatic Sunshine, Efterklang, Grizzly Bear, Harlem, Harlem Shakes, Here We Go Magic, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Passion Pit, Ponytail, Real Estate, The Twelves, Vivian Girls, WAVVES, We Have Band and Women.

Jealous?

Let’s hear from some other Music Committee members who will be in attendance:

Erica Koehn

erica-koehn

What are you expecting when you go down to SXSW?

I’m expecting for it to be insane, tons of people, so much music (both good and terrible), and for it to be extremely exhausting.

Who are you most excited to see?

Andrew Bird, Grizzly Bear, Manchester Orchestra, Department of Eagles, Explosions in the Sky, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Tallest Man on Earth, The Decemberists…Those are some I can think of off the top of my head.

What do you hope to take away or remember about the week?

I hope that I have a ton of fun, see some really great bands, meet some cool people, and overall just have a great experience worth remembering.

Maggie Rivard

maggierivard

What are you expecting when you go down to SXSW?

I expect the unexpected. I don’t know what’s in store. I know I’ll have an awesome time seeing solid bands and I’ll come back to Madison exhausted. There are some bands that I have been wanting to see for years, so it’ll be a satisfying week. I’m pretty pumped. And I’m really excited to see Austin. I also expect to get sick of everyone I am going with and never want to see them ever ever again. Kidding.

Who are you most excited to see?

Grizzly Bear, hands down. On a similar note, Department of Eagles AND: Andrew Bird, The Decemberists, Phosphorescent (since I missed it last weekend), Akron/Family, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Tallest Man on Earth, Horse Feathers, Okkervil River, Indigo Girls, The Rosebuds, Cory Chisel, Women, Ladyhawke, Cotton Jones, Manchester Orchestra, Tori Amos, this is getting excessive. Yeah, there are a lot of bands I really want to see. Some of these may be in question considering I don’t have a fake ID. 21+ venues = worst possible idea EVER.

What do you hope to take away or remember about the week?

I’m getting lazy at answering these questions so…Epic shows. Enough said.

Look for daily updates from Austin over the next week. It’s about time I hit the road.

-Patrick

Get to Know:

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John Ash

johnash

Why do you rock so hard?

With the prevalent metal scene in town, it’s pretty hard not to. I’d say my biggest inspiration as far as rocking hard goes is definitely a local band called Lords of the Trident. They really know how to shred. Also, all the metal shows coming through town like Monotonix and the upcoming hard-rock showcase featuring Mouthful of Birds (a personal favorite) make it easy to rock out on a regular basis.


Do you recycle and why?

Most of the time, it seems like it’s an easy way to help the environment.

What is your take on the Madison music scene?

Overall, I think it’s pretty decent. We get some cool shows that other places don’t get probably due to there being a few respectable small to medium capacity venues around town. With that being said, I feel like we do miss out on a considerable amount of bands that are booked to play in Milwaukee at places like the Pabst and Turner Hall.

What is your favorite venue in town and why?

I’d say my favorite venue in town is the High Noon mainly due to the fact that I’ve seen more shows there than any of the other venues in town (excluding the Rath etc.). They also seem to consistently book bands I am interested in and usually have pretty cheap ticket prices which is cool too.

What have been your favorite memories from the year so far, music committee related and unrelated?

I’d say my favorite memories of the year so far include the cobra snake party and the Los Campesinos show. Also, I had a ton of fun embarking on an epic journey to a monster truck rally (that ended up being cancelled) with some fellow music committee members. As far as non-music committee memories go, I’ve just been having fun hanging out with friends and being here in general.

Committee Member of the Week

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Katie Garth

katiegarth

What kind of music did you listen to growing up? Did your family or friends influence your listening habits in any particular way?

I really have to thank my brother for constantly giving me crap about what I listened to when I was younger. The first music video I ever saw, thanks to his guidance, was “Tonight Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins, and he introduced me to a lot of other staples like Radiohead, Beastie Boys, and Ben Folds Five. I lived in Omaha throughout my angsty tween phase, so having Saddle Creek nearby was a really easy way to develop my interests. My friends and I thought we were so cool when we found Cursive on my brother’s iTunes. I still love Tim Kasher.

What is the best live performance you have seen in the past year and why?

Stars at the Barrymore last March was phenomenal. There is so much that goes into their music that you don’t even consider until you see it in front of you, and they really just know how to put on a show. Amy gave us flowers from the set and Torquil shared his mic with the crowd. There was so much chemistry and substance to their set. I love shows where you walk away an even bigger fan than before.


What attracted you to the WUD Music committee?

I didn’t really know anything about it until winter break. But a friend told me there might be a way for me to do some graphic design for the committee, and going to the Los Campesinos! show and finding out WUD music put it on made me really want to be a part of it. I just wish I had found out about it at the beginning of the year.


If you were a hotdog, would you eat yourself?

No. There would be endless wiener joke opportunities.


If you were a candy bar, what kind of candy bar would you be and why?

Anything but Almond Joy. Because seriously, no one actually likes Almond Joy.

Pregame Scouting Report Week 4: The Flint Tropics

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the flint tropics 2009 SERF

On March 1, 2009, the strapping young lads of the Flint Tropics (pictured above) will take on our own WUD Music Midnight Maurauders. Though not apparent in the picture, there are in fact women on the team, qualifying the Tropics to play in the Sunday night Co-Rec Competitive League at the SERF. After their grueling 14-hour shift in the auto factories, steel mills, and other typically masculine professions, the women have lost their decidedly effeminate looks, as to be seen in the above team photo. They can be distinguished from their male counterparts by close investigation of their shorts.

What the women lack in feminine wiles, though, they make up for in sheer strength and power. This may present a challenge for the chivalrous Marauders, who hold sportsmanship in the highest regard as exemplified in their fearless leader, P Tilley. The grit of the Marauders’ own women, in particular one Katie Seeger, is not to be underestimated, especially after Seeger’s stellar performance after being brutally fouled in the February 15th game.

Flint captain Sean “Smoove Like Butta” Barrett has a history for aggression on and off the court, only rivaled by the brute force of Kristina “Curb Stomp” Guttormorsen. What they lack in sportsmanship, they make up for with their ability to take to the hole. In their last game, Flint went 20 for 24 from downtown (3-point land) and were 15 for 15 in the paint (2-pointers). They also had four players post a triple-double and saw three ejections for continual flagrant fouling. The loss of players did not seem to affect play on the court, as the Tropics boast a deep bench with such five-star stunnas as Cory “Bear Claw” Brunn and Kaleigh “Full Throttle” Fulmer, both known for their mad ups and posterizing.

It will take some krispy balling from the Marauders to come back after their bye week to exceed expectations and  take Flint to church.

The Marauders during the February 15th game:

truby balling

 

Edited to add:

An icy jam for y’all to vibe with

Get to Know: Todd Olson

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toddolson

What are five adjectives that describe you?

Ugh this is the worst question there is. No matter what I put here it’s just going to be how I want people to think of me and not how I actually am. If you really want to get to know me, meet me at a show and you can come up with your own adjectives.

Can you express to the public your love for snacks?

My love for snacks is unending. The great thing about snacks, you see, is the intensity of flavor. Think about the most flavorful meal you’ve ever had, and then compare that to a Dorito, Cheeto or Frito (not that plain shit, we roll with Honey BBQ in this town) There’s just no contest.

What role did music play in your life as you were growing up?

Depends on what time period you define growing up. If we’re talkin’ elementary school then the primary role it played was to make me laugh. As a young male in the 90′s it was all about Weird Al Yankovic. (not yankovicH that shit pisses me off). On a more serious cheesy note I’d say it’s often about exploring higher intensities of emotion (I know how stupid that sounds but hear me out). If you really think about it this is mostly what music does for people. When people are in a happy mood they throw on some perky tunes and get themselves feeling better, but in a shitty mood we often listen to depressing music and make ourselves feel shittier. It seems counterintuitive because people like to feel happy and not sad but who knows, just my two cents. There’s also the succinct answer which is that it’s enjoyable to listen to music. No one wants to hear that though, shit’s boring as hell.

Is your love of jazz and hip-hop correlated in any way to your love of snacks?

This question is too absurd even for me. I tried to come up with a witty answer but I gave up after about half a minute. But I think my love of hip-hop and jazz probably just come from me wishing I was cooler than I am. Being a jazz cat, rapper or DJ would seriously be the coolest thing ever. I strive to become good at jazz but I’m not even going to try to rap, so I just have to appreciate from afar.

Name five snacks that are four letters long and plural.

Nips, Dots, Nuts, Chex, Trax. Damn, that was harder than I thought it would be.

Committee Member of the Week

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Brandon Clementi

brandon-2

How did you get started on music committee?

Patrick sold it to me at SOAR. He actually told my mom that it was way better than joining WSUM and I listened.

What drives you to get involved as a member of the music committee?

I enjoy getting involved because it makes me feel productive–I get way more gratification out of flyering than doing homework (haha).

What is your fondest memory of the year thus far?

Meeting the amazingly diverse people on Music Committee. There are so many incredible personalities in this group.

If there was one band you could book who would it be?

Voxtrot.

What song is currently running through your head or on your mind?

TV on the Radio’s ‘Ambulance’. “Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun…”