photo by Red Hot Box

This music video by Streight Angular is nothing but genius! Scratch that, it’s NEON GENIUS!

Directed by Ted Ryan. Take a look!

First off, South By Southwest is a music festival and industry conference. It’s not Tough Mudder. “Surviving” the festivities is actually quite easy, so the title of this post may be a bit extreme. Still, the event is so vast that you may find yourself wishing you were more prepared.

Here are a few tips from Elephant Music Group founder Kenny P. that might not necessarily be posted on other “Survival Guides”, you may want to listen up.

Before You Leave Home

Music discovery is a big part of SXSW. In fact, one might argue that it is at the very core of the festival. And sure, there are enough showcases on 6th Street and  around Austin that you could just go from venue to venue taking it all in, but with so many genres being performed, you may find yourself at the wrong party. It takes a very small amount of searching to find who is playing where, and what they sound like. Follow @ATXhipsters on Twitter, to start, this account syndicates many of the top bloggers in Austin, and is super active during SouthBy. You could also do a Twitter search on #SXSW, or if you don’t know how to do a Twitter Search, just hit this link TWITTER SEARCH ON #SXSW

Join Twitter

If you don’t have a Twitter account already, you’re going to want to get one for SXSW. Twitter gained a good amount of ground during the 2007  SXSW, and has been huge at the festival ever since. Most of the ultra secret parties will be announced via Twitter.

Download This Torrent With 700+ SXSW Bands

A few weeks ago I downloaded a torrent file that somebody made from all of the free music that bands have made available at SXSW.com.  I’m hoping, because the music is all there for free, that this is completely legal. Definitely download this torrent and start listening to these bands. Hear something you like? Trust me, they sound much better live! And all of these bands are presumably playing multiple times throughout the week.

Download here http://www.sxswtorrent.com/

Fly To San Antonio And Save Hundreds of Dollars

When I attended SXSW in 2010, I was pretty last minute in deciding to go. If you find yourself in this position, don’t rule out flying into San Antonio and driving the 90 miles to Austin. The flight I got to San Antonio was $99 both ways, and my rental car was $20/day.  Compare that to flights to Austin over $400 and cars for $50+/day.

Leave 6th Street

Believe it or not, 6th Street is really not that cool. Sure, during SXSW it’s the center of the action, but on any other week in Austin you won’t find the coolest hangs on 6th Street, but elsewhere in the city. Take a drive to a showcase on the East Side, ask a local where the coolest spots are. Staying on 6th Street during SouthBy is like never leaving the resort on a Caribbean Island, it’s very comfortable but you’ll never get the full experience.

Take Notes

Either old school with pen and paper, or with your smart phone. Take some notes on what you see. Like a band? Write it down. Like a bar? Write it down. Meet some cool people that don’t have business cards? Write it down. You will not remember all of this stuff when you fly back home. This knowledge could be super valuable next year, or a few years later when you attend SouthBy again.

Don’t Pay For An Official SXSW Badge

There it is. I said it. If you are like me and are trying to party up the festival, meet some new friends, see some bands, talk a bit about what you do, maybe even hand out some flyers, you DON’T need an official badge. In fact, buying a badge is more a burden than you realize. I have spent $700 for my official badge in the past, and the whole week I was trying to do “official badge” stuff to justify me spending that money. I missed out on MANY unofficial day parties and crazy house parties, not to mention wasting away in panels while I could have been out on the street meeting people. Take it from me, there is plenty to do without having an official badge.

Elephant Music Group will once again be attending the South By Southwest music conference in Austin, TX in March 2012.

South By Southwest  is one of the biggest independent music conferences in the world, and we are THRILLED to be a part of it once again. Check back to this page for updates on our whereabouts and discoveries during this epic week of music!

Yeah! Once again RSL says some nice things about our friends Streight Angular…

http://www.rslblog.com/2012/01/new-sounds-streight-angular.html

http://bostonbandcrush.org/2012/01/c-d-on-songs-streight-angular-supermarche/

Kenny Pappaconstantinou

Producer, Engineer, Company Founder

About

- Founded Elephant Music Group in 2010.

- Co-Owner and Manager of the Music Studios of Arlington Center

- Graduated Berklee College of Music

- Started recording and producing music at age 16 with a Tascam 4 track

Credits

Big D and the Kids Table, Streight Angular, Nicole D’Amico and Friends, Fiesta Melon, Everpresent, Dave Yules, Nancy Day, Victoria Mierlak, This Blue Heaven, Kellee Webb, Tim Blane

Audio Books

Kenny has recorded and edited a number of audio book releases. Some of the authors he’s worked with include:  Chris Brogan, Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, CC Chapman, Ann Handley, Brian Halligan, Josh Bernoff and more.

Music

Elephant Music Group and Polk Records presents:

Kenny P’s Birthday Bash!!

with performances by

• Streight Angular @11
• Radio Astronomer @ 9:45
• Nicole D’Amico and Friends @ 8:30
• and Butlertron throughout the night, including a late night set!

January 15th @ Precinct Bar 70 Union Sq. Somerville MA

View Larger Map

Party favors, photo booth, birthday cake, and more!

HERE IS THE FACEBOOK EVENT

sponsored by

http://www.rslblog.com/2011/12/streight-angular-its-christmas.html

http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/onthedownload/archive/2011/12/14/shakedown-the-phoenix-quot-holiday-ep-quot.aspx

Take a listen to it here:

And don’t forget to Like and Follow the band:

Streight Angular Facebook
Streight Angular Twitter

Nicole D’Amico and Friends The Family Band Release - featuring the song “Funky Mamas” recorded and produced at Elephant Music Group, along with 3 songs produced by the band.

click on this link to DOWNLOAD the EP for FREE!!

And, don’t forget to Like, Friend, and Follow the band here:

Nicole D’Amico and Friends Facebook