Austin sound not found at SXSW

Every March, since its inception in 1987, thousands of enthusiasts, musicians and industry representatives have flocked to Austin to attend the annual South By Southwest Festival.

The city, dubbed the "Live Music Capital of the World," truly lives up to its name during this veritable "Spring Break" for the music industry, with 60-plus venues hosting thousands of bands during the weeklong event. In 2006 alone, over 100,000 people attended.

Despite its tremendous success, however, many Austin bands, booking agencies, and clubs are feeling left out of Austin's most famous festival.

"The city of Austin benefits greatly from the festival, tourism and what not," said David Lujan, bassist for Austin based band Red Leaves. "But it's not about Austin bands."

"It's unfortunately, like all these sorts of things, about money. Club owners want to maximize their profits, and SXSW makes money off of the thousands of bands, like mine, that pay the application fee every year and don't get in."

In fact, only 21 percent of bands from the Southwest actually make it into the festival.

"But then again," Lujan concludes, "Austin bands get the opportunity to play here every night."

James Taylor, owner of Austin-based Giant Steps Booking and Management, said he has found it hard for his agency to find a venue to showcase its bands, but he still maintains a positive outlook on the festival.

"It's just unproductive to be cynical about SXSW because it's still great for Austin, and local artists can still do it."

Taylor continued, "If it was only local artists, big industry wouldn't come. And for an Austin band, passing out CDs will have more impact than playing a show you could play any night of the week."

"As far as booking goes," Taylor said, "the only viable route you can take are the day shows, because most of the venues are booked well in advance for the nighttime bills."

However, there are many Austin clubs which, though not recognized as SXSW venues - in something akin to Off-Broadway - have started to provide local artists and booking agencies with the opportunity to showcase unofficially. Still, even these clubs face challenges.

East Austin's Snake Eyes Vinyl and North Loop's The Parlor are struggling this year with surrounding neighborhoods to reach a compromise over sound and parking concerns, which could, in effect, limit their ability to host late-night shows during the week.

Yet, even in the middle of all these concerns, there are some Austinites who have managed to find remarkable success at SXSW.

Tim Dittmar, Audio Department Head at ACC's Northridge campus, found such success in the mid-1990s with his band Bo Bud Greene, a group that reached the music video finals in 1999 against such major-label acts as Marilyn Manson and The Flaming Lips.

"You know, people dog South By Southwest, but every time we played for 6 years, we seemed to move up in the industry," Dittmar said, "It's how we got signed to all of our labels.

"It's advantageous even to Austin artists, because you're playing for people that can actually help you."

Every year, Dittmar holds a SXSW volunteer meeting for ACC students who contribute their time to the showcase and subsequently work closely with industry professionals.

Although there are a great number of local acts and businesses who feel that they are being left behind, there is little doubt that many of many of them - along with thousands of other festival attendees - will be piling into the music venues of this year's SXSW Festival.

"Some of the best shows I've seen have been at South By Southwest," Lujan said, "and I'll be there this year, checking out the free shows…and listening to some great music."

The 2007 South By Southwest Music Festival runs from March 14-18.