Country Music Blog: Archive

We've been fortunate enough to live in the city that hosts South by Southwest for over 10 years. We've experienced it in many capacities as we've played it, seen shows during it, and hosted some of the best four-day late night parties the town can offer. For those of you who have been to the Shed behind our old house, you know that it was the one place that served you a drink when you didn't need one and refused to play anything else other than vinyl.

Well, last year we moved, and this year I was curious to see what our Southby experience would be like. Some of us are now further from downtown than the others. I started out on Weds by going and seeing Daryl Hall for a Direct TV filming. I had a great time and it sounded like the band did too. It was one of those shows where I didn't have any of their albums but totally dug hearing the countless hits that had always magically appeared in the air when I was growing up. On Friday afternoon, we played for our label Yep Roc's party at the Dirty Dog on 6th St.. We've done enough Southbys to know the answer to the question, "Do you want to use the back-line gear?," is always Yes. Even though the reality is it might not be that great.

Well, this was no exception, and our sound guy joined us as we made it the best situation possible. Our first time in town during SXSW was 11 years ago, and we played at a bar called Lucy's on 6th St.. It wasn't a part of the conference that year, but we got to play every night. We had a blast and met a lot of people in the industry that year that we are still friends with today. It wasn't the best P.A. in town and there wasn't even a stage, but we just played, period. So I guess even though the P.A was barely hanging on and the equipment was a bit different than usual, there was something romantic about the challenges.

I always thought the coolest thing about SXSW was you could see these killer bands perform great in all kinds of different environments. And sometimes it's those challenges that bring out an unforgettable performance. Before our show at the Austin Music Hall, I went and saw a band called The Cringe from NYC. I am friends with their 'Saturday Night Live' drummer Shawn Pelton and always take the opportunity to check him out. The band rocked and was a lot of fun to watch. It turned out that the singer of the band is Rachael Ray's husband. So she was there and seemed to enjoy taking the time when asked to pose for a picture. Our show at the Music Hall was a blast. I think the best part for us was seeing so many fans that we're there in that bar 11 years ago and have supported us for so long. And there still out there supporting live music. After our show, one of our friends hosted a late night party, and even though it's not the shed, we still managed to have one hell of a good time. So at the end of it all, our SXSW experience was great. It is always an amazing feeling to know that we live in a city that loves its live music and has so much enthusiasm for the people that come to Austin to experience it. As a performer, the best part is watching people from all over, celebrate it together. 

Jay Nazz plays drums for the Austin, Texas-based band, Reckless Kelly.

See Reckless Kelly Photos From SXSW