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BFF’S @ SXSW #1: Going Ga-Ga for GODDESSES!

Yes it was mayhem.  Yes it is a synonym for exhaustion.  Yes it’ll chew you up and spit you out on the hot Austin sidewalk.  But at SXSW when you’ve got a BFF by your side, only magic can happen!  My SXSW BFF was the lovely Serena Southam, my dear friend and fellow singer-songwriter, and between her Canadian know-how and our mutual insistence on flow, we managed to catch loads of great shows by really really RAWSOME bands… So to begin, this is my blog-ode to the hot-rock-goddess-ladies of SXSW--

We started our first day off at the Canadian barbecue, and were treated to Hot Springs from Montreal.  Their lead-singer/guitarist is a sorceress of the highest order-- there was a magnetic pull from the stage that no one could resist, and they made me dance like a maniac! 

After that I lost all sense of time, but I know that I caught a really fantastic 1am show from our good friends The Big Sleep-- Sonya was like a shadow-maiden-- one of the sci-grooviest bass players around in my book. 

Serena introduced me to the Austin singer-songwriter Pink Nasty-- what a find!  Really great songs.  And I love any gal who wears moccasins!  Moccasins rule!

I’d been looking forward to the Land of Talk show all festival-- that gal has got a one-of-a-kind voice, brilliant melodic sensibility, and the most original rock songs ever!  Favorite Lyric: “Isn’t summer special, easy hair”

The only “The” band I know that actually lives up to their name is The Gang.  THEY ROCK SO HARD!  And of course they have a grrrl-- Ava, the Icelandic Valkyrie.  AND Serena and I got to yell back-ups at their show, which leads me to my-- Favorite Lyric: “We’re takin’ a piece right outa this, them fat fuck-offs don’t know shine from shit!  So sick fed up with them bubbly splits, them fat fuck-offs don’t know shine from shit!” YEAH!

Finally, we caught the swirling, popped-out offerings of Golden Dogs, another Canadian find by Serena. A cover of a Wings song was all I needed to be completely hooked.  Come on get happy!

Okay, there’s more to come later this week, so stay tuned… By the way, Serena and my country alter-ego do a lot of singin’ together in our cosmic-Americana band Larune, and she’s got her own band Serena Jean & The Whiskeytrippers… You can download free tunes by both bands at The Periodic Label…