South by Southwest Festival 2019- Austin

During my past travels, the South by Southwest (SXSW) experience was recommended by many. I am glad I took their advice. What a great time! I would describe it as “Total Chaos, Yet Totally Perfect”.

I am doing two posts on SXSW. The first highlights my experience and the second is my take on a beginners guide to the Festival. The guide will discuss things like official and unofficial SXSW music.

I spent 8 nights in Austin, focusing on the music portion of the festival. I stayed at the Pecan Grove RV Park, which is a gem located less than a mile from downtown Austin. A friend (Paul) from Ohio flew into Austin to join me for 3 nights. Paul and I were able to meet up with my friends from Austin (Brian and Summer) for music, drinks and conversation.

Pics of friends:

MUSIC:

Highlights:

Many have asked who was the best musician / band that I saw. This is a hard question to answer. So much good music. However, here are my picks broken down into 3 categories.

Best up and coming act: Angie McMahon, a singer songwriter from Melboune, Australia. You can find some of her songs on you tube. She is set to release her first album sometime in 2019. I found out later that she received the SXSW Grulke Prize winner for Developing Non-U.S. Act is Angie McMahon. Well deserved. In my research on SXSW, it was often noted that you would just run across a great act by accident and that is what happened in this case. I arrived early at the Continental Club to see a different band and Angie played before them.

2. Best Established Acts: I have always wanted to see Edie Brickell play. I was not disappointed. She played at St. Davids Historic Sanctuary. What a great venue for her. A number of bands played before her and some people (mostly younger) left before she was ready to play. A lady next to me asked “where is everybody going”? I noted that given their age, they probably never heard of Edie.

A second favorite was the Iguanas. I have seen them a number of times in the past. Really like their music.

3. I am going to call this category “The Best Been around for a little while act“. Pat Byrne is from Ireland. He has a music history there, winning the Irish version of “The Voice”. He recently moved to Austin and his band has members from the Austin area as well as from Ireland. Paul and I had a chance to talk with them after their set. Really neat bunch.

Music – Day by Day Breakdown:

Day 1:

After setting up camp, I walked downtown to the Convention Center to pick up my badge and get my festival “bearings”. My focus for the evening was the Mohawk venue. That afternoon, I walked to check out the location for later but plans changed. Excellent music was already playing at 3:30 p.m. So, inside I went and remained until after midnight. I meet a couple from Iowa and we exchanged travel stories in-between sets. Cool people. We had a nice balcony view of the stage.

The band line-up was Deerhunter, Priests, The Beths, Sweet Spirit, Fontaines DC, Black Midi, Dramatic Lovers, Combo Chimbita, and Murray Lightburn. My favorites from the night were The Beths and Deehunter. Each band played around 45 minutes with a quick 10 to 15 minute stage change. It was a long / excellent day on the feet and a pleasant late night walk back to camp.

Some pics:

Day 2:

Paul flew into Austin and joined me at camp. He got settled, we walked downtown to get his badge, and then had lunch at Coopers BBQ. Back at camp, we had our usual drink of choice – Crown and Coke. We had not seen each other for a year and a half, so we had a lot of catching up to do. When we are on the road together, we usually “light it up” one night. Well this was the day / night.

We headed to the Saxon Pub for music and sat at the bar for the duration. Sitting at the bar has pros and cons. Both of which are – you get served quickly.

The official SXSW music started at 9 pm but unofficial music started at 6 pm. The photo below shows the official music list.

Each of the bands posed for pictures on the patio after their set, which allowed us to take pics and meet with the band members. Pretty cool. A Pat Byrne CD was the only one I bought during the festival. It was close to 3:30 a.m. when we called it a night.

Day 3:

Breakfast at Uncle Billies which is next to Pecan Grove. Good breakfast at a decent price. We hung around camp and explored some of the trails around Lady Bird Lake. Our music venue for the day was St. David’s Historic Sanctuary. The bands were City of the Sun, J.S. Ondara, Madison Cunningham, Sweet Crude, The Comet is Coming and Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians.

My favorites were Madison Cunningham and Edie Brickell. The original members of the New Bohemians came to play with Edie, pretty cool. Awesome venue!

Edie finished at midnight, another late night walk back to campground.

Day 4:

Brian and Summer rode their bikes to the campground for a visit. We had a good time catching up . They headed back to their place via Uber and we locked their bikes up at camp. Yes, we had a good afternoon.

Our Day 4 venue was the Continental Club. We saw FIX8, Kalu and the Electric Joint, Lisa Morales, Cure for Paranola, Walker Lukens and Los Coast. My favorite was Lisa Morales from San Antonio, TX. What a voice! And the lead guitar player, wow!

A long night and next day for Paul as he left the campground around 4 a.m. in the morning to get back for a family event. Good times were had with Paul!!!!!!!

Day 5:

Brian and Summer stopped by camp and we then rode bikes around the south side of Austin. We stopped by to check on the status of their new home in progress and I got to meet some of their future neighbors. Fun afternoon.

Saxon Pub was my venue of choice for the day. I arrived around 6 p.m. and caught some unofficial music (Denny Freeman). Then the official SXSW acts started at 8 p.m. and included Nobody’s girl, Jared Deck, Charlie Faye and the Fayettes, Bonnie Whitmore, Karen Jonas, and Boketto the Wolf. My favorites were Nobody’s Girl and Bonnie Whitmore.

Nobody’s Girl is a new trio formed by award-winning songwriters Betty Soo, Grace Pettis and Rebecca Loebe. Such great harmony singers and effortless instrumentalists. Bonnie Whitmore is a singer – songwriter with a powerful voice.

The food truck outside of Saxon that night was awesome. Veggies were grown in her garden. Yummy.

Music ended at 2 a.m. and another late night walk back to camp.

Day 6:

Three venues for day 6. I met up with Brian and Summer and we started the day at the British Music Embassy. The British Embassy rents out the Latitude 30 club during the SWSX festival (I wonder how much that costs?). The bands coming from Great Britain will play here at least once during the festival. It collects a pretty “fired up crowd”.

The Bands playing the afternoon “unofficial SXSW” set are shown in the background of the below picture.

My favorites were Island and the Snuts. More pics from the British Music Embassy:

After a few drinks at a hotel lounge near the British Music Embassy, we headed to the Victoria Room at the Driskill Hotel. We saw an International mix of musicians, Susan Kocher (Germany), La Terza Classe (Italy), Jackie Bristow (New Zeland), and Quivers (Australia). My favorite was Jackie Bristow, very good songwriter – singer!

I parted company with Brain and Summer and headed to the Continental club where I heard Hayes Carll, Angie McMahon, and the Iguanas. As described above, Angie was a standout and the Iguanas is on of my favorite New Orleans bands.

Music ended at 2 a.m., so the usual late night walking back to camp.

Day 7:

Slept in, took a nice bike ride (around Lady Bird Lake, up Shoal Creel a ways and then into town for a coffee and pastry) and then headed to the Saxon Pub for more music. SXSW had pretty much ended (there was a closing party at one venue downtown Sunday night). However, a camping neighbor had mentioned that the Lost Austin Band was playing at the Saxon that afternoon. The band leader is Bob Livingston. His on-line bio says it best:

” As a member of Austin’s legendary Lost Gonzo Band, Livingston toured and recorded with such musical visionaries as Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard and many more. Livingston played an integral role in helping to create the music that first earned Austin the designation of “Live Music Capital of the World” and helps explain why he was inducted in to “Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame” in 2016 and the West Texas Walk of Fame in 2018. ”

This was a must for me. I sat at the bar conversing with locals and was now also getting the “local beer price”. Austin music community is pretty tight and many were at the Saxon to see the Lost Austin Band.

It was St. Paddy’s day and their was a pretty good party going at an Irish Bar close to Pecan Grove. However, once I returned from the Saxon Pub, it was lights out.

Day 8: Pack up camp and head toward Colorado. WHAT A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!

Some more pics from my festival and my ride back to Colorado:

Fort Pickens Area – Gulf Islands National Seashore

What a beautiful area! Easy access to 7 plus miles of remote, white sand beaches located near Pensacola Beach. This was my third visit to the area and I will return again. Camping is available with electric / water hookups as well as showers / laundry facilities.

Along with the beach, the roads / trails offer cycling and hiking opportunities. At the end of the island is Fort Pickens which was used / upgraded from before the Revolutionary War through WWII. Free tours are available at the Fort Pickens Visitor Center and provide an in-depth history of the fort.

One of my brothers introduced me (on-line) to a previous co-worker (Charlene). She and her husband now live on Pensacola Beach. They invited me to join them for the local Mardis Gras parade. I rode my bike in and met them at the Paradise Bar for the parade and pre / post parade beverages. A major storm was set to roll through the area, so I pedaled back to camp before things got too crazy (celebration or weather wise). What a neat couple. During my visit, they invited me to their house for drinks, we went out for dinner one night, and breakfast the morning of my departure.

Some pics from the Mardi Gras parade:

Charlene and I at the parade:

A couple of stories:

Charlene and her husband took me to one of their favorite local bars one night. I had a draft beer and was talking to others. My beer never seemed to empty. I turned one time and “caught” the bartender refilling my glass. We both smiled. The next time I turned around there were two glasses of beer. Fun night.

On my way back from the Mardi Gras parade, I had no where to store the beads from the parade. So, I wore them during the ride back to camp. There is a Ranger Station as you enter the National Park. The ranger got a real kick out of my “look”. Normally when entering the park, you need to show your pass and ID. For the rest of my visit, the ranger would just smile and wave me through. I stopped one time to say hi and said “I guess you remember me riding through after the Mardi Gras parade”. He said, “Oh, Yea”.

Some pics from Fort Pickens:

At one time, Geronimo was imprisoned at Fort Pickens, sad story.

Various cycling pics:

During each of my visits to Fort Pickens, it was recommended that I visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation located at the Pensacola Air Force Base. The Base is also home to the Blue Angels. I am told it is worth scheduling a visit during their training times. A ranger at Fort Pickens noted that the fort is perfect for watching.

I recommend joining one of the free indoor tours. The guides are former military pilots and very knowledgeable. There is also a tour bus for the outdoor planes, also recommend.

Near the museum is the Pensacola lighthouse. Pretty cool:

One final story: There is a beach house within the National Park that is used for campground registration. During various cycling ventures, I had noticed that a pair of Osprey had built a nest in the chimney of the building. During one of my rides, I noticed that the female was at the nest, standing proud.

I was looking for the male and found him on a small pole away from the house. He seemed to have his head down.

Now, I do not know much about bird psychology but it did seem like Mr. Bird was on the “dog-pole” for some reason.

Various Pics:

Off to Austin for South by Southwest!

Florida Panhandle – Topsail Hill Reserve Park

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is a large / well run / organized state park with over 40 volunteers on site at a given time (more on volunteers later). The park is set up with RV sites, tent sites and cabins. A shuttle runs from the camping areas to the beach area on a paved road. Hikers and cyclists also use the road. The park has a number of hiking / cycling trails.

Pic of shuttle stop near beach and also bicycle parking in same area:

I reserved a tent site as all the RV sites were already taken at the time of my reservation. This is a popular park and making reservations 6 months or more in advance is necessary. I had friends (Jim and Rebecca) who were volunteering at the park during my visit. As such, on my arrival I was greeted with a surprise.

It was great spending time with Jim and Rebecca. They introduced me to other volunteers at nightly campfires, transported me to various music venues and cooked / joined me for meals. Pic of them.

One venue was the Music & Coffee location. In the evening, the 30A Songwriters Radio Station broadcasted live music. Some nights it was an open mike and other nights invited acts.

We spent two nights at this venue. One night we saw two brothers from Santa Fe play, called the Prickly Pears. Really good talent. The second night Jim and Rebecca joined the open mike and did 3 songs, with Rebecca on guitar and vocals and Jim on harmonica. They sounded awesome.

The other venue was Stinky’s Bait Shop:

We saw TKO’ed with Mark. They are a local band and are very good.

The majority of my time was spent at the beach or hiking / cycling the trails.

My tent site worked well, until the 7th day. I received a call from a Ranger. Since I was at a tent site, I needed to have a tent and also needed to sleep in the tent. Hmm, well what to do. Luckily, Jim had found an abandoned tent earlier in the month stuffed in the bushes. With a little ingenuity and duct tape, I was able to have a standing tent. My camping neighbors had fun watching me piece the tent together. A ranger stopped by while I was putting on the finishing touches and gave me a thumbs up. Problem solved.

A picture of my “tent” and my site. The pic with the van is “pre-tent”. The tent sites do have electric which allowed me to charge various items during my 10 days.

I mentioned earlier in the post about park volunteers. By volunteering, a person can camp for free in exchange for a certain number of hours per week (usually in the 14 to 20 hour range). Requirements are different at each park. In some cases, only one person needs to work (if a couple). Other locations require both to work. Volunteers are assigned to all types of work (usually one type of assignment per stay). I guess you can include campground hosts under the volunteer umbrella. Depending on the park, there is backlog (years sometimes) for a spot. Most will require you to stay as a volunteer for at least a month or more.

From the park, you can cycle on a paved pathway along highway 30-A for 20 or more miles. A great ride. My favorite stop was at Red Fish Taco’s. Yummy!

Blue Tarps – Hurricane Michael Aftermath

In October of 2018, Hurricane Michael marched through the Florida Panhandle, with winds greater than 150 mph. I was amazed to see the amount of devastation that still exists six months later. In many areas, one would think the hurricane happened less than a week ago. My heart goes out to all those impacted. So sad!

The damage is visible soon after crossing the state line from Alabama into Florida. At first, the main damage is from fallen trees (many times splitting a house in half). In most cases, the trees still sit where they fell. I am not sure where the occupants now reside.

This part of Florida has “tree farms” and the trees all snapped off at the same height. You can track the path of of the storm through the area given the direction in which the snapped trees point.

As one moves closer to the coast, the damage comes not only from fallen trees but directly from the wind itself. Blue tarps covering roofs are still visible in very direction. Makeshift signs are tacked up every where for mold removal, tree service, roof repair, demolition, and so forth. Mexico Beach and then areas outward took the worst hit. Piles of debris were still stacked near the roads. Many roads are under repair and down to one lane with guided passage.

The signs that really catch your attention while driving through the area are the big billboard signs. They are rented out by lawyers advertising that they will get you a just settlement from your insurance company. More on this later.

I spent the night in Apalachicola. FL. Hurricane damage in Apalachicola was primarily limited to a six foot storm surge that moved up the Apalachicola river (which the town sits next to).

I really like the feel of this town. It is now know for its oysters. It has a few brewery’s, music venue (open 5 nights a week), restaurants, artists, and so forth.

At one time, the town was the second busiest port on the gulf coast. As the Apalachicola river flows deep into Georgia and then through Alabama and Florida, cotton crops were sent downriver for shipment out of Apalachicola’s port. This brought dollars into the city in the 1800’s and the commercial and residential buildings still reflect this.

You can park your camper on main street for a night without any problems. After parking, I walked around town and ending up talking with a shop owner for almost 2 hours about various subjects. It was near closing time, I mentioned I was hungry and we then had dinner together.

What an interesting evening of conversation. We covered the impact of the recent hurricane, small business survival in general, town politics, personal backgrounds and much more.

The take on insurance was agree on a “low-ball” number and avoid the ongoing hassle or get a lawyer and go for the “long run” and hope of a better payout. An individual working directly with the insurance company was not going to get a fair settlement.

Small shop survival in Apalachicola is hard given small profit margins, internet shopping, economic ups and downs, and natural disasters.

Town politics is probably the same as most places, growth vs. no change.

Impact of the hurricane was primarily on businesses in low lying areas near the river. Many of the business had or were liquidating. A few were moving to higher ground.

Some pics from Apalachicola:

Alabama

After leaving Nashville, two nights were available for my drive to a Florida beach destination. My route took me into Alabama where I spent a night in the city of Troy. I stayed at the local Walmart. “Walmart Camping” always comes in handy when making a long drive between destinations. It is an Oasis on the concert desert. You can find fuel, water, nourishment, and even restrooms all at one spot.

While putting big mile days is not my favorite style of travel, sometimes it is necessary given priorities and timing. Under these circumstances, catching any local flavor is lost and it is only fuel up and restroom breaks. However, on my way into Troy, I saw a sign that caught my attention. Versus breaking camp and immediately hitting the road, I spent the morning at Troy State University.

The University has 200 full scale replicas of soldiers of the Terracotta Army found during the excavation of the burial site of China’s first emperor (Qin Shi Huang). The burial site held more than 8,000 Terracotta soldiers, 130 Terracotta chariots with 520 horses. Pretty cool display. The university itself is impressive with red brick buildings and a well landscaped campus, all sitting in a scenic area. The Terracotta display is located behind the University International Art Center.

Now I had the bug to check more of Alabama before crossing into Florida. Dothan, AL was my next stop for a cup of coffee and a look at the various murals scattered across the downtown area. Like many cities across America, Dothan spread to the suburbs and the downtown went into decline. However, the downtown area is starting to see a resurgence.

Not far outside of is the home of the National Peanut Festival, which takes place in November of each year. It would be fun to join sometime.

Now Florida bound.

Nashville

A visit to Nashville was always on my wish list. Luckly, I was able to spend 5 nights there with a bonus of my friend Roger joining me. Roger drove his new camper from South Carolina and we stayed at the North KOA (near the Grand Old Opry area). Nice place, would recommend. Clean, great service and has excellent laundry facilities.

It was awesome spending time with a good buddy. I mentioned to Roger that the time went quick and that I would have a hard time relating back to all the things we did. His reply was “we drank a lot of beer and heard a lot of good music”. And if you sprinkled that with some awesome BBQ, it provides a good summary,

Rogers Rig:

Roger (late at night) in front of Tootsies.

We had advanced tickets for the Osborne Brothers at the Ryman Auditorium and also Steve Earle at the City Winery. Our only other focused goal was to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. The remainder of our time was spent walking / exploring the Broadway area as well as a day in East Nashville.

Let me highlight our main events first:

1) Country Music Hall of Fame –

I recommend a visit if you have a chance. The facility has on-going exhibits as well as special exhibits. I felt lucky with the special exhibits available at the time of our visit. One was for EmmyLou Harris and the other was Outlaw Country. I have always liked EmmyLou’s voice and songs. Having spent a lot of time in Texas lately, the Outlaw country exhibit was perfect.

Some pics:

The real story on one of the above pictures:

Some other pics from the hall of fame plus one from Tootsies:

Ryman Auditorium: The Brothers Osborne concert was pretty special. I would put it in my top 8 of all time. Wild Feather opened for Brothers Osborne and did a great job. Everyone stood from the first song to the last. A really good mix of blues, country and rock. Enjoyed! The Ryman has an interesting history (starting as a church and now a music venue). Great acoustics. The Grand Old Opry played here until the early 70’s and then moved to a money making complex on the outside of town. If you get a chance, see a show here!

Pics from before and during the show.

– Steve Earle, with opener Sarah McLachlin

The City Winery is a great place to see a show. It is a small venue with diner theater type setting. The prices for food and drink are on the upscale side but good. I recommend the seating towards the front or in the balcony in the back.

While we made a stop at many a bar in the Broadway area, we seemed to gravitate to Tootsies. Liked the vibe. Roger found out that some family was also in town and they joined us for a few beers at Tootsies.

BBQ at Martins BBQ Joint hit the spot. We also enjoyed the Headquarters Beercade, where you could play free pinball / video games in a relaxed atmosphere.

Some other pics from our visit:

East Nashville is an older, laid back transition area. The housing has already made a major transition and the businesses are following.

Logistics:

The KOA does offer shuttle service (at a cost) into downtown but we chose to Uber. This gave more flexibility and with two people about the same cost as the shuttle. Uber prices varied by the time of day and also by the day of the week. In general, the cost was between $10 to $15 (when split per person) for one way. This was wise for two reasons, 1) really hard to find parking downtown (and a high cost) and 2) you can enjoy your beverages of choice without having to make a drive.

I would like to come back and include some of the parks and no-music activities. So much to do in such a little time.

Ohio – Family Wedding

Colorado to Ohio for a nephew’s wedding. I always look forward to and enjoy such times. I get a chance to see my extended family in one spot and for a happy occasion.

The drive to Ohio was a mess with a blizzard and then ice storm but slow and steady paid off. I spent 6 days with family and friends. The below pics provide highlights of that time. A special thanks to Gordy and Deb for providing me a place to stay, Ann and Gary for their hospitality, and Dave and Gina for boarding on my way to my next stop.

It was great to see the new generation of family that are already growing way to fast.

Had a chance to see Logan play at a local winery and of course it is not a trip back to mid-west without White Castle.

On my way to Nashville, I stopped in Cincinnati for the night and Dave and Kyle took me out for food and then bowling. A church near their house has a 2 lane bowling alley, bar and more downstairs. Never quite expected something like that.

For those of you who know Gary, this is priceless:

Colorado Holidays

Spending the Holiday months with family and friends is priceless. Along with the usual Holiday Cheer, my time included cycling, fishing, music, hiking and chill time. Of course, I also used the time to catch up on many administrative duties while back in town.

Some pics from my Colorado time:

Denver Parade of Lights with Ryan, Dan, & Nicole: