What's up everyone
Aside from the John Mayer comments I made a month ago I've been pretty silent about all of the things happening in the Boy Wonder Universe. There's a reason for that. I had been working on something that I had to keep close to the vest simply because...I didn't want to jinx it and talk a whole lot about it until I was absolutely certain that it would come to pass.
That project was the Philadelphia Invasion in Austin Texas during the South by Southwest Music Conference.
I am a very proud resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sure it's the home of the cheese steak, and Rocky, and The Eagles, and throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. Murder and Mayhem and Sports Riots. But those who watch those stories exclusively on the news miss what this place is really about.
The Philadelphia I live in is a no nonsense place. A city with a blue collar work ethic. We're a little rough around the edges, but we always say exactly what we think, and we do not suffer fools gladly. If you want something you have to fight and scratch to get it. We're often overlooked because of our proximity to New York City, thought of as inferior, which sometimes gives us a chip on our shoulder which also feeds our identity.
As far as the music scene goes, it's splintered. If you go around the country and say Philly Music you might get a bunch of different answers if you get any at all. It's a city of cliques and circles. It's a lot like high school, you have kids that float in and out of certain cliques but for the most part people stay in their circles. That being said there are some quality music being made in this city made by quality musicians. If we all ever did mess around and unify ourselves we'd be a force to be reckoned with.
The seeds for this project were sewn almost one year ago walking the streets of Austin Texas noticing many cities and countries showcasing their very best talent. New York, Boston, Australia, China, The UK etc. I didn't see any shows showcasing talent from my hometown. I remember making a call to one of my fellow Philly scenesters saying that we needed to make this happen.
The idea exploded in my head when I discovered that there were no bands from Philadelphia selected to be official bands in the initial selection for the festival (I haven't seen the list since and it may have changed since then). I was enraged, passed over again. I could understand me not being picked, but everyone from Philly that applied didn't get in. I've been all over the country and our bands are as good as anyone Else's. I had to do something.
I remembered that Bang Camaro wasn't an official band, yet we played two shows at South by, so there was a way around the establishment, a back door if you will. The plan became, organize a few events close to the action during the festival and (in a sense) crash the party. As usual I don't get invited to the party so I throw my own.
I presented it to potential sponsors and backers who thought that I had a solid idea that would benefit me and them. I was to raise the necessary funds so that in January I could put a choke hold on each room because the name of the game at SXSW is speed, you wait till Feb to book a room and there won't be a room to book. I felt like I had it in the palm of my hand. I called so many clubs in Austin until finding one who was ready to go in January once the clubs in Austin were ready to talk to potential bookers for showcases. I knew I had to act fast, as I spent most of November and December booking showcases so that I had a package together as soon as the rooms were booked. We had a couple of really awesome bills and we were ready to go before Christmas.
The holiday was a relaxing one, it was in the bag or so I thought
When January rolled around it all fell apart fairly quickly. A lot of bands and sponsors alike decided that this time wasn't the right time to do something like that and I don't blame them, it's a risky game, this has the potential to fail miserably thus a lot of money would go down the tubes. It didn't change the fact that I had two days at an Austin club reserved, I didn't want to get rid of them, but I didn't know where the money was going to come from. Thankfully some new sponsors came through a short while later (There is a God) and we were able to do these shows. Problem was I didn't have any bands but two weeks ago everything was finalized. I'm very excited to tell everyone about these shows that we have.
The Philadelphia Invasion is about coming to one of the biggest music festival/conferences in the world and showing them what we've got...whether they like it or not. We're crashing the party with a megaphone and a case of Yuengling and a bottle of Fury.
Both shows (On March 19th and 20th) will take place at 219 West on 4th Street in Austin Texas
Both shows will start at Noon
Both Shows are Cover Free and will have FREE (until the kegs I bought run dry)
Day 1 - Friday March 19th - 12PM
On Friday March 19th we've got an extremely talented line up
Boy Wonder - Funk/Rock
Allison Polans (of Papertrees) - Folk
Dani Mari - Singer/Songwriter/Rock
Catherine Prewitt - Folk/Pop
And our special guests New York City's The Vanguard of Rethink Pop Music
I'm a big fan of Allison's work, I believe this is the first time I'm playing a show with her so I'm very excited about that. Catherine's new to the fold but she's pretty amazing this will be the first time I'm playing a show with her as well. Dani Mari will bring the fire as usual and The Vanguard will help me bring testosterone to the occasion.
Day 2 - Saturday March 20th - 12PM
Saturday March 20th is just as good
Boy Wonder - Funk/Rock
Katherine Mundy - Blues/Pop
Ami Verrill - Singer/Songwriter
Brady and The Bear - Folk/Rock
And Our Special Guests Boston Rockers Township
I can't think of Katherine Mundy without thinking of John Mayer's Room For Squares (which is one of my favorite albums) her music calls back to the breezy blues influenced pop music abandoned all to quickly by the Mayers and Mrazs of the World. Brady and The Bear is just the business, well crafted folks songs with catchy hooks and by far the best beard in the music business. Ami Verrill sings and plays with a conviction rarely found amongst other artists, every performance brings you to her living room playing her songs by a roaring fire.
Aside from being the coolest Rock band I've heard in a long time, Township also features guitarist Alejandro Necochea whom you might know from Bang Camaro who I toured with as a vocalist last spring. I got a lot of flack for being in that band when I came home from musicians and people who thought that Camaro wasn't cool enough, but fact is without them giving me the opportunity to see SXSW up close and personal and learn the ropes none of what I'm doing would be possible...period.
And Me...hell I just hope I can keep up with everyone else.
We've got two amazing shows. I wanna thank everyone that helped, that encouraged me in the times I felt like giving up. This is a truly amazing and humbling thing. This is the biggest festival in the world and I get to sneak in the back door and play...twice.
When I look at both bills I am humbled to be in such company...it's going to be an amazing week.
Well it's 4:15AM and I have stuff to do, put together set lists and tour intineraries and all that and I dunno...maybe catch some sleep.
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