Hawaii musicians: Are you looking for national recognition? The South by Southwest Music Festival is accepting your applications now.
"A lot of the reason we don’t have as many Hawaii acts is that they just don’t apply," says Phil Tripp, the SXSW liaison for musical acts in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. "But what Hawaii has is a great undercurrent of music that is not Hawaiian, that is not slack key, that is not hula."
And SXSW wants to showcase these acts at the next SXSW Music Festival, set for March 12-17 in Austin, Texas.
While Tripp says bands such as Hapa that incorporate indigenous island sounds have been well received at the festival, SXSW may be the most comfortable fit for bands working in genres with a strong national following, including the gentle rock of Jack Johnson and poppy punk of The Throwdowns.
Hip-hop artists also made a strong showing at SXSW in 2012, with Jay-Z’s highly hyped appearance at the festival leading the way.
Tripp has invited Johnson and The Throwdowns to consider throwing their hats in the ring at SXSW this year. He said he’d welcome the presence of Johnson as a high-profile, highly popular representative of Hawaii’s musical community.
"Who knows, maybe Bruno Mars will appear this year!" Tripp said. "Stranger things have happened."
Hawaii’s sole musical act in an official SXSW 2012 showcase was Jake Shimabukuro. Tripp is hoping to encourage greater participation this year.
Nov. 7 is the deadline for submitting a musician’s application to be showcased at the festival. To apply, go to SXSW.com for a link or go directly to sonicbids.com.
With the application fee of $40, acts can create a Sonicbids electronic kit, which allows them to share their music, bios and photos online. The Sonicbids package — also used to send kits to concert venues and festivals including Bonnaroo — is available to musical applicants for six months.
"It takes money, certainly, because you have to buy your own ticket," Tripp said, acknowledging that costs and scheduling can be hurdles. But "if you’re a musician and you want to succeed, SXSW is an ideal site for you."
Tripp, a U.S.-born former music manager who now lives in Australia, said 40 bands from Australia traveled to Austin for the 2012 music festival. More than 250 applied and 70 were accepted.
The situation for Australian musicians is comparable to that of musicians in Hawaii, Tripp said, adding, "We can’t make it just on our own country’s options."
ACTS accepted to SXSW will receive a cash payment or festival wristbands, but they will be responsible for their own transportation and housing in Austin.
If accepted, Tripp advises musicians to keep up the hustle, network with other bands to appear on their bill and join the lineup for parties during the festival.
"Sometimes the craziest things work," he said. At a past festival, Anuhea’s manager, Warren Wyatt, set up a Hawaii-themed booth at the SXSW trade show where Anuhea performed. Other acts from Hawaii also gravitated to the booth, including John Cruz, who "played his heart out" at several locations, Tripp said, and collected a number of national contacts in return.
Sonicbids, the online site for submitting SXSW applications, describes itself as a "social music marketing platform" for connecting bands, promoters, music fans and businesses that may want to work with musicians or license their work. See a selection of Sonicbids-featured videos from musicians showcased at SXSW 2012 at tinyurl.com/ youtube-Sonicbids.
"A thousand members of the media will be there, looking for the next new thing — someone to champion," Tripp said. "We’re looking for them, too, because we thrive on their success."
Last week SXSW announced its first round of confirmed panels for the film portion of its programming. Work is well under way on organizing the festival in all its aspects. Filmmakers can submit features ($60), shorts or videos ($40) or title sequences ($10) at sxsw.com/film/screenings/ submit; after Nov. 1 costs are $15 to $100, and final deadline is Nov. 15.
Most presenters at the SXSW Interactive sessions, March 8-12, have been chosen. See a list of confirmed presenters, including David Carr of The , who integrates a blog and frequent video reports into his work; Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist; and Chuck Lorre, writer-producer of the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men" (with the presentation "What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Bitter") at sxsw.com/interactive.
On the Net » sxsw.com/music/shows/apply
