Episode 15

SXSW, One World Beat Festival and Northgate Music Festival 2004

Austin, Houston, and College Station, TX respectively - 03/31/04

This past month has been a roller coaster for PoE and I don't see it stopping come summer. First the tour up to KS and OK and then SXSW, followed by Houston and finally College Station's Northgate Music Festival. Quite a trip. :)
I've been self-assigned to write about our unique experience at the Go Girls Showcase during SXSW and the conference itself - which is quite an undertaking.

Go Girls Showcase at SXSW - 03/18/04
- Anuj Timblo

This was the first show we did after our mini-tour and there could have been no better people to do it with than Madalyn Sklar and her team at Go Girls Music.ŹI can't stress enough how supportive this organization has been of our music. Madalyn and company continue to amaze me.

Ultrafix and Leslie

We got to see explosive sets by Last Band Standing winners Ultrafix and Boise's Half the World. Our evening was topped off with Carolina who did really exciting versions of Pat Benatar songs mixed in with her original music which was equally impressive.
Kit Holmes, the sound engineer did a miraculous job of keeping the venue sounding good. She was really facing an uphill battle with that reverberating space. But overall she came through with flying colors.

Madalyn and Laura

Its always a pleasure to see Madalyn, Leslie and Tammi. Their belief and support has always encouraged us to continue staying true to our music in spite of having what many people call a "left of center" sound. :)

Ultrafix, Laura and Leslie

SXSW 2004 highlight - Lili Haydn
- Anuj Timblo

All in all the SXSW panels I went to were very enriching while the showcases left a lot to be desired.
The only showcase that really stuck out in my mind was Lily Haydn's. This violinist/vocalist performed with a keyboardist and tabla player (Satnam Ramgotra). The sensational tabla playing and Lili's mind boggling voice and violin brought warmth into a chilly SXSW venue.
The wonderful Austin writer Michele Hale was there and she fascinated me with her interest and enthusiasm for tabla. In fact I was impressed to find out that Satnam chose to have Michele's tablas on stage with him to use that evening.
I had never before seen such Tabla playing as I did that evening. Satnam's fusion of what his guru taught him and western philosophies in rhythm has given birth to a very unique style of tabla playing that Satnam can most definitely call his own. Once again - extremely impressive.

The wonderful Lili Haydn

I physically ceased to feel cold anymore. It was like the music brought the warmth with it.
Out of all the 400 or so bands that played at the festival - I'm glad I happened to fall into one that really moved me. That is more than my discerning character can ask for. :)



Last Concert Cafe & The Blue Hat Project - 03/20/04
- Abhinit Bhatt

To tell you the truth, the only thing I knew when I walked from the parked car to the Last Concert Cafˇ in Houston, TX was that we had a gig in front of (letÕs hope) an enthusiastic crowd. It was when I got to the entrance I realized that this show was not only for global peace but it was also a fund raiser for AIDS Awareness. The message of global peace touched me right away and I became more excited about the show that we were going to do. It was a beautiful night to play, especially because there was a calm - cool breeze and an open sky. The venue was literally a breath of fresh air when compared to the usual smoke infested venues. After the sound check, there was an introduction to the band as well as some announcements about where the funds collected from the show were going. (Aids Awareness in El Salvador) It was an awesome feeling that not only was POE conveying the message of world peace through songs like "Brothers in War" but also playing "Diya" (which means "To give" in Hindi) to raise funds to fight AIDS.

Anuj and his Queso at LCC

After we finished the show, I set off to get as many mailing list sign-ups as I could from the people who had enjoyed our music. I love doing this as I can meet our audience face to face and learn more about them. At this point I experienced another surprise. After the first two sign-ups I got to the third table where a person asked me detail questions about the fundraiser. Such as "How can you be sure that this money IS going to El Salvador as promised?" or "Did you just come from Austin to play for publicity or do you actually care about the fundraiser?" She told me that she spent 2 years in Africa personally doing AIDS awareness, and I could see that she was very sensitive about this issue. I couldn't answer any of the questions with confidence....I mean I knew that we played songs which were related to the issues addressed at the venue but I had no concrete proof for her. I thought about it some more, as I got several more sign-ups and as I was leaving Last Concert Cafe, I did something I would've NEVER done if not for that lady. I wrote down the name (Blue Hat Project) and the website (www.bluehatproject.org) of the agency that had organized the event. I recently checked out Blue Hat Project's website as well as the website of One World Beat Festival. First thing I noticed was, this festival goes from March 19-21 at 160 places in 40 countries, all for HIV/AIDS fundraising... that's AMAZING. I felt very honored to be a part of such a big event.

See More Fan Photos at LCC here

Soooo...what did I learn from this experience? Well, I realized that I need to always be aware of how I can use my music for a greater cause. Knowing this just might affect me in a deeper way.
p.s. In the future I plan to stay in touch with The Blue Hat Project and learn how the show affected the fundraising for El Salvador. Everybody else should try and do the same.

College Station, KEOS and Northgate Music Festival - 03/27/04
- Anuj Timblo

Due to Will's hernia operation, Laura's crazy school schedule and Pat's fatherhood duties, I have to partake in some "double dipping" with the diary entries this time. Usually I would consider it a hassle to have to return to the same diary entry after completing my log - but when I realized that I had to write about our experience at College Station, it became an absolute pleasure.
Being from UT, I was subjected to the same Anti-Aggie brainwashing everyone else was subjected to. Somehow instilled certain negative views about what College Station people are like. Boy, were those views wrong!!
We couldn't have met a nicer set of people. This was southern hospitality mixed in with some spicy TX BBQ sauce!! It was great.
Our first destination was KEOS 89.1 - the community radio station there. Now these people know just how to treat a group of weary musician travelers. With a smile, great hospitality, pizza and drinks KEOS proved that a radio station can be a really cool place. Never before did I meet a sound guy (Glen) who actually rented a keyboard adaptor on the fly because we had forgotten to bring ours OR a radio jockey (Gary) who researched the band so well that he could correct me on my musical influences OR a volunteer (Chad) who offered his place for us to crash at. Not to mention the streams of friendly people who came in during our set. Being at KEOS was a dream after the 2 hour stuffy drive from Austin.
Glen was relating his tales to Will and Laura about doing sound for shows ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Dixie Chicks, Houston Jazz Festival and barber shop quintets. Wow - has this man lived the rock'n'roll life or what?
Former Minnesotan and Chicagoan, Gary Mortensen and I had a very enthralling conversation. It always fascinates me to learn how people end up in Texas. His research and knowledge about Pieces of East really impressed me. :)
Chad's enthusiasm was contagious and ended up being the key to a well played set in-spite of the self inflicted technical problems (like forgetting the keyboard adaptor in Austin.. )

After the set I got to meet Mark, the program director there. We indulged ourselves with the issues concerning radio conglomeration, commercial music on the airwaves and the plight of community radio stations. Not the most optimistic of conversations.

It sometimes pains me to realize that a majority of people who listen to community radio and can afford pledging, don't. Truly bewildering. So support your local community radio station!

More KEOS photos as well as others related to this entry

The second stop was Hastings for an acoustic instore performance. When we got there and set up, Laura, Abhinit and I were initially playing for the rest of our band mates but gradually people started trickling in. Most of them were there because of KEOS. (Thank You Again KEOS!).
It was a pleasure seeing one of our oldest and most loyal supporters Rebecca Levy again after so long. We really miss her at shows and it was a real treat to see this future doctor taking time out from A&M medical school to come see us do our acoustic set.
We met some really cool people at that performance - especially Laura and Abhinit. I was busy with the digital camera - so although I didn't get to meet everyone, I managed to get a lot of photos for this website! :)

The time to sound check and play at the festival had arrived. Prateek and Mansi Shah were at hand. Having undergone a speeding-ticket-earning journey from Austin to deliver the forgotten keyboard adaptor on time, they were really hungry and tired.

That advice Prateek ended up giving the sound engineer really helped. It proved to be a blessing as the band sounded much closer to what they intend to sound like than before. Good Job Prats! Now that's Sound advice!! ;)

Red Earth played before us and they were awesome! Northgate did a great job by booking such a diverse and energetic band with us and Del Castillo.

Of course, as usual the DC boys were phenomenally good. I am always in awe when I see them. This might have topped some of the best DC Austin shows for me, but I'm not sure. They are all so freakin' talented. In fact, I heard that the two killer guitarists (Mark and Rick) were in the audience during our set. Thank God I didn't know that while playing.

Overall, the group had a fantastic time in College Station. We can't wait to return. Shadow Canyon (the venue) was exceptionally good to us and so were the people. College Station -- YOU ROCK!!