I ‘Heart’ SXSW!
***As cool as it was to see Arlo Guthrie, and learn about his father, Woody, I was excited to get to the next panel on my agenda, that of Ann & Nancy Wilson of ‘Heart.’ I’ve always loved their music, and admired their ability to survive and succeed in the music business during a period of intense chauvanism, sexism, and male dominance. Leading the interview on this panel was rock critic, Ann Powers, who began the session by revving up the audience by saying, “You should be thanking these women for a lifetime of amazing rock & roll!” to which we all cheered and applauded. According to Ann Wilson, Heart’s trademark sound came from their hearts as songwriters, whatever they were into at the time of writing, and that they wrote from the perspective of ‘people in the
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world, not specifically women.’ Admittedly, I was expecting more talk about the difficulties of forging a career in music in the 1970s and 80s, when sex, drugs and hedonism were the norm. Ann did admit that they encountered plenty of men who were crude and awful, but she kept her comments pretty surface and straight forward. It almost seemed like she was carefully censoring her experiences, or is just plain sick of talking about a topic that she has, no doubt, covered umpteen millions of times over the years.
The Sisters Heart mentioned that their early musical influences were the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. Interestingly, they said that they came to the blues via the British Invasion, where so many of the bands sang, transformed, and re-delivered American blues. They shared with the audience that, “The consistent thing is our songwriting. The songs are the through line: the sounds can come and go and change, but the songs speak loudest.” When questions were opened up to the audience, first up were women who thanked them for empowering women in rock. They expressed their gratitude for clearing the rock & roll path for female musicians. Then came the men, who were equally as impressed and thankful for what these ladies brought to rock and roll. And, I agree…Thank you, Heart sisters for what you did for women in rock!!
Next up was a night with Fiona Apple, a singer who enthralled me back in her early, and younger, days. I’ve been wondering for awhile where she disappeared to, and even searched for her a few months back. Her website gave no explanation or information, so I figured she either couldn’t hack the limelight and/or was having babies. I was happily surprised to see her reemerge at South By and was excited to see her. She would be singing on 8thStreet at the Central Presbyterian Church. Weird venue, I know, but what the heck. I thought I had left myself plenty of time to get there, and not stressing very much because, after all, who besides me and maybe a few other oddballs were into Fiona Apple, of all people? Ends up, a LOT of people are because the line was wrapped around the corner when I arrived, but I was feeling secure because once the doors opened they were letting us in by the droves. And, being that I was one person, they could easily squeeze me in somewhere, right? Wrong. The church holds 1600 people, and I got within ten people of the door when they shut it and announced that they were filled to capacity! No way! I was bummed! My first South By Disappointment! I waited until fifteen minutes passed starting time, just in case of a miracle, but…it never happened. Oh, so sad…and minus a backup plan, I was left fumbling for what to do. The problem is that there is TOO MUCH TO DO, so if you don’t have a scheduled plan, you’re lost.
Ann & Nancy Wilson
Wanting to avoid 6th Street tonight, I meandered down to a place that looked less complicated to deal with, the Cedar Door/Hard Rock Café. Don’t ask me how it could be both, but I think the Hard Rock bit was just borrowed for SXSW. There was no music this night, and I was perfectly content with having a relaxing evening on their outdoor deck enjoying a cocktail – this place makes a mean Mexican Margarita!
Starting a conversation with another lone soul at the table next to me proved educational. The guy was a lighting technician who worked on numerous shows, particularly a well-known (in certain circles) American flamenco guitarist, Benise. He was at SXSW for a different show, however – the opening act for Lionel Richie. We shared stories for a time, and then he was off to work and I headed back to my hotel to document my latest adventures.
Goin' Mobile - Adventures of a Travelin' Music Junkie! 