Brooklyn based sister duo CHAOS CHAOS – Asy and Chloe, formerly SMOOSH – released their ‘S’ EP, last week. They kindly sent us their SXSW tour diary read it below!
SXSW diary day 1:
Okay. So we have arrived in Austin. We have been traveling over 24 hours, somehow.. Shuttles and shuttles and walking with gear and airplanes and more walking with gear.. If there’s one thing they don’t tell you about being a musician it is the amount of time you will spend loading and unloading.
We were in Seattle in a cabin working in isolation for two weeks on material for our full length. We came straight to Austin from there and are staying with our friends in the awesome band SPEAK.
I’ve had to get completely out of writing mode and into SXSW/tour mode because they require being in completely different mind frames. At SXSW you have to ignore details, perfection and anything luxurious. The best shows here are the Raw, energetic and fun ones where no one pays attention to the terrible sound that is unavoidable.
Our first show was yesterday– a day party right in the center of all craziness. The showcase was behind schedule and we were having technical problems– we also lost part of Chloe’s handcrafted trash drum setup. We decided to just have a blast on stage and tried to make the songs sound great despite the malfunctioning sampler. There were free empanadas which we needed for energy because we loaded our gear 1 US mile to our car!
We have been trying to catch bands we love play and it feels like we have been walking nonstop. Also running into many, many people! Seems like this year at SXSW is more busy than previous years we have played so the lines are huge. Also, many showcases are not all ages so Chloe cant see much. I’m finally 21 and it almost feels wrong getting into 21+ things! always feel like I’m sneaking in. I just saw the thermals play and they moshed in the crowd. Last night we caught an incredible Brooklyn experimental band that played in a less busy part of SXSW.
I’m excited for our show tonight (the official showcase) — I’m really eager to play for some reason!
It also is exciting because this is our first time playing the festival as chaos chaos! Alright – gonna head out into the streets and tackle this thing. The plan is free food at this moonshine place.. Will report back soon!
Asy
SXSW tour diary 2:
Just waking up now. I’ve been up for a couple hours but I’m just starting to feel awake with coffee. Another day! Feels a little colder today which should be nice actually.. We have early load in for our 3rd show here at SXSW. Last nights show was a success, but sound was definitely an issue. I know it’s inevitable but it still bugs me. Being a musician, that’s one of the things you can’t control and it is hard to play a great set that doesn’t sound the best because of technical issues. Anyway the crowd was into it. A lot of people were watching outside from the street. The stage was strangely placed right next to open windows facing the onlookers on sxsw’s busiest street (6th). I told them to come in and they did. Luckily.
Asy
SXSW tour diary 3:
Today it is 6pm on Sunday. This is the quiet day of recovery after the insane SXSW music festival. Everyone is heading home.. (I know because I am being bombarded by people’s recovery posts on social networking sites). Seems like this year’s SXSW was pretty crazy and everybody had a really good time. I just feel like we’ve been here in Austin for a while, since we were here the entire week. We also had shows nearly every day so we didn’t get much of a break. Chloe is in bed sick today.. I think she got food poisoning or something. Not good. But at least she got the illness now instead of before our shows. We fly home tomorrow and have one day to recoup/rehearse with our cellist before embarking on a US tour. I hope Chloe is better then..
Our last two shows were great. I felt like the first two were tough with sound and just figuring out how to load in/out with just the two of us and also sell merch and stuff. The second two were easier and we felt like we performed better.
The crowds were great at every show, which really made it worth it and fun. People came in from the street and were dancing and getting into it. I always have a blast on stage when the crowd is rocking out.
I feel pretty ready for tour now. I feel practiced. I feel like our set is tight and everything is feeling pretty natural. I am anxious to be back on the road, and to swap my winter clothes for spring ones finally!
Today I think I am going to hang out with the Austin based band, SPEAK, that we have been staying with. It is a beautiful day and I actually have nothing to do after I finish some computer work so I’m going to some pig roast with them.. Never been to one before.
I have been thinking a lot about this festival and what it really is.. I think I’ve decided that it can be a great opportunity for a band but it can also be just a fun thing to be a part of. A lot of people seem to just go to the showcases where more well-known bands are playing, and that seems to defeat the purpose of this festival launching up and coming bands.. But then again, it is all about connections and seeing/meeting great musicians so there are kind of endless opportunities at SXSW. I think it was a success for us. It was awesome to be a part of it, and I think we’ve made new fans and also made some great new friends that we’d love to work with in the future.
I think, like everything –to an extent– the festival ends up being what you choose to make of it. We worked really hard to prepare and do our best set while also having fun and seeing bands. I can say that we accomplished that, yea!
-Asy
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Watch our new music video
Stream our new single http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/exclusive-song-premiere-in-this-place-chaos-chaos
CHAOS CHAOS will release their debut album this autumn, when they will be tour the UK.
