osulew
My house...in the middle of my street
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Right on about the booze. You can nearly drink fer free at SXSW at times...those booze sponsors are falling all over themselves to be visible and get their product in your hands...even if that means just walking up and handing it to ya.
I enjoy that. :)
Free chow hither and yon too.
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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We will see vertical farms in the Columbus Commons as the main station for a high speed rail that zooms through a massive aquarium servicing students off campus being housed at club ice; before this.
Seriously, where do you get your smoke from? Because mine isn't nearly as good.
osulew
My house...in the middle of my street
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Tenzo wrote >>
We will see vertical farms in the Columbus Commons as the main station for a high speed rail that zooms through a massive aquarium servicing students off campus being housed at club ice; before this.
Seriously, where do you get your smoke from? Because mine isn't nearly as good.
Well with that kinda attitude, I'm not sharing.
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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somertimeoh wrote >>
michaelcoyote wrote >>
JonMyers wrote >>
Remember those venues that used to be where Campus Gateway exists? Some were dance clubs, others weren't.Sure, there are places that can be used, but it's going to be a lot easier if those places are already open and running and you don't have to truck in sound, booze, beer and staff them and get the licensing.
It can all be done of course, but it makes it easier if you don't have to.Well that's absolutely not true. There are semis for DAYS bringing in equipment to outfit all these places. I-35 from DFW to Austin is a parking lot for 2 solid weeks. The amount of volunteers at all these venues keeping this thing going is mind boggling. Just about every showcase/party has a booze sponsor. I'm not trying to defend some Columbus SXSW, I just question how much time you've actually spent at SXSW if you think what you're saying is reality.
I think we're talking past each other here. For an existing festival that is well established and now supporting tens of thousands of attendees they're going to have to truck in equipment for days. They've grown in such a way that they need to do so, and that's a great problem to have. On the other hand I'm betting they didn't need to do that in 1987 when they had the first festival.
Likewise the only big truck I saw at the 2nt Independents Day festival were loading out the band risers. Here's hoping they need a bigger truck next year.
I've only been to SxSW once, and I agree that it was a very impressive event. I kinda lucked into it after hearing about it for years, and I definitely was impressed by the turnout and the organization. Kinda like Comfest, but much bigger, spread out all over the place and lots more going on. Of course it took them 20 years and a supportive community to get to that point.
Can Columbus have a great festival? Yeah I think so. As I mentioned Comfest pulls a lot of good local music into one place and puts it in front of people but I think it's running out of space. I think that Independent's Day has lots of possibilities, and I'm hopeful that they can do even more this year.
I think it's a bit much to expect them (or anyone here) to come up with a SxSW size event this year, but in 10 years? Sure. Even then it wouldn't be the same as SxSW for any number of reasons that we've both mentioned and thousands more that haven't been mentioned. But then again it doesn't have to be SxSW. It just has to be good.
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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I wasn't saying anything about Columbus. Just correcting the inaccuracies about SXSW.
DavidF
Elysium Fields
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I was in Austin in 1987 (and a live music fanatic), and SXSW was a decidedly low key affair. On the other hand, Austin already had a great reputation as a town for live music. Anybody who was anybody, had ever been somebody, or hoped to someday be somebody played Austin. I remember seeing the Sugar Cubes in a little bar with maybe 150 people there.
I think Columbus has a great music scene and I'm glad to see events that showcase local talent. It's a vibrant local scene that creates the conditions for something like SXSW to develop. Focus on that, and the rest follows.
ZHC
101 East Main Street, Downtown
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michaelcoyote wrote >>
It has to do with talent pool and infrastructure. If you're starting out, you start out small and the local talent is very helpful in getting you off the ground. Moving forward these guys not only open shows, but do sound and other things. SxSW was started in 1987, and didn't even have 1000 people show up for the first one. It wasn't an international festival then. They had to start with who showed up.
This is very well said.
the lesson to me from SxSW is that if you have an unique identity you can leverage it into national expsoure.
Instead of of copying Portland, Austin, Nashville etc. We should figure what we got (or could have) that other places don't and showcase that, letting it build organically as these places have.
JaredThompson
Manhattan Beach, CA
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JonMyers wrote >>
Who is going to South by Southwest?
@JonMyers: check this http://austin.mashable.com/?q=columbus%2C+oh
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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DavidF wrote >>
I was in Austin in 1987 (and a live music fanatic), and SXSW was a decidedly low key affair. On the other hand, Austin already had a great reputation as a town for live music. Anybody who was anybody, had ever been somebody, or hoped to someday be somebody played Austin. I remember seeing the Sugar Cubes in a little bar with maybe 150 people there.
I think Columbus has a great music scene and I'm glad to see events that showcase local talent. It's a vibrant local scene that creates the conditions for something like SXSW to develop. Focus on that, and the rest follows.
How funny. In a lot of prove your music cred circles I traveled with in TX that Sugarcubes show (along with the Love and Rockets/Jane's Addiction show at the same place) is the equivalence of "I saw the Sex Pistols in 1978 at _______" for the generation before.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Thanks Jared, that's a really awesome web service. It's weird though, I talked to someone connected directly to the organizers and was told there were 82 Columbus people attending at last count. The service doesn't reflect those numbers yet.
This will be my fifth SXSWi.
The event continues to grow every year. The interactive portion of SXSW has doubled again this year. I guess digital is not going away.
I've been reading some of the remarks about music venues contribution to the success of SXSW, and while yes that's one ingredient, I feel like you all are getting about 10% of the recipe.
There are no magic bullets that fuel a "SXSW like event" and the presence of many independent music venues are no exception. They're simply one element, a by-product of something bigger.
Many factors have fueled the rise of SXSW, but I think it all starts with one thing; culture. Austin has encouraged and cultivated a culture of risk taking, tolerance of failure and a get back up to do it all over again attitude.
Austin's culture happens to be highly relevant at the moment.
The rich digital startup scene in Austin is reflective of that culture, in addition to the live music and arts scene. They all go hand in hand, but again it starts with the cultural acceptance of the risks that go with these pursuits.
Columbus is not there with the acceptance of risk and the general cultural psyche of the city is certainly not comfortable with the inevitable failures that go with risk taking.
The existing events in Columbus that hold any slim resemblance to SXSW are closed to outsiders. We have to open to get to the scale and caliber of a SXSW. Again, it starts with the culture and opening up.
Moving and changing culture is like moving mountains, but my suggestion for creating a "SXSW like event" is to first focus on shifting the general cultural focus of Columbus to something that is more contemporary and in doing so, a "SXSW like event" will bubble up from our creativity, not from copying something.
DavidF
Elysium Fields
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somertimeoh wrote >>
DavidF wrote >>
I was in Austin in 1987 (and a live music fanatic), and SXSW was a decidedly low key affair. On the other hand, Austin already had a great reputation as a town for live music. Anybody who was anybody, had ever been somebody, or hoped to someday be somebody played Austin. I remember seeing the Sugar Cubes in a little bar with maybe 150 people there.
I think Columbus has a great music scene and I'm glad to see events that showcase local talent. It's a vibrant local scene that creates the conditions for something like SXSW to develop. Focus on that, and the rest follows.How funny. In a lot of prove your music cred circles I traveled with in TX that Sugarcubes show (along with the Love and Rockets/Jane's Addiction show at the same place) is the equivalence of "I saw the Sex Pistols in 1978 at _______" for the generation before.
That's funny. I'm trying to remember the name of the place. Was it the Back Room? I was front stage center, literally 2 feet from Bjork. (and honestly, didn't really have a clue who this band was at the time.) I was also a huge Reivers fan back then.
@Jon: You really got to the heart of what I was saying. Columbus has to stop being afraid of being Columbus. We are way too focused on how other people perceive us and I think that hinders us from letting what is unique and great about this area shine through. I think that is changing to a degree, but it's still a part of our social psyche.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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David thanks man, I appreciate being heard and I concur.
I'll be blogging thoughts and observations from SXSWi. If you or anyone else has an interest, then you should stalk me on my blog: http://www.GraphicConversation.com
And as usual, I'll be streaming/ spewing too many details on Twitter. If that's your thing you should follow me here: @JonMyers
groundrules
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michaelcoyote wrote >>
What's next would be to build a music scene as good as Austin's. Start by convincing people that music venues are important to the city being a vibrant dynamic place.
I think it would pretty much take care of itself if we just started telling everyone that we were the Indie Music Capital of the World.
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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@DavidF, yes Back Room.
Columbus is great and will be better when everyone who wishes they were somewhere else "cooler" finally goes to those other "cooler" places.
DavidF
Elysium Fields
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somertimeoh wrote >>
@DavidF, yes Back Room.
Columbus is great and will be better when everyone who wishes they were somewhere else "cooler" finally goes to those other "cooler" places.
+1. I love Columbus. I was a supporter of calling the Blue Jackets the Mad Cows. Great places aren't afraid of making fun of themselves.
If you were lucky enough to see the Chill play as the Mad Cows, that was simply awesome! (I think there is a jersey on display at the R bar.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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I like Columbus, but there's a lot of thin skin in town. I wish people would toughen up a bit. It's ok to criticize. People that live in "cooler places" are just as critical of their own cities and most don't get all sensitive if someone makes a critical remark.
I'll be happy when we collectively get to the point of not being as sensitive to criticism and see it as an opportunity, rather than getting all defensive and defeated.
In Columbus it starts with the leadership learning to deal with criticism and leaving the dog and pony 80s political show and the ego that goes with it in the past.
I'm suddenly having visions of parking meters and bags of coins.
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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I don't see much criticism, just complaining. Big difference. If you want better, do better. Most of the people that I hear and see complaining enjoy the benefits of what other people are working hard to do, but rarely do I see them stepping up to volunteer, get involved, and make these events grow.
And this isn't so much about you personally as just a collective of broken record complainers without much action.
I've only lived here 4 years so maybe I'm just not bitter yet, but there comes a point when you have to decide if the place you live sucks or if you just suck at living there.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Word somertimeoh, I feel ya.
I think like any relationship, your relationship with a city has its ups and downs. Sometimes you stick with it and other times you move on.
The worst offenders of city bitching tend to be the ones that aren't doing anything about the city or their personal situation to move on.
I'm just as sick as you probably are of the BIG IDEAS of what we need and very few people doing a damn thing about it.
Though, we do... have cool people doing cool things like Wonderland, etc.. It's all perspective.
Charlie
Victorian Village
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Never been to SXSW, but always wanted to go. I'm a live music junkie, and it looks like it could be a Mecca. Glad to hear you're going Jon. I'm jealous. I'd def be interested in reading posts and "lessons learned" for a future trip of my own.
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