Built by Snow

Well this is awesome news in our own little Austin music scene. Geek rock Built by Snow has a song featured in a commercial. But not just any commercial. No no people. They're not promoting the local furniture store or anything like that. They're promoting Google's new 3D Maps.

That's pretty freaking sweet.

Apparently, people other than Austinites are appreciating the nerdy rock anthems. They were also featured in a Cartoon Network show as well called "Unnatural History."

Come to think of it, they would have made a great addition to the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack or The Big Bang Theory. Both embrace the love for video games. This is the same band that sent me a press kit with their bio as a 3D comic book with glasses.

Anyway, so congrats to the guys. I'm so happy for you!

In regards to music journalism, 2009 was a great year for me. For life in general, not so much. Here's hoping 2010 will be better. But nevertheless, 2009 had it's highlights. I got to attend several music festivals for free with press passes, was asked to join some great writing teams and from there, formed some really good friendships. It seems that people are starting to notice my writing from the various publications I write for and that's a pretty good feeling. So I know this is the time of year where people do the whole “Best of...” articles, but I'm doing more of a highlights type list and less of Top 10 whatever lists.

So without further ado...

Song I Can't Get Out of my Head Lately: All Hail “ex lover” and Like Clockwork “Hands Up!”
"ex-lover": This song is pretty awesome. Try getting this song out of your head after the first listen.

This review says it all for “Hands Up!”

Best Band Discovery: Quiet Company and Fireants

Quiet Company giving out Free Hugs from Sarah Vasquez on Vimeo.

In my experience, when a band usually uses clever promotion such as passing out free hugs during SXSW, the band isn't normally very good. Hence the clever promotion. So I was in for the surprise of my life when I ran into Quiet Company during a dinner break at that March festival. I introduced myself, met the guys, interviewed them about the gimmick and of course, got free hugs. Afterward, they handed me a cd to review but with all the chaos of SXSW, I didn't get to hear it until a week later. Not only did I write an album review, I also write a short feature. Both for different publications. That says it all. Pay attention to this band ya, I expect 2010 to be the year for them.

Man, Fireants. What a great discovery. I'm so glad I was at the right place at the right time. After my interview with El Guapos, I stuck around Momo's during SXSW and heard the Fireants. For those that hang out with me regularly (especially my Accent friends), know I'm a huge fan of the Fireants. I know I mention that they're high school students, but that doesn't make them a great band. They are seriously talented. The fact that they are this talented now while in high school makes me excited to see what these guys and gal are gonna become once they get older and maturer. I've only seen them twice but the two times I saw them, they had turned every member of the crowd into fans by the end of their set.

Bittersweet Goodbye: Bankrupt and the Borrowers
I first saw this band perform during Emo's Free Week in January at Beauty Bar, but seeing them in their true element: drunk and carefree is what really won me over. I kept following them throughout the year, seeing them gather more and more fans with each performance. Named one of Austin Monthly “Nine to Watch in '09,” it was obviously this band was going places but then it was over. Just like that. After the death of band member Jon Pettis, the band decided to not continue and ending their run at Fun Fun Fun Fest in November. While I completely understand their decision, I know I'm not alone when I say that I hope the remaining members keep playing whether it be in another band together or in their own separate ways.


I started working on this slideshow of the last song they performed at Fun Fun Fun Fest. The plan was to create this awesome slideshow with all the 300+ photos I took with the audio I captured. When listening to "I Love You Baby" recording after the show, it was an obvious choice to put the photos to this song. However, the song is over six minutes long. I worked on it as much as my attention allowed me to in one sitting. This is what I have so far.

Bankrupt and the Borrowers "I Love You Baby" from Sarah Vasquez on Vimeo.

The Year of the Music Festivals
SXSW
This was the first year I actually went with a wristband. Usually, I just wander around and check out free shows during this festival. But thanks to the Accent, I was given a wristband and a photo pass. Although my usual experience wasn't enhanced because of this, it was cool seeing people part away from me when I got up front to take photos because of my orange photo tag.

Fun Fun Fun Fest
My first experience with this festival was again thanks to Accent. When we came back for the semester, I asked my faculty advisor if we were applying for passes because I was determine to attend, even if it met I would pay for myself. Luck would have it that we got in! Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy Sunday acts because of the rain but what I did see that weekend was pretty memorable. Death! Danzig! Need I say more?

Best TV Show of 2009: Glee
Yeah so this show is not Austin based but who cares? It's a great show. I love this show!!! I watch it religiously. With my love of musicals and pop songs, the moment I saw the trailer, I knew this would be my new favorite show. The plot could use some work but there are many memorable moments that make that flaw forgivable. But really it's all about the music.

2009 Most Memorable Interview: Whitman
I interviewed a lot of bands this year but Whitman takes the crown. It had been years since the last interview with these guys so we had a lot of catching up to do. Before the actual interview, things got a little awkward as one of the band members unknowingly asked me about my relationship that just ended. With the wound still fresh combined with PMS resulted in some tears shed. Whoops.

But irregardless, Ram Vela as always gave me an entertaining interview. Without the rest of the guys, nothing regarding the band would have been shared. I think that's what makes this band work. Reading the interview shows the great chemistry they have with one another to provide a great show and music.

Here's a clip that didn't make the final product that proves what I just wrote. When I transcribed this part, I couldn't help but laughed out loud making the surrounding people wonder what the hell was wrong with me. I'm glad it didn't get published. Reading the text version wouldn't have done it justice. See for yourself. Well more like hear for yourself. The video is a bit dark.

Whitman describing themselves from Sarah Vasquez on Vimeo.

Most Momentous Night: Martin Atkins
No I didn't sleep with this man. Get your head out of the gutter.

Just attending this guest speaker's talk was an event in itself. Ok, first off, I don't have a car. I ride the bus. So I rode the bus for over an hour all the way to Northridge Campus. Then my phone service went down. I had no way to contacting anyone, couldn't use google maps to check when the next bus stop was coming. I got stuck on a bus for over an hour, got stuck at UT in the cold and rain. Overall FAIL. Thanks to twitter and free internet at a coffee shop, I was able to contact my brother and he saved the day, or rather the night.

Listening to Martin Atkins was a great experience. I learned a lot from this knowledgeable musician. Even though I'm not a performer, there was still lots to learn from him that could be applied to my site and my writing.

Year of the Mixtapes and Downloads
I dunno what it was but also thanks to Twitter, I've received a lot of mixtapes and albums for free downloads as a way of promotion. Most bands just posted a link to a handful of songs and viola! I have music to check out from bands I probably wouldn't have discovered otherwise. Unless they added me on MySpace. Smart move bands. Smart move.

Spring Awakening
Man, talk about spontaneous. I received an email earlier in the day that Accent needed someone to attend Spring Awakening and review it. I've heard so many great things from this musicals and being a huge fan of Glee, I wanted to see the musical that gave Lea Michele one of her big breaks. So I said I would go, got my roommate to grab the tickets for me, attended a meeting that night and had my boss rushed me to Bass Concert Hall with 2 minutes to spare for curtain call.

The review will be up soon. I'm so close to finishing it. I've just had other projects that were bigger priorities.

Here's another song to get stuck in your head. "Bitch of Living" is one of the more rockin' songs from the musical. It's been on repeat for awhile now. I would forever love a band if they were to cover this song.

Most Annoying Thing of 2009: Social Media Widgets on Websites
You know, I thought was done with slow loading pages when bands stopped using flash and javascript on their website and went with the “simple is better” websites or just stuck with MySpace. I was wrong. I was way wrong. Now to social media, everyone wants to include their twitter widget, their Last.FM widget, their Facebook widget, etc. all on their main website. So what does that mean to me? Slow ass loading websites yet again. On my personal laptop, this isn't really a problem but when I'm on a computer of lesser value, this presents a problem. It's like being back on dial-up again. So bands, stop it! Simple buttons that direct me to your social media is so much better. Seriously. I know I'm not alone in this.

Favorite Albums From 2009: (in no particular order)
Chief Rival
Quiet Company
All Hail
Ideal Soul Mart
Built by Snow
The States
Statement Code

Toys I Couldn't Never Live Without: Macbook Air and Flip Camera
First of all, Thank you Vista for sucking so much that it forced me to go Mac. Never again will I use Windows by choice. The love for my computer can never be explained. HAHA. Sad, right? But seriously, I carry this thing everywhere for the most part. It's super light, does what I need it to do which is pretty basic: internet, word processing, video watching, music playing and now video/audio editing. Best purchase I've ever made. Plus, it's so pretty!

Best purchase I've ever made #2 is my Flip Mino Camera. I've used many types of recorders for interviews: tape records, iRiver mp3 player, digital recorders, cheap video recorders, my bro's Sony HD camcorder and nothing compares to my Flip. Push of a button, it's instantly ready to record. I don't have to worry about making the band wait so the recorder can turn on, or make sure the tape is ready or whatever the other recorders gave me havoc. The sound quality is more than superb. I recorded an interview in the middle of 6th street surrounded by the loudness of all the people walking down the street, bands blaring from all the clubs. And you know what? Those interviews still sounded clear. It was obvious they had trouble hearing me during the interview but the camera obviously didn't have a problem. Seriously amazing.

There you have it. 2009 in a nutshell. I'm sure I forgot some things but these were definitely the highlights I wanna remember.

On Jan. 24, 2009, Built by Snow along with friends Hollywood Gossip, The Bubbles, and The McKenzies shared the stage at Club Deville to celebrate the release of Built by Snow's "MEGA."

After a week of summer weather, the 40 degree night didn't freeze the band's, and fans' celebratory mood.

Click here to read the rest at Accent.