Writer Cassie Davidson and photographer Daniel Bray headed down to Austin to represent Canadian Musician at this year’s edition of the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film + Interactive festival. Here’s the wrap-up from the last day of the festival.

The last day of SXSW was rather slow-paced for me, as I was really starting to feel the exhausting effects of festival life, so I headed back over to the Austin Convention Center to browse the Music Gear Expo with my friend Mark. The usual suspects were all there: a lot of high-end guitars, amps, and fancy pedals to covet. Mark was particularly impressed with the VAX 77 keyboard controller from Infinite Response, which boasts weighted keys, a colour touch screen, seamless integration with Apple’s MainStage, and polyphonic aftertouch. It also folds up into its own luggage case, a great feature for a touring musicians. Apparently Stevie Wonder is a big fan…

Meanwhile, I was keeping myself entertained with the Jasperbridge percussion guitar. A strange contraption that’s played on a stand, it’s made up of a standard guitar neck that brings the strings from the front of the instrument through a “tunnel” to the back of the

guitar body to then be played with a drumstick or mallet. It features modified pickups that allow for each note of a chord to be heard simultaneously, rather than successively. I’d be interested to actually see someone perform with it, as it looks somewhat awkward and unwieldy.

With the recent prevalence of so many musicians using new forms of electronics to create and record their work, the iPB-10 Guitar Pedalboard for the iPad was a big hit. Made by DigiTech, it features a digital library of 87 pedals, 54 amps, and 26 cabinets. The iPad’s touchscreen and the straightforward drag-and-drop layout of the program made it really easy to use, even for someone who has no idea what they’re doing with it (ahem).

Before I knew it, several hours had passed so we headed back out into the fray to catch some shows. I closed out the night with some more Canadian music lovin’ at Trinity Hall for the Halifax Pop Explosion showcase. I hadn’t seen Wintersleep (Halifax) in ages, and it felt pretty good to be reunited in Austin. They played a lot of their newer material, which was great, but it’s their older stuff that still really does it for me so I was happy to hear a few songs from Untitled and Welcome to the Night Sky.

Overall I’d say my first time at SXSW was a great success. It was awesome to see so many bands representing Canada and connecting with tons of new fans. Between all the showcases and day parties, there are countless opportunities for musicians to reach out to broader audiences and gain a lot of exposure for themselves. Add all the industry reps and the strong media presence into the mix and you’ve got yourself one heck of a festival. SXSW 2013 will be here in no time and I can’t wait!

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