Mike Drake, VP of Engineering:
My 2 faves were:
Ian Moore @ the Ghost Room
Queen Sea Big Shark @ the IODA party

Corey Sheridan, Client Manager:
Favorite show (IODA-distributed artist):
Weekend; 3/16 @ Emo’s Annex and 3/18 @ Cedar Street Courtyard -I could not get enough of this act.  Great guys with a huge sound.
Favorite show (non-IODA-distributed artist):
Tie between Queens of the Stone Age; 3/16 @ La Zona Rosa and A Place to Bury Strangers; 3/18 @ Bungalow Billiards

Matt Wright, User Experience Engineer:
Gold Panda at our party!

J. Gibson, Client Manager:
-Weekend– Nearly destroyed the stage at our party, not only was their set great, but they were total pros and knew it.  Their confidence (Lack of arrogance) and music will take them places for sure.
-Geographer– had more “true grit “ to them than I thought, there was a lot of substance there beyond their soundscapes.
-A Place to Bury Strangers–  Are from Neptune and I am not sure that any one human can understand their music, but for a while at their show I felt like I was right there with them. The music was big and vast with gaping holes, which gave them time to throw their Amps (1974 Twin) and Guitars (Fender Jaguar) around the stage as though they were playing Frisbee.
-Typhoon–  The vision of it all is something to be in awe of- IODA Opening Bash/NAIL Distribution Party
-Beach Fossils–  Will be big if they can handle it.
-Withered Hand/Gold Panda– Were two of the nicest folks I met all weekend, and their music is something that is not from the surface but from within.
-Sargent House Records Showcase–  Put on a really pro event complete with The Mars Volta
-Sony BBQ–  This was the best free food and venue of the week for me…  Salt Lick BBQ and The Royal Bangs
-Sony Q/UP Lounge– was over all the nicest Lounge at SXSW 2011 top notch everything and MUSIC to boot – Big Light/Mother Hips
-AOL/Spinner @Stubbs– Portugal the Man/ TV on the Radio  – Next Level

Greg Beshers, Account Manager:
Favorite IODA-distributed artist:
The Madison Square Gardeners – @ Swollen Circus party

Non-IODA-distributed:
Joy Formidible – @ NPR showcase
Raphael Saadiq – Stubbs

Gregor Dodson, Product Developer:
Music highlights:
-Aphasia melted my face, and I received a ton of comments along the lines of ‘who are these guys’, ‘wow that dude can shred’, and even a music supervisor asking who they were.
-Withered Hand was awesome at the IODA party, great way to kick it off – very engaging dude, really emotional songs tinged with humor.
-Gold Panda at Emo’s on Tue night – gut rumbling bass, and mastery of the crowd.
-Admiral Fallow at Bat Bar on Tue night – Scottish guitar army FTW!

SXSWi stuff:
-Jon Wiley – “Better Living Through Cloud Computing” was an excellent talk, in a nice ‘state of the cloud’ type way. I’d love to see him talk again, he was very good.
-Michael Masnick, William Patry – “What would copyright look like if created today?” was excellent review of copyright law in the US and great discussion of shortcomings. A tough subject to tackle, but they did a really great job at making it accessible.

Nick Roberts, Lead Engineer, Web Development:
Beach Fossils oscillated wildly, bounced their way through a great set. Gotta watch out for them in the future.

Gold Panda crushed it with just a sampler, a Macbook Pro and a stomp box. Would have loved to have heard more subs in the mix, but he knows how to make a crowd move.

Jordy Trachtenberg, Content Acquisition Representative:
Seeing Beach Fossils both at Emo’s and The IODA Opening Day Bash was a real highlight for me. The band is simply great. I like the way they bounce around on stage. The singer looks like a young Jonathan Richman and sounds a little like Gordon Gano at times. This band is FUN to watch and it’s very easy to groove on with its 80’s undertones. Beach Fossils is going places.

Jillian Putnam-Smith, Account Manager:
I really enjoyed seeing Fredrik play their new album live for the first time ever.  It’s out this week and I’m really hoping it does well.
Also, I’ve gotta say it was really fun to see Geographer fill up our venue so early in the day and the pack of girls ravenously singing along to their songs and dancing like tween girls.  (I resisted the urge to join).

Bill Paskins, VP of Account Management:
My favorite IODA-distributed artist appearance was:
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Friday 3/18 @ Buffalo Billiards
A good live band that had the unfortunate luck of being sandwiched between The Joy Formidable and A Place to Bury Strangers. They would have been a standout on their own but after watching those other 2 bands, Pains’ almost synchronized head bobbing and slow motion stage presence was a bit underwhelming. A great band nonetheless.

Non IODA shows:
A Place to Bury Strangers – Friday 3/18 @ Buffalo Billiards
These guys absolutely destroyed the club (and my ears). I wasn’t sure if I was listening to a rock show or an airplane landing on the roof. They take the best elements of bands like Jesus and Mary Chain and other “wall of noise” acts and crank it up to the proverbial 11.  Amp tossing, guitar throwing, PA climbing, stage diving, they did it all.
!!! – Friday 3/18 @ French Legation Museum
There ain’t no party like a !!! party. Lots of dancing, jumping and hand-waving at this show. !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) may just be a less angry derivative of Gang of Four but they certainly know how to put on a great show. If you like post-punk grooviness and want to shake yer booty then check ‘em out live.

Elijah Carroll, Client Production Representative:
Typhoon was amazing all 3 times I saw them!

I also loved Papercuts, Hanni El Khatib & !!! at the Other Music Lawn Party! What a great party at a beautiful location.

Oz Okter, Client Manager:
Favorite IODA-distributed act was True Widow. They owned the End Sounds party the night before ours.

Also, it was great seeing Pentagram with a healthy Bobby Liebling. For the film buffs, check the documentary based on Bobby’s life that premiered in Austin. Its like Anvil, but way sadder. This man should have been the American Ozzy.
Check out the promo clip for the documentary:

“White Falcon Fuzz”

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Ask yourself this: when’s the last time you heard a band that was good simply because they’re a great group of musicians who work well together and thus yield awesome, likable songs with sincerity? Just when you thought there were no bands left who don’t have some sort of an angle or gimmick to lure you in, you stumble upon The Mother Hips, a San Francisco group based in folk-rock, but hardly restricted to country pleasantries. This is a good ol’ fashion rock band with nothing to hide and no distractions to spruce up their tunes: here’s what American music is truly all about. Their newest release, Pacific Dust (on Camera Records, who boast awesome artists like Ben Kweller and The Bees), is a mighty mixture of electric country rock, psychadelia, indie pop sensibilities, vocal harmonies, road-educated lyricism, and acoustic comfort. Basically, all the same ingredients that have built The Mother Hips’ reputation as one of the most respected and critically acclaimed veteran Bay Area acts have only refined with time.

The Hips formed in 1991 at Chico State when the original lineup ended up living together and playing a variety of smaller gigs and parties under various monikers (even occasionally acting as the backing band for a Led Zeppelin cover band called the Keystones). After committing to creating a solid rock band, members Tim Bluhm (Vocals/Guitar), Greg Loiacono (Guitar/Vocals), Issac Parsons (Bass) and Mike Wofchuck (Drums) formed The Hips and made the jump from parties to local Sacramento gigs at places like LaSalles and Juanitas. Slowly but surely the group’s songwriting talent began to emerge as their original material replaced cover songs, culminating in their debut release Back to the Grotto in 1993. The record was produced by the band and a mutual friend Paul Hoaglin, who would later fill in for Parsons on Bass after his departure. The record was recognized and respected, as various labels began to court the group for a contract. In the end, it was production heavy hitter Rick Rubin who signed the Hips to his American Recordings label (ousting MCA) at the encouragement of The Black Crowes’ frontman, Chris Robinson. Not bad for a group of guys who hadn’t even finished their time at Chico state, huh?

With the re-release of Grotto and it’s follow up Shootout in early 1996, along with subsequent touring, the band gained a solid fan base and managed to book much larger venues including the legendary Fillmore West. Despite these successes, American Recordings eventually dropped the group after failing to properly promote them (a lengthy legal battle with Warner Brothers Records was soon to come and the label would fold), leading the group to reevaluate their direction. Shifting to shorter, more radio-friendly songs that were stripped down to the basics of songwriting and replacing their drummer with John Hofer (The Freewheelers), the band made the move in 1997 to the Bay from up north and have remained loyal since. They recorded two more albums and eventually picked up Hoaglin on bass, spreading their sound and amassing a cult following in the area. However, the pressures of touring and the life of the road took a toll on the group with a couple of members requesting time off. Their subsequent hiatus from 2003 till late 2004 produced various side projects and even three separate documentaries on the group.

Rested and reunited, the Mother Hips are back in action and hot off the success garnered from their 2007 LP Kiss the Crystal Flake. Their songs “Time We Had,” “Red Tandy,” and “Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear” were featured on the wildly popular music video game Rock Band. After more successful touring, the band is better than ever and prepared to release Pacific Dust, their strongest work yet. Their 18+ years as a group have proved not only are the Hips survivors, but also fantastic musicians. They strike a perfect balance between Americana story telling and impassioned, gritty rock (as the New Yorker puts it, they “sing it sweet and play it dirty”). From the thundering Fuzz-rock opener “White Falcon Fuzz” to the intimate ballad “Young Charles Ives,” the Hips tell the story of many truly hardworking and humble American rock bands. With bittersweet melodies, poignant lyrics, and strong, mighty musicianship, The Mother Hips are as good as ever. Pick up Pacific Dust and join the thousands who’ve come to realize the talent this group boasts!

The Mother Hips
“Third Floor Story” (mp3)
from “Pacific Dust”
(Camera Records)

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The Mother Hips
“One Way Out” (mp3)
from “Pacific Dust”
(Camera Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album