Best Fit meets SXSW co-founder Louis Black

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With the music portion of this year’s SXSW just a week away now, you can’t even imagine how busy Louis Black must be. As the editor of The Austin Chronicle and co-founder of the festival he has taken a hands-on approach ever since the festival began in 1986.

I think it is safe to say he must be doing something right and he kindly took some time out of his hectic schedule to chat to us about how everything started, how it has evolved and of course he casually recalls some pretty amazing moments of its 26 year history.

How did everything get started?

SXSW began towards the Fall of ‘86, when Nick Barbaro, who is the publisher of The Austin Chronicle, and I were approached by two friends of ours; Roland Swenson, who wrote for us, and Louis Meyer, who ran clubs, booked bands and managed them too, came to us and said: “Let’s start a regional event.” So we decided we’d invite people in the music business from 5 states to come to Austin, people who may have spoken on the phone for year but had never met one another. So in March 1987 we held our first ever SXSW, the idea behind the name came from the area we were going to cover but by the second year it was a national event and then before we knew it, the thing had become international. It was just supposed to a regional gathering.

The presence of international acts seems a fairly integral part of everything now, you must have seen the festival evolve in many ways?

It’s growing in every possible way. I mean literally it was just supposed to be about 5 States and this year we had 2000 internal acts apply with about 500/600 confirmed to play from around the world – Africa, Europe. South America and Asia. There are so many components now as well, from the Film portion to the Interactive portion but they’re all driven by the same ideas.

What would you say the core ideas are?

There are two main things really. The idea that making music is both a business and an art, and the more you understand the business side of things the more you can control your art. The other thing is that there is no line between who is the audience and who is on the stage. This was one of the things that happened in the punk clubs down town, especially one called Raul’s where over the course of 6 months over half the people who had been in the audience ended up having bands on stage. It is about getting involved, starting your own radio show, website, blog, film, band or a selection of everything. Everybody has the option to be creative.

Do you think that is something that reflects Austin as a place?

Whenever anybody asks what the prototype is for SXSW I say Austin, Texas. A lot of us met when we were students in our late 20s and at that point in time we’d spend all night watching movies and going to clubs after school. We’d try and get in like 2/3 movies before midnight then go and listen to music until the places closed, then we’d go back to someone’s house and watch more movies or write about our interests or just talk about them into the early hours. SXSW is very much that multiplied by a thousand. SXSW is a multiplier for Austin, Texas. Come here any day of the year there will be a lot of the same stuff doing, it’s just SXSW amplifies it.

Is there anything that happens now that you can’t believe never used to be around?

I’m kind of just stunned by everything that happens, period. We exist in a world where technology has made everything so democratic, fluid and sophisticated. People can make movies in small towns everywhere, they can record music wherever and O feel like there is one place absolutely everyone can come together and talk to one another about it and that is SXSW.

What have been the most memorable moments over the years?

There are three founders and we start having Saturday meetings in February most years where we go over everything new and old so we’re all on the same page. There will be about 100/150 people at these meetings and one of the things we always say at these meetings is: “Remember SXSW is not for you.” Our job is to facilitate, to make sure people coming have the best possible time, the most productive time. We are there to make sure everything runs smoothly, that there are no problems and that if there are problems, they’re dealt with so quickly that nobody even notices.

So generally I would say I just love the flow of the event. My favourite time is Saturday, the work for us is winding down so I just go out onto one of the major streets and find a doorway to watch people go by. You see people from all over the world running around, excitedly talking to one another – you can physically feel the energy it is so visceral. To me that is always the most exciting…

Oh and one year Johnny Cash was re-launching his career and he came and played Emo’s which is like a 500 person club. He played the first half of his set with the Tennessee Trio, who I think were down to a duo actually by then, and the second half of his set he played more traditional recordings. Now lets be honest, watching people in the street is literally my fondest memory every year, except for getting to see Johnny Cash in that small room, I’ll remember that forever.

I think most people would probably agree that is an unforgettable experience. Are there any moments you get to sneak off from work if you want to see something particularly, anything you’re hoping to get to this year?

You know it really doesn’t work like that. Whenever I decide there is one thing I really want to see that pretty much guarantees that I’m not going to make it. I am hoping to be able to make it to the Austin Music Awards show which is on Wednesday 14 March but saying that again probably mens something will happen across town that I have to go and check on. We’re all very hands on, we’ll be out in the street, getting involved, you’ll probably catch us working the doors at clubs or taking tickets at the movies so we can see what is going on. I mean we live and die by the experience of the individual and at one point there were hundreds of individuals, then thousands of individuals and now there are tens of thousands of individuals and we want them all to have the best possible time they can.

Do you think there is such a thing as a typical SXSW experience?

I think the only thing I can guarantee about SXSW is that what you plan it to be, that is just not going to happen. It really is like entering white water rapids but it’s people, ideas and creative energy instead of rocks and flowing water. It’s a festival for people who got into what they do because they love what they do and have never been able to let go. There are so many things you can do, anything can happen.

How do you choose which bands will play?

10,000 acts applied this year. We’ve had that amount for3 or 4 years now. Austin has an unusually large music community, and so every artist gets heard by preliminary listeners and then half of that goes on to be listened to by the staff members, who have been doing this for a number of years. So you know by the time we pick the acts that are playing everything has been listened to about 2-4 times. The applications aren’t that insular either, we’ve re-listened to stuff because we’ve heard via word of mouth that it is really worth checking out.

The idea is not exclusion, it is inclusion. It is not about how many bands can we say “no” to, it’s how many great bands can we find how many can we include. It’s about creating an experience where at any given moment you can go listen to some music. When I had more time to go around and check out the performance we would go in and out of clubs, not staying for more than one and a half songs so we would be able to watch 4 or 5 bands in an hour. It’s really exciting that that is possible.

The music is really carefully listened to and really carefully planned. The programmers take it really seriously; sometimes they get into huge fights – you’ll walk into meetings and people will be cursing at one another and throwing chairs and it turns out that it is because somebody wants a band to be on at 10 o’clock but someone else thinks they suck so wants to put them on at 8 o’clock! It’s about that passion.

What do you think of the unofficial events?

I love the unofficial events. There are a couple I have a problem with who cherry pick artists away from badge holders and registrants into these invite only private parties where you have to know someone to get it. That air of elitism is what I don’t like but those are very few and the vast majority of it is great. How can you not love every aspect of a town that is from Wedneday, 14 March through to Sunday going to be 24 hours of music. The unofficial stuff means a lot of bands that play SXSW get to go and jam with other bands during the day or play in other bands after hours which is a great thing, I’m down with that.

How do you feel when it’s all over?

I get pretty depressed actually. It is better these days. One year it lasted for a year and a half through the next SXSW but that was a long time ago. You feel really let down. We put out a weekly newspaper though so you know it’s not like we do nothing but it feels dead in the weeks after because we’re so used to the phone constantly ringing and our inboxes overflowing. It is really exciting, then yes there is that let down, that little dip that comes with an air of depression.

How soon does work begin on the next one?

We’re already working on it. There is no stopping any more. We have things like hotel spaces and the Convention Centre booked for at least five years ahead. We’ve got acts who couldn’t quite make it down this time in talks for next year and filmmakers or speakers who are working on something now that we hope will be ready in time for 2013.

Any advice for first timers?

The best thing to do is not to say well I’m going to be here at this panel at this time but to go with the flow. There are so many different things going on and that way you meet so many exciting people. Go with, don’t think about what you’re not seeing because that could be a frustrating experience. I have people who come up to me and tell me they had a terrible time because there were only 2 bands they wanted to see and they couldn’t get into either and I’m just like, there are 2000 bands playing on about 101 stages, 92-3 venues. At any given time there are about 40 different venues you can walk into and see music.

I couldn’t agree more.