So I’m broke, and the year I elect to stay home instead of go to Austin for South by Southwest, the annual international music festival and conference (March 12-17), is shaping up to be one of the most Fort-friendly South-bys in years. Quaker City Night Hawks, The Orbans, Skeleton Coast, The Longshots, and Madràs have all announced via Facebook that they’ve been chosen to play sanctioned showcases. To the chosen ones, I say congrats. South-by has not been kind to Fort Worth over the past few years. I know, I know. No one residing on Mt. SXSW has been scheming to keep Fort Worth acts out. I’m just sayin’, the number of bands from Fort Worth and other cities in Flyover Country is always exponentially smaller than the number of bands from the coasts every year. (Are the coasts simply that much cooler? Maybe, but c’mon. That much?) Anyway, the last time this many cool F-Dub artists were chosen to play was probably ’05 or ’06, when Burning Hotels still had the “The” in their name and were peaking –– Calhoun and Telegraph Canyon were also pretty hot at the time and also played sanctioned showcases. Is a new day of Fort Worth music upon us? Because some of the guys in the five bands heading to Austin this year were probably wrestling with algebra and just starting to get boners when the Hotels, Calhoun, and Telegraph were rocking clubs all over creation and dominating local music. And just think how much more potent the scene is going to be once those three bands finish their new albums/EPs –– yes, they’re being worked on as we speak. Furthermore, just think how awesome our 11th Annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards Festival is going to be this summer. I just might have to expand it from 48 bands to 54. The old dudes can play at 4 and 5 p.m., to be able to make the early-bird special afterward, get home at a reasonable, God-fearing hour, and tuck in the kids, while the hot, young up-and-comers can have the rest of the evening to rock balls and get Platinumed! We’d call it “SXFW,” but that pun has already been taken. And it’s kind of meh.
One Fort Worth band chosen to play South-by this year that I’m tying to ignore is Complete, the novelty trio that’s played the festival every year since around 2005. Curt, Creecher, and Rockstar don’t play anywhere else all year long. All they’ve got going for them is a huge YouTube presence. Their “hit,” “Hoogie Boogie Land,” has been viewed more than 537,000 times. I think the South-by tastemakers who shoehorn Complete into sanctioned showcases every year probably all sit around afterward, get high, and have a good laugh. I don’t think making fun of utterly guileless people or people who may have “fried their brains on bathtub meth” (Tim Locke’s diagnosis) is particularly funny. Go smoke a turd, South-by. Everyone else, I’ll see you in hoogie boogie LAAAAAAAAAND!
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
The Toadies are also playing a sanctioned showcase, along with Hudson Moore (who’s from Fort Worth and claims Fort Worth but actually lives in Austin now).
For next week’s column, I’m putting together a list of bands that will be playing non-sanctioned showcases during the festival. Stay tuned.
DUde,
like lay off our band man. we get picked 2 play sXsw evry year becuz we have a corperate sponser who has a showcas. sXsw doesnt pick us to play. are sponser picks us to play. ewve red yur articles b4 makin fun of us and were sick of it dude. we have youtube views becuz were a good band. lern somethin b4 you rite about us
– curt, creecher, rock star
Yeah leave Complete the damn alone!
This post was not posted by Complete… Rockstar is not a band member, I don’t know who did this but it needed to be rectified because we don’t talk like that… I guess someone was making a joke out of us just like the writer of Fort Worth Weekly attempted too. Ha ha… LMFAO. I wonder who these so called “Corporate Sponser’s” are….. Anyway I had to chime in on this one, seem’s like we have some folk’s out there that can’t stand the fact that COMPLETE is doing so well right now. What can I say, there are hater’s out there and there always will be, but it is o.k , they took the the time to post this so that means they were of thinking of us, how sweeeeeetttttttt…
The Real Curt Low of COMPLETE.
P.s : will be playing at the bone yard, details will be posted on our site at a later date.
dun’t fyuck w/ kamplete bro! aLL tHEm INITIALS ARE IN THat BAnd NAME!!! ef yu ceep wrting shit bout dem us completeiacs r gunna open 1 lg 50 galon burrel uf grad A whup ass on ye!
Curtis. I wish you guys nothing but the best. You all need to play more Fort Worth shows.
Complete did not comment earlier that was just some random guy I suppose, the guys have actually gotten better over the years and they do have a legit following if you go to youtube you can see a few of their sxsw vids and they have lots of fans yelling complete so good or bad whatever they are doing they are having fun and that’s what matters…
http://www.facebook.com/TheBandComplete Be sure to go Like their new Facebook page!
Thanks, Thomas.
This is Curt Low of Complete, thank you for your kind words HEARSAY, I must inform you that you have not done your homework… I am sure that the other bands invited to play at SXSW this year are great or they would not have been invited. Unknown to you This is our 5th year to be invited by SXSW not just to showcase… History for any band wouldn’t you say? Also did you know that for over 2 years the labels have been running the festival, Also did you know that our band has not one but 2 cover bands? How’s that for a band that according to you, who has probably only seen the youtube video that was recorded at sharky’s in Fort Worth over 20 years ago that aired on cable/mtv, not to shabby…. You can if you care to take the time to check the facts and see that We do indeed have 2 cover bands that even video taped their trip’s. We have many hit song’s . Hoogie Boogie land is just the song that made us infamous on the internet which is world wide. Also did you know that people come from all over the world to see us play in Austin each year? Also did you know that no one was allowed in the club other that a few chosen one’s when we played last year because it was full of only A & R Rep’s and our devoted fan’s stood in the street infront of the Rusty Spur and luckily they had shutter windows that opened directley to the street so our fans didn’t miss a thing. Each year it get’s bigger and better. Fans sing along to our song’s and shout out requests. We love the music and respect our fellow musicians. Its seems like a paper such as your’s “The Fort Worth Weekly” Would print only the facts and not personal opinions such as yours and not SLANDER a band that is from Fort Worth that you should be proud of and not putting down, but to SLANDER SXSW, Wow, you guys have some big one’s don’t cha’??? So your saying the labels, the instrument maker’s and all of the biggest promotion company’s in the business are sitting around getting high on bathtub meth? Really now???? WOW…For all of those who have been insulted by such petty hate that seems to radiate from this so called writer for the FORT WORTH WEEKLY regarding my band, Please come on out to The Rail Club Feb 8th or TomCat’s West March 8th, and be a part of what the COMPLETE NATION has deemed the best band in the world. Not my quote, but theirs… God Bless you all and thank you for you kind responses to this article.
Curt Low
COMPLETE
Curt. Thanks for writing. I saw you guys not last year but the year before during South-by. You’ve come a long way since those YouTube tapes, that’s for sure. “The best band in the world”? Well, that’s pushing it. Good luck at The Rail and at South-by. Safe travels.