Nasvhille-based two man Alternative group, Bassh, speak candidly about their experiences at SXSW and how their music sets them apart from others in the genre.
Music Connection: What are your plans for this year’s SXSW?
Jimmy Brown: Put on a good show, you know. We got a bunch of shows coming up and we’re excited because this is the first time we’ve played SXSW with this band and we’re gonna try to rock it!
MC: How did you prepare for a chaotic festival like SXSW?
Brown: Well we gotta rehearse tonight so that will be the first thing, you know. It’s just great every time we come down here to SXSW it’s always been a lot of fun. All the gigs are obviously just kind of scattered through different venues, so you don’t really get too much of a sound check. So you just kind of roll with the punches and that’s kind of how we roll anyway.
MC: What has your previous SXSW experiences with your previous band Matrimony taught you in preparing for this year?
C.J. Hardee: I think we’re gonna stay a little more sober this time.
Brown: I mean that’s pretty much it. I think last time we played five shows in one day, and I think by the last one, I don’t even think my fingers were working, you know.
MC: As a new duo, how do you feel attending SXSW will affect your career?
Brown: I got no idea. No, I mean, hopefully we make some fans. We love what we do and that’s why we’re still making music and we are going to keep playing music. SXSW is a great time cause you just never know who’s going to be there whenever you’re playing so you may be playing for someone that will put your song in a movie or maybe somebody’s from some other part of the business that really wants to help. You can just never tell what’s gonna happen. So that’s really exciting to me and I think that’s kind of the beauty of SXSW is that there’s an endless amount of possibilities and a lot of potential.
MC: How would you describe your music and how do you differentiate yourself from others in the folk-pop genre?
Hardee: I think we purposely tried to do something as different as possible. I mean, I was tired of playing banjo and wanted to rock out a little more and feel like a rock star.
Brown: He rocked out pretty hard on the banjo but there’s only so far you can go with a banjo, you know.
Hardee: Yeah, so I just wanted to hang out for a minute. I think our sound is just us and playing whatever we want and not having to sound like anything.
Brown: And just to add on to that, I think with Matrimony we had developed and we had put out different records and that kind of thing. So we had a thing that was Matrimony, but this is just wide open. We feel totally free and just wild to be able to do what we want. It’s really excited to have that kind of open creative space to just throw it all out there and see what happens.
Hardee: That’s what I meant to say.
MC: Is your single “Body” the direction that fans can expect future music to be heading in?
Brown: Kind of, I mean it’s still up for debate. Like the last song C.J. raps on it. On “Body” he also sang a verse. We talked about this the other night. Maybe the identity of the band is going to be more in the vocals and the lyrics and the content, where a lot of bands their identity is the fact that they have these very washy kind of guitar parts. People kind of identify them (by that).
A good example would be Interpol where they have good bass lines, great drums and reverby guitars. I’m kind of excited about trying to define this band coincidently with lyrical content and both of our voices combined. I think that’s a new thing for me. It’s something very exciting to think of that as a possibility instead of just playing acoustic guitar or banjo and being labeled as a pop-folk band like you just did.
MC: How does the Austin music scene differ from Nashville and Charlotte, and how have they influenced you?
Brown: I think for me, Nashville, there’s energy about the place. That’s been cool for me. It’s opened my eyes a lot. I’ve had the pleasure of having to write with a lot of other people because I’m just there and it works out to be able to go do that. That’s been really great. I didn’t find that in Charlotte quite as much. But I’m sure Charlotte has its strong points to, which I’m sure C.J. knows more about.
Hardee: I know there’s obviously a lot of blues here and stuff, but every time I’ve been here it’s been like SXSW and there’s so many bands that I don’t know what the Austin sound necessarily is.
Brown: I think Austin reminds me of Nashville. It just seems a little bit bigger. It’s definitely got a great live music feel to it, which is great. Nashville has that too, so it’s kind of similar to me.
MC: What can fans expect from your live performance here at SXSW?
Hardee: A lot of smoke.
Brown: We use a lot of smoke. You won’t be able to see that much, but you’ll be able to hear it, you know.
MC: Do you have any advice for artists that haven’t performed at SXSW but want to?
Brown: I think if you’re talking about it like bands that are starting up, that kind of thing, I always would say just make sure you get great songs out and that’s the main thing. The songs are always keen, no matter what you got setup. If you’ve got a good song, you’ll have a good shot having a career playing music, which is what I want to have. I just want to be able to make art and keep it rolling. I think get your songs right and everything will happen from that.
Photos by Jody Domingue
