SXSW Diary: DAY 3 JUST LIKE YOUR LIFE, ONLY BETTER!
by Jamie Stellini & Jessie Murphy

Jamie Stellini, of NY band The Love, reports from the Afterparty at SXSW.

Have you ever laughed straight through an entire performance being delivered directly in front of you? I have on many occasions and I am not proud of it. It does, however, turn out to be one of my favorite pastimes and I had the chance to indulge in this guilty pleasure right before our show on Sunday. (Karma! Woo!) But honestly, can you really pepper your songs with references to “society,” kick your right leg for emphasis on every fourth downbeat, and employ a harmonizing female fiddle player and not expect your audience to laugh at you so hard they almost poop their pants? I will not name this earnest band of troubadours, but I will tell you they completely sullied my regard for the tambourine.

Our show was staged at Vanilla Girl, a retail store that sells cute things and attractive t-shirts, so negotiating the sound was challenging. We figured out the situation quickly, though, and after a slightly rocky start we pulled off quite a performance (and we got to use Earnest Band’s tambourine.) After the show, our hostesses and all of our new friends seemed duly impressed and that’s what making music is all about: impressing friends and potential mates for the sake of your own ego. One of our new friends Chris, of Strike Fire Fall!, showed us just how neighborly a pal he could be by carting us to our very first internet radio interview with Radio Mike of thefeveredbrianofradionmike.com. It being our first interview, the experience was a little awkward for us. Jessie veered off-course quickly into tangents involving wood nymphs and Ted Nugent’s tax returns and I cursed a total of 7 times. We did get to do a live performance, however, and I think that went quite well

Worn from a day of rockstardom-itude (“Just like your life, only better!”) we found ourselves jonesing for a long overdue dose of fish tacos and a substantial amount of beer. All of our prayers were answered at a local pub right in Maya’s neighborhood where we gorged ourselves on tacos filled with corn-encrusted tilapia. They were a-ma-zing. We met a fine lad there waiting tables and harboring a so-obvious-it’s-almost-adorable crush on me, so Jessie did some smooth maneuvering and gently tricked him into taking us out on the town for our last evening in Austin.

He took us to see the Ugly Beats at Beerland and we were not disappointed. I pretty much didn’t stop moving from the moment I walked through the door. My brother-in-law (randomly in town for a bachelor party!) even showed up with his whole crew, fresh from some of the best strip clubs in the Austin metropolitan area.

Jamie: So, is this the first time you guys are getting to see some live music this weekend?
My Brother-In-Law: Yeah, pretty much.
Jamie: Wow, that’s quite an accomplishment.
My Brother-In-Law: Like walking through rain drops.
Jamie: Impressive.

Later that night, at Boy With A Crush On Me’s house, we plunged further into the realms of inebriation and I spent a full 45 minutes feigning interest in a treatise on the merits of the Indiana Jones trilogy as compared to the Star Wars trilogy (mmmmmm, college boys) while trying to figure out how to crawl up into a ball and fall asleep without somehow seeming rude. I gave up at some point and passed out just before our cab came to bring us back to the guesthouse.

Jessie: Jamie, can we move to Austin?
Jamie:Yes we can, Jessie. Yes we can.

Jessie’s Rebuttal:

First off, I must say I did not think the Earnest Band was quite that bad (close though!).  Next I must answer a query of my fair Lady Jamie. And fair she is!!  Jamie thought that in my defense of her molestation accusations, I called her undesirable, when I had stated that it mattered not "your level of desire-ability [sic] when I am asleep, I will cuddle all." This was in no way an affront to Jamie's desirability. Oh the tomes I could write!

I could not have chosen a finer lass for my hetero-life mate! I am moved to medieval speak by your hotness Jamie, what must I do to convince you of my (purely) platonic lust!

Sunday night fun, Jamie out-danced me into the clear.  However, I did patent yet again one new move, the "belly flop."  I tried it out on a sizable bearded fellow (warning to all those who attempt this, your partner must be at least twice your size and appear as if they might be two slow or drunk to hit you properly).  Essentially it's all about your running start, just a few steps and then spring board your self, with your belly arched outwards into their belly (hopefully the well rounded, jolly sort) and then feel the ease and joy of being bounced backward into space, landing square on your feet and resuming some more standard Discotheque shuffle, moving deep into the dance floor (far away from your partner).

The Ugly Beats were fantastic.

I don't have much else to say sadly.  It's too secret. All the top officials have advised me against it.

CONTINUE DAY 1 DAY 2

Jamie Stellini and Jessie Murphy lead the New York band The Love. They are currently recording their first full-length release.