One of the more important Thursday night showcases at A3C was called Double Cupped Fears, an event held at Space 2 on Edgewood Avenue and sponsored by TRDON, the record label/production company that works with Memphis rapper Preauxx, Select-O-Hits, and Travis McFetridge’s Great South Bay Music. The rather diverse line-up included hip-hop lyricists like J. Sands and Planet Asia, relatively new lyrical Memphians like Tori WhoDat and Preauxx, and classic Memphis headliners like Lil Wyte, Frayser Boy and Miscellaneous. Unfortunately, the showcase got under way about thirty minutes late, and as a result, was cut short at 2:30 AM, when the venue said they were required to close due to a city ordinance. But Lil Wyte and company left the crowd hyped and eager for more.
A3C Brunch & Negotiating The New Music Industry Panel @A3C @GSBMusic1 @SelectOHits @FORTKNOXLIVE @irgpublicity @BigTah
I had heard that the second day of A3C would be kicked off with a VIP Brunch which would be open to panelists, so I texted my homeboy Fort Knox about it, and headed down to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where the event was being held. The brunch was on the 25th floor, but proved to be not so much a brunch, but just a table of fruit, danishes, bagels, coffee and juice. However, the view from there was beautiful, and DJ Tephlon was spinning on the north side of the room. On the south side were some exhibits, including a display of new Reebok shoes, and a Microsoft gaming exhibit, and Beatminerz Radio was providing the music on that side.
Since there was very little actual food at the brunch, my fellow panelist Travis McFetridge from Great South Bay Music and I headed out north to Buttermilk Kitchen for a very late brunch that was really good, and then back to the hotel for our “Negotiating the New Music Industry” panel, featuring him, Fort Knox, Big Tah, Latisha “Ms. NuNu” Manigault, attorney Andrew Krems and myself. The panel, which was intended to give artists strategies for coping with lost revenue from the decline in music sales was literally so crowded that nobody else could enter the room. Several people told me that they considered it a success, so I was pleased with the outcome.
Charleston, MS: Gateway to the Delta
My homeboy Travis McFetridge, the owner of Great South Bay Music publishing firm, was down from New York City for an event sponsored by the Memphis chapter of The Recording Academy in Jackson, Mississippi, so we decided to drive down through the Delta on Wednesday June 11, and I decided to go backroads so that he would see a different Mississippi than that offered by I-55. Once we left the interstate, the first town we came to was Charleston, Mississippi, a town that I had been to only once before, and which is one of Tallahatchie County’s two county seats (the other is Sumner). Charleston has the traditional courthouse square that is typical of so many Mississippi towns, but what was more interesting was the painted mural honoring three legends from Tallahatchie County, actor Morgan Freeman, jazz musician Mose Allison and blues musician Sonny Boy Williamson. The town also has some interesting-looking clubs and jukes, which suggests it might be worthy of a deeper investigation on a future trip.
Regional Rap at 1884 Lounge at @MinglewoodHall at On Location Memphis @olm_trailer @PeeteyWeestro @PreauXX
1884 Lounge at Minglewood Hall was the scene for the Saturday night rap showcase during the 15th Annual On Location Memphis International Film and Music Festival in Midtown Memphis. Acts on the stage included D’Mario, Abe, a Memphis rapper who is producer H. Potter’s brother, veteran Memphis rapper Dulaa whose recent work takes on a strong country influence, St. Louis rap artist Peetey Weestro who has been getting some attention with his single “Pull Up, Shut It Down”, and Memphis conscious hip-hopper Preauxx, whose label and publisher Great South Bay Music was the sponsor of the showcase.
SXSW Day 4: Reflecting at Breakfast on a Night of Tragedy
My homeboy Travis McFetridge, owner of Great South Bay Music, had invited me to join him for a brunch at the Driskill Hotel which was being sponsored by SESAC on Thursday morning, so I agreed to meet him there, and until I did, I wasn’t even aware that there had been an incident on Red River Street the night before in which two South By Southwest attendees had been killed. Apparently a man who was driving drunk was being pulled over by Austin police at 10th and Red River, and deciding that he didn’t want to go to jail, the driver crashed through a barricade and careened down Red River Street running over pedestrians. Two were killed instantly, and 14 others severely injured, including some who lost limbs. It’s not the sort of thing that one expects at a music conference and festival, and there was something of an appalled silence among people on Thursday morning. There were even those who called for festival events or showcases to be called off, but fortunately, South By Southwest declined to cancel events that were not directly impacted by the incident and where it occurred. Even so, I was shocked. I had just been at Cheer Up Charlie’s earlier in the afternoon, and could have very easily been on Red River Street when the tragedy unfolded.
The Plantation All-Stars Live at Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall on Beale Street, Memphis @GSBMusic1
My homeboy Travis McFetridge was in town from Great South Bay Music in New York, and wanted to check out Beale Street, and my homeboy Antonio Motley (who is one of our city’s best young drummers) was filling in for the regular drummer with the Plantation All-Stars at Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall on Friday afternoon, so I took Travis there, and although there was literally nowhere to sit, we enjoyed a good half-hour of authentic Memphis blues and soul. Another blues band was playing on the outdoor stage in Handy Park as well, and yet another further down Beale in front of the New Daisy. I don’t think I’ve heard so much blues on Beale in one day as I did Friday.
Day 3 of Cutting Edge NOLA Music Business Conference
Saturday was the day of the marketing and distribution panel at Cutting Edge, so I grabbed an early breakfast at Surrey’s Cafe on Magazine and headed up to the Old Mint for what was to be the first panel of the day, featuring myself, Rico Brooks from Atlanta who had been Gorilla Zoe’s manager, and Travis McFetridge from New York representing a publishing firm called Great South Bay Music. Although our panel began at 10 AM, it was better attended than I had expected, and we managed to get quite a bit of useful information into it. Afterwards, Rico and Travis and I headed over the river and south of Marrero to Restaurant des Familles in Crown Point for a seafood lunch. The restaurant backs up to a bayou, and we saw at least three alligators in the water or sunning themselves on the bank.