03.24.09

SXSW 2009

South by Southwest 2009 basically marks the one-year anniversary of PROJECTMILL proper.  Last sxsw was the first year we did something as an official ‘group’ with ‘business cards.’  I’d say in a year, we’ve come a really long way.

This year, we went down to shoot video for a bunch of awesome shows. It was all super cool and fun and successful, replete with mass amounts of TexMex and margaritas, as always.  After our 20-hour drive into Austin…

...we crashed for a bit at our luxury Econolodge…

...before heading out to the Fader FORT where I met Graham Coxon of Blur and took a really ugly picture with him:

I do that to myself like every time I meet a celebrity.  I get too excited and smile too wide and look like a retard lardass.  And my crazed eyes glow red.  And I’m not good enough in photoshop to fix that.  Anyway.

Thursday was the best day, Gorilla vs. Booze day.  It’s at this awesome old 50s lounge called the Peacock:

GvBooze was a sweet sweet lineup of Wavves, Vivian Girls, Girls, The Golden Filter, Harlem, White Denim, and someone else I can never remember whenever I catologue these acts.  Look at me being all “professional videographer”...

Later I had too many margaritas and rocked out at a Bad Veins show:

And later still, I met Joseph Gordon Levitt at a restaurant and had the following conversation with him:
Mandy:  Hi Joseph Gordon Levitt.
JGL:  Hi.  (Makes his way over to table where I’m sitting to shake my hand.)  What’s your name?
Mandy:  Mandy.
JGL:  But what’s your full name?
Mandy:  Mandy Jane Levy.  My last name’s not unlike yours!
JGL:  Ah, well we are descendents of the same Moses!
(A chuckle, a compliment on the movie Brick, and a polite goodbye).

After a drink at the Four Seasons with Bad Veins and the badly-dressed clientele of a MySpace private party, we returned home to the good ol’ Econolodge.

I don’t have many pictures to document the rest of our time, but basically, we spent 8 or 9 hours a day filming at Hot Freaks, which was awesome, and then we would eat, and then we would have a margarita, and then we would go home to the Econolodge.  Saturday I was able to meet up with Sister Sam in time to give her my Fader wristband before heading out for the car ride back home.  And of course, she got in, and of course, Kanye West played a surprise show, and of course, she was in the front row.  But the rest of us schmucks had to be on the road to make it into work on Monday morning!  How lame.  I love to party.