Head to Texas for her fourth SXSW, Lenka has brought us back a tour diary of her return to the massive event, which was full of birthday celebrations, delayed flights and a brief few days in LA for rehearsals and Pho.
Day One:
Arrive in Los Angeles for rehearsals with my LA-based band, (who I’ve played with since I lived here several years ago) and a little acoustic studio session. It’s always good to be here for a brief visit as I still have some good friends in town. I kinda love LA, and I kinda hate it. I ate some really good Pho in Silverlake and went to this awesome Stickers shop in the LA Farmer’s Market where i always go to get a present for my son (or myself).
My Birthday:
We had a 7am flight to Austin Texas, so my birthday started pretty miserably. But the charms of SXSW soon get the party started and there was plenty of craziness to be witnessed (not participated in, yet! This is my 4th SxSW so I know to pace myself…) Did a few little promo things, like acoustic web performances and interviews and went to a party hosted by my new label partners Red. South By is especially good for networking. I have a single (Blue Skies) out right now and a new album (The Bright Side) out in June so I am fully in promo/touring mode. Met so many people, it’s kinda all a blur…
Day four:
This is my showcase day and I’m playing two events – The Aussie BBQ and the ASCAP Presents song-writers showcase. The BBQ was fun though totally rained out (we were in a tent) and we had some horrendous sound issues. I ended up stepping into the audience with my guitarist and doing a song unplugged. My later showcase was at midnight, and we were pretty tired by then after doing several promo things throughout the day, and just the general energy of the festival is exhausting! But my show was great and the sound was divine and we had a good time. My husband and me made these Blue Skies cloud masks and I put them on my band for an Eyes Wide Shut-esque photo op. We then went back to our rental and drank wine and watched Birdman on a enormous TV till 4am. That was fun.
Day Five:
Slept in.
Did a Rhapsody acoustic performance down by the river in the rain. Went to a gifting lounge and got some sweet free Raybans. (Gifting lounges are awesome. I rarely get to go to them so I get pretty excited. Who doesn’t love free stuff!) stopped by the Perez Hilton party and finally watched some actual bands!! Early sleep for an early flight to nyc tomoro.
Day six:
Our flight is delayed. This is the hell of travel, there’s nothing worse than hanging out in an airport for hours eating crappy food sitting on a crappy chair. Well, I’m sure there are worse things in this life, but I’m still pretty grumpy. At least I have my phone and can browse Pinterest and catch up on work (like writing this diary!) Off to NYC for 3 days of promo and then to a festival in the Napa Valley, then finally home to see my little boy who I’m missing a lot by now.
For more on Lenka, visit http://www.lenkamusic.com/
