Skinny in USA

SXSW – Day One

By March 13, 2012No Comments

Biggest worry – getting Skinny Lister baggage and shop on the plane. Done. Somehow we managed to bring Skinny shop, all instruments including the colossal double bass sarcophagus and a couple of cases of dark matter across the Atlantic.
Next worry – getting from Houston to Austin on the Greyhound. Done, though not without some difficulty.

1 – we had more bags than we could physically carry so had to employ the hands of a homeless man to help.

2 – the Greyhound bus station is in downtown Houston and not for the light hearted! Pretty rough. Within seconds we see a woman being handcuffed and escorted out of the building. Then we find out it’s a 5 hour wait for our bus. After we have checked the bags in we have a security check to make sure we are carrying no weapons, we are however, carrying a load of rum, which is swiftly removed and placed in the security guards basket. Damn.

So we sit down to wait and go through many different feelings – we’re delirious, frustrated, fuming and tired and finally relieved when the bus pulls in. Anyway – when we arrive at Berkman House and meet the lovely David Dale and Tony Jupp, we’re happy again: a couple of hours sleep, some tacos and cactus juice after a trip to the local supermarket, where the guys behind the meat counter are singing karaoke whilst a DJ pumps out serious dance music – we’re set to go. Bass case and all are squeezed on to the bus and we take to the streets, collecting smiles, cheers and friends as we go. An off the cuff open mic gig turns into a full house and it seems that Skinny Lister is going to go down well in the States. Phew! Free drinks and a request to play the next night puts us in jolly good spirits and we set off to find our new German DJ friends – Coma – to dance away until tiredness takes over and we make our way home a little too drunk and bleary eyed. Great start.