First!

In the less civilized regions of the blogosphere, the exclamation “first” would be followed by a epithet, rhyming with “riches.” But we don’t do that here.

So yes, tomorrow begins SXSW in Austin, Tex., an event so overwhelming that there’s a schedule making website, broken down by hour and venue, plus a listing of unofficial day events so thick, you could wrap a binding around it and sell it. My Converses have yet to hit the pavement of E. 6th St., and already I’m overwhelmed. So I’m battling back with a personal schedule that tells me where I have to be, broken down to the minute, with must-attend events (i.e. pre-arranged meetings) in bold. (I credit a music attorney friend for this brilliant idea.)

Naturally, I’ll probably blow off half of it (except those meetings) but I’ll grasp at anything to retain sanity in the face of the Lone Star-fueled onset of musical excess I’ll willingly begin courting by the early afternoon tomorrow. As a third-year vet, I know that as long as I wear earplugs, only drink when it’s free, and sleep as late as possible each day, I’ll be just fine.

Oh, and we’re on deadline for Paste’s May issue, so as we try to keep up with the madness that is Music Industry Spring Break (tm), there will be proof pages flying back and forth in DHL envelopes, direct from Austin’s City Limits to (the less glamorous-sounding) Decatur City Limits. Can we pull it off? Find out in May!

Reid Davis, managing ed.