TCB: Friday

"Whatever. I'm standing out in the sun right now, fucked up." – overheard outside the Red Eyed Fly Thursday afternoon

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SXSW, Etc.

Capital Sports & Entertainment will wait until next month to announce this year's Lollapalooza lineup, President Charlie Jones told TCB backstage at Wednesday's Austin Music Awards. "It's booked, but there's just too much going on," he said. Go ahead and cross Rage Against the Machine off the guess list. "It's downtown Chicago," Jones smiled. "We have an agreement with the city. We don't want to light it on fire." One huge Nineties alt band is atop the bill, and no, it's not Nirvana... Hot couple of SXSW: Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and Austin NBC affiliate KXAN anchor Michelle Valles. Want to see someone famous? Or at least semifamous? Try standing in line. Friends of Houston Press Music Editor (and TCB pal) John Nova Lomax waited next to Buzz Osborne of the Melvins (DFW airport), James Iha, and Kanye West's DJ 8-Trak (Convention Center)... Johnny Goudie is the happiest Austin musician in town right now. "Isaac Hayes hugged me," he said outside Antone's as the Stax showcase inside was getting cranked. "He was just hanging out"... Pete Townshend isn't sitting in with the Stooges (yet), but SPIN partygoers at Stubb's Friday just might see him get up with one of their bands. Or so TCB heard...

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Scot Free

Alan McGee has done all right for himself. He started Creation Records in 1983 because "I didn't want to get a real job." The first band he signed was Glasgow neighbors Jesus & Mary Chain. Then came My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, Swervedriver, and a little band called Oasis, whom he first saw at Glasgow nightclub King Tut's. "I had a band called 18 Wheeler," he said Thursday afternoon, chilling on the Mugshots patio at the Lush Life party as the suddenly ubiquitous Earl Greyhound broke down their equipment. "Oasis played, and that was a life-changing moment." Some 50 million records sold later ("That doesn't happen anymore"), McGee got "fed up" and sold Creation to Sony in 1999 for $30 million. These days he's the man behind popular UK club nights Death Disco and the Queen Is Dead and picked up some more work at SXSW last year without even meaning to. "I ended up managing the Charlatans just through hanging out," says McGee, who also manages Scottish Trail of Dead mates Mogwai. "So I'm just hanging out for three days."

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The Air Up There

As you can see, the 18th-floor view from the balcony of Chronicle central at the Omni is pretty sweet. It might be the only place in Austin where it's possible to watch all of SXSW at once. There's no problem hearing bands from any one of about 10 outdoor stages in the area, either. Right now TCB can just make out Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly at Stubb's and some punk rockers farther south. The only problem is when they're not so good and the night is winding down, the case Wednesday night around 2am.

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Still Knocking

Eddie Floyd may have the most impeccable pedigree in all of soul music. Even before he hooked up with Stax Records in the early Sixties, his uncle ran Lupine Records in Detroit. Lupine's roster included Floyd's group the Falcons, where he sang with Wilson Pickett and "Mustang Sally" author Sir Mack Rice, and the Primettes, best known as Diana Ross' launching pad into the Supremes. His biggest hit, 1965's "Knock on Wood," was written with Pickett in mind and was originally planned for Otis Redding. "The label president said, 'That doesn't sound like an Otis Redding song; that sounds like an Eddie Floyd song.'" Working with Redding, he says, was "brief but definitely a pleasure," and he saw Rice play in Memphis just last week. "I knew he was going to call me up onstage," Floyd laughs. He says "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" is his favorite song to sing but didn't mind Amii Stewart's 1979 disco cover of "Knock on Wood," which unseated "I Will Survive" at No. 1, one bit. "Are you kidding?" he says. "That sold about 10 million records. Thank you, Amii. I never met her, though."

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Mohawks and Indie Rock

It's not true that having said haircut gets you in the VIP entrance at the eponymous Red River club, but TCB was the lucky 13th person to get a free Mohawk at Bird's Barbershop's SXSLamar day party Thursday afternoon. Donna did a lovely job as the poppy, pleasant Comas played outside. "We had a few dads and kids get them together," said owner Erin Portman. "It's like a bonding thing." Bird's was the second stop of TCB's delightful diversion to the south side, after the Bunkhaus Records party at the Green Mesquite. "This is my first bit of South by Southwestness," said Hit Space singer Carrie Clark. "I'm easing into it." Her newly minted local New Wave/psych rockers followed Boston's Age Rings, who had a nice Lou Reed thing going on and the inevitable trouble with the PA. "No more bands from Boston," joked Hit Space bassist Jeff Copas.