SXSW Audience Interview: Beastie Boys
Austin Convention Center, Wednesday, March 15
Allowing audience questions to guide the extent of a panel discussion surely seemed like a great idea for a group releasing a concert film shot by 50 random fans. Unfortunately, a live public interview can’t be edited the same way that the Beastie Boys’ Awesome! I Shot That! has been tinkered with over the course of an entire year. Beyond Mike D likening the plush SXSW digs to some “Actor’s Studio ridiculousness,” MCA juxtaposed the secret to the Beastie’s long-winded success with a dead-pan: “We just try not to make some wack shit.” Hinting at a surprise performance during the week, King Ad Rock revealed sample clearance as Awesome’s most grueling undertaking. “Our DJ Mixmaster Mike throws all sorts of beats into the mix that aren’t on our albums. Since he’s often working with uncredited break records, just figuring out what he’s actually using was a bitch.” So was suffering through a gauntlet of incoherent questions that would’ve benefited greatly from at least a little moderating.This article appears in March 17 • 2006.