Scouse psych-pop quartet She Drew The Gun have just hit UK soil after their first ever trip to Texas for SXSW.
The epic excursion topped a massive 12 months for the band, who won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent contest last April and haven’t touched the ground since.
Now in possession of one of the most impressive breakthrough debut albums of 2016 (Memories of Another Future), and a growing army of fans in the UK and beyond, Louisa Roach and crew made the long pilgrimage to Austin to show off their wares.
They played both the NPR showcase last Wednesday and the BBC Radio 6 Music showcase last Thursday at the British Music Embassy – drawing big crowds for both.
Here, Louisa gives us the skinny on their trip…
Describe SXSW in three words…
Big massive party.
What was the best bit about playing live out there?
Probably the reaction from people after we played our sets. Everyone was really appreciative, if you do a good performance people will wanna buy you a drink and chat to you. Music is a big currency over here.
How did your shows go down?
They both went really well. The first one was a smaller showcase and the lineup was great but there was no backline, so the bands had to work together and help each other to make the gig happen. Blueprint Blue, Undercover Dream Lovers, Her’s and Field Trip were all boss and we had a good one too, NPR were there and gave us a cool review. The second gig was our main showcase for BBC 6 Music at the British Music Embassy. Lammo gave us an amazing introduction and the gig went down really well, everyone was so nice.
What was the best band you saw?
The best band that we saw out there without a doubt was Weezer. We’re massive fans and we just missed out on seeing them in the UK last year, so we made sure we got to Brazos Hall early to see them on the Friday. They played hit after hit and topped off an unforgettable set with Buddy Holly. It was also good to see a new bit of English punk in the form of Shame at the BBC Radio 6 Music showcase.
Best food experience of the week?
We ate so much amazing food whilst we were in Austin, it’s really hard to narrow it down to just one thing! But if we had to pick then it would be the breakfast tacos. Our awesome hosts Justin and Nicole treated us to a huge selection of these bad boys on our first morning. They came in all kinds of flavours too, beef brisket, bacon and egg, chorizo and potato, chicken and more. Boss way to start the day.
Weirdest thing you saw/tasted/experienced?
On our first day we were sat by the window of a bar looking out across 6th Street. Out of the blue a herd of about a hundred naked people came running past with the hash tag #stripped written all over them, telling passersby ‘to get naked’ and ‘have sex tonight’. That was pretty weird…
Any advice for UK artists thinking about going next year?
Get stuck right in. Wear good footwear. Get on the Fasten discounts. Hit up the artist lounges. Get to venues early if you wanna watch any of the big acts. Eat tacos. Enjoy, everyone is dead, dead nice.
She Drew The Gun were supported to attend SXSW 2017 through PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund. Learn more about the fund.
The epic excursion topped a massive 12 months for the band, who won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent contest last April and haven’t touched the ground since.
Now in possession of one of the most impressive breakthrough debut albums of 2016 (Memories of Another Future), and a growing army of fans in the UK and beyond, Louisa Roach and crew made the long pilgrimage to Austin to show off their wares.
They played both the NPR showcase last Wednesday and the BBC Radio 6 Music showcase last Thursday at the British Music Embassy – drawing big crowds for both.
Here, Louisa gives us the skinny on their trip…
Describe SXSW in three words…
Big massive party.
What was the best bit about playing live out there?
Probably the reaction from people after we played our sets. Everyone was really appreciative, if you do a good performance people will wanna buy you a drink and chat to you. Music is a big currency over here.
How did your shows go down?
They both went really well. The first one was a smaller showcase and the lineup was great but there was no backline, so the bands had to work together and help each other to make the gig happen. Blueprint Blue, Undercover Dream Lovers, Her’s and Field Trip were all boss and we had a good one too, NPR were there and gave us a cool review. The second gig was our main showcase for BBC 6 Music at the British Music Embassy. Lammo gave us an amazing introduction and the gig went down really well, everyone was so nice.
What was the best band you saw?
The best band that we saw out there without a doubt was Weezer. We’re massive fans and we just missed out on seeing them in the UK last year, so we made sure we got to Brazos Hall early to see them on the Friday. They played hit after hit and topped off an unforgettable set with Buddy Holly. It was also good to see a new bit of English punk in the form of Shame at the BBC Radio 6 Music showcase.
Best food experience of the week?
We ate so much amazing food whilst we were in Austin, it’s really hard to narrow it down to just one thing! But if we had to pick then it would be the breakfast tacos. Our awesome hosts Justin and Nicole treated us to a huge selection of these bad boys on our first morning. They came in all kinds of flavours too, beef brisket, bacon and egg, chorizo and potato, chicken and more. Boss way to start the day.
Weirdest thing you saw/tasted/experienced?
On our first day we were sat by the window of a bar looking out across 6th Street. Out of the blue a herd of about a hundred naked people came running past with the hash tag #stripped written all over them, telling passersby ‘to get naked’ and ‘have sex tonight’. That was pretty weird…
Any advice for UK artists thinking about going next year?
Get stuck right in. Wear good footwear. Get on the Fasten discounts. Hit up the artist lounges. Get to venues early if you wanna watch any of the big acts. Eat tacos. Enjoy, everyone is dead, dead nice.
She Drew The Gun were supported to attend SXSW 2017 through PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund. Learn more about the fund.
