BlackBook

We talk with Spank Rock, HAIM, The Drums, and others about the madness that descends upon Austin for South By Southwest.

Despite the long lines on Thursday, my faith has been restored in the music at the festival due to one band, HAIM (pronounced Hi-yum). This sister trio from Los Angeles KILLED IT. If Patti Smith had started a band with her two sisters, this is what it would have sounded like. At the end of the performance each girl put down their instrument, picked up a drum stick and went at it on individual drums they had in front of them creating the SICKEST drum solo EVER! It was AMAZING! By far the best performance we’ve seen all week.

SXSW, you have hit me like a ton of bricks and all I want to do is sleep and be submerged in silence. I am exhausted. In real life I don’t go out, staying up late is being awake until midnight, and I don’t drink. Partying was something I got out of my system in my early twenties, and I have never had the desire to do it again. SXSW is awesome because it is a forum for people to showcase their creativity in this crazy concentrated world for five days. I am all down for that. What I am not so much all down for is the massive -- and I mean MASSIVE -- crowds of drunk people 24/7. I am completely fascinated as an observer of this madness, but after three days I’m beginning to lose steam and patience am utterly and completely worn down.

This is by far the most insane experience of my entire life. I didn’t think it was possible, but this place got even crazier today than it was yesterday. More people are arriving for the music portion of the festival and the streets are overflowing. Last night Lorenna and I decided to just walk around and take in the scenes. We must have looked like we were on drugs because we were literally walking around with our mouths dropped and our eyes wide open, bumping into each other and tripping every five seconds. There is so much to take in, and no matter which direction you go in or how far down you walk, it just keeps going. It’s like Austin has transformed itself into this really weird, diverse night club. I mean there are lasers and smoke machines all over the streets! I am in awe of it all. I don’t know how y’all do this every year Austin -- you guys must sleep for the other eleven months just to prepare yourselves.

SXSW, you cah-razy! This place is unreal. Everywhere you turn there is something to do, see, and hear. There is music coming out of every store, every bar, every everything. People are rapping on street corners to the beat of a bucket drummer or playing an impromptu set on the side of the road. It's hard to imagine what downtown Austin would be like without all of this action—it just seems so second nature for this city. All of this creativity just belongs here. It’s pretty amazing.

Austin, we’ve arrived! It took us forty-two hours to get to you, but we did it! I’m pretty sure the thing I’m most excited about is getting to sleep in a bed. That and showering, because boy, do we smell (and look like something beautiful). Yesterday, after marathon-driving all night, we finally stopped at 6:30 in the morning and went to a hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where we slept....in the parking lot....for an hour. Our poor bodies.

Holy shit, can you believe it? After an insane week filled with sleepless nights and crazy life shifting events here we are. Nothing but open road, laughter, twelve years of friendship, and music to keep us company. THIS IS SO COOL! A week ago I was getting ready to leave my job of two years while Lorenna was preparing for a huge issue close, and now we’re in Tennessee. Lorenna's head is pressing against the steering wheel just so she can see the road and this overwhelming feeling that crept in as soon as we left Brooklyn is ever present. Possibilities are endless and the future is ours to create. Life is so crazy!

This is Lorenna (on the right -- that’s me Sara on the left). She is by far the most ridiculous person I know. She also happens to be the photo editor of this here magazine. But most importantly she’s my BFF. We’ve been best friends since we were 14, we are both currently 26 and lemme tell ya: a lot of life happens in those formative years.