SXSW TOUR: Part 3 of 3...The Famous Game, Duggan's Cove, and the Long Journey Home
1600 miles away from playgrounds where neither of us had spent any of our days, we had finally arrived in Austin, TX. Our gracious host, Duggan Flanakin, was there to greet us. Duggan is a Boston transplant, and Austin lifer, whose passion for supporting up and coming artists is unparalled. We quickly learned we'd be staying in a cove of artistic collaboration; reminiscint of a Woodstock, west village dive or Blue Bird Cafe springboard for talent from all over the country. By day and early evening, we were a mechanized, local tour de force, hauling our gear and ourselves all over Austin to places like the Waterloo Ice House, House Wine, and Giddy Ups. The picture you see is from a "Philly Showcase" hosted by Milkboy at club 1808. Look closely, and you'll see the flyer accompanied by "Sly", minutes after his epic showdown with, "the champ", Apollo Creed. Thank you, Austin, for reminding us Phildelphians that our most famous athlete does not exist. We embrace this whole heartedly.
By night, we roamed the mad house that was 6th street; an endless sea of bars, clubs, live music and beligerent youth. Of all of the accomplishments of our tour, I am most proud of what happened next.
Seeing this as golden opportunity to prank tourists, I decided that one of us from our group would pretend to be famous. Left alone to look jaded and unamused, "fans" one and two would approach and say something like,
"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but are you Dan Orlando?"
"Yes I am"
"Man, we came all the way from Philly to see you...would you mind if my friend and I got a picture with you"
"Not at all, thanks for the support..."
(Snap...flash...buzz from curious onlookers)
"I'm sorry Dan, one more, your eyes were closed"
(Buzz begins to intensify)
"Thanks so much"
"No problem, guys, enjoy the rest of the festival"
One of our subjects was asked if he minded getting recognized by two lovely ladies. To which he rambled on about building connections with fans, and reminiscing about his days as an up and comer meeting his idols for the first time. He must sealed have the deal with his humility, because we didn't see him for the rest of the tour. Said equation ends by multipying by 12, accounting for alcohol (X) and a margin of error for lack of charisma (Y) and you get a pisser of a social experiment.
By tour's end, we are all exhausted but prepped for the 36 hour drive back to Philly. Most of this is a haze, though I do remember Thee Idea Men and Katie Frank passing out CD's to a Christian Youth Tour Bus. My guess is the only "Blues Rock" and "Americana" those kids had heard of before were sites of miracles and a secret mistress of Moses.
So, that was our tour in a nutshell. I hope you enjoyed the recap. Don't forget, single release party at the Kennett Flash June 1st! Click here for tickets.

Dan Orlando



