BBQ + SHOWS + BOOZE + WEASELS = BAD HANGOVER: We feel it already, and it’s only a week away. Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year where music biz peeps from all over the world descend on Austin, TX, for another installment of South by Southwest. The Texas music confab is celebrating its 20th year, and its attendance levels are at a record high. With this year’s showcases running at over 1,300 performances, we hear label folks, particularly A&R types, are griping about the conference’s filtering process. It seems like only a few years ago that the confab showcases hovered around 600-700 acts. However, SXSW is still the one-stop shop to see all the buzz bands, indie label acts, international artists and those diamonds in the rough. But before we proceed with our initial picks, here are a few gossipy tidbits that you should know about… If you’ve been following the action over the past couple of weeks, there are several labels in executive transition, but is one label bigwig soon to announce a high-profile hire?… And there is lots of chatter in the pub world of late—several rumors are circulating about a former label exec stepping into a high-level publishing role. However, insiders share that the deal is far from being done. Meanwhile, can we expect to see some sort of musical chairs at a couple of pubcos? We hear there are several secret meetings going on at the presidential level… A&R folks are spinning their heads on current hot property Ronnie Day. The proposals are said to be getting outrageous… Word on the street is that a number of established talent handlers have been meeting with Matchbook Romance manager Lance Brown. Matchbook, Plain White T’s and several up-and-comers in his stable do solid touring and merch sales. We’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, as we reported months ago, it seems like the buzz on PWT’s is growing. Is one major looking to take them off the market?… There’s some NYC buzz on Paulson… The Alan Wolmark/Joe Berman-managed Vassy has label meet-and-greets with Jive, Sony and Island this week… Since lots of label folks appear to be overwhelmed with this year’s SXSW lineup, our picks start with the performance-rights-society showcases. On Wednesday (3/15) at Dirty Dog, ASCAP presents the Office, the Rinse, Colored Shadows, the Ark, Aberdeen City, Love of Diagrams and Pilotdrift… BMI will host two evening showcases—on Wednesday at Maggie Mae’s, check out the Hint and Glass Intrepid, and on Thursday, Opal Divine’s will feature the hugely buzzin’ Nico Vega, Captain, Sons of William and Mieka Pauley… We’ll report more later, so do your homework for now… BUZZIN’: Jack Joseph Puig, Dan McCarroll, Jonathan Daniel, Red Light School District and the Red Bull House…Hit me up: brotherxx@earthlink.net

BUZZ&GIGS:
RETROGRADE Mon., March 13, 7:30 p.m., Piano’s, N.Y.
FORWARD RUSSIA! Mon., March 20, TBD, Spaceland.
AWAY STATION Thurs., March 23, TBD, Troubadour