League City Band’s Love/Hate Relationship w/ SXSW
One of the most interesting bands to watch hit the stage comes from League City, Texas.
They were called The Mirrors.
I say “were” because, except for this performance, they don’t actually exist anymore.
You can listen to them here…. The video is dark but the music is crystal clear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxSckQj1KWo
And more here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiVXeFY_IR4
The band split almost 5 years ago, lead singer Greg Ashley, says it was because they had few fans actually buying their music. Ashley claims to be a victim of the download generation. The irony is that once Ashley left the group to make his solo mark in California, people in Texas began discovering the band.
“5 years ago nobody cared, when I left Houston nobody knew who we were,” says Ashley. “When I moved to California there were other labels that picked up those records, put money into promotion and re-released them. That got back to Texas and now people are like ‘Oh! You should play here!’” Ashley laughs at that.
A record label called Hook or Crook is re-releasing The Mirrors first album. It is the same company responsible for this SXSW showcase on the top floor of Austin’s Lambert’s restaurant.
“It’s a real pain in the *** and this is the 6thyear I have done it and no band ever gets helped or picked up playing this festival,” says Ashley. “The festival … makes a bunch of money off of the bands coming to town for free and that is pretty much it. It is a racket.”
Racket or not it hasn’t stopped The Mirrors from reuniting every year for the festival. Ashley says his reason for showing up is he has family in the area.
“Every year I say I am never going to do it again … if my family and friends weren’t here I would never come back to do it because it is complete horse****.” According to Ashley, “I could come to Austin and make a lot more money, like they didn’t pay me anything. They gave me two Miller Lights for free.. I could play anywhere in this town and actually make money for my plane ticket, yeah it is a ******racket.”
Ashley claims ”Nobody is getting signed.. it is a circle jerk is what I call it.”
Whether SXSW is a music festival making or mining the dreams of struggling musicians, depends largely on who you talk to; there are just as many stories from bands who have gotten the boost they need from playing here.
“It’s just a way to make money off a bunch of people who want to be musicians but … but really aren’t. They just have bands,” Ashley says.
Ashley says he hasn’t seen the successful side of SXSW but admits as a recording studio owner, he might be doing some mining his own. After trying to make a new band The Gris Gris and a solo career work in California, he gave up and opened a recording studio in Oakland.
As for the Rest of the band… ”They are all people I grew up with…” Ashley says, ”they went on to do more realistic things.”
Drummer, Tom Lee has a PhD. in Science. Playing keyboard is Chad Robinson, who writes classical music.
“He [Robinson] is going to Carnegie Melon Institute in Pittsburgh next semester,” says Ashley.
“Trey Turner works for an Oil Company as an engineer and Alan Harrison is an English major,” says Ashley, “ he is a substitute teacher and will probably go on to get his masters in English and write novels…”
As for Ashley, he describes himself in less flattering terms, “I am a *** scumbag who moved to California and I don’t do ****.”
Ashley says he “no longer writes music because after 6 albums in 7 years he has run out of things to say.”
While a loss of words has not stopped many other musicians, perhaps to find the real reason Ashley laid down pen and guitar you just have to look at his bank account.
“You know if I could make money writing ****** songs then I guess I would.. but I would rather quit while I am ahead and just not write any bad albums or songs so,” says Ashley, “that’s I guess one thing I have going for me… I have no pressure to keep doing anything because nobody cared in the first place. “
It could be self-pity talking, because I watched a room full of people excited to hear the band play. And someone out there likes their music, because each year they get that call to once again make their way to Austin and play for a crowd of fans.
“I am just out of ideas so that is why I stopped doing it … you know if I was born 10 years earlier in the 90’s I would have been able to live off my music.”
For now fans will just have to hope by this time next year, Ashley will have forgotten all the anger and be ready to pay his way once again to Austin.
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