The Pinstripes have been a band since their high school days. Now, almost 10 years later, they are still working to break out and traveled to SXSW to try their luck. Between street performances and making connections to find shows, The Pinstripes may have been the hardest working band at SXSW.
Can you describe your time at SXSW in five words? Overwhelming, astonishing, exhausting, exciting and fun. Fun is a good one. This place is straight-up fun.
What's your best moment so far? Playing to a three-year old on the streets of Austin. We came down with the idea to be as productive as possible so we walked around and busked a lot. When we were busking last night, it was so hectic, and there was a circle of people around us. There was a lady and her daughter just enjoying our music and we have a song that we dedicate to the ladies and so we decided to dedicate to ladies of all ages. We picked the cutest one and she just happened to be three.
Any big takeaway you'll bring back to Cincinnati? MidPoint is already a great festival, but I wish they would just embrace all kinds of music. There are so many ridiculous bands down here (in Austin) that aren't in official showcases but still have a chance to get exposure. There are so many great bands of all genres in Cincinnati that could perform. The city just needs to embrace Midpoint.
Anything unexpected happen? We got busted twice. It's a free-for-all here, and we plugged into a food truck's power supply to play a show. We thought we could do whatever we wanted down here but a few minutes later someone came and asked if we had a permit, so that was the end of that. The flip side is that we made friends with the food truck owners and now we have a connection. He gets live music outside his truck and we get a place to park our van and some free food. It started from being a smart ass to a food truck owner while trying to get some free food, then we talked to him and he let us perform. I think that may be more unexpected than getting busted.
Plans for next year? Come back down. We are a band that tries to be as spontaneous as we are educated and organized. It would be awesome to come down here and be a little more organized so we could be more spontaneous. SXSW is one of those places you have to be able to be spontaneous so you can take advantage of opportunities if they come up.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.