SXSW 2012 update: a cool slice of history

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Evelyn N.

‘Ello. I’m sitting in my friend’s apartment listening to some Spoek Mathambo. I decided to stay in Austin an extra day because everybody made me feel like I wasn’t trying to be free enough to hang out with them like I was working at Six Flags and refused to ride the rides with them or something wow that analogy fell through…

Like…i was working at SXSW. Working. at SXSW. Sometimes even I got annoyed with how much those two words seemed to conflict with each other. And shout out to this tornado warning. Womp. I just can’t have it all, can I…

Anyway, this post is just a simple reflection and show of gratitude to the gods for something I had to the chance to do. Below is a picture of me interviewing Nels Jacobson, an amazing poster illustrator and the program coordinator at SXSW.

Fun fact: he was also SXSW’s first art director…he designed the FIRST poster for souff by souffwess in 1987. Whoa.

I was just supposed to be covering the poster art show in general and randomly saw a bunch of throwback Fela Kuti posters and discovered he was the one who drew them. After talking to him, he was nice enough to give me one of the posters he was supposed to be selling: Fela’s 1987 performance in Austin, Texas.

Wow.

And then later that week, I had the amazing chance to shoot (photograph, lol) Seun Kuti.

The late Fela’s youngest son. Seun performs with Egypt 80, the ORIGINAL band that played with his dad since the 70s.

At the time of Fela’s performance on that poster, Seun was around 4 years old.

I don’t know, I just feel like I got to be a part of something really cool, like the circle of life or something.

yeah.

SXSW 2012 update: womp

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Evelyn N.

it’s almost 3am.

i can smell myself. I CAN SMELL MYSELF. yuck. i didn’t get to shower today because we scrambled to pack up all our stuff and drive to the airport to meet the artists for our showcase.

then to the hotel across town.

then to the airport.

then to the same hotel across town.

then downtown to another hotel.

and back to the airport.

i spent more than 12 hours at the airport or going to it.

-_-

because people either (1) missed their flights on accident (2) missed their flights on purpose or (3) were somehow lost in the airport (but have you SEEN how small the Austin airport is???)

my hair was all poking out under the hood. can’t take the hood off cuz…well…it looked like my hair exploded. leggings. the same shirt i wore yesterday. hoodie i’ve been wearing for like 5 days already. and i don’t care if this is tmi, but my cramps were so bad i swear i was having contractions

anyway

cool moments: met Just A Band. *sigh* they’re so nerdy and i love it. Daniel is sooooooo adorable. and when i said “i’m evelyn” they all said “OH SO YOU’RE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT!!!” (the email address i use is a company one). i giggled inside.

drove 2face‘s brother to the hotel (he looks JUST like him too)? it wasn’t a cool moment as much as it was just…like…how the hell did i end up driving frikkin 2face’s brother around? i just…

admiring Baloji’s swaggggggggg. There’s just something about a chocolate dude that speaks french…*melts* i wanted SO bad to practice my french with him (heh heh…heh) but we all know i couldn’t even introduce myself. *shrugs*

there were many more funny moments but i’m too tired and one of them was illegal so we’ll leave it there…

tomorrow is the showcase. i’ll be filming some other stuff too? everything’s really a toss up, which my friends should understand. aka don’t call me, i’ll call you.

if my phone isn’t dead already.

this day was just *smh*

The Post College Life of: DAVE CANON

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Evelyn N.

Dave’s a freelance director, creative consultant and videographer based in Georgia, but dude is a world citizen (shout out to all my military families!). I know him from the Youtube Internets – he was one of the first people I watched on a regular basis — and I wanted to snatch up this interview with him before we both got famous and whatnot you know how that goes… In this interview, we talk about EVERYTHING: his education, working with Luda, Taylor Gang, and being one of the creative minds behind the A$$ video. Yes I said the A$$ video.

Big tings ah gwan and much more to come for this guy, so naturally, I hit him with a crap ton of questions. If you have a short attention span and/or refuse to use the scroll button…well then…see what Lil Duval’s up to on Twitter or something, cuz my interviews aint bout that 140-character life.

And now…

Continue reading →

SXSW so far (i mean it’s only been a day but still)

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Evelyn N.

I told you in my latest vlog that I’ll be in Austin for South by Southwest. I made the 3-hour drive through the PMS-y thunderstorms without hydroplaning and I’m safely here in the city of ~~purple sprite~~ white guys on bikes drinking locally brewed beer in renovated bars aka places where brown and black people used to live… lol? >_>

I went to college in this city, y’all! It’s good to be “home.”

But this rain though??? AND it’s cold?? Not “omg it’s 58 degrees in Texas, so lemme grab a light cardigan” cold, but legitimately cold, even to the rest of my team coming in from NY. “I blame Bush,” said my boss. Me too. *vapid Kanye stare*

So my role this year is to cover the film festival. I have press credentials so I’ll be in that thang and not going guerrilla style like last year. I’ve also been helping coordinate the showcase we’ll have during the music portion of SXSW. We’re bringing the Motherland to Austin, Texas and the ancestors approve!!! Seun Kuti, Just A Band, 2Face and many more! I created the video below as a promo for the event. Fun fact: I had plans for the globe to be really insane and spin and land on Africa, but my poor little 2008 macbook can’t handle how much RAM 3D animation requires. So if you wanna contribute to the Buy Evelyn An iMac Fund, holla at me and don’t be shy yahearrrd.

I decided to brave the rain again aka got a ride from my friend’s boyfriend to the Blacks in Technology kickback. I just wanted to get out of the house and be around smart people, to be honest. App developers, technology journalists, inventors, marketing people, and…

CHESCALEIGH AKA CHESCALOCS *falls out*

And in true Evelyn fashion, I forgot how to speak English. Just…*deer caught in headlights face*

oh lord.

Tomorrow, I meet up with the rest of my team and we’ll actually start covering the film festival. Screenings, panels, interviews, video editing…

Jesus be a poncho though, cuz this rain aint nothin’ to mess with.

The Post College Life of: ALLEY GANT

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Evelyn N.

Alley is part of my Youtube fam that’s also on Twitter and I got the chance to meet her a few months ago at a NaturallyCurly.com hair show! In May 2010, she graduated from Notre Dame and relocated to Austin about a year later. She’s a soon-to-be fellow Longhorn (hope you like burnt orange) who will start working on her Masters of Social Work this fall. She goin’ in for Round 2, y’all!

Full interview after the jump! Continue reading →

B4 the night is thru by Jesse Boykins III

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Evelyn N.

I always black out from excitement every time Jesse Boykins III releases a new video. This time was no different. After I woke up, I pressed play and was stuck on my couch captivated. Entranced, if you will. MY BOO THANG has me spellbound, y’all!! His voice is otherworldly, and Dr. Woo always cooks up the visuals to match. Continue reading →

Crackhead hours start now…

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Evelyn N.

That was the subject line in the email I just got. Me and a bunch of lovely people from Society HAE will be descending upon Austin, TX for SXSW 2012.

So for about 10 days, hipsters, tech nerds, and film buffs invade the city for nonstop concerts, conferences, screenings, parties — it’s absolute madness. It has certainly morphed since its debut in 1987 and now it’s a must on festival-goers’ schedules around the world. Let us not forget Kanye’s super secret surprise show last year and how he basically shut the city down. Psssh. Ya girl was in bed, wiped out from the day’s activities. YEEZY AINT TAUGHT ME SHIT!

And as I’m sure you noticed in the video — there aren’t many chocolate people at SXSW. I remember last year, we got stopped in the street by people who loved our hair (we all had different variations of the fro) and an elderly chocolate couple was always sure to give us the scoop on special deals and events they knew about.

This year, we’re bringing the Motherland to SXSW, and I’m ecstatic! We’ve been organizing a showcase bringing all your favorite acts from different countries in Africa + The Diaspora. I’m talkin’ Seun Kuti, Just A Band, Spoek Mathambo, 2Face Idibia, and many more. Get hype!!!

Right now, it’s a mad dash to design promo materials. Edit videos, design fliers & mixtape cover art, create any graphics for the site, keep maintaining contact between talent managers and the SXSW crew, make zillions of google docs, and…

that’s just MY job.

So yeah. Crackhead hours start now. Jesus be a 5-hour energy.

A DAY IN THE POST COLLEGE LIFE (5)

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Evelyn N.

Spent the extra day in February at the mall. Raise your hands if ya fam expects you to take them shopping when you finally get a good job and make some good monies!!! *sigh* A reporter’s salary aint nothin to play wit. As in it is nothing to play with.

We can’t all be TJ Holmes’ fine azzzz and make the big bucks.

nom.

THE POST COLLEGE LIFE

ok. so what now?

Monthly Archives: March 2012