SW1XLDN 2009 - a taste of 6th street comes to London for one-night-only

A party for those off us NOT off to Austin this year.
Hosted by DrownedinSound.com

Date:	Tues 17th March 2009
Time:	18:00 - 21:00
Location:	Uptairs @ The Texas Embassy - Bar & Cantina
Street:	1 Cockspur Street, SW1Y 5DL
Town/City:	London, United Kingdom (gmap)

Description

This is a special party, hosted by DrownedinSound.com, upstairs at The Texas Embassy in Trafalgar Square, London, SW1. [We're currently looking for a sponsor for the bar]

Q: Why would you wanna fly several thousands of miles, cross various time zones and then queue like cattle just to drink a pint of Lone Star and hang out with people from the music business?

A: This year you don't have to.

We're not going to Texas this year, so DiS is throwing a party especially for those of us suffering from SXSW burnout or much more likely, the wrath of the bleeding hands of the recession, and therefore not making the annual pilgrimage to the self-proclaimed live capital of the world!

Whilst our duteous peers board planes, let's have a gathering of the great and the good who've been left behind. Drink Mohitos, Margaritas and far too many Lone Star's. They also have quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas, ribs, steaks, various sizzling platters......

We'll finish by 9 so you can run off and catch 6 gigs before sleeping in your own bed... or hell, book a hotel six miles outta town and throw up in the sink at 4am after turning up at 3 parties just as the bars closed, if you wanna get the 'authentic SXSW experience'.

More details to follow. RSVP (as a comment below or on facebook here) so I can get an idea of numbers. It holds a few 100 people so should be fine for everyone to get in without the need for guestlists and all that toss.

Please note: We're considering having some over-hyped blog-buzz bands play a 40minute soundcheck followed by a 10 minute set on a dodgy p.a. but we'll probably go see Pulled Apart by Horses at White Heat instead.

http://www.texasembassy.com

Questions for Richard Branson

RE: Ask Richard Branson Anything

I run a music community and record label called Drowned in Sound, and have a two multi-pronged questions…

1) Your exit from music retail was very timely, as was the selling of your stake in V2 Records; what do you think the future is for music consumption? Do you think there’s a sustainable business model left in music - especially for a brand like Virgin, which has foundations of straddling both retail and funding creation? Seemingly, VirginDigital entered the download sphere a touch too early, with sites and services like Spotify now becoming successful, will you be returning to this arena?

2) Virgin Records was forward-thinking and incredibly innovative in many ways and perhaps has had more cultural impact or at least a sense of legacy that’s more relevant to people like me; do you feel there’s an argument for the Virgin brand to begin to re-enter music for philanthropic reasons, with perhaps the Branson family becoming a new Medici family, helping sponsor some fantastic music/technology/artistry during these turbulent times of uncertainty regarding how to fund creative endeavours but also to help Virgin to return to a time where the brand had the ability to reach ‘n’ touch people, especially younger people, and for the ‘brand’ to return to its roots and be culturally relevant?

(I did pitch a combination of these idea to a few people at Virgin, explaining how I’d done similar things which combine these questions, by releasing Kaiser Chiefs and Bat for Lashes debut singles, which attracted people to join our community and it seemed to go down well but am still awaiting follow-up and confirmation of a third meeting, would seem the main people I’ve been speaking to are too busy or have been made redundant)