Truth be told, they’ve been putting on shows during SXSW since 1997, but 2013 makes it a full decade that Small Stone has been doing an official SXSW showcase, and the venerable Detroit imprint are celebrating in style. I always get a little wistful thinking about my days in Austin at these parties — I went four years from 2003-’07 — and from seeing Suplecs touring on the strength of a post-Man’s Ruin demo to watching Sasquatch and The Brought Low lay waste to the room. Good friends, cheap beer, occasionally Mexican food. Some of the best times I’ve had at shows were at those things, and not just for the refried beans.

I won’t be making the trip this year, but consider it highly recommended nonetheless if you can get down that way. Brian Mercer has once again provided the poster for the shindig, which is below, followed by the lineup and set times:

Also available in purple.

Marking 10 years of official SXSW showcases, Detroit’s Small Stone Records returns to Headhunters (720 Red River) on March 14 with some of the finest in heavy rock. This year’s Small Stone showcase is headlined by New Orleans veterans Suplecs and Connecticut upstarts Lord Fowl, and features Virginia’s Freedom Hawk and Texan natives Wo Fat along with Luder, Supermachine and Mellow Bravo. For lovers of classic guitar and motor-ready grooves, it gets no better than Small Stone, and with a decade under their belts, they still throw a party like none other. Expect the epic.

Date: Thursday March, 14th, 2013
Venue: Headhunters – 720 Red River – Austin, TX – 78701
1 am: Suplecs (New Orleans, LA)
12 mid: Lord Fowl (New Haven, CT)
11pm: Freedom Hawk (Virginia Beach, VA)
10pm: Wo Fat (Dallas, TX)
9pm: Luder (Ferndale, MI)
8pm: Supermachine (Dover, NH)
7pm: Mellow Bravo (Boston, MA)

I know I’ve talked before about the amazing times and staggering drunken debauchery I’ve (allegedly) witnessed and/or been involved in at Small Stone‘s SXSW showcases. For all the years I went to SXSW, it was unquestionably the high point, and if I was going to go now, it would be just about the only reason.

The label just announced their 2012 schedule with an exceptionally well-constructed press release — I mean, seriously, whoever wrote the thing should be hired for some cushy work-from-home newsletter-writing gig at a major corporation with money to spend so he can spend his days blogging about European heavy psych records — and the lineup is enough to make me wistful for the hazy memories that could be.

Mic check!

Now entering its 17th year of operation, Small Stone Records has announced the final lineup for its 2012 SXSW showcase, set to take place Friday, March 16, on the outside back patio at Headhunters on Red River in Austin, TX. The label, home to the best in heavy and ‘70s-fueled motor rock, has assembled a roster of new and old blood for a night that’s sure to remind Austin why it loves volume so much in the first place.

Says label honcho Scott Hamilton, “We are very much looking forward to our yearly showcase in Austin. We have a great lineup that we’ll stuff into Headhunters, which is also one of our favorite little watering holes on Red River. It is always nice to tilt some back with some old friends, and some new ones too! Save the date, Friday March 16th!”

Spanning genres from the fuzz-drenched psychedelic improv jams of Austin natives Tia Carrera, who will close out the night, to the crunchy, noise-driven blues of New Orleans trio Suplecs, Small Stone’s showcase is an annual high point of South by Southwest for those who manage to remember it the next morning. The complete lineup is as follows:

Friday, March 16
Headhunters (Outside Back Patio) 720 Red River at 8th St.:
1am: Tia Carrera
12am: Dixie Witch
11pm: Suplecs
10pm: Lo-Pan
9pm: Gozu
8pm: Backwoods Payback
7pm: Dwellers

Original 18″x24″ silk screen concert poster available by New York-based artist and illustrator Joshua Marc Levy.

If you’re throwing a party, it’s best you know how many people are coming. You know, that way you know how much free Mexican food to make, or how many cases of Shiner Bock to buy, or how many special sneakers to have on hand. This of course is mostly applicable if you’re Small Stone Records and we’re talking about the Small Stone/Converse Day Party at this year’s South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Truly it is a party like none other.

And, should you be among the blessed masses able to make it out, Small Stone wants to know about it. Email them at: sxsw2010@smallstone.com. As we all know, it’s always more polite to RSVP before you show up anyway, and when the place gets full, you’ll be a lot happier with your name on a list at the door.

In case you forgot why you’d want to be hanging out around the club Encore on Red River in Austin on March 18, to wit:

Nebula have a buttload of touring ahead of them (and behind them, for that matter), but as they head out for their latest run of US dates, they’ll be bringing along a new split 7″ with labelmates Quest for Fire. Actually, they’ll be bringing the band too. Brooklyn Vegan was granted the honor of debuting the mp3 of the new Nebula song, “The Perfect Rapture,” and because I can, I’m posting it here. Please find it below with a whole bunch of PR wire info about Tee Pee Records‘ SXSW showcase and Nebula‘s upcoming tour.

Nebula – The Perfect Rapture

Tee Pee Records is proud to announce that our 2010 SXSW Showcase will take place on Thursday, March 18th at Habana Calle 6. This will be Tee Pee‘s biggest showcase yet and will take place on two stages and feature thirteen bands. Lineup details are below.

Stage 1 (outside): Priestess, Iron Age, Nebula, Naam, Quest for Fire, Kreisor, The Atomic Bitchwax

Stage 2 (inside): Sweet Apple, Imaad Wasif, Spindrift, Hopewell, Jason Simon (of Dead Meadow), The Main Street Gospel

Nebula will embark on a full US Tour beginning on March 16th in Houston, TX. Tee Pee Records labelmates Quest For Fire will support the band on the first leg and The Willowz and Lionize will support Nebula on the second leg of the tour.

Nebula US Tour:
03/16/10 Channel/Meridian, Houston TX w/Torche
03/18/10 Tee Pee Records SXSW Showcase @ Habana Calle 6 w/ Priestess, Iron Age and more!
03/19/10 SXSW TBA
03/20/10 SXSW TBA
03/21/10 SXSW TBA
03/22/10 Saturn Bar, New Orleans LA w/ASG
03/23/10 Lenny’s, Atlanta GA w/Quest For Fire
03/24/10 Rocket Club, Asheville NC w/Quest For Fire
03/25/10 V Club, Huntington WV w/Quest For Fire
03/26/10 Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia PA w/Quest For Fire
03/27/10 Pianos, New York NY w/Quest For Fire
03/28/10 Wreck Room, Toronto ON w/Quest For Fire
03/29/10 Bug Jar, Rochester NY w/Quest For Fire
03/30/10 Grog Shop, Cleveland OH w/Quest For Fire
03/31/10 Summit, Columbus OH w/Quest For Fire
04/01/10 Double Door, Chicago IL w/The Willowz, Quest For Fire, Lionize
04/02/10 Firebird, St. Louis MO w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/03/10 Hi Tone, Memphis TN w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/04/10 The Conservatory, Oklahoma City OK w/Lionize
04/05/10 Jackpot Saloon, Lawrence KS w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/06/10 3 Kings Tavern, Denver CO w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/07/10 Club Vegas, Salt Lake City UT w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/09/10 Studio Seven, Seattle WA w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/10/10 Dante’s, Portland OR w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/12/10 Thee Parkside, San Francisco CA w/The Willowz, Lionize
04/15/10 Spaceland, Los Angeles CA w/The Willowz, Lionize

It is, at very least, appropriate. Artwork is by Brian Mercer. More information about the 2010 Small Stone showcase at SXSW is here. Meantime, dig it:

Click the image above for the full-sized version.

Detroit rock favorite Small Stone Records has officially announced its annual SXSW showcase, set to take place at Encore in Austin, TX, on March 18. As a veteran of several of these affairs, I can safely say they’re always the best show at all of SXSW, and more than that, completely void of all the music industry douchebaggery that the rest of the festival seems to thrive off of. If you’ve never made the trip, this lineup looks like it might be worth it:

Thursday March 18th
at Encore (next to Emo’s)
611 Red River Austin, TX 78701 – 512-474-6688

Official SXSW Showcase
1am – Dixie Witch
12mid – House of Broken Promises
11pm – Solace
10pm – Sasquatch
9pm – The Brought Low
8pm – Throttlerod
7pm – Luder

Converse / Small Stone Day Party FREE!
Free Booze! Free Chow! Free Rock!
*Inside Stage*
6pm: Honky
5pm: Sun Gods in Exile
4pm: Tia Carrera
3pm: Magnet School
2pm: Chylde

*Outside Stage*
5:30pm Suplecs
4:30pm Gozu
3:30pm Roadsaw
2:30pm Killa Dilla
1:30pm Whitey Morgan & the 78’s

Besides this ass kicking lineup of music above, we will have a few other special things going on at this event. The fine folks at Converse are manufacturing an extremely limited run of 50 Small Stone Records Chuck Taylor’s that will be giving away at the gig only. And, to fill your belly, we will have a spread of fine Mexican grub on hand…The Day Party is FREE to enter!!! This will leave you with some extra cash to tip your bartenders and buy some merch! In the evening, you will be required to pay a small door cover charge, or show your SXSW badge and/ or wristband to enter the Small Stone SXSW Showcase.

Rachel May of the Detroit Free Press published an article today about how when Metallica played their set at this year’s SXSW, they essentially fucked over everyone else playing that night, including our friends over at Small Stone Records. Dig the excerpts:

“It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen at SXSW,” says Scott Hamilton, head of Detroit-based Small Stone Records. Hamilton and a handful of Small Stone bands, including hometown outlaw country boys Whitey Morgan, were showcasing right across the street from Stubb’s at the time of the Metallica performance. “Not only did they affect my showcase, they drained every club,” Hamilton says. “Why come down here and ruin a festival that’s about breaking independent artists? A band that big has no business being at that festival.”

“The Metallica thing was a little frustrating, but probably more so for Scott and some other Small Stone bands than us,” says Jeremy Mackinder, bassist for Whitey Morgan, which played early in the evening. “Our crowd was pretty different,” he says. “They had a decent crowd and the people that saw them loved them,” Hamilton says of Whitey Morgan.

So once again, we see the moral of the story is fuck Metallica.

You know that Sirius XM shit is still going on? God damn that’s a pain in the ass.

Holy crap, I need a break from reviews. Too much thinking equals sleepy in the brain. Here’s a Melvins video from a show I could have gone to but decided to stay in my hotel and watch Wayne’s World 2 on Comedy Central instead. I’m by no means the biggest Big Business fan in the world, but you get what you pay for.