My feeling is that SXSW was very good to Earles and Jensen Present: Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1 & 2. It was also fun (I wasn’t expecting it to be THAT fun), there were good times with some previously internet-only writerly colleagues/friends, plus friends/associates in general, and a band or two hit the spot (Clockcleaner, for one).

This is the bio that I almost forgot I submitted.

Here’s a nice shout-out from one of the Onion A.V. Club boys.

Here’s an Austin Chronicle writer that failed to get the point of the panel. As my friend and panel moderator Bob Mehr assumed, “She was clearly insulted by my suggestion that a certain segment of indie rock fans had a less than stellar sense of humor. Then she goes out and proves my point by completely missing the fact that Zach was BEING FUNNY, and not really bored or fidgety. She apparently came expecting David to do a 90-minute stand-up set. Oh well.”

There were at least 150 people in attendance. I’m happy with that, especially considering the time (12:30 Friday….after everyone had been out drinking the night before) and the other panels/interviews that were simultaneously underway. I got some cracks in, and David Cross gave JFAL a major prop (”I’ve been burning and giving out Just Farr A Laugh to friends over the past four years” or something like that), as well as Tony Kiewel stating that JFAL was the favorite comedy album at the Sub Pop offices.

…not sure how any of you will see it, but I will soon have a DVD of the panel discussion.

Saturday was St. Patty’s Day, turning the streets of Austin into a combination of stripper-obsessed date rapists in giant, green foam hats and what looked like an airlift and dump of Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue.

In contrast, Sunday afternoon looked like a post-attack scene from The Day After.   

Upon registering Thursday evening, I got the SXSW “Big Bag.” The contents are as follows:

Issues of Singer & Musician, Performing Songwriter, Blender, AP, Paste, The Filter Good Music Guide, Fresh Breath of Mint, !*@# Exclaim!, Utne Reader, Relix, The Austin Chronicle, and TimeOut Austin.

(So, on the drive home through festering concrete boils like Temple, TX and Forest City, AR, I got to read some rags that I’ll never read again….and two that I’ve written for.)

Lots of flyers, handbills, promotional notepads, party invites, a plastic container claiming to contain a “hangover survival kit,” and two condoms.

CD’s: SXSW CD Sampler that came with a fake voodoo doll attached, Kemado Records sampler, Canon Records sampler, SXSW “UK Invasion” sampler, Japan Nite sampler, 10 Spot sampler, and the new CD’s by Ani DiFranco and Public Enemy. The latter of which had a $6.99 Best Buy sticker still attached.