By Chris M. Junior

This year marked the 25^th anniversary of the South by Southwest music conference/festival. And just like in previous editions, SXSW 2011 offered plenty to see and hear all over Austin, Texas.

Matt Nathanson is shown during his performance at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on March 16. (Photo by Chris M. Junior)

Dennen, Nathanson turn up the volume

They’re from California and best known for gentle, acoustic-based songs, so having singer/songwriters Brett Dennen and Matt Nathanson on the same SXSW bill seemed like a case of sensible scheduling.

What made the March 16 showcase even more appropriate was that Dennen and Nathanson both came armed with electric guitars, which they used to offer glimpses at their more muscular new material.

The lanky Dennen had the first slot at ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Backed by a bassist and drummer, Dennen showed that he’s much more than a steady strummer and delicate picker, emphasizing his slashing rhythm work and brief, melodic leads in his first three songs. After that, he switched to an acoustic guitar yet kept the pace upbeat. The audience didn’t seem to mind that Dennen bypassed such signature songs as “San Francisco” and “Make You Crazy” to focus on “Sydney (I’ll Come Running)” and other material from his new album, “Loverboy,” due April 12 on the Dualtone label.

Unlike Dennen, Nathanson found space for two of his signature songs, “Car Crash” and “Come on Get Higher.” But he was also in Austin to test out songs, as well as break in his new band. “Modern Love,” Nathanson’s new album, is due in June; the title track (one of the highlights of his set) is not a cover of the David Bowie tune, but it’s just as radio friendly.

Nathanson has been known to bridge the gaps between songs with doses of comedy, and on this night, he made some blue comments about the Natalie Portman film “Black Swan.” Those jokes and others went over well, and so did the cover of “I Fought the Law” (more Clash-like than Bobby Fuller Four) that closed his set.

Following his band’s SXSW interview with John Norris on March 17, Duran Duran singer Simon LeBon taped an AOL Music segment at the Austin Convention Center. (Photo by Chris M. Junior)

Duran Duran is living in the ‘Now’

Duran Duran fans still hoping guitarist Andy Taylor will once again return to the lineup should forget about it.

During the band’s SXSW interview March 17 with John Norris, singer Simon LeBon stated that Taylor has “a dark side” that makes it difficult to work with him. And drummer Roger Taylor likened the guitarist’s departure to when a star player leaves a sports team – those who remain pick up the pieces and move forward.

LeBon, Roger Taylor, bassist John Taylor and keyboardist Nick Rhodes really like the path they’ve followed with the Mark Ronson-produced “All You Need Is Now,” the second album since Andy Taylor’s second departure. Duran Duran has already made a video for the title track, and Rhodes said there are plans to make videos for other songs.

That inevitably led to some comments about MTV and its glory days as a video music channel. Rhodes recalled when MTV was “much more loose” and aired “true maverick TV programming” before succumbing to a play list, while John Taylor said he constantly meets people who say their lives were changed by MTV’s early years.

McLagan on the move

Ian McLagan was a steady presence at the Austin Convention Center, the headquarters for SXSW panels.

On March 17, McLagan was spotted on the fourth floor and asked how he was doing. As he fixed his coffee, the witty keyboardist responded with a line borrowed from one of his former Faces band mates.

“Like Ronnie Lane used to say, ‘Up and down like a pair of trousers,’” McLagan said with a smile.

That day, McLagan was scheduled to participate in the panel This Is Mod: How British Mod Culture Changed the World. He was also a scheduled panelist for And on Piano … Nicky Hopkins, which was held March 19.

Sarah McIntosh of The Good Natured in action. (Photo by Chris M. Junior)

Front and center

Maybe it’s the water. Or maybe there’s another reason why England tends to produce some of the best frontmen (and frontwomen) in rock and pop.

Two newbies made great first impressions during SXSW 2011.

Leggy singer Sarah McIntosh, 20, who fronts the electronica/pop trio The Good Natured, strutted her stuff March 18 at the out-of-the-way venue called The Windish Agency House @ ND. McIntosh worked the stage as well as the floor, joining the crowd on multiple occasions and going about as far as her microphone cable would allow. “Be My Animal,” The Good Natured’s debut EP, is available now through iTunes.

When A Silent Film singer Robert Stevenson wasn’t playing his piano, he was bouncing all over the Rusty Spurs stage on March 19 as if the club were the Frank Erwin Center, Austin’s arena. There’s an anthemic, U2-like quality to A Silent Film’s music, particularly “You Will Leave a Mark,” which is on the band’s debut album, “The City That Sleeps.”

Sahara Smith performs March 19 as part of the Austin Music Awards, which were held at Austin Music Hall. (Photo by Chris M. Junior)

Spotlight on Sahara Smith

SXSW does many things well, among them showcasing a wide variety of Austin-area talent.

Sahara Smith, who was born in Austin and raised in nearby Wimberley, had one of the busier schedules of any SXSW 2011 act. That made her performance at the Austin Music Hall as part of the Austin Music Awards on March 19 — the last full day of SXSW shows — even more impressive. Smith (who collected three honors that night, among them best songwriter) was engaging and in fine voice, especially on “The Real Thing” and “Are You Lonely.” Her debut album, “Myth of the Heart,” was released in 2010 on Playing in Traffic Records.

Foo Fighters

MTV and MTV.com are set to air the world premiere of the video for the new Foo Fighters single, “Rope,” at 7:54 p.m. ET/PT on March 10.

The band will perform the song live during the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, which will air live on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU at midnight ET on March 16 from the South by Southwest conference/festival in Austin, Texas.

“Rope” can be found on the new Foo Fighters album, “Wasting Light,” which was recorded in frontman Dave Grohl’s home garage using analog equipment. Produced by Butch Vig, “Wasting Light” is scheduled for an April 12^th release and features guest appearances by Bob Mould and Krist Novoselic.

By Carol Anne Szel

Sometimes you have to do a 180 in life. Often that comes as we travel down the road as we gain knowledge and just grow and experience while our world grows and changes.

Such seems to be the case musically. With the release of his latest album, “Ordinary Heroes,” 1980s iconic musical force Howard Jones takes us down his musical 180 journey.

Jones has taken a more introspective look at the very different place he is now in his life, gives his perspective of the world around him, and in these ten songs brings us along on a range of emotions both hopeful and distraught, often simultaneously.

This multi-Platinum musician, you might recall, was a pioneer in bringing the sound of synth-pop to the 1980s scene. Jones was on the cusp of what was the new and literally undiscovered marriage of music and video in a world that had relied on sound to conjure up their personal meanings in the songs.

With his album “Human Lib” going double platinum, having five Top 20 singles from 1985-87, five Top 100 records in the span of ’84 to ’89, Howard Jones hit his stride with his 1985 release “Dream Into Action.” On this offering, Jones introduced an addition to his repertoire of backup singers and a bass line to compliment his keys. One single, “No One Is To Blame,” which was previously out by Jones, was later re-recorded under the helm of Phil Collins, who both produced and played drums, which turned out to become Jones’ most successful release.

I had the chance to speak with Jones recently as we spoke of raw human emotion, took a retrospective look at the changes in music over the span of the last couple of decades, and discussed the journey he took to get to his new music.

What were your inspirations for this album? It seems you got more introspective with this release as opposed to your old sound.
Howard Jones: I think it was really driven by the nature of the songs, the songs are so personal. It needed the kind of production that was straight forward and intimate really. So that’s why I have the string section, just one guitar, piano, and really keeping it simple. But yet sort of beautiful, you know, at the same time.

The simplicity is quite a departure from your old stuff. Was that done consciously or is this sound where you’re at now?
HJ: Well, with each album I like it to have its own distinctive signature and flavor. So with this one I thought it’s very important to give yourself a set of rules that helps to give it an identity. Otherwise it just ends up being a bunch of work that doesn’t hang together properly. This is what I’ve learned from making records for a long time.

What do you think the difference is from the 80s music and today?
HJ: Well, blimy! I suppose one big factor, the 80s were so different, the internet changed things because people don’t buy records or vinyl or CDs. They go and download stuff. So for a start there’s a different way of consuming music. And I think that’s really changed everything.

When I was putting out records, my first record on vinyl. And then later it was released as a CD and it was one of the first CDs. But now you can get a track, you can buy 24 hours a day on iTunes or download it for free, and it’s a totally different world. So I think that’s the biggest change. I mean, the music, it’s all out there but you have to kind of… it’s hard to find. You won’t find it on the radio, you have to keep searching. So it’s this big of a change as can possibly be, really.

Yes you’re right, people can just spontaneously buy music now.
HJ: Yes, and of course people don’t buy whole albums, they buy single tracks. And that means a different way of thinking on behalf of the artist. Because I think in terms of ten tracks and how they all hang together. But people now only want one track. So maybe that’s how you should do it, just release two or three tracks at a time. It changed everything.

Your new album is very much a coherent unit. Do you think it would be the same if it was broken up into individual tracks?
HJ: It was conceived as an album when it was put together, yes.

What were the inspirations for the songs?
HJ: Well there’s a track on there called “You Knew Her So Well” which is about a friend of mine who took his own life. And he was a close, close friend. I mean he was in my band. It was such a shock, it’s indescribable. And I really needed to write a song about for my own benefit and for people who are going through a similar thing.

First you feel absolute grief. Then you feel angry because the person didn’t give you a chance to help them. And then you start to feel really guilty because you might have said something or you might have done something differently in the last time that you saw them. But I wanted to end it all with a positive. I wanted it to be that even though it was a horrendous thing, the thing that I wanted to end up with is a celebration of this person’s life. To remember all the great things that they did. So that’s why it took me about three years to write the song. I needed to go through the whole phases. But I thought, hopefully that’s going to be useful to people who go through similar things.

It must have been cathartic for you to write it.
HJ: Oh yes. And also I’ve had dialogues and conversations with mutual friends, because we needed to help each other through this as well. So that was part of the material for the song.

You have grown with your audience, and I think that is reflected in this album.
HJ: Well obviously our concerns about life have changed. As we grow older we have different responsibilities, we have different circumstances. And I like to talk about those things in the songs, because that’s what is going to be relevant to people who started out with me when they were say in their early 20s or teens. And now they’re older. And so we’ve got different concerns now.

How do you compare a UK audience with an American audience?
HJ: Well I suppose in general Americans are more demonstrative and they’re more celebratory as an audience. And the British audiences are a bit more reserved as you would expect from the Brits. But I suppose that’s the main difference. Americans always make you feel so loved.

You were huge in the US. You are very well liked here.
HJ: Well, I’m very honored to be known in America. Because it was quite hard to do. Not every artist did cross over to America. But America did embrace my music and I’m always going to be grateful for that.