Our band Screamin' Cyn Cyn and the Pons has been around in its present form for about four years or so. We have short attention spans and enjoy bright colors, so our songs rarely exceed three minutes and we have a lot of costumes and glitter.
My friend and brother Christian Burnson (the bassist) and my friend Steve Shah (the drummer) are the musicians of the band, while Shane O'Neill (the singer and keyboard player) and I (the guitarist and occasional shouter) try to take care of the jumping around and vanity. People who like us point towards our funny lyrics, fast songs, and an energetic live show. Those who don't allege a lack of seriousness, often sloppy performances, and an over-emphasis on superficial aspects, like clothing and make-up.
Shane and our dear friend Grace have been going to SXSW is an over-saturated market times a million, especially if you're not famous. Shane and Grace keep a notebook with all the bands they want to see at SXSW, broken down by hour and frequently with plans A, B, C, and D. Dolly Parton has canceled? How about Turbonegro, then? Okay, let's try The Briefs. No luck? How about those awesome metal dudes we met last night? There is no plan "let's try out this random band that I've never heard or heard anything about." This also means that opening for an awesome band doesn't mean anything, because people bounce around so much. I'm not trying to be cynical or at all imply that you all shouldn't fly down and come to our show, but I'm not going to burst into tears if we're not discovered by Kill Rock Stars or carried out of the show on the shoulders of our new adoring mob of fans. We have two shows booked for SXSW next week. One is our official SXSW showcase for GayBiGayGay, a backyard festival on Sunday, March 16, when we play at 5ish. Shane and I went last year and had a great time. I feel like my hopes and dreams for this year are pretty reasonable: experience warm weather, see some awesome bands, see some terrible bands that make me laugh, stay up totally late, eat tacos, and play a show that I won't be ashamed of. Cyn Cyn will be checking in with reports from the Pons' performances, other live music shows, trips to taco shops, and other experiences at South By Southwest starting next week.
