As most of you know the SXSW Music + Film + Interactive Festivals and Conferences are fast approaching. Over the next five days, I’ll provide you with 5 different daily tips in various areas (lodging, driving, getting around Austin, etc.) that will hopefully help you maximize your trip based on my own personal experiences.
As I said yesterday in my first 5 tips, my focus will mainly be on the Music and Media Conferences (March 17-21), but many of my tips and advice will be general enough that you can apply them towards any part of SXSW.
Todays 5 Tips are for those Driving to Austin
For some the drive to Texas has been planned for quite some time. Others may have procrastinated and may decide in the next few days that they are going to head down there without much of a game plan.
I think everyone should make the drive through Texas at least once. It should be a mandatory rite of passage necessary prior to being allowed to proceed with any further road trips. 80% percent of the drive you’ll have that “glazed over” look with no hope of distractions from your barren country route. However, Texas has some of the best cities (in my opinion) to make a quick getaway to at least once every few years, and Austin tops the list (I’ve always said that if I ever decided to move away from LA and Orange Counties, Austin would probably be my top choice of new city to reside in).
I’ve made this specific drive to Austin, specifically for SXSW twice as an adult (ok, ok …I’ll confess not by myself and one time I didn’t even drive but you get the point, right?), and a few other times on family trips as a child/teenager.
Don’t complain about the lack of scenery, instead take advantage of it. If you have co-pilots that will be sharing driving duties you can use this time to get some sleep, given the fact that you probably will not be getting any for the next 4 days (or however long you’re there for).
Anyhow before I start to ramble any more than I already have here are the 5 Tips for those you who have decided to drive (whether you are in a band or not)
1. Directions – If your car doesn’t have a navigation system (and even if it does) don’t forget to bring the directions, a Thomas Guide, or at least map (one that has (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas would probably be more helpful than that decorative one you have of Paris that hangs on your wall). Don’t count on your phones to bail you out as sometimes those 3Gs and 4Gs aren’t as reliable as the OGs at the gas stations that give you directions.
Common sense right? Well let me just tell you, that one year due to printing of misc. last minute items (Party RSVPs, directions to hotels and parties, lists of shows we wanted to check out, etc) we completely forgot to bring directions to Austin from Los Angeles with us and if my memory serves me correctly we did not have maps with us. So we had to call a friend and ask her to send us directions to Austin via text/email. She of course was more than amused, finding it to be the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard. I wasn’t worried for one, as I have a photographic memory and had taken a quick glance at the directions and knew that we had to jump on the 10 East and drive for about 12-15 hours through Arizona, New Mexico, and into Texas on it. So we had plenty of time to get someone to give us directions, but after the 10 we had no idea what to do. So don’t start your trip with this stress and remember to take the directions or a map with you.
2. Speed Limits – It’s tempting to set your own speed limit when driving down long stretches of nothingness (Seriously, if you could ever relate to The Who’s “I Can See for Miles,” now would be the time). I know how easy it is to be cruising along at 60 mph and then just moments later that turns into 80 pushing 90 mph only to ease into 90 pushing 100 without even being realizing it. Next thing you know you’re on the side of the road explaining to a Police Officer that there was no way you could’ve been going that fast, he must’ve clocked someone else at 95 and thought it was you because you’ve been on cruise control the whole time (try this, it actually works sometimes). I used to have a serious lead foot in my late teens/early twenties (thank goodness for the fact that we girls get off with warnings at least 80% of the time).
However, New Mexico means business and those super troopers could care less about what band you’re in or aren’t in, who you write for, who you’ve produced, who you’re married to, if you’ve got cute girls in your vehicle or not, nor if you’ve got to pee, peuk, or pass gas (ewww, gross, ewww!!!!) . I think most people that I know that have received tickets on their way into Texas have had them issued in New Mexico, this includes my dad when I was 10 and also the guy that was with us the last time we drove.
Isn’t it kind of ironic that their state bird is the speed-loving Roadrunner? Don’t ask me how I remember that from elementary school, I couldn’t tell you.
So there you go, watch your speed, especially in New Mexico.
3. Get Gas - …And not from Taco Bell. If you’re near a gas station and need gas (or are even half empty –yes half empty, when it comes to gas you are never half full– it’s best to be negative in this instance) by all means fill ‘er up!!!!! I hate stopping to get gas, but even I wouldn’t risk running out of gas out there. Not kidding when I say there are loooong stretches of nothingness, and this includes no gas stations for miles. Last thing you want is to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. So anytime you see a gas station you should probably put some gas in your car especially if you have a small gas tank. Bonus tips: While you are there you should probably use the restroom too, and also talk to the people you see at these various stops you’ll probably end up partying with them in Austin at some point and some of them are probably in some of your favorite or soon to be favorite bands.
4. Read the Signs – Once you are in Austin, if you insist on driving into town be mindful of signs (parking limits, parking garage hours, tow away signs) and write down or text yourself where you parked if you aren’t familiar with Austin, there are a ton of places to park and after a long day or night can all look the same.
Another lesson learned for me in the grand city of Austin was in this area. We drove into the city (which really isn’t necessary, it’s almost better to take cabs) refreshed from a midday nap and ready to hit the second round of shows and parties our final night in Austin. We parked and then went on to have a blast all night long until the wee hours, only to come back to the parking lot where we’d parked to discover that it was closed until the next afternoon.
We were livid (and possibly still a little drunk although this sobered us up immediately), none of us had read the signs with their hours. Turns out they locked the parking garage after they closed. We called their phone number listed and of course no answer. So we proceeded to call the Austin Police Department to see what could be done. Thankfully it wasn’t a parking structure but an open air lot that only had a massive chain and lock blocking one of the exits that we couldn’t remove (although we did threaten to bust through). A couple of hours passed and a merry-go-round of cops were either sent or kept stopping/passing by, they all told us nothing could be done until the business opened. This wasn’t good enough for us and only made us more and more irritated. A couple of the cops had told us that if they were us they’d locate a lock breaker. We weren’t vandals, and that wasn’t the route we wanted to go. I was the biggest issue with all of this as I HAD to be back in LA for a big work meeting soon and we were going to be cutting it close trying to make it back in time for this. If we waited for the next afternoon for this place to open, there was no way I could make it back in time. Anyhow, long story short another party goer showed up and was even more pissed off than we were at having his car locked in so we devised a plan to locate a lock breaker and get rid of the lock to get our vehicles out of there.
So off we went two irritated girls in cute outfits, one even more irritated lead singer of an LA band, and this other random party goer in a taxi to the local Wal-Mart in search of something that could break the lock or chain. I won’t tell you if the lock/chain was broken or not and if it was who it was done by.
However, our vehicles magically were removed from that lot, and on pure adrenaline and no sleep (which the lead singer of the LA band was not a happy guy about) we made the approx. 20 hour drive back into LA (half of it in awful rainy weather), I went to the big meeting about 2 hours after getting back into town and I did not get to sleep in until about 5 days later (yes, sometimes I am a robot).
5. Fly to Austin – Ok, I said everyone should drive at least once. I still stand by that. However, unless you are a road trip junkie (then by all means continue to feed your habit) or are putting on a showcase or party that needs you to drive around (rent a car once in Austin instead if possible), you should consider flying. You end up spending more than the cost of flights and taxis combined in gas alone, and when you drive into the city it can be so stressful to find parking and to keep track of where you parked. Not to mention, you have to pay to park in most garages and that’s about how much it costs per taxi trip to get from almost any hotel to Austin.
For the Previous 5 SXSW Tips (on lodging) click here
Check back tomorrow for 5 more SXSW Tips
photo originally published here by Throw Me the Statue taken during their tour
[...] For Monday’s 5 Tips on Lodging click here For Tuesday’s 5 Tips on Driving to Austin click here [...]