SXSWORLD

5 0 S X S W O R L D | M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 9 | SXSW.COM things had gone off the rails around the Soft Bomb period," he con- cedes. "But the complete failure of Sunburnt and the tour that followed was kind of the final straw." Phillipps' journey is chronicled in a new documentary film, The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps, that will have its world premiere at SXSW 2019. It charts not just the history of the band from the beginning to today, but also Phillipps' own personal struggles over the latter two decades. Today, luckily, finds Phillipps in positive spirits on the eve of The Chills' first American tour in more than 20 years, including live performances at SXSW to coincide with the film's premiere. Also out is a recent album, Snow Bound, which features a muscular new Chills lineup and a delightful collection of new songs. Paired with 2015 release Silver Bullets, the two albums (both on Fire Records) represent Phillipps' first substantial output since the 1990s and something of a Chills revival. Preserving The Chills legacy is important to Phillipps, and he's all too aware of the risks of cultural acceleration and history being rewritten. It's a topic he addresses on recent track "The Greatest Guide," which considers the likes of Bowie, Lou Reed and, Prince — fig- ures who served as cultural and spiritual guides to the eras in which Phillipps and his peers came of age. "I looked at my parents' generation and realized we've all gone through the same thing — you grow up and reach a point where the younger generation maybe hasn't even heard of some of the leading lights of your own generation," Phillipps explains. "There's a lot more media now, of course, but still ... in a hundred years, will Lou Reed have become just a footnote? Will [his legacy] be down to only a couple of songs, like 'Walk on the Wild Side' and 'Perfect Day,' that still get played?" The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps will world pre- miere as part of the SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday, March 12 at 8pm at Alamo Ritz (320 E. 6th St.). The Chills will perform as part of the SXSW Music Festival later on Tuesday night at Barracuda Backyard (611 E. 7th St.). For infor- mation about additional screenings of the film and live showcases by The Chills, see schedule.sxsw.com or SXSW GO. continued from p.48 "... in a hundred years, will Lou Reed have become just a footnote? Will [his legacy] be down to only a couple of songs ..." The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps. Photo by Herman Nijhof, courtesy of New Zealand Film Commission

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