SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/317841
5 0 S X S W O R L D / M A Y 2 0 1 4 hen SXSW Creative Director Brent Grulke passed away suddenly and shockingly in August 2012, his vast, global net- work of friends, confidantes and co-conspirators sunk into disbelief. He was widely known as a key driving force behind the success and concomitant expansion of SXSW. His inspiring person- ality, which fueled his reputation as a friend, fan, advocate, raconteur, cultural connoisseur, and networker par excellence, stretched onto an array of improbable paths where he continually sought out social/pro- fessional connections and explored ways that artists might receive due (or, all too often, long overdue) respect and success. Simply put, he was a one-man social medium. After his death, thoughts turned to ways of acknowledging and extending both his legacy and those of SXSW's brightest creative lights. e Grulke Prize, designed to reflect Brent's enthusiasm for creativity among both young, up-and-coming artists and veteran acts challenging themselves to ever-loftier heights, emerged. e prize symbolizes both Grulke's love of music and the dogged artistic spirit at the heart of SXSW. "Brent always thought of SXSW Music as a tool for artists to use to develop their careers," explained Roland Swenson, SXSW's co- founder and Managing Director, last year when discussing what led to the creation of the Grulke Prize, and the criteria for selecting its winners. "We'd come up with the idea to initially have three awards: two for developing acts—one foreign and one domestic—and the idea of giving a 'career' award for an established act. A few of us came up with a list of a couple of dozen people who knew Brent, from a variety of occupations and locales, whose taste we knew Brent respected. We sent them a questionnaire asking them to name three acts in each category who played SXSW. We took the top five from that poll and had the music fest booking staff vote on those, which is how we selected the winners." As Grulke would surely have envisioned it, the 2014 SXSW roster was stacked with talent, such that this year's designation of the second annual Grulke Prize winners was especially difficult. In the end, the Blur/Gorillaz leader-gone-solo Damon Albarn, the mighty (and mighty young) rock and roll saviors e Strypes, and Baltimore's astounding synth-pop combo Future Islands best fit the bill. e trio joins last year's winners—Flaming Lips, Haim and Chvrches—in the Grulke prizewinners' circle. A Britpop legend, Albarn wowed audiences at the festival with both electric and acoustic performances. Rejuvenated as an inti - mate, insightful singer/songwriter (with the release of his first solo album Everyday Robots), Albarn is a vital example of the Grulke cri- teria: restless, challenging, ever-searching. "[He comes] across as a songwriter of great deliberation," wrote e New York Times critic Jon Pareles of Albarn's showcase. "And he has found a knotty subject—the seductiveness, emptiness and perva- siveness of technology." As a veteran of several SXSWs, Albarn saw the festival grow up under Grulke's tutelage and acknowledged the honor of win- ning the award. "I never met Brent Grulke, but he seems to have been well-loved and sounds like an inter- esting guy," said Albarn. "We had some highs and lows at SXSW [this year] but winning this prize was totally unexpected." e Strypes, four fiery Irish teen- agers, blew the figurative roof off during their SXSW stay. "Winning the award took us completely unawares," remarked bassist Pete O'Hanlon. "We didn't expect to pick up any sort of awards at all as it was our first time playing there, and to have made a dent in the festival at all took us quite by surprise." Steeped in rock and roll lore, with a clear lineage reaching from the Rolling Stones to Little Walter, and Dr. Feelgood to the Pretty ings, e Strypes earned myriad "I've seen the future of rock and roll"- type hosannas. By the time they wrapped up their inaugural SXSW, the quartet was heading to New York and a triumphant appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. "e festival was a fantastic experience for us," O'Hanlon said. "And the buzz off the back of our appearances there helped to sell a lot of the shows we had coming up across America." Baltimore's Future Islands took the award in the domestic developing-act category. With a strong new album (Singles) and a subsequent trip of their own to David Letterman's show, such repu - table press outlets as the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper were hailing the group's mesmerizing live performances. "is was our first trip to SXSW, and it was an awesome experience for us," noted frontman Samuel T. Herring. "It was great to meet and see so many amazing bands. It's an honor to receive the Grulke Prize amongst all the other talented and deserving groups who performed this year." n Second Annual Grulke Prize Winners Further Namesake's Legacy by Luke Torn W The Strypes J O N AT H A N L A C H A N C E Damon Albarn A M Y P R I C E Future Islands A M Y E L L I N G E R