SXSWORLD

The Deaf John Dear Mowing Club WOOT So What ReBelle NiCad Six Haagse Bands Earn Tickets to Texas The city of The Hague will present itself as "Music City The Hague powered by Crossing Border" at this year's SXSW. This delega- tion will be bringing six bands selected from a large number of entries from the city's pop music talent. As part of the winners announcement, all six bands performed at a SXSW kick-off night at the Crossing Border festival, held in The Hague in November. Here are the talented Dutch musicians who earned their ticket to Texas: The Hague has always been known as the beat city of The Netherlands, by growing up in Japan, Israel, Chile, the United States and Germany. During live performances, the members play self-built electronic instru- ments and bring a dynamic on stage that is fronted by a charismatic American singer/songwriter and a Japanese glam-rocker in kimono. Sisters Janneke and Laura, backed by Linda on drums make the pop- but the beat seemed to be missing in action for a while. Back in 2007, three bonafide Hagenaars with attitude made it their mission to bring the beat back. They call themselves The Deaf and their mash up of garage, punk, rock n' roll and the original beat sound makes for a loud, dirty and wild sound. So What started in 2001 when three friends joined forces, but it wasn't until 2007 that the second guitarist joined them and completed the cur- rent lineup, and it has been its recent activity that has been getting the band noticed and mentioned along with the bigger names in Dutch rock n' roll. So What makes energetic rock with catchy tunes and live shows that are in your face and full of energy. This year's debut, Tiptoes, recorded at Modern World Studios in Tetbury, England under the watchful eye of Greg Haver and Clint Murphy, made it to the shelves in shops. Ask Melle de Boer, frontman of the alternative–folk-band John Dear rock trio ReBelle. These women made it to the finals of the prestigious Grote Prijs van Nederland talent competition, and they have been guests at the TMF and 3FM studios. The sound of ReBelle is defined by vibrant rock songs with catchy melodies and supported by strong vocal harmonies. On stage, the trio delivers an overwhelming amount of energy and of course, as befits the band's name, gets rebellious. After an intensive year of writing songs and touring throughout Holland, the band was found and signed by Dutch record company Bladehammer Music / Sony ATV and will have its debut album released in 2010. Starting off as so many do, WOOT Mowing Club, about his obvious preference for lawnmowers and his reply is: "They are a typical tool of my home country, Holland; an expres- sion of smalltown, bourgeois density in all those backyards. I also like keeping things short. I think I have a destructive nature." The group's self- produced debut album, Lawnmower Mind, was released in 2004, receiving good reviews. In the meantime, John Dear Mowing Club backed Daniel Johnston on his European tours, and now the three-piece band is up to record number four with Melleville, ready for imminent release. NiCad is totally representative of the international face of the city of The Hague, as the group met each other at The Hague's Royal Conservatory back in 2004. The band soon found its own unique style of experi- mental rock by integrating its members' musical backgrounds, formed 42 SXSWorld In Focus: The Hague played as a cover band in high school. Since starting to play its own songs and music, the group has successfully differ- entiated itself from its contemporaries and scored a second place in the national "High School Music Competition." The band rates Radiohead, The Beatles and Patrick Watson as key influences, but its first CD features seven tracks that show a unique sound and talent that belies the young age of its members. In addition to playing at SXSW, the OFFICIAL SXSW EVENTS The Hague/Crossing Border party, featuring two stages of music, literature and spoken word, will be upstairs at Maggie Mae's in both the Gibson Room and on the rooftop from 1pm - 5pm on Wednesday, March 17. bands will also perform at the first edi- tion of Walk the Line (May 14-15, 2010). Presented by the same organization that produces the Crossing Border festival, Walk the Line will present many international and local bands at nine venues in the city center of The Hague. H – Helen Preston Music City The Hague party will be on Saturday, March 20 from 1:30pm- 5pm in Brush Square Park, directly across 4th Street from the Austin Convention Center. E-mail Klaartje@crossingborder.nl for guest list details. FERNANDO VAN TEIJLINGEN BEATRICE JANSEN MARK DAVID

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