The Untitled Interview #167 – SXSW Edition: Starring Matt Berger (Teen Girl Scientist Monthly)

One of the first harbingers of Spring is not, in fact, the adorable, fluffy robins hopping along looking for worms or the bold yellow bursts of daffodils blooming. Sure, the longer days and Daylight Savings Time act as pretty good indicators. But they're not what I had in mind. Nay, friends, one of the first signs of the new season is SXSW, the week of music and mayhem down in Austin. I wrangled some of the bands I'd want to see, if I was going, to get their take on this year's installment of South by Southwest.

I was initially drawn to Teen Girl Scientist Monthly because of their name. I mean c'mon, y'all, to me it totally sounds like something one of the Powerpuff Girls would be reading (which would be ridiculously awesome). Their jaunty, jubilant romps might also appeal to those same PPGs, so lively and fun is the music this band makes. Read on for guitar-wrangler Matt Berger's notions about festivals (and bonus points for the HFStival reference).

Fuzzy Logic: How are you getting to SXSW: plane, train, or automobile?
Matt Berger: We're driving our van down through Baltimore, over to Memphis and down through Dallas.

FL: Inevitably, you will forget to pack:
MB: Enough underwear. And maybe our violinist. She's so tiny!

FL: How many showcases/parties will you be playing?
MB: We're playing shows all the way down, then one bill and one house party in Austin. Maybe we'll drunkenly walk on stage at someone else's gig. That counts?

FL: Band you're most looking forward to seeing at the festival?
MB: Our buddies the Starlight Girls just released a new EP that we're excited to see live. They've been on tour since late last year, so we haven't seen them in a while. We sadly won't be in town yet for Hova, but SG's a close second, I wager.

FL: What's the first thing you plan on doing upon arrival in Austin?
MB: Mostly when we ask people what we should do in Austin, they tell us about the food. 3 to 1 we're eating Torchy's Tacos by hour 2.

FL: What was the first festival you ever attended, either as a musician or member of the general public?
MB: I grew up near DC, and was stoked every year when WHFS would throw the HFStival at RFK Stadium. I think my first year was 2000, and I saw Rage Against the Machine and the Stone Temple Pilots. The next year there was a surprise set from Green Day and they burned all of their equipment at the end of the set. Thinking back, the righteous high school dork in me still swoons.

FL: Favorite thing about festivals?
MB: So many bands. So many people who love music in one place. This is our first festival as a band and we're excited to be there with each other. (Well. That's the plan at least. It's a long drive.)

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