Waco Brothers SXSW 2012: Band Brags About Being a 'Tequila Train Wreck' Live

Waco Brothers have performed at every SXSW except one since 1996, and the Chicago group's raucous, tequila-fuelled performances have become must-see annual events for many fans.

But there's a new wrinkle to some of the Wacos' SXSW appearances this year, since the alt-country-rock band are performing songs from their forthcoming 'Great Chicago Fire' album with Nashville singer-songwriter and label mate Paul Burch. The idea for which was hatched a few years ago over several margaritas at south Austin bar Guero's, the Wacos' home away from home while in the Texas capitol. The restaurant is a stone's throw away from the backyard of the Yard Dog Gallery, where Bloodshot Records (who will release the disc April 24) hold their annual daytime party, and where Waco member Jon Langford also has his art on display.

"It's been really fun," Burch says of the collaboration. "It's like being on a jet engine, being with them, because I just adore their sound and I really like being in a band. It's great to have a dynamic that's loud rock 'n' roll."

Watch Waco Brothers Live at SXSW 2008 Video
Langford describes the forthcoming 'Great Chicago Fire' as deviant transgressive country-rock. The album impresses right from the opening up-tempo title track with its shared lead vocals, female harmonies, up-front guitars and T. Rex influence to the closing cover of Bob Dylan's 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall.' Langford, Burch and singer-guitarist Deano Schlabowske brought their own songs to the table and worked on arrangements together.

"We deliberately approached the recording in as live and spontaneous a manner as possible," says Schlabowske. "The Wacos are far from session musicians, and it was our raw edge that Paul was looking for. The idea was to get something resembling the early electric Dylan, a quick run through, then a final take. The flaws and gaps are part of the beauty."

"Whatever seemed to work, worked," adds Burch. "We didn't hem and haw over it. We liked a lot of the same things and disliked a lot of the same things. Whatever really felt good, that's what we stuck with."

There are Tejano elements in new songs like 'Monterey' that are perfectly suited to Texas -- and should go down well anywhere else the Waco Brothers and Burch end up performing, although there are no firm tour plans at the moment.

"If anybody asks us to play, we'll play," says Burch. "We'll go just about anywhere for lodging and beer, as usual."

For now, however, SXSW is the focus.
Check Out SXSW 2012 in Photos "SXSW has been very important for us over the years and continues to be the place where we make impressions, good and bad, and are presented with opportunities that we wouldn't get otherwise," says Schlabowske. "As far as what we mean to the event, I'm sure in the eyes of the higher ups running the festival we don't mean squat. But I'm thrilled that after all these years there are many who couldn't imagine SXSW without seeing us at Yard Dog or the Bloodshot showcase.

"The work that Randy from Yard Dog and the Bloodshot crew have done over the years is what really makes the shows special. And having Guero's to treat as our local is a great added bonus. It's the perfect storm of a great venue, a great bar, a great record label and a crowd that really appreciates us whether we're tearing it up or we're a tequila train wreck."

The Friday Bloodshot party arrived and even though Schlabowske had insisted earlier that he was "lubricated enough to sabotage our show," it was Langford who took the title as drunkest Waco, claiming on stage that "we've passed through being a habit to an institution to almost an institution‚" before admitting that he didn't know what he was talking about.

But no one knocked any microphone stands or keyboards, and drummer Joe Camarillo didn't fall asleep and fail to make the show, so it was shambolic but not ridiculous. And that's the best thing that can be said about a Waco Brothers show. It's impossible not to have fun with these boys.

The Waco Brothers will play the indoor stage of Jovita's at 2PM. Langford will perform at the Yard Dog at 5PM and the Wacos will take the stage one last time at 10:30PM at Red Eyed Fly as part of the Bloodshot Records showcase.