SXSW

The Flaming Lips know how to throw a party, and the band certainly kept things festive during their SXSW performance Friday night in Austin. After teasing fans with the possibility of a surprise appearance from Justin Timberlake, a man with a green cloth mask wrapped around his head strolled onstage to perform 'Do You Realize??.' But the mystery guest turned out to be not JT, but My Morning Jacket

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello is bringing the Occupy Movement to SXSW in Austin, TX tomorrow night (March 16). The guitarist is teaming up with Occupy Austin for an official showcase at the long-running festival.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with City And Colour's Dallas Green last week at SXSW.  We talked about the upcoming City And Colour album, Little Hell, as well as the state of the music industry, record stores, and even old school wrestling.

More photos from the last few days of SXSW 2011.  Donald Glover, star of NBC's Community and who handled hosting duties at the mtvU Woodie Awards earlier in the week, killed the crowd with his blazing set at Red 7 Patio under his Childish Gambino persona.  Community co-star Danny Pudi was there in support of his friend.

Another batch of photos from SXSW in Austin, TX, featuring 10 Years and more cool bands.  The highlight of Friday night was City And Colour's performance at Stubb's.  Runner up goes to Filter's set at Austin Music Hall.  Not because it was great.  More because it was such a train wreck that it was actually entertaining.  More can be found after the jump.

I had a chance to sit down with the boys from Taddy Porter at SXSW today.  It's always fun talking to them.  Topics covered included touring pranks, their business strategy, which Ninja Turtle each of them would be, and who's the hottest chick in rock...

Quick update from SXSW in Austin, TX from last night.  Pardon my shaky camera handling skills.  It was St. Patrick's Day after all.

Below are just some of the images from SXSW in Austin, TX so far.

A  live-action re-imagination of Nintendo 8-bit hero Super Mario as an angsty, mushroom-eating, down-on-his-luck plumber was a big hit this week at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. "Mario" is a trailer-length short which filmmaker Joe Nicolosi doesn't intend to turn into a feature film. You can check out all two minutes of the project below.

Duff McKagan hosted a SXSW panel at the Austin Convention Center today discussing finances.  Not exactly rock & roll, but with the way the music industry is these days, you would be smart to listen.

Last night I was able to attend the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, celebrating the best in music as voted by college kids, while exploring Austin, TX during SXSW.  It was my first awards show experience and it was cool to see how the actual production was done.  The ceremony was hosted by Community star Donald Glover and was kicked off by none other than the Foo Fighters.

After some travel woes that I'm still working out, I have finally made it to SXSW in Austin, TX.  The music portion runs from March 15-20 with a ton of bands playing all over town.  There are also a lot of panels being held at the Austin Convention Center and the first one I attended was about how bands trying to make it are F'd.  However, there is hope according to punk and industrial veteran Mar