Let's Get This Party Started Now

It happens every year in Austin, TX. You can't find a single inch of silence, people are dancing in line to a show, and superstars walk the streets carrying regular things like Starbucks. The city is in a constant state of South by Southwest.

One fact that goes unnoticed is that this large festival is in a big part held together by thousands of willing volunteers from all walks of life who every year line up by hundreds to attend a volunteer call held Janunary 25th and 26th in the Austin Convention Center. They develop special relationships with artists and have the most interesting stories to tell.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an event that started in 1987, one of the largest festival composed of interactive, film, and music with conferences that take place with in the Austin Convention Center. The music event grows every year from 700 in 1987 attracting over 11,000 registrants this year. Volunteers are needed in all departments from lighting to ID checking. They have become famous among the artists and registrants, who stop and ask them to take pictures with them.

Robin Alcorta, a English senior at Texas State University, volunteered for the second time at this event at the day stage. Out of all the different departments to work for she loves this one. “I get to be in the freight elevator with artists. Crazy things happen in the freight elevator.” Although she spent most of the time screening the doors of the Day Stage for people without badges, she said it was really fun. She and the So So Glos, a band from Brookly, NY, rode the dolly like a scooter. She pretended not to notice while they stole sandwiches from the café. She and her friend like to take short videos to share them on youtube.

Alvin Alderete, an aspiring musician from San Antonio, shared a freight story about Abalone Dots from Vastervik Sweden. “You know that humming sound the freight makes? The beep, well they started harmonizing with it! They where like, ‘this is a lovely elevator’. Dude, the things is a piece of crap!” Every chance he had he’d micro blog everything he witnessed in twitter on his iphone. He admits to being very passionate about music and wanting to share the latest trends with his friends that couldn't make it, by means of twitter and facebook. Things like that Hyperpatomus's sole instrument was his voice and the type of equipment he used to produce his music. So he sneaks pictures of equipement.

Volunteers get the juice out of their 50-80 hour a week work. They get perks like music wristband for 50 hours, music badge for 60 hours, and a platinum badge for working 80 hours. If they work during conferences they can listen to them while working. Alvin and Robin were able to enjoy the music and free beer this year while working at the Sesac Day Stage event.

Patricia Rodriguez, one of the Day Stage crew chiefs told her volunteers where the best parties where, reminded them to RSVP, even gave them 10 minutes to run into the Trade Show where the American Apparel girls were giving out free merchandise.

Volunteers are responsible for all sorts of blogging and micro-blogging. They are revolutionary bloggers and photographers who risk getting their perks revoked by sneaking in cameras in places where they require registration to capture those beautiful moments for the love of music.