After their win at the 2nd Annual Shack Showdown on March 8, we had Pluto’s Still a Planet in studio for a live interview and acoustic set on April 9. Pluto’s Still a Planet formed in Columbia, Mo. in 2011 when college friends Adam Weber, Eric Wiedemier, Rob Pikey and Paul Gray began to write songs together. Also, according to band members, they “fuse blues and funk to form a catchy but hard to define style of music.” Since they formed, they have gained momentum and recently won a Battle of the Bands at Pop’s Nightclub in St. Louis sponsored by 105.7 The Point, before going on to be the winners of the Shack Showdown in March. They also just recently finished their EP which will be available this summer. So take a minute and check out Pluto’s Still a Planet and their in-studio interview.

http://www.mediafire.com/?y59xkds9vn77auz

Check out photos of The Kopecky Family Band, Joe Pug, The Punch Brothers, and LP!

KCOU@SXSW 3/14

All taken on 3/14 by the adequate hands of Kyle Black.

Wednesday marks only the second official day of SXSW 2012 and already we’re finding ourselves overwhelmed beyond explanation. Tuesday marked our first day immersed in the festivities. Downtown Austin has quite literally shut down and nothing happens that isn’t, in at least some portion, part of the festival. Thousands crowd the streets, live music flooding out from venue upon venue.

The experience is both daunting and exhilarating, and Kyle, Matt, Emily and I have already achieved more than we had hoped within our first day.

The day started early for Emily and I as we traveled south of the downtown area to interview up-and-coming act Polica, the new project from Channy Leaneagh of Gayngs and formerly of Minnesota act Roma di Luna. Video and audio of that coming your way soon.

After regrouping briefly, the fellowship parted ways once more to secure wristbands, laminates and tickets to events we’ll be bringing you coverage of for the rest of the week including The Fader Fort , Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel and FYF and Fun Fun Fun Fest’s Mess With Texas Party (at which we’ll be  interviewing the excellent Chairlift).

Spending time in line had its advantages, of course. The time was spent working to secure interviews with several artists that we’ll be covering throughout the week. We’ll announce the list of artists as soon as we have them secured!

Then, of course, there is the real draw of the festival- the nightly showcases. Kyle spent the evening at Cedar Street Courtyard covering Lumineers, Kopecky Family Band, and his favorite Dawes while Emily and Matt got some great photos and footage of Incan Abraham and Little Hurricane at Hype Hotel. I spent a majority of my night covering The Bat Bar which featured Austin natives Ume, Yellow Ostrich, Caveman, and our new-found friends Polica headlining the night.

Our next post will feature plenty of photos from the night for your viewing pleasure.

More coverage coming your way all week (assuming our bodies don’t fail us). Keep checking online and listening at 88.1 FM. For minute by minute updates, follow the KCOU Twitter.

If you’ve paid attention to our twitter today, (@kcou) then you know that a few of us have made a pilgrimage. Myself (Kyle Black – Program Director), Matt Brown (General Manager), Emily Voss (Music Director), and Aaron Casias (On-Air Talent & All Around Good Looking Guy) have taken the plunge into our first South By South West experience in the name of both promoting KCOU and to bring you, the listener, some great content.

We’ve spent the day today settling into Austin, TX trying to crack the mystery that is SXSW. For those of you who are unfamiliar, SXSW is a conference in Austin, TX held every March that focuses on the Interactive, Music, and Film industries. As expected, we are here primarily for the music portion – where we will attempt to cover as many acts as possible to give you insight into what is happening down here. If you want to know of something in particular feel free to leave us a comment, we’ll do our best! Speaking for the crew, I know specifically we are excited for acts like The Lumineers, Step Kids, and Jacques Greene – but that is by no means all of them.

So, stay tuned this week to online at both http://kcou.fm and @kcou as well as on-air at 88.1FM in Columbia, MO! We’ll be interviewing bands, shooting some photos and videos, and passing out some wicked awesome business cards.