What better way to spend Friday the 13th than
getting in the proper mood for five days of mind-expanding music, media,
panels, networking and partying? That’s the idea behind the 2015 South By Kick
Off party, held last Friday night in Austin. More than 600 industry insiders
and tastemakers made the scene, which included agency folks from shops like
GSD&M, JWT, Deutsch and others.
The event was co-hosted by a quintet of top players in the creation and production of advertising content. The gang of five was led by Synthetic Pictures, the L.A., New York and Austin-based production company, and Yessian Music, the Detroit, New York, L.A. and Hamburg, Germany-based original music and sound studio. Also co-hosting the event was Union Editorial, the bi-coastal creative editorial and post production house; Apache Digital, a recently-launched color grading boutique in Los Angeles; and Laundry, the design, CG and visual effects studio.
Pictured at the party are (from left) Synthetic EP Allison Smith, Synthetic Director Justin Corsbie, Apache Digital EP and Managing Director LaRue Anderson and Yessian Partner and Head of Production Michael Yessian.
The #SXKO party took place at Rattle Inn, the rambunctious honky-tonk
in downtown Austin that’s home to live music and numerous rollicking private
events. Entertaining the guests was a mix of artists reflecting the diverse
tastes and styles that SXSW attendees have come to expect. The talent lineup was
headlined by the hip-hop artist Chali
2na (of Jurassic 5) & the Funk Hunters – who had the crowd moving to the
beat for much of his set – and included the Austin-based blues-rockers Leopold
and his Fiction, the electro-rock group Flashclash and the indie folk band The
Lonely Wild.
Co-sponsoring #SXKO were the Austin-based Deep Eddy Vodka™,
maker of a line of small-batch artisanal flavored vodkas; SHOOT, the
advertising and entertainment production news web site and magazine; and Guitar
Center, the nationally-known musical instrument and audio gear retailer.
Kicking off at 8 and running into the early hours of
Saturday morning, #SXKO served to not only set the mood for the events to
follow but also acknowledged the growing importance of the festival to the
advertising, marketing and media industries.
“Our clients know that SXSW is the place to be this time of year,” said Synthetic
Founding Director Justin Corsbie. “Given our Austin roots here at Synthetic –
this is where we first opened our doors back in 2002 – it just made sense that
we co-host a bash like this for our many friends in the business.”
Among Synthetic’s friends who made it to the Rattle Inn were
Mike Judge, the animator, writer and director who created “Beavis and
Butt-head” and “King of the Hill,” as well as the feature comedies “Office
Space” and “Idiocracy.” Also making the
scene was Lukas Nelson, the guitar-playing son of country music icon Willie
Nelson, whose band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, will be opening for
Neil Young on his upcoming tour.
Michael Yessian, Partner/Head of Production at Yessian
Music, said SXSW’s pre-eminent role in defining new directions in pop music
made it the perfect venue for a Yessian-sponsored event. “People look to
companies like ours to know where tastes and styles are headed, and this is the
nexus of influencers and tastemakers,” he said. “That’s what makes #SXKO such a
great party. You pick up such great vibes here, and bring back creative
resources that make you better at what you do.”
This is the 3rd year Synthetic and Yessian have
teamed with other production and post houses to host a kick-off event for the
SXSW Conferences and Festival, and Synthetic’s 6th year overall as
either host or co-host of the kick-off bash. As in years past, the party was a multimedia
affair, with projection screens beaming images, video clips and live tweets throughout
the night. This bash was no different, as prizes were handed out for the most
outrageous photos posted to the Twitter hashtag #SXKO during party.
Check out photos from the event here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/130207286@N06/. For a glimpse at a video of the bash, click here: https://vimeo.com/122324083.