Blog

My 26th (!) SXSW is shaping up to be pretty different. This year I get to moderate a panel at the actual conference, so I’m badged up for the first time in many years. Back in the 1990s, I used to buy a badge to the music conference, but I gave that up years ago in favor of buying the occasional wristband, but mostly hanging out with my friends and going to day shows. The irony this year is that I have a badge, but can’t take vacation at my new job yet. Luckily, they’re gonna spring me for a couple of days, so I’ll be out and about, just not totally gorging myself.

Here’s a sketch of my week:

I have a lot of non-SXSW stuff going on this weekend, but I’ll pick up my badge downtown on Saturday afternoon, head to the EFF Cyberpunk party at the Vortex, then maybe try to catch the Hickoids at the Hard Luck Lounge. Sunday‘s my dad’s birthday party, but I may try to catch some of the Create action down at the Palmer Events Center. And there are some talks about space I wanna see!

I’m working during the day on Monday & Tuesday. Monday night, I’m going to my first ACL taping as an employee (The Pretenders!) and Tuesday night, I’m presenting an exhibit of tiny books and zines with Josh Ronsen at the Museum of Human Achievement. I’m hoping to catch the end of the Corn Lover’s Fiesta at the White Horse (Jon Langford & the Hickoids on the same bill!) after that, but we’ll see.

Wednesday, I’m hoping to make it to the Sahara to see my husband play music for the first time in several years & I’ll probably end up at the Bloodshot Records showcase that night. I’m conferencing on Thursday & Friday. The panel I’m moderating,“I Remember That Band”: Preserving Local Music, is Friday at 12:30, so I’ll probably take it easy Thursday night. Once I’m done at the conference, I am, of course, heading straight for Bloodshot’s 22nd annual Yard Dog party. I’ve been to between 18 and 20 of these, and I can’t wait to see all the folks I see once a year (sometimes twice). If I live through that, I’ll try to see Buttercup, Big Foot Chester, PAWS, Neko Case, (more) Jon Langford &/or Diet Cig.

Saturday is looking pretty amorphous. Lots of choices. No idea what’ll happen. Sunday finishes strong with Ice Cold Singles at Lucy’s Fried Chicken, a reception for the Bob Dylan Archive, and a show at the Carousel that night. I might be a little late to work on Monday.

Hello world, I am Jennifer LaSuprema Hecker.

Let me explain.

In the pre-&-proto-internet days, having a separate identity helped keep my personal and professional lives separate.  The government knows me as Jennifer Rae Hecker, the name on my birth certificate, but back in the 1990s, when I was more involved in Austin’s punk/DIY/”alt-rock” scene, I decided it would be good punk rock form to take the pseudonym Jennifer LaSuprema, a name I used primarily in the publication of my fanzine. And that worked then. Now the internet (with it’s huge volume of searchable data, and it’s ever-changing gauntlet of privacy settings and relationship definititions) has made it easier to find links between my two names. Also, with the launch of the Austin Fanzine Project (a major reason for the lapse in my blogging here), I’ve essentially come out to my professional community as a participant in a culture that I previously was hesitant to be identified with in professional situations. Luckily, things are changing and my profession is becoming more and more inclusive. Where I used to see the value in keeping parts of my identity to myself, I now recognize that I have both a right and an obligation to represent all of the cultures I identify with.

I’ve never gone a whole year without blogging.