Swedish filmjölk in Houston

I was planning on making a post sxsw post here on my blog but I’ve just been so busy I haven’t gotten around to it. We did eight shows at sxsw this year and getting to all the shows proved to be the hardest part. We hitch hiked, took the bus (if it came one) and managed to “catch a Chevy”. Forget about taxis..

Last day both me and Jonas bought some really cool boots. I got a pair that was exactly like my old pair but in a different color and had my old boots repaired for $135 ouch!!! Jonas found a vintage pair for $40. And then we headed to the rodeo. That was really cool as I’ve never been before. We really went there to see Glen Campbell who was performing but the rodeo itself turned out to be a big plus. Glen was wonderful and I was so happy to have caught him live at his goodbye tour.

So on that happy note we packed up and was going to leave for Houston when the RV decided to give up. So we got stuck in Austin with our home in the shop for two extra days. Fortunately Ranger Bob and his wife Elaine saved us from having to camp out on the street and took us in to stay with them. The repair of the RV totaled to $1000 which kinda set us aback a bit and we missed two gigs in Houston.

But when we finally got to Houston a lot of fun awaited us! We played at the Swedish Club of Houston’s crawfish party and I’ve never had such good crawfish in my life. Swedish style with dill of course. And hanging out with John and Edie who arranged it was great too. Edie gave me a filmjölk starter. Filmjölk is kind if a Swedish yogurt that has a living bacteria culture. You can get it in every grocery store in Sweden so I never even thought about making it myself but as you can’t get it in the US I was happy to learn all about it. Turns out it so simple you almost don’t have to do anything at all, you just mix it with milk and let it sit overnight and in the morning it’s filmjölk.

You can actually make soft cheese from it too and I just tried that. It’s actually getting ready in my kitchen right now. I flavored it with black pepper and garlic. I hope it’s going to turn out good. I can’t wait to try it!

So that’s about what I’ve been up to since we last spoke. I hope to see you on the road!!

20120410-000846.jpg

20120410-000931.jpg

Space City Rock!

I missed out on my gig at the Super Happy Funland SXSW after party in Houston this week as my tour bus broke down in Austin, but Space City Rock blog did a really great write up for the gig. I hope people found out in time that I couldn’t make it. I’m playing March 25th at Dun Bros Coffee in Katy, TX instead if you want to come and see my show.

[quote] I’ll admit to being somewhat biased towards Swedish musicians, these days; few other countries crank out thatmany crystalline-perfect pop songwriters, year after year and decade after decade (think Abba, Peter Bjorn and John, Miike Snow, The Cardigans, Jens Lekman, Jose Gonzalez, etc., not to mention less-pop folks like The Knife or The Hives).

And happily, Swede Sofia Talvik doesn’t shatter my illusions, delivering an impeccably-crafted set of songs that draws on gentle country-folk and fey indie-pop, somewhere in between the mysterious beauty of Eisley (or maybe Tori Amos) and the floating folkiness of Hem. It’s good stuff. [/quote]

Sofia at SXSW

SXSW spotlight!

Sofia Talvik live in San Antonio
Sofia Talvik live in San Antonio
Sofia Talvik live in San Antonio

I just arrived in sunny Austin. After heavy rain in Dallas and San Antonio I was wondering if SXSW would rain away this year, but as soon as we drove into Austin, the sky was blue, the sun blaring and people were half naked on the streets. Just like it should be.

Nordic Spotlight had the good taste to check in with me to see what my SXSW schedule looks like, and here’s their interview with me!

Hypetrak also recommended my second play showcases at SXSW. Most of them you don’t need a wristband for so check out their guide here!

Sofia Talvik at SXSW

Sofia Talvik live at SXSW 2010 photo by Womens Radio
Sofia Talvik live at SXSW 2010 photo by Womens Radio
Sofia Talvik live at SXSW 2010 photo by Womens Radio

For the fourth year in a row I’m officially invited to play the SXSW festival in Austin, TX in March! I really look forward to coming back to Austin, as I couldn’t attend last year and SXSW is one of my favorite festivals. I have plenty of showcases so I look forward to seeing you all there. Here’s the current list of my gigs, stay tuned for updates:

Sofia Talvik @ Red Shed Tavern (part of Indie on air! Ascension Tour)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 4:30pm

Sofia Talvik @ Hyatt Regency Austin
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 6:00pm

Sofia Talvik @ Backroads Austin
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 2:00pm

Sofia Talvik @ Stephen F’s Bar
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 12:00am

Sofia Talvik @ Wyndham Garden Hotel
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 6:00pm

Sofia Talvik @ Wyndham Garden Hotel
Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 6:00pm