UPDATE: Listen to one of Mexico's SXSWiest bands play the recorder for us, in a video posted below.Remember the days of full-fledged childhood, when jamming with your friends meant playing "Hot Cross Buns" in a round on your school-issued recorders? Things were simpler back then: musical ability was equalized -- we all played the recorder, didn't we? -- and there weren't "artists to look out for" or "surprise guests" or any of the other post-puberty exercises in exclusivity that can make music feel more like work than fun.
So where better to bring back the democratic instrument of our youth than at South By Southwest, a festival that bounces between insideriness and wonderful free-ness, and brings in casual music lovers and snobs alike?
That was HuffPost Culture's thinking anyway, as we prowled the Fader Fort with recorders in hand. Technically free to enter, the Fort is super into wristbands. Meaning, you can't get in without one. As the hour of the surprise guest neared, the line outside of people forward-thinking enough to have claimed a wristband ahead of time wound further down the block. Inside, the crowd of people forward-thinking enough to have claimed a wristband and arrived well in advance of the surprise guest milled around, thinking forwardly. Here is where we found our recorder players. We knew they were good at time management. How adept would these music hounds be at blowing on a fake flute?
The answer, friends, is in the video below. Check out our trio of contenders, and judge them in the comments section, but kindly, please! Playing the recorder -- like SXSW -- should be about having fun, not just about whose tweets are best.
WATCH:
WHOA, ADDED: We also slipped some recorders into our interview session with Mexican rock band Bam Bam, who turned out to be prettttty impressive blowers. For just the recorder bit, skip to 4 minutes in, and click here for the music they're actually known for, including their performance at SXSW.
WATCH Bam Bam play (the recorder)!:
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