Austin Psych Fest 3: Five Minutes With Sky Parade

Leading up to Austin Psych Fest 3 (this weekend at The Mohawk), we’ll be spending five minutes with many of the artists scheduled to perform at the festival. Today, we catch up with L.A.’s Sky Parade.

What does the term "psychedelic" conjure up in your mind?

For me, the term psychedelic is the idea of pushing boundaries to the point where comprehensible thoughts and ideas are reinforced by indefinable elements. These elements represent the point where language ends and allegorical representations begin. Feeling and emotion are enhanced by this connectivity in ways that are often indescribable. Psychedelic music aims to explore the possibilities of harmonic creation. It's a place where intuition and creativity meet. Psychedelic music tends to stay away from routine structures and this is what sets it apart from other genres in music.

Does Austin deserve to host a psychedelic music festival?

Absolutely. Austin is one of those places that defies the status quo, rebels against total conservative rule and encourages the ideals that spawned the psych movement. It's like the San Francisco of Texas only with cowboy hats instead of hipster jackets - it's home to some of the most interesting and hospitable people in the country.

Roky Erickson or Stevie Ray Vaughan?

Roky Erikson embodies the psychedelic movement as a pioneer of the sound that is psychedelic music.

What is right or wrong with the music industry today?

I didn't know there still was one. I thought Walmart took over?

If you could invite one musician, living or dead, on stage with you, who would it be?

I had the opportunity to record and perform with Robby Krieger of The Doors last year. I doubt if I will ever top that!

Thank you for spending five minutes with Austinist.

Austin Psych Fest: [Official] [MySpace]
Sky Parade: [Official] [MySpace]

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