My Excuse, the premiere rock band from Greece, is hitting the ground running when they arrive in the US next week for the first leg of their year-long American tour. Helmed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Steven Triantafillis, the four man group will kick off their live performance schedule with appearances in Austin, TX during the upcoming SXSW festival.
The band begins their Austin schedule with a day of interviews on Thursday (March 19). On Friday afternoon (March 20) My Excuse will perform at the McDonald’s Free Food giveaway on the concert stage in downtown Austin. Later that evening, they will rock the audience at Spinner’s in nearby Round Rock, TX and the following afternoon (Saturday, March 21) they regroup for an acoustic set in downtown Austin.
In preparation for their third and longest tour of the U.S, My Excuse warmed up with a gig in London (February 9) performing at The Half Moon Putney on the historic stage that has hosted bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, and U2. The night before getting on the plane to The States, they held a send-of show for fans in their home town of Salonica, Greece.
The band’s name is a reaction to people asking them “Why don’t you get a real job?” Says Steven, “Playing music for a living is looked upon as a hobby in Greece,” he explains. “The band is our excuse to do what we do and be who we are.” With a Greek father and American mother, Steven was born and raised primarily in Greece but spent every summer in Tyler, TX with his maternal family. He attended San Diego University for one year, and lived in New York for two years while pursuing his MBA from Baruch College.
Additional dates are currently being scheduled, with confirmed concerts already booked in Dallas, New Orleans, Pensacola, Jacksonville, Dayton, Tampa, Athens (GA), Chapel Hill, Philadelphia, New Hampshire and New York City.
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The track is off their album “All I’ve Become,” and the video, filmed on location in Red Hook, Brooklyn, features frontman Steven at an abandoned warehouse. The clip is shot in a cinematic, black and white format by Director JP Micallef with Cinematography by Mike Paniccia.
My Excuses’ SXSW Festival appearances:
Friday, March 20th, 2:30pm McDonald’s
313 Red River Street, Austin,TX
Friday, March 20th, 11pm Spinners
14106 N I H 35, Austin, TX 78728
Saturday, March 21st, 5pm
Acoustic Showcase, Dominican Joes Coffeehouse
515 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
4 comments
It’s nice to see Greek bands playing in the United States, especially at such important festivals as SXSW. Hopefully, more Greek acts will take their lead. They have a great sound that will appeal to the American market.
I’m sure no one likes to hear stories about “Austin was way better back in my day,” but I think SXSW wouldn’t be the corporate mindjob it’s become if Austin hadn’t turned itself into a fashionable yuppie enclave (or as Neal Pollack recently referred to it, the capital of Texas douche-dom). When your city becomes a playground for “young professionals” and tech yuppies, the culture changes accordingly.
I think its awesome because we travel around and everywhere we go I still think its the best town. There’s always music, and if you’re good, people will keep coming to see you and you can build a good fan base from there.