Local groove jazzers, fo/mo/deep will take their live show to Austin this year, to perform at the jazz showcase for South by Southwest (SXSW). This is the only local jazz-related group from Columbus performing at this year’s festival, and one of 16 jazz related acts that were hand selected to showcase out of thousands. We’re proud that a local group will be representing our city in Austin, so we sat down for a brief interview with bassist and band leader, Ron Holmes, to get his thoughts on the upcoming performance and showcase…
Congrats on being selected to perform at this year’s SXSW! How did this opportunity come about and when did you find out you were going to perform there?
Ron: I applied via Sonicbids and after 3 years of trying – they contacted me last fall to advise me we were selected to showcase.
What are you most looking forward to at SXSW?
Ron: Fellowship with a plethora of artists.
What are your main goals as a band for performing and attending at SXSW?
Ron: Hope to gain interest in what we are trying to do – Meet booking agents and promoters from around the world. Our music plays around the world but we haven’t – So, we want to perform everywhere our music was played and beyond.
What other bands are you hoping to check out while you’re there?
Ron: Too many to mention…
Will you be performing anywhere else in Austin or other locations during SXSW?
Ron: Yes, we fly off to Yuma that same weekend to perform at the Jazz on the Green Sunday March 17.
What do you hope the showcase attendees take with them after hearing and seeing your performance?
Ron: That somehow in Columbus there are artists still willing to groove, improvise and more importantly have fun while doing it.
What are fo/mo/deep’s plans for the rest of 2013?
Ron: Keep doing what we’re doing – Continue experimenting with grooves out of Africa, Ole’School Jazz/Funk. Record our 3rd CD later this year.
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You can learn more about fo/mo/deep from their website: http://fomodeep.com/ or on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fomodeep