Have you ever gone to a concert; paid money and felt it was waste of time? It’s certainly happened to me before. I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to take part in this year’s 2009 South by Southwest media coverage. When I arrived and it took about an hour to find parking, I knew I was in for a surprise.

While walking up 6th Street, where all the live bands were playing, music could be heard for miles. I trained my camera on the crowd and begin questioning people on about the SXSW. People from around the world queued to catch a glimpse of the bands performing. I had the chance to interview RJ Sinclair and his band Tokyo Sex Destruction.

“Traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Austin, Texas, really means a lot to me. I find fans that like my psychedelic music,” said Sinclair, lead singer of the band.

I also met the LL Marching band of Chicago. With a twist of Tequila Jazz and trumpets clearing the crowds, they brought a show to everyone around. One of my favorite things at SXSW, however, was the “Free Hug MySpace Group.” In the film, you can see the man coming up to me and asking for a hug. Nothing is better than spreading the love, right? Besides the music, I got to enjoy the free performance shows on 6th Street, ranging from acrobatics to magic and smoke. Grabbing my camera and talking to these people while they were having a blast captured the moment. I wasn’t trying to make a movie or a huge documentary; I was simply showing how people could come to a common place and share the passion and power of music. Seeing these people express their music through their perception of art was amazing. I caught it on tape, and it speaks thousands of words.