GQ: Daily coverage of SXSW from Gemini Club

It’s the first day of SXSW. Before the hangover-inducing, non-stop music madness begins, be sure to load up on Austin’s best tucked-away street food. Our picks are “Fried and True,” who make a grilled cheese on steroids along with deep-fried cinnamon buns—yes, they’re delicious—and the famed “East Side King” truck in Liberty Bar’s back courtyard. Both will make non-SXSW attendees jealous on Instagram and keep your head straight after midnight.

Fried and True is located at 1104 E. 6th, Austin TX 78702
Liberty Bar is located at 1618 E. 6th, Austin, TX 78702

Photo: Grant Legan

Read More http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2013/03/the-gq-eye-on-sxsw-food-trucks.html#ixzz2NNDBF4bC

And it begins…

Driving through the Midwest in the middle of March gives me a good idea of what the apocalypse might look like. In the summer, it’s miles and miles of maize and lush patches of woods. But not now. No, no. It’s endless fields of mud and barren trees. 

The current color of the world is gray. Not figuratively.

But, I really have no good reason to complain about the lack of beauty. We played at the Firebird in St. Louis last night and somehow managed to find a way to fit 7 guys into a hotel room overlooking some really nice parking lots and a sports stadium… Everyone awoke with headaches and red eyes in search for Gatorade and ibuprofen. Once we packed up and ate the best fast food in the world—Taco Bell—the events of last night were shared on iPhones. There may be a video of me singing “The Rocky Road To Dublin” in an Irish accent out of a huge pylon. There may also be a dozen Vines of us being totally crazed and visibly intoxicated. Hell, we are on tour.

As we speed along in our van—named Bob Seegar—on the way to Nashville to play with our Chicago buddies Ghost House, I can’t help but be elated for SXSW. We have 6 shows and 1 DJ set. The odds of this trip being epic appear to be in our favor.  

Also, I’m writing a travelogue for my job as Lifestyle Editor at Haberdash along with creating a daily post for GQ.com, so if you can’t make it to Austin, you can at least get the gist of what it’s like to live through the craziest and best week in music.

—Tom