Hosting Horn Stars: HONK!TX and Hospitality

ANTHROPOLOGY 2389: ACADEMIC COOPERATIVE SPRING 2011 SEMESTER DR. MARY CHIPLEY HONK!TX HOSPITALITY: HOSTING HORN STARS MICHAEL ANTARES Hospitality is a sacred obligation that counts a o g hu a it s oldest usto s. Since ancient times, hosts have been called to recognize the divinity of visitors and ensure guests receive food, drink and shelter, asking nothing in return. Drawing on brass band culture and engaging the public through the medium of alternative community street band performances, HONK! festivals invite musical exploration and celebration for free. Musicians travel at personal expense and, in return for the free public performances they offer, they receive food, drink and shelter from local volunteers. This report explores this unique intersection of modern ethnomusicology and hospitality anthropology, and will describe the organization behind, and experience of, hosting 195 visiting community street band musicians during the inaugural HONK!TX festival. Ultimately, it attempts to answer the question: why do volunteers open their homes to strangers? Our festival is part musical gathering, part community a ti is . Ma y of us play a i stru e t. “o e do ’t. But all of us have found that live, energetic, mobile, acoustic music—no matter which side of the mouthpiece you are on—brings audience and band together in something like family. A raucous, playful fa ily. – HONK! Fest West website NOTES TO THE READER: This report cannot be as comprehensive as I would like, for it demands more work than one 12week semester allows. Rather, this work should be viewed as the beginning of an ethnographic, ethnomusicological and ethical exploration of HONK! festivals, hospitality, and the many social questions they inspire. I am inspired by many anthropological works, and I recently had the privilege of attending a graduate seminar on experimental ethnographic writing. Regarding the structure and referencing conventions of this paper, consider them experimental. To the extent possible, I have tried to maintain anonymity amongst the HONK! informants and respondents by way of referencing their social role along with an arbitrary number. This avoids the confusion of substituted initials or fake names. In the spirit of HONK! and open academic discourse, this paper is released under Creative Commons licensing, by attribution. There will be no charge, and no publication for profit. What is contained herein is open to all. INTRODUCTION: FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, THERE I“ A “EN“E OF ANARCHY… 1 The southbound exit for Cesar Chavez was backed up for a mile on Interstate 35, and motorists were craning and cocking their heads to see what the holdup is. Community street bands hailing from as far away as Boston and Seattle had take o e Austi s do to o e, parading with fanfare along Cesar Chavez from Austin City Hall to a local park in colorful regalia. The bands were diverse in their repertoire: some playing music in the samba tradition, some in the style of New Orleans second-lines, and some invoking Balkan brass music. They marched in a variety of costumes: pseudo-uniforms of matching color, outlandish costumes, outfits from eras that never were. The aural and visual spectacle had traffic at a standstill. Deep thumps and high notes echoed off city walls as curious crowds poured out of the Convention Center and surrounding businesses to see what the commotion was about. This was the culminating parade of HONK!TX s thi d and final day. HONK!TX, the inaugural Texas version of a festi al phe o e o that s ele ati g its fifth ea , invited twenty community street bands from around North America to come to Austin, Texas to play unamplified street music for free over the course of three days in March 2011. In return for the performance, local festival organizers provided the 250 visiting musicians with food, shelter, and a partial reimbursement of travel costs. 72 of the visitors even received loaner bicycles at no cost. As the HONK!TX housing coordinator, I was responsible for finding free homestays for all visiting band members. That meant finding scores of willing hosts, setting up air mattresses, foam pads, and giving up my own bed to ensure that visiting musicians have a comfortable place to rest during their brief visit to Austin. Throughout the experience, I found myself asking: did the festival itself predicate such a seemingly innate hospitality, or was there a deeper cultural custom at work? How is it that people could be convinced to host 195 strangers in multiple houses for free during a time when the town was saturated with visitors willing to pay for the same privilege? 2,3 Why had I and others volunteered the majority of our free time in the months leading up to the festival to coordinate this endeavor? Would all our planning pay 1 (Higgins: 2007a) In context, Higgins is discussing observations in a participatory community music class. The full uote eads fo a ief o e t the e is a se se of a a h , li e atio a d a feeli g of da ge . 2 Of the approximately 250 visiting musicians, 55 made their own arrangements for accommodation. I was responsible for locating housing for the remaining 195. 3 Austi s “X“W festi al att a ts thousa ds of isito s e e ea . A quick survey of Craigslist ads in the weeks leading up to the festival shows that many residents sub-lease or short-term lease rooms or houses during that period. Indeed, Roommate #1 and I had charged approximately $1000 to sub-lease the space to four SXSW visitors in 2010. off? Would the festival be a success, and how dependent was that success on the welcome that the festival participant-performers felt? I suspected that the answers might lie somewhere at the intersection of ethnomusicology4 and hospitality anthropology. This report explores that intersection as it describes the organizing of, and experience involved in, hosting 195 visiting community street band musicians during the inaugural run of the free festival known as HONK!TX. Through exploring this intersection, I will attempt to define the HONK! experience from an anthropological perspective, and I will discuss the history of community street bands, alternative marching bands, and the origins of HONK!, HONK!TX. I will examine theoretical models relating to created folk-festivals and hospitality, and discuss the organization and planning of hospitality employed for this and other HONK! festivals. I will also provide ethnographic excerpts relating the hospitality experience from the perspectives of the different roles involved. Ultimately, I will attempt to answer the question why do people HONK! volunteers open their homes to visitors they have never met? PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION AT THE META LEVEL: NOTES ON PERSPECTIVE & BIAS How I got here: To explain my perspective, I must first explain how my involvement in this project came about. In January of 2010, I witnessed my first Minor Mishap Marching Band show. The performance amazed my senses and I began going to every show I could. Soon after, a musician suggested I attend to HONK! Fest West in April, so I flew out and – thanks to newfound connections – stayed with a local musician who offered her spare room so I could stay through the entire festival at no cost. For three days and nights, musicians filled the streets of four Seattle neighborhoods with joyous free music for an enthralled public. Everywhere I looked, bands were playing brass, woodwinds and drums; people of all ages were dancing with a spirit of merriment. Before my homeward flight, I watched a rag-tag HONK! pickup band5 playing in front of – and then in – International Fountain at Seattle Center. 4 5 "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts." (Wikipedia) The term pickup band is used to denote temporary group comprised of musicians from various bands, but playing songs as a single unit. Then, a musician I had just met drove me straight to the airport – a fifteen mile trip - to make su e I did t miss my flight home. Thus was the HONK! experience defined for me: musicians joyfully reclaiming public space and redefining what it means to be a community. Two weeks after the festival, and ten months before joining the academic cooperative for which this paper was written, I was invited to a meeting to discuss bringing a HONK! festival to Texas. I participated in that committee throughout the year, and in November, I agreed to take on the role of housing coordinator. For the next four months, I arranged housing for an anticipated 250 visiting musician-guests. Perspectives and Biases: My perspective throughout this study was that of a principal festival organizer, a host to visiting musicians, and a musician performing in the festival. With such immersive levels of participantobservation, I had a high degree of enthusiasm for, and investment in, the success of the festival. It follows that my perspective would be somewhat colored by effusiveness. Additionally, I may be more prone to omitting mistakes or exaggerating perceived successes in the analysis phases. My role of participant-observer was not disclosed to my informants and respondents until after the festival, nor was the existence or focus of this paper made public until then. Therefore, some of the discussions and information received during the participant-observation stages will not be disclosed. Consequently, my perspective may be also influenced by the resultant selective data inclusion. To any reader with concerns of credibility and trust, I offer my assurances that no material contained in this report was included without the consent of those participating, either through obtained consent, referring to the parties anonymously or by virtue of public participation. My expectations and biases favor a positive perception of the festival at large, and hospitality specifically. This is in part because I had a largely positive experience with organizing and hosting, and because the majority of feedback I received from festival organizers, participants and volunteers was also favorable. I collected and analyzed a substantial amount data with this biased humanist perspective: people are generally good and generous, and wish to share their goodness and generosity with others. Thus, that belief has influenced my report as well. Additionally, I approached this project with several preconceived theories: (1) that offering hospitality to visiting musicians is a mutually rewarding experience at both the individual host level and the organizing level; (2) that anticipation of such rewarding experiences would be a primary motivation for hosts to participate; (3) that hosts and guests would be generous with each other; (4) that hosts and guests ould espe t ea h othe s p ope t a d spa e ith a minimum of discord; (5) that the reasons for hosting would prove self-evident; and (6) that this particular form of folk-festival hospitality would imitate similar traditions. I also suspected I would be able to find a wealth of research material on the topic of festival hospitality that would help me answer the question by the end of the semester. As I discuss below, not all of these preconceptions would prove true. What is not included in the scope of this report: Early in my research, I discovered I must narrow and focus the scope of this particular report was an absolute must. I have a wealth of data and direction to build on, much of which lends itself to continuing study and cannot all be included in this report. Some discussions omitted are:  Organizational anthropology and socio-political discussions of organizational behavior.  In-depth review of alternative street band cultures including structure, makeup, and individual histories.  In-depth review of other aspects of HONK!: organizing , volunteerism, festival logistics; composition, historical review, community impact; explorations of the community landscape.  Consideration of other aspects of hospitality and tourism anthropology (e.g., farmstays, paid homestays, work-exchange, tourism).  Consideration of folk-festival creation.  Available resources beyond those which I had the time and fortune to locate for this report. MAKING MUSIC WITH THE AVAILABLE INSTRUMENTS: EMPLOYING AN ECLECTIC METHODOLOGY As a participant-observer, an anthropologist, an interested party, and a festival organizer, I found it necessary to employ a comprehensive strategy in my methodology. My sources include first-hand accounts, informal surveys, in-depth open-ended interviews and literature reviews. Informants: The informants for this project fall into distinct but sometimes overlapping categories, and I have tailored my interactions with each to suit the scope of this paper. The first category is that of volunteer host: all HONK!TX hosts6 received an informal survey, and based on who responded, follow-up emails soliciting additional information were sent. If a host consented to providing additional information, I sent a detailed open-ended questionnaire and followed up via phone or email to obtain more data. The second category is that of musician-guests7: I sent a post-festival survey regarding the quality of hospitality to the points of contact for all visiting bands and requested that the survey link be further dispersed to band members in the hopes of obtaining the largest possible sampling. Though the response rate was relatively low, I still obtained useful data. As a subset of the second category, I interviewed willing members of the Scene of the Crime Rovers who I had hosted during the festival. I provided each of them with a survey containing both closed-ended and open-ended questions. The final category I interviewed was that of HONK!, HONK! Fest West and HONK!TX organizers. I sent interviews to several key local festival organizers.8 I also interviewed organizers for HONK! and HONK! Fest West and requested they provide information on their planning experiences and any relevant personal anecdotes from their respective festivals. Observations, Field Notes: 6 Defined as someone who agreed to host, and hosted, visiting musicians during HONK!TX. Referred to as HONK!TX Host #_ throughout the report. 7 Defined as a HONK!TX attendee who played in a HONK!TX band and was hosted by a HONK!TX Host. Referred to as Musician-Guest #_ throughout the report. 8 As discussed later in the report, HONK!TX Organizer #3 hosted no visiting musicians in the traditional sense, and yet provided a hospitality service – loaner bikes – to 72 visiting musicians, an act that demonstrated a deep level of openness and generosity. Otherwise, I interviewed organizers who had also hosted a band. They are referred to as [HONK! festival identifier] Organizer #_ throughout the report. Originally, I had anticipated field observation comprising a large part of my data set. But I overestimated my ability to keep detailed field notes, and my mental inventories are insubstantial for filling in the gaps. That being said, as a participant-observer in more than one sense, I have included a number of personal experiences. Added to the existing data set, they provide additional context for the analysis and interpretation of data. Existing field notes include observations on being hosted as a visiting musician, my own hosting experiences, and my experiences during HONK!TX meetings.9 Textual Data: My unique position has offered access to a wealth of textual data accumulated since the inception of the HONK!TX committee in April 2010. In addition to volumes of email traffic with hosts, guest and organizers, there are a number of shared collaborative documents and meeting minutes that I have examined for relevance. Since at no time prior to March 2011 were committee members, hosts, or guests aware I was actively working on this anthropology project, I have only included material for which I have obtained permission from affected parties, unless the data could be analyzed without disclosing potentially personal or sensitive information. Journal Excerpts: Begi i g sho tl afte this lass s sta t date, I began making entries in a journal designated for this anthropology project as well as two personal journals a computer file. Though I am unlikely to specifically cite personal information, these were sources of valuable contextual clues. Additional Resources: Examining a topic that discusses an intersection of two existing sub-disciplines – ethnomusicology and hospitality anthropology - necessitates extensive background research. For this project, I downloaded and read through 27 academic journal articles. Additionally, I consulted a number of sources via the Internet – informal journals and articles, Google book excerpts, weblogs, etc. I also reviewed several longform and short-form documentary videos on YouTube and Vimeo. I have also written and contributed several weblog posts and articles of my own. Analysis: 9 Not all of these field notes are included, as per the limitations on the scope of this paper. For the purposes of my academic course requirements, the data obtained has been combed, parsed and organized to address the highest number of salient points in the most efficient manner possible. Though the work itself embodies a larger study of the issues at hand, this report condenses the available data into essential subsets of information, presented in conjunction with relevant analysis that summarizes the findings.10 WHAT IS A HONK!? AN ETHNOMUSICOLOGICAL For PRIMER11 a y of us, i deed, the e otio s induced by music may be overwhelming ….su h states of e stasy a d rapture lie in wait for us if we give ourselves totally to ay A [Brief] History of American Community Street Bands usi . - Oliver Sacks Community bands are the musical descendants of medieval groups of European watchmen who used instruments in the course of their duties because of the variety and precision of signals they could sound. Later, those same watchmen also p o ided usi fo the to s so ial fu tio s Ha tz: 2003). This influenced the development of civic ensembles and military bands, who, owing to massive influxes of immigrants reviving European traditions, germinated town bands. These European traditions began to intermingle with the existing ilita a d st u tu e, a d the ti e of Geo ge Washi gto s i augu atio , o u it a ds eea feature in many large American towns (Hartz: 2003).12 In the intervening years, the popularity of American community bands increased, and instruments were added according to the influence of popular demand or ethnic inspirations. 13 Brass also became a major feature of community bands in the 19th century, and it was around this time that bands began to 10 For instance, a ten-minute presentation is part of the academic course requirements. 11 HONK! is the name of the original festival in Boston. However, I occasionally use the term HONK! to refer to the family of festivals at large: HONK!, HONK! Fest West, HONK!TX. There are other more occasional and/or smaller derivative festivals as well: BONK! (Brooklyn, not active in 2010); PRONK! (Providence, a one-day festival immediately following HONK!); HONK! Maui (repo tedl ot a t ue HONK! festi al, ut athe a se ies of o kshops . 12 Ha tz elies e te si el o Ca us o k i the G o e Di tio a of A e i a Musi , as he fou d it o li e. Ho e e , that resource is not presently available without paid access at the university level. 13 Fo i sta e, Ha tz s sou e, Da id Whit ell epo ts the i lusio was largely a Turkish Janissary influence. als, go gs, a d ta ou i es i these a ds ese le thei ode fo (Hartz: 2003). Throughout the 1900s, bands continued to expand in terms of professionalism, diversity, and presence. Nearly every town had some form of community band, and there were many touring outfits, including ones who specialized in performing at circuses or for parades. It was also during this time, though, that focus shifted to music education in high schools and colleges. Following a brief downturn during the money-scarcity of the Great Depression and the metalscarcity of World War II, the hunger for community bands resurged. Hartz suggests a sort of renaissance or revitalization began taking place followed by a g o i g t e d i o u it a d festi als a d li i s. He notes that a substantial institutional system of musical education maintained throughout the 20th century meant millions of trained amateur musicians were functional members of society, and then suggests that the ost i flue tial easo of a ateu ehi d the e e t explosion of community band life is the substantial number usi ia s i the U ited “tates. Ha tz: 2003). What Makes a HONK! Band? As Hartz explained: A community band often has an intimacy with the community or city that a professional orchest a o a u i e sit e se le ofte a ot asse t…thei oti atio s a e ot fi a ial compensation or academic scholarship. (Hartz: 2003) With that background, we can think of the modern community street band as comprised of amateur musicians who seek an outlet of expression without regard for remuneration they may receive. 14 The focus is on the aspect of community because the community is who benefits from the musicians expression. Th ough o u it a ds, a ateu usi -making has a cultural function; due to a critical engagement it results in the appreciation of musical tradition as well as of modern music. 15 As such, I propose the definition of community street bands as referenced in this paper to be: acoustic and mobile instrumental ensembles of varying size and instrumentation, comprised largely of amateur musicians who perform music for their respective geo-local communities without expectation of recompense. 14 The term amateur is subjective, and in fact many musicians in the bands discussed in this paper are also comprised of part-time or full-time professional musicians who make some or all of their living off of musical performances and associated income. 15 Co lusio s a d ‘e o e datio s: The Edu atio of A ateu Musi ia s, International Society for Music Edu atio Yea ook Mai z, NY: B. “ hott s “hoh e, as ited Ha tz. O igi al te t as ot a aila le at the time of this research. So what is community music? Here, I rely o Lee Higgi s thesis that o u it understood as a group of practitioners actively committed to encouraging people s doi g…. o u it usic should be usi aki g a d usi is a st ategi i te e tio ….equality of opportunity, social justice, and diversity are paramount to the community musician s plight, (Higgins: 2007a). HONK! festi als i oke Higgi s definition within their festival titles:    HONK!: Festival of Activist Street Bands HONK! Fest West: Festival of Acoustic Community Street Bands HONK!TX: Festival of Community Street Bands. Building on these definitions, then, what makes a HONK! band? After all, bands that participate in HONK! festivals already qualify under the proposed definition. However, HONK! bands employ a number of cultural aesthetics which set them apart from what may be popula l o ei ed as ou lo al a hi g a d. O o se atio , t o ge e al atego ies emerge: (1) inclusive groups of amateur musicians whose repertoire consists of music inspired by a specific culture – such as a samba school or Brazilian folk group and (2) inclusive groups of amateur musicians who infuse a diverse multi-cultural repertoire with costumery16, pageantry and spectacle. These two categorizations are not exclusive, though the latter category makes up a greater percentage of HONK! festivals. The bands of the latter category also have a a iet of popula la els alte ati e a ds 17 a hi g a ds, e egade st eet a ds, a ti ist a hi g . HONK! a ds follo i g spe t u usical influences range far and wide. A o di g to HONK! festi als websites, the is efe e ed as di e tl i flue tial: New Orleans second line brass bands, European Klezmer, Balkan and Romani music, Brazilian Afro Bloc and Frevo traditions, as well as the passion and spi it of Ma di G as a d Ca i al (www.honkfest.org); old ditties, new tunes, fighting songs, protest a hes, fu e al di ges, s i gi g gospel, Balka folk, ti pa jazz, a d e e thi g i et ee (www.honkfestwest.com). Through personal observation, I have heard pop hits, movie soundtrack songs, 16 I employ the term costumery to hat M Ka alls the o t adi to uniform colors in differing styles, iconographi ep ese tatio of a Appendix 3. 17 denote invidivualized costumes adhering to pseudo-uniform requirements, or ga ut of ilita a d pseudo- ilita p a ti e . E a ples a i lude or a common accoutrement visible on all members. It also serves as an usi ia s e e ship i a pa ti ula a d. Visual e a ples a e p o ided i Other examples include: alte ati e a hi g a ds . atio al adiop oje t.o g , e egade st eet a ds . o kfest.o g a d a ti ist st eet a ds www.honkfest.org). Indeed, evocative labels are also self imposed, such as Mi or Mishap Mar hi g Ba d’s self-des iptio : a pie e u ul i us-punk-brass band: Rue Bourbon eets Budapest www.minormishap.com) or Tita iu “porkestra’s self-des iptio e egade a hi g a d (www.titaniumsporkestra.com). Brazilian folk, Mexican Son Jarocho and heavy metal are featured within the repertoires performed. Exposing communities to such multicultural musical diversity is what Higgins refers to as practitioners actively committed to encouraging people s I his a ti le o st eet usi a d usi aki g and doing, a. a hi g a ds, Geo ge M Ka poi ts out that e e t ea s 18 have seen a new flourish of street music in the figure of countercultural drop-out busker or community a ts o ke , ), and discusses ho au al a hite tu e the li e pe fo a e of a hi g usi a become part of a demonstration of dissent, as in the case of I fer al Noise Brigade’s 1999 actions. Anecdotally, many HONK! bands cite the Seattle-based activist band Infernal Noise Brigade as an important influence and this is a contextual key. The impact HONK! bands bring to the public is not necessarily political, even while a variation on the uniform theme is often a feature. Yet, these same bands reject the notions of rigid classification; their variations on the theme of uniform and fusion of musical genres and styles eschew the very notion of conformity. 19 Be o d that, the a of the a ds p a ti e ope a d o -discriminatory acceptance: race, background, upbringing, social class, heritage, age, gender, and even musical ability are not factors for admission.20 These concepts are echoed on festival websites: There is a rich community ethic amongst many honkers, who use their music to erode the barriers between professional and novice, and between audience and performers. Although uniforms are sometimes used as a performance tool, individuality is key, and group members often hail from all range of classes, ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds. (www.honkfestwest.com) This HONK! band ethos reinforces Ha tz s assertion that a community band sets few limits on exclusion, often breaking those limits and redefining itself as band life continually evolves 2003). 18 Someone who performs in public places, for gratuities (Wikipedia) 19 In what may be fairly considered a speculatory digression to be researched for inclusion in later work, I note that alternative marching bands represent views encompassing the a political interest spectrum that includes: Political – expressing certain views as a whole group Apolitical – not expressing views as a group Parapolitical / Pseudopolitical – sometimes expressing views / choosy or unpredictable in expressing views as a group Polypolitical – expressing views that cater to differing group e e s opinions Antipolitical – expressing anarchic sentiment as a group / resisting conventions As an additional sample, consider the naming conventions and taglines for some of the premiere performance bands who regularly attend HONK! festi als, alo g ith a edu ated guess at the a ds politi al sta di g: Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin): Bourbon St. Meets Budapest (apolitical / polypolitical); Rude Mechanical Orchestra (New York): Soundtrack to the Revolution since 2004 (political); Environmental Encroachment (Chicago): The Magic Circus Band (apolitical, perhaps antipolitical) 20 Disclosure: I joined Minor Mishap Marching Band, and when I was accepted, I had no musical ability or training. A [Brief] History of HONK! HONK! was birthed in Boston in 2006 by members of Bosto s recently formed community street band, Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society. After hearing about the formation of alternative marching bands in other communities, several members of Second Line Social Aid had the crazy idea of bringing them together for a day or two of free outdoor music in [Boston] Lepp a n: 2010). The organizing committee had several goals for that initial festival: they wanted it to e f ee, outdoo s, fo family-f ie dl audie es… e do s. They also ith o fo al stages, e te sive amplification or ubiquitous commercial a ted to provide as little structure as possible…just enough structure to avoid chaos, but not so much as to stifle creativity and spontaneity among musicians and bands. (Leppmann:2010) Drawing on strong initial support and the strength of their collective social networks, the group began organizing the festival to take place in Davis Square. It was a grassroots effort that shunned logos and corporate sponsorship, while remaining mindful to t ust o e a othe s olle ti e judg e t o ho est to spe d ou o e a d a age isk a d ot to o e e te d the o u it s esou es o good ill (Leppmann: 2010). That first year saw 12 bands participate in the festival, most of them from the American Northeast and Upper Midwest. From there, HONK! began growing and spreading. In 2007, 16 bands participated, including the first international HONK! bands, the Pink Puffers from Rome, Italy, and the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble from Montreal, Canada. In 2008, the roster grew to twenty bands, and three new HONK!-style festivals were created: Co g ès de l i su e tio Cultu elle in Montreal, PRONK! In Providence, Rhode Island, and HONK! Fest West in Seattle. In 2009, Regardless of the ity [it’s i ], Brooklyn joined in the spirit by hosting BONK! In 2010, 23 bands each HONK serves as a space participated in HONK!, nine followed on to PRONK! – held immediately where we as individuals learn afterward, and 29 bands participated in HONK! Fest West. The and grow from each other alternative-arts culture event known as Burning Man also featured a musically, personally, politically, Marching Band camp and showdown between some HONK! bands. 21 so ially, a d ulturally. – Adj Marshall The Genesis of HONK!TX 21 This information is compiled from HONK! websites, the Wikipedia article on HONK!, and informal interviews with several informants. On April 29, 2010, inspired by witnessing and participating in these HONK! events, seven members of Austi s Minor Mishap Marching Band and myself met to discuss the prospect of hosting a HONK!-style festival in Texas. The initial tasks set forth were primarily organizing ourselves: agreeing to host a festival, naming the festival, determining the festival date, and setting up communication and work management tools. Over the intervening months, several committee members realized they were over-committing themselves, or felt unsure about their role in the organization and their vision for the festival, and so they stepped back from active involvement. Others took on relatively small roles to begin with and, as the year progressed, parlayed them into larger roles. Yet others joined the committee late in the year, and took on key responsibilities at crucial times. The HONK!TX committee in its final incarnation bore only slight resemblance to those who gathered for the initial planning meeting. From those original eight members: three dropped out of active involvement, five others joined the committee in active roles, and five more passed in and out of active committee participation. As the festival date approached, the committee had to rely on each of the key positions to fulfill crucial tasks to realize the vision of the festival as a whole. This e ui ed e te si e olla o atio a d t ust i ea h othe s a ilit to o plete assig ed tasks. 22 HONK!TX committee members also drew frequently on the influences of the original festival and its Seattle counterpart in measuring we wanted to achieve: people dancing in the streets; visiting community street bands from far and wide; reclamation of public space; a parade; an after-party; a showcase. Though we wanted HONK!TX to have its own unique flavor and texture, it was also a part of the whole that preceded it. By inviting HONK! bands from around the continent as well as local HONK! bands representing cultural Most promising of all has been the geographic spread of our ele ratio to other ities – Kevin Leppmann 22 One of the best examples of this was between myself and Organizer #3: we spent most of the two months prior to the festival in frequent contact. Some of the many collaborative tasks included making sure housing arrangements made sense with transportation arrangements; coordinating bike deliveries with bedding deliveries; editing each othe s o te t fo log posts a d e ails; eati g i fo atio pa kets a d ensuring those packets were communicated clearly, concisely, and correctly; and coordinating airport shuttling runs to welcome visiting musicians to town. influences,23 we hoped to showcase musical talent and costumed spectacle that honored the intent of the original HONK!24 HONK!s as Created Folk Festivals The similarities between the festivals culture maintains a continuity of intent that permeates the witnessing public beyond any regional or organizational differences that may arise. From one decisive olle ti e a tio i ,a e t pe of festi al a ose a d sp ead a oss the o ti e t. This uniformity of HONK! ethos is not only visually and aurally witnessed at the festivals themselves, but proclaimed by the websites describing the events: Across the country and around the world, a new type of street band is emerging. Acoustic and mobile, borrowing repertoire and inspiration from a diverse set of folk music t aditio s….Me e s a idel i age, lass, eth i it a d a kg ou d, a d although the ofte ea so e ki d of u ifo , the e is also al a s a e phasis o i di idualit a d a DIY (do-it-yourself) sensibility to their instrumentation and attire. These bands play music that is by, fo , a d of the people. The disti tio et ee pe fo e a d audie e, just like the distinctions between different musical genres, is just one more arbitrary social boundary they aspi e to o e o e….i e e ase the ho ke s ulti ate goal is to ha e fu , to elish the a t of making fun as a form of individual and collective transcendence, and to encourage others to see and do the same. – www.honkfest.org HONK! events are a celebration of the emergence of a new type of street band, one that is typically acoustic and mobile, often politically aware and articulate, and always high spirited. There is a rich community ethic amongst many honkers, who use their music to erode the barriers between professional and novice, and between audience and performers. Although uniforms are sometimes used as a performance tool, individuality is key, and group members often hail from all range of classes, ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds. Perhaps most i po ta tl , the ho ke s ulti ate goal is to ha e fu , to elish the a t of aki g fu as a fo of individual and collective transcendence, and to encourage others to see and do the same. – www.honkfeswest.com Sometimes featuring uniforms or band colors, playing original, traditional, and borrowed music on a wide variety of instruments, and encouraging lively audience participation, these bands thrive on the flourishing of community interest and delight in destroying the artificial barriers and apathy imposed by contrived political and societal structures. The bands open themselves to diversity in all its forms: not just the conventions of age, gender, and orientation – but background, upbringing, and for many of them, even level of musical experience. They carry strong messages of hope, unity, and social change in their hearts and their music, and convey it to the audie es a ou d the a d to ea h othe ….I the pu li spa es a idst the audie es, the po e of usi …speaks to ea h of us i di idually, collectively, and purposefully. The festival 23 In terms of local musicians, HONK!TX had ass a d ep ese tatio i the fo of Austi s Minor Mishap Marching Band and Best Best Best Friends, Brazilian influence in the form of the folk group Seu Jacinto and the batteria-and-dance troupe Acadêmicos de Opera (a/k/a Austin Samba School), and Son Jarocho Mexican folk in the form of Fandango Tejas. 24 Part of my planned future work includes detailed analysis and ethnography of HONK! planning meetings and festival volunteerism. offers a chance for us to examine how we perceive and interact with our own communities and thus, the world around us. – www.honktx.org As such, HONK! festivals role as folk festivals contradict existing models of classification. For instance, Joh Moe s 7 work described several categories of folk festivals: participatory, semi- participatory, and non-participatory. Each category is given clear parameters, but HONK! festivals act as a hybrid of that classification system. Since HONK!s strive to engage the public openly in dancing, reclaiming public space, and sometimes even playing instruments, they can certainly be considered pa ti ipato festi als that are an authentic response to a celebration in a mode recognizable to the pa ti ipa ts a d featu i g ho oge ous o ga izatio al st u tu es (Moe: 1977). On the other hand, since the bands themselves are comprised of musicians playing learned music in an ordered (though sometimes appearing chaotic) fashion, the festivals also ould fall u de the se i-pa ti ipato hi h classification, e lusi e and i he hi h dee s oe the e is a lea … ith the tide of ass ulture, there has ee a distinction between the observers and the tre e dous participants, but this distinction is blurred at emergence of these synthetic festivals has blurred the different points of i te a tio distinctions Moe: 1977). While it s t ue that the disti tio itself between performers and audience is gro th i between reated traditional festi als….the authentic folk festivals and popular festivals conceived as folk. – John F. Moe clear, it is not absolute, and according to the website for the HONK! festival in Boston: these a ds pla usi that is , fo , a d of the people. The disti tio et ee performer and audience, just like the distinctions between different musical genres, is just one more arbitrary social boundary they aspire to overcome. Spectators often think He , I ould do that! a d, i deed, these a ds often recruit new members right off the street. Also, owing to their recent creation, the family of HONK!s can be considered proto-festivals: o o u al u it ele atio s that e ge de oade so ial a d e o o i i ol e e t ith the Moe: 1977). HONK! organizers admit that in addition to the bands willing to perform for free, the musical landscape of these festivals ould t e possi le ithout a e te ded et o k of enlightened business owners, responsive city officials, generous arts benefactors and supportive o u it o ga ize s (www.honkfest.org). Indeed, the festivals have: become an act of community bridge-building, as we share and negotiate our crazy vision with a most diverse set of stakeholders: city officials and police, transportation authorities, local businesses and business associations, community and arts organizations, media representatives, theater groups and performance troupes, stude ts, pa e ts, (Leppmann: 2010). eside ts, olu tee s, a d of ou se, all the isiti g a ds Further, Moe speaks in terms of geo-local communities, but HONK! festivals also serve the global alternative marching band community by providing recurring events in which the musicians can collaborate, learn and grow. As Andrea Graham points out in The Up-Side of Folklife Festivals, festi als are for the artists as much as the audience (2000). Moe likewise acknowledges, the eupho ia of ei g a potential member of an in-group, i this ase, a alte ati e a hi g a d, seduces many (1977). The HONK! festivals then take on an aura of family reunion as much as that of a folk festival. HONK!s are at once events meant to celebrate the reclamation of public space and provide music for the people, and educational opportunities for participants and observers alike. Does this represent a new classification of festival? The HONK!TX website describes the HONK! environment as: an environment where we can all learn and grow from each other musically, personally, politically, socially, and culturally. And, as with all HONK!s, we can have a lot of fun in the process. Beyond classification as participatory folk proto-festivals, HONK! festivals are dynamic participantimmersive cultural celebrations of globalized folklife that aim to educate and inspire geographic and musical communities. As “idsel Ka lse e a ked i his Ph.D. thesis, appea i g as alte ati es to dominant cultural institutions, [music] festivals challenge the cultural centres [sic] of po e i … ities (2007). More than participatory, the HONK! festivals represent an alternative movement and a subculture. HO“PITALITY I“ EVERYWHERE: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF HOSPITALITY In etymological terms, the word hospitality bears roots that indicate both friend and enemy; hostility and hospice derive from the same stem. I t a i g the o d s t aje to th ough Middle English, Old Norse, Greek and Latin, scholars have highlighted some surprising connotations of the term: sacrifice, army, power, obligation, e ip o it a d p ote tio .… hospitalit shares its linguistic roots with words like hostility, hostage a d e e … L h: . Considering the modern practice of hospitality, which can be accurately tracked in cultures dating back to the Ancient Greeks A a t of hospitalit a o l e poeti – Jacques Derrida if not further, brings to mind images of a generous host magnanimously welcoming the host welcomes the guest/visitor/stranger with food, drink, shelter and an assurance of protection without expectation of recompense. But how does this shared cultural assumption arise? Hospitality remains an under-studied topic in anthropology. Researching journal archives, articles, and accessible books does not reveal a significant volume of original work and source material from which to draw on. More often, scholars identify the lack of notable research. In Theorizing Hospitality, Lynch et. al ote, there is limited interaction between scholars working in different academic traditions of hospitality, and perhaps even less interaction between practitioners a d a ade i s L h: 2011). In Towards a theoretical understanding [of hospitality], Conrad Lashley asserts, few hospitality academics ha e… o side ed hospitalit a d hospita le ess f o histo i al, ultu al o a th opologi al pe spe ti es (Lashley: 2001) The theoretical framework of the reasoning for hospitality is varied, but in broad terms exists on a philosophical, sociological and anthropological level. It appears to rest on the principle that hospitality is a natural gift, a social fact, and a cultural necessity. These terms may in fact represent aspects of the same o ept a d p i iple that e ai s just outside of la guage s a ilit to des i e this pa ti ula ultu al feature. Musing on the matter, French philosopher Jacques Derrida has authored extensive discourse on hospitality, seeing it as paradoxically defined by laws and yet existing in its absolute form beyond them. To put it in different terms, absolute hospitality requires that I open up my home and that I give not only to the foreigner, but to the absolute, unknown, anonymous other, and that I give place to them, that I let them come, that I let them arrive, and take place in the place I offer them, without asking of them either reciprocity (entering into a pact) or even their names. (Derrida: 2000) We see similar commentary in the just like a gift e ha ge, ules of li i g i so iet , a o k of othe a th opologists, philosophe s a d poets: hospitalit , e ega ded…as a so ial fa t, Jellou : ; hospitalit is Polese: 9)25; it o e s the ele e ta eithe olu ta o alt uisti , ut… oth necessary and compulsory (Selwyn: 2001). Within the work of these same anthropologists and philosophers, there emerge distinct principles and reasons proposed as the motivational theories for providing hospitality: Recognizing divinity in strangers / sacred obligation. Ke i O Go a iti g o lassi al a d ode o asti hospitalit e p essed this idea as …God a d/o Ch ist is ofte ide tified as the host o guest a d the guest E lighte as held to e sa ed (2005). e t…t aditio s, hospitalit e tailed a sa ed o ligatio to protect the stranger who a i ed at the doo , 25 Lynch et. al note that i G eek a d ‘o a ot just to a o . Folklo i e a ples e ist as o odate the guest, ut ell: the Songhay of Polese is efe i g to Ma el Mauss o k ide tif i g so ial fa ts as esse tial te ets that a ot… e ade uatel described f o the poi t of ie of a si gle dis ipli e, e ause the a e, at o e, e o o i , ju idi al, o al, aestheti , eligious, thologi al, a d so fo th H de: . West Africa have a p e aili g elief that a guest is God i the host s house (Stoller: 2007), and a frequently cited verse of the Taittiriya Upanishad, an ancient Vedic text, is atithi devo bhava , t a slates f o hi h “a sk it as guest is God. (Sikat: 2008). Hosting builds or improves friend and trust networks / relationships. This seems intuitive, and is expounded as a concept by Selwyn as he categorizes types of strangers: hospitality converts: strangers into familiars, enemies into friends, friends into better friends, outsiders into insiders, non-kin into kin (as quoted by Lashley: 2001). In An anthropology of hospitality, Selwyn goes on to say the asi fu tio of hospitalit is to esta lish a elatio ship o to p o ote a al ead esta lished elatio ship Hosting is a Moral Obligation: “el also posits hospitalit is eithe a ilit to o alt uisti , ut, i a . I French Hospitality, Tahar Ben Jelloun says particular sense, both necessary and compulso a essi ilit olu ta . el o e othe s, to ope doo ought to e ide a d u li ited… (1999). Potential hosts should see hospitality not only as an opportunity, but as a necessity of maintaining social order within a moral framework. A el Polese e a ks that hospitalit a a e see o al o ligatio of the host, ho is supposed to sha e ith the o e ho has less, as atha ti o as . Hosting as Moral Enrichment: That maintenance of morality is not without reward, though. Jelloun su a izes this he he sa s he a othe pe so myself….it s a ki d of test. o es to house, he tea hes . Polese also speaks to this di e tl , o side ed so ethi g that e i hes the host e thi gs a out oti g hospitalit a e o all , efo e his eigh ou s, his guest, o God a d that only by taking complete care of the guest may the host present himself as respectable and respectful and fulfill his o al o ligatio s 9). Hosting in anticipation or fulfillment of reciprocity: A common discussion in anthropological works on hospitality is that of reciprocity, though Derrida and others point out that a paradox exists, since one cannot expect reciprocity. Polese des i es the pe eptio that a st a ge s isit is a gift a d p odu es trust and reciprocity, a dL h et. al epo t that the ideas of e ha ge a d e ip o it pe a ious defi itio s a d des iptio s of hospitalit oppositio al o epts? Polese e plai s if aea u forward. e of a s hospitalit a e go e o d a eate . How does one reconcile to two seemingly ate ialisti o eptio of e ip o it , the e e e ip o ated. In fact, it is a gift, and is meant to be reciprocated Hosting as an essential social fact: L a cultural form, h et. al asse t that a th opologists ha e app oa hed hospitalit as . Co ad Lashle s theo izes that hospitalit is esse tiall a ultu al e ho of the utualit a d e ip o it of hu te -gatherer cultures: while later developments may have been concerned with fear of and need to contain strangers, hospitality primarily involves mutuality and exchange, and thereby feelings of altruism and beneficence. (Lashley: 2001) Jelloun ph ases it thusl : [hospitality] concerns the elementary rules of society. Of existing with others in a elatio ship of utual e og itio , , a d “el ea s of a ti ulati g so ial st u tu es e a ks that a ts of hospitalit se e as o e . As we shall see, this also reinforces the idea that hospitality is a gift to be reciprocated to others. Hosting out of curiosity: This o ept is efe e ed ost di e tl offer some information, a e dotes a d sto ies to the host Polese, ho otes that the guest can 6). Though it does not appear conceptualized in much else of the available literature, I would suggest, as a recent host that there is a certain measure of excitement and curiosity that arises from the prospect of hosting others. This curiosity is the mirror of the curiosit o u s he o e pa ti ipates i ou h su fi g , o o tai i g f ee te po a homestay accommodations through online social mobility networks. Hosting as an act of honor and prestige: Polese, i efe i g to the o ept of p estige, ote if a pe so is perceived as a prestigious guest in a particular setting, hosting this person will become a source of prestige for the household that hosted… . What makes a guest prestigious in the HONK!TX setting? By virtue of virtuosity and participation, the musician-guest is the honored guest that represents prestige to the HONK!TX hosts. As “el fo the ho ou the guest said, ho ou sic] bestowed on a guest by his host derives in large part i gs to his host . After examining the theoretical frame o k u de l i g hospitalit , it s i po ta t to ote that HONK! festivals work on an event-driven scale, and organizers are charged with providing hospitality on a macroscopic scale for the collective corpus of visiting musician-guests while also attempting to accommodate their individual needs. Thus, the organizing committee of the host city welcomes the group i to the ho e of the host it , hile the i di idual hosts el o e the usi ia s as st a ge s to si gle home. The key lies in the event-driven aspect of hospitality: recalling that musicians are treated both as individuals and a large visiting group, each specific aspect of hospitality can be discussed at the level it was provided. Thus, when Jelloun sa s that he a guest o es i to house he brings something into it a d helps to keep the t aditio of hospitalit ali e, e a ie that guest as all HONK!TX usi ia - guests, and the keep[ing] the tradition alive as attending to their collective and individual needs. The collective and individual needs: In folkloric terms the provision of food and drink is a near-universal aspect of hospitality: in most cultures, there are explicit or implicit rules that food or drink be offered to guests, and there are usually standards prescribing which foods and drinks are appropriate. Reciprocally, these sets of rules also assert that guests are obligated to accept proffered food and drink and that failure to do so is insulting. (Stallman: 1999) Yet many of the host and guest survey respondents show that HONK!TX hosts did not by default offer food or drink, at least not in the context of presenting either as an offering for the guests. Rather than an omission of this universal aspect, though, it was addressed at the macro level. HONK!TX organizers bore the responsibility to provide food and drink for all the musician-guests26, by procuring food and drink donations from local businesses and providing them to musicians during scheduled performance periods27. As Polese said, offe i g food the host is building a relationship of trust, aki g clear that the guest is welcome and is 6). Acting in the identified role of housing coordinator, I was responsible for soliciting potential hosts, securing their participation, and matching hosts and guests. In turn, the hosts fulfilled their role by welcoming the guests and providing accommodations to their assigned visitors. In cases where there were not enough soft spots and bedrolls for the number of anticipated guests, additional supplies were procured from willing volunteers and delivered to the hosts, further allowing the orchestration of hospitality at both the macro and micro levels. The sheltering of the musician-guests is further discussed at length below. Another more elusive aspect of hospitality is that of gift-exchange. Organizing festival logistics 28 to provide hassle-free venues, procuring and presenting memorabilia, providing detailed information regarding the festival and the city all fall under this extended purview of hospitality. It is the welcoming of and opening of the space to the free exploration of the musician-guest that ei fo es the o ept of the 26 27 Including local participating bands. In addition to the provision of meals during scheduled performance periods, HONK!TX organizers also hosted an after-party in a local warehouse and provided donated food and drink. Notably, at the conclusion of the festival, Austin representatives of the Burning Man community provided free food to all attendees still present – musicians and audience alike. 28 There are a number of tasks involved in this portion of organizing; for HONK!TX, it required approximately ten months of continuous collective work, most of it under the direction and example of Organizer #1. est hospitalit ei g the ost u o t usi e o e Polese: 9). The exemplar of this gift exchange, discussed below, was the provision of 72 loaner bikes to musicians who expressed the desire to have one. These actions appear in the natural course of hosting a HONK! event, and extend beyond the need for reciprocity or gratitude, though both help organizers and hosts feel appreciated. The nature of the gift lies in what Jelloun alls a disi te ested gestu e that should t e lutte ed up ith o ds. It s hat he efe s to hi he he sa s . Fo a ou do t talk a out ho i a d take good a e of HONK! festival to work, it has to honor what Polese calls the fu da e tal st u tu e of the elatio ship et ee people i a so iet a d to e ip o ate to t eat a guest, ou ask hi hi h a ies fo a d the o ligatio to gi e, to e ei e, ). The reciprocation is that of keeping of the tradition of HONK! hospitality alive. PLOTTING HEARTS AND HOMES: PROVIDING BEDS FOR 195 MUSICIAN-GUESTS I assumed the role of housing coordinator at a November HONK!TX planning meeting, initially equipped only with a vague understanding that finding local residents to host visiting musicians was a key aspect of HONK! festivals elsewhere. Since I had alternating roles in the early period, my initial recruiting efforts were somewhat disorganized and were primarily concerned with finding volunteers on a general basis rather than specifically for housing purposes. 29 Early on, I sought the advice of housing and volunteer coordinators for other HONK! festivals, and true to HONK! form, they readily provided information and examples.30 One of my first role-specific tasks was the creation of online documents and questionnaires to assist with the recruiting process. As an organizing committee, we began spreading the word via our website and social media pages, as well as circulating volunteer interest sign-up sheets at promotional events like the December HONK!TX fundraiser. 31 29 As part of the organizational transition period in October, November and December of 2010, I underwent three iterations of my role as an organizer: (1) simultaneously the volunteer coordinator and housing coordinator; (2) one of three volunteer coordinators; (3) and housing coordinator. 30 Several other committee members experienced the same generosity of guidance and encouragement from the HONK! Boston and HONK! Fest West committee members. 31 As a volunteer-run non-profit festival, HONK!TX, like the other HONK!s, is reliant on in-kind and financial support. To accomplish this, a fundraising campaign was initiated using the online promotional platform Kickstarter. Over $10,000 was raised from individuals, and the December HONK!TX fundraiser was a capstone performance featuring the Minor Mishap Marching Band and others to celebrate the achievement. I sent an online volunteer sign-up form to all those who had indicated an interest in volunteering, to members of Minor Mishap Marching Band and to friend networks. A link to the form was also featured on the HONK!TX official website and distributed through social media outlets. This volunteer sign-up form solicited contact information and schedule availability, featured a A out You se tio where the volunteers were encouraged to highlight their strengths and interest, and checkboxes for area of olu tee i te est ph ased i the the a ds! The fo a ould ot e su e of I a …! e.g.: I a help feed the a ds! o I can help host itted ithout a s e i g all of the uestions. The volunteer, transportation, and housing coordinators consulted the received data from the sign-up form and categorized volunteers per their interest area. 32 Following that, initial contact was initiated based on this categorization. As an example, emails to interested volunteers read, in part: I want to take a moment and thank you for signing up to volunteer - we are excited to have you on board! I will be in touch over the next few days to see how we can best match your skills and interests with the available volunteer slots. Shortly after assuming the role of housing coordinator, I created an online form specifically suited to address housing volunteers. This form, which ultimately became a primary planning tool for myself and the Organizer #3, initially required the housing volunteer provide: contact information, scheduling availability, physical address, a neighborhood name or major cross streets, a description detailing a aila le spa e, a list of u fo e a d t pe of pets, a d hethe o ot smoking was acceptable. The also i luded the optio to p o ide a des iptio of the host s household style , an indication of whether they were willing to assist with transporting assigned musician-guests, and any additional requirements or comments they felt would help the assignment process.33 Through December and January, members of the organizing committee began to express concern that we were not finding enough hosts. That concern was expressed plainly in a January Harmonic Dissidents article in which Orgnizer #1 usi ia s. uipped please please please offe ou house to isiti g Though se e al olu tee s, i ludi g o ga ize s, had provided volunteer host responses by this time, the bulk of the housing volunteers filled out the form in February, approximately 45 days before the festival. HONK! Boston Housing Coordinator, had forewarned me: 32 Though somewhat awkward, I find it easiest to occasionally alternate between referring to the position – housing coordinator - and myself as the person fulfilling that role. 33 The assisti g te t ead the bands of HONK! come in many shapes and forms, and we want to try to match each group with a host that best fits their living style and needs. How would you generally describe your home? The first two years there were moments when I felt genuine panic. Like, 35 people coming in a huge bus, all want to stay together and like to party! Eeps. Miraculously, it's always worked out….There have been a few disasters….But 99.9% of the situations have been successful, which is miraculous, really, considering it's all a giant leap of faith. The success of the hosting portion of HONK!TX hospitality was dependent on recruiting a large enough base of volunteers to feasibly achieve the outlined goals discussed below. I asked my friends and asked them to ask their friends; any time someone signed up to host, I asked them to help spread the word to others. I asked volunteers who had signed up for other roles and committee members to help spread the word far and wide too. I would discuss housing as still needing volunteers, even after I had enough hosts to achieve my primary goal of making sure we had enough available spaces. I also recruited a few people who had signed up for other roles by telling them it would be a very rewarding experience and one of the best ways they could help out. The committee members also spread the word through their existing friend networks. As one example, Organizer #7 sent out an email to the local Burning Man community. These recruiting actions were quite similar to that of the other HONK! festivals. HONK! Boston Housing Coordinator noted her recruiting practices included: [A] Community Meeting [that] helps identify hosts. We post on the lists of the two local Arts Councils. We put it (and volunteer needs too) in our press releases, and on the website. For two years I went door to door with little fliers, in the Davis Square neighborhood, but I think that only brought one or two hosts and it was a ton of work…. Once I amassed a big list of hosts and what they have to offer, and their addresses, I take a map and marked each home on it. Then I do my best to put members of the same bands in close proximity to each other. I actually enjoy solving that puzzle. HONK! Fest West Housing Organizer, who placed 175 musician-guests last year, informed me that her recruiting strategy is [to] ask everyone I know if they are interested in housing and then try match hosts with musicians based on brief questionnaires I ask oth of the to o plete…. a d lots of networking and emails to as many people as I can think of asking for referrals of their f ie ds….Ma of last ea s hosts a e eager to [host] again this year. I am also using a questionnaire for musicians and hosts to complete to help me match people. Based on the advice and assistance of the other HONK! housing coordinators and my own innate sense of hospitality, I embarked on the plan to host 195 musicians with three main goals in mind. First, I had to find available space for all musician-guests in need. That meant obtaining an accurate count of the total spaces available and the highest estimate of musicians needing accommodations.34 Once that goal was achieved, I could address the second goal of keeping bands housed in the same residence whenever 34 Some musicians had chosen to stay with friends or otherwise make their own arrangements. possible. This was directly related to my third goal: when not possible to house the musicians in the same residence, I would try to group them as close to each other as possible. Since some HONK!TX bands had up to 40 members needing accommodations, the third goal was a necessary one. As the number of willing hosts increased, I amended my goals to include (4) keeping bands in close proximity to the It's kind of an exciting job, isn't it, because you realize you're in the midst of assisting people with longterm friendships. Many of my hosts festival venues when the bands did not have their own transportation; (5) attempting to honor allergy requests for from last year asked for the same people back again this year! people with disclosed allergies; (6) attempting to intuit HONK! appropriate matchups between hosts and bands based on Coordinator Fest West - Housing subjective responses and collective knowledge of band personalities; (7) obtain and distribute bedding as needed; and (8) accommodate special requests. Once these specific goals were expressed, my recruitment strategy shifted from a general focus to locating those potential hosts which could fulfill the remaining hierarchical needs. One of my final recruiting emails, sent less than one month before HONK!TX began, read in part: our other consideration is that we could really use a few more host homes a bit closer in to downtown - especially in the East Austin and University districts. If you have signed up to host, and have not been directly contacted or assigned, this is the most likely reason. Many visiting musicians are using bikes or public transit to get around, and our goal is to house them as close as possible to the activity areas. As with the recruiting strategy, I also relied on the experience of the other housing coordinators to help achieve my goals. HONK! Housing Coordinator, who had organized housing for 200 musician-guests in Boston, told me her goals included: To house visiting musicians as close to Davis Square (where most of the festival happens) as possible, giving priority to guests without cars. To put musicians from the same band in houses geographically close together. To send bands with vehicles to houses a bit farther away. To provide comfort for musicians who request it. (Some bands want to be all together, and that's a priority over having beds. Other bands feel the opposite.) To be able to provide assurances to hosts that their guests will be respectful. This last one is hard since we don't know many of the people we're housing. Her last statement is an important one. Since a primary aim or feature of hospitality is to st e gthe so ial ties a d oost t ust et o ks a o g i di iduals Polese: , at hi g pe so alities becomes an integral and important part of the experience. Yet, that matchup is based on interpretation of open-ended questions and a subjective assessment of relative personality traits of the host and the comprising members of the bands that are potential guests. Thus, attempts to match up hosts and guests becomes an exercise in matchmaking using a combination of logic and educated guesses. HONK! Fest West Housing Organizer confirmed this when she admitted that, when it comes to host assignments, it s fu to use…i tuitio . HONK! Boston Housing Coordinator s remarks reveal a similar sentiment, thanks to intuitive efforts being largely successful and providing feedback for future recruiting: some of the matches have been heavenly--musicians continue relationships with their hosts and return to the same homes…hosts and their kids march in the parade with their guests; etc. I've found that people really like being part of the festival in this way, and that's probably the best way to sell it to them. (It also helps to let musicians know how critical our relationship with the community is, and how their behavior will [affect] the festival overall.) Using the technique of map-plotting (see Figure 1) as the housing volunteers came in, I could see where the 'clusters' of hosts were cropping up. Some of the volunteers for hosting were too far away from the performance venues for my comfort, so I requested that volunteers who were closer in take as many musicians as they thought they could handle in the hopes of opening up more possibilities. Indeed, I had to change the planned assignments as additional hosts volunteered. Some of the most strategically valuable hosts signed on a mere ten days before the festival. Figure 1: Map display of potential hostand venue locations in the Austin metro area. Once the housing assignments were somewhat finalized, I sent a congenial email acquainting the host a d the assig ed a d s point of contact, and providing details of the arrangements. That email included names and contact information, the physical address, a description of the house, specific host requests, the number and type of available sleeping spaces and number of assigned musician-guests, and several paragraphs of general information. The latter included commentary on transportation, allergies, shower arrangements, security and access, making alternate arrangements, and a general advisory to be courteous. See Appendix 1 for an example of this email template. THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF HONK!TX HOSTING: In analyzing the data provided by volunteer signups, respondents and informants, I realized there were several demographic patterns emerging. Although it is not my intent to attempt a wide statistical analysis replete with qualitative details, the following discussion of demographics offers insight into key facets of planning and hosting. A total of 60 Austin residents indicated an initial interest in hosting musicians via the volunteer sign-up form. Following initial contact, 52 volunteers signed up to host on the volunteer housing form. Not all of these potential hosts were the same ones who indicated an initial interest: some were festival organizers, and others filled out the housing volunteer form without completing the volunteer sign-up form. Of these 52 potential hosts, 29 were selected to host in some capacity (55.7%). This included selecting four volunteers as reserve hosts, should issues arise with any of the primary hosts and two volunteers who were convinced to place their recreational vehicles on another hosts property.35 Of the 52 hosts who signed up on the housing volunteer form, 23 were within a three mile radius of festival activity areas36; an additional 20 were within a seven mile radius; an additional eight were within a 15 mile radius, and one was outside the fifteen mile radius. Six potential hosts were festival organizers, ten were Minor Mishap Marching Band members but not organizers, 20 were friends or acquaintances band members or organizers, and the remaining 16 were volunteers without apparent pre-existing connections to HONK!TX. Four days before festival commencement, 195 musician-guests had been identified as needing accommodations.37 Of the 188 musicians accounted for in the housing assignments, 31 stayed with organizers (16%), 72 stayed with Minor Mishap Marching Band members (38%), 65 stayed with friends and acquaintances of Minor Mishap Marching Band members (35%), and 20 stayed with other volunteer 35 The primary motive for this was to allow E peror Norto ’s “tatio ary Mar hi g Ba d to stay together and fairly close-in to festival venues. 36 For geographic reference, the activity areas I refer to are Adams Park, Pan-American Park, and East 6th Street at Waller in Austin. The radii are approximated from any of these three locations. 37 Of these 195 prospective guests, 188 musicians were confirmed to have actually stayed at planned accommodations. Five of the seven musicians are not accounted for, though they are likely members of the 40person March Madness Marching Band who decided to stay elsewhere or were not counted. Similarly, two members of the Young Fellaz Brass Band either made their own arrangements, or were uncounted by their host. hosts (11%). One can infer the importance of existing trust networks, since 89% of accommodated musicians stayed with a host who in some fashion had pre-existing connections to HONK!TX (see Figure 2).38 Figure 2: the importance of existing networks in securing potential hosts. Regarding proximity to festival venues, 98 of musician-guests were housed within a three-mile radius (52.1%), another 36 were within seven miles (19.2%), and the final 54 were housed outside the seven mile radius (28.7%). The three selected hosts located outside of the seven mile radius were selected because of offered space available and the aforementioned goal of keeping bands together whenever possible. Regarding transportation, of those hosted beyond the seven mile radius, 100% had access to their own motorized transportation (i.e., cars or chartered busses); within the three-to-seven mile range, 27 out of 36 did (75%); and within the three mile range, 15 out of 98 (15%) did. Another way of interpreting the housing layout can be explained by distinguishing four general categories of accommodation for HONK!TX musician-guests: 1. Large houses but further removed from festival venues: March Madness Marching Band and What Cheer? Brigade each had larger bands with their own transportation arrangements. One Minor Mishap member specifically requested to host the nineteen visitors What Cheer? Brigade in his large-but-distant house, and another member offered his three-bedroom house in North Austin to host March Madness Marching Band. However, both homes required a twenty minute drive to get to the venues, and while bands were happy to be housed together, they specifically commented on the length of commute as an area for possible improvement. 38 Pre-existing ties is meant to convey that the host was either a principal festival organizer, a member of the host it s a hi g a d, o a f ie d o a uai ta e of eithe category. 2. Close-in single stops for small-to-medium size bands: With several bands numbering twelve members or fewer visiting for HONK!TX, some of the volunteers were requested to host an entire band (myself among them). Though some of the homes appeared small, the arrangement worked well, with most of the respondent guest and host feedback being positive. The largest single stop housed all sixteen visiting members of Titanium Sporkestra, who also had access to loaner bikes. 3. Clusters and super-clusters: In other instances, bands were housed in clusters or super-clusters. Clusters were two homes in close proximity and super-clusters were three or more homes in relatively close proximity. This arrangement proved popular with The Carnival Band and other larger bands who had access to loaner bikes. 4. Diasporas and open-ended housing arrangements: Members of some visiting bands opted to make their own housing arrangements or chose to disperse and seek out HONK!TX hosts in differing parts of town. By virtue of seeking their own accommodations or dispersing throughout the available accommodations, these musician-guests enabled me to house all musicians who needed accommodations while achieving the goals set forth. Examples included Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society and Seed & Feed Marching Abominable. HONK!TX organizers and members of the Minor Mishap Marching Band who had volunteered to host were given priority. Following that, host volunteers were vetted based on proximity to the festival activities and to other hosts. A substantial number of these volunteers had some connection to festival organizers or Minor Mishap Marching Band members, and many of them (42%) would ultimately help in other ways during the festival. Based on subjective criteria, one or more of the following factors influenced the selection process for identifying hosts and reserve hosts:       Fifteen hosts were selected because their location was convenient to festival venues. Nine were selected because of proximity to other hosts. T el e e e sele ted e ause of a lassifi atio e.g., o ga ize o a d e e . Nine were selected because of the amount of space they had available. Eight were selected because of the enthusiasm they displayed for participating in the festival. Two were selected by specific request: one host assignment requested by the visiting band, and one band assignment requested by a potential host. Similarly, one or more of the following subjective factors influenced my non-selection of potential hosts:       Ten were not selected because the distance to venues was too great. Eight were not selected because they volunteered after a suitable housing plan had already been arranged and partially communicated. Two were not selected because they did not respond to communication in a timely manner. Two were not selected because they offered only outdoor accommodations. Two were not selected because of quality of life concerns. Other factors for non-sele tio e e la k of e thusias a d li ited amount of space available. There were three potential hosts for which no reason for non-selection is evident. In reviewing my notes, I found few clues to adequately explain why these hosts were not used. At least one of those three seemed hesitant to host, hi h ould e des i ed as la k of e thusias , and had little available space, but the location was central to festival venues. For the other two, both of which came as referrals by other organizers, the potential hosts appeared to have met basic distance and space objectives. In retrospect, I presume I was fixated on host assignments organized around other criteria and inadvertently underestimated the value of these potential hosts. Outside of what might be considered typical housing coordinator actions, there were two events that bear repeating: one week prior to festival commencement, I had to resolve communication issue with HONK!TX Host #38. The host in question was not returning phone calls or emails to the assigned musicians or myself, and I had been advised by HONK!TX Organizer #5 that the host in question could sometimes be ei d. HONK!TX Host #8, who was already scheduled to host other members of the affected band, was willing to take on the extra musicians. Since he was conveniently located near most of the festival activities, I was able to reassign the affected musicians without using the reserves. This meant there were 22 active hosts at the commencement of HONK!TX. The other twist happened after HONK!TX Host #18 was assigned to host the five members of Petrojvich Blasting Company. Since that band had friends in Austin, whom I will refer to as The Unassigned HONK!TX Hosts, they made arrangements to stay with them after requesting and receiving HONK!TX accommodations. HONK!TX Host #18 and myself were not notified until after HONK!TX had commenced. For the purposes of analysis, since both HONK!TX Host #18 and The Unassigned HONK!TX Hosts were Minor Mishap volunteers who were used - one by assignment, the other by circumstance - both are counted amongst the hosting results, but neither received a hosting survey. COMMODITIZATION OF HONOUR: EXPLOITING HOSPITALITY HONK! festivals thrive on participatory spirit within the music and geo-local communities. Hospitality is, among other things, a sacred obligation. However, even openness and generosity can be exploited if hospitality arrangements seem to be expected and demanded rather than appreciated. One such study in contrasts occurred in the final lead-up to HONK!TX. In mid-February, Independent Instrumentalist #139 advised HONK!TX Organizers #1 and #4 of her interest in attending HONK!TX and busking or performing. Despite missing the participation notification deadline by two months, Organizer #1 i fo a o da e ith HONK! p oto ol, she ed he she as el o e to atte d a d pa ti ipate, ould ot e offe ed a t a el stipe d pe fo ut, i a e spa e. 40 Organizer #1 informed her several of the attending bands were known to encourage independent musicians to join them during the HONK! festivals: I highly recommend contacting Environmental Encroachment, a Chicago-based outfit driving to Austin. They're Honk veterans who are super-fun to watch and play with, and they have specifically tailored their music to allow for insertion of new [instruments]. We did t hea f o – illeti g , she asked a he agai u til eight da s efo e the festi al. Usi g the su je t li e HONK!TX oo at the i fo o e o e? Organizer #1 reiterated the welcome and reminded her neither a stipend nor a dedicated performance space would be available. The Independent Instrumentalist replied: "billeting" is sleeping bag or couch space. Many folkie-casual event organizers make it available to long-distance attendees. I've seen it mentioned on the websites of other Honk events too. Here, her tone had shifted to that of expecting a service rather than acknowledging an offer of hospitality, and seemed out of touch with our brief collective organizational experiences of what HONK! was about. Beyond the lack of gratitude, she was attempting to define to the providers of HONK! hospitality what her expectation of HONK! hospitality was. 39 40 So named because she is unaffiliated with any of the HONK! bands. Since the focus of HONK!s is on community street bands, individuals are encouraged to join visiting bands. Individual performances are welcome, but competing with visiting bands for gratuities is frowned upon. Organizer #1, who had been working on HONK!TX logistics for ten straight months, confided to me, I don't think she understands the work we've put in and the work that's left to do. I find that f ust ati g. I ag eed, a d e a k o ledged that aki g a a ge e ts fo an expectant independent visitor who was unappreciative of the effort behind HONK! festivals felt like a chore. Nonetheless, I verified one of the reserve hosts was able to accommodate Independent Instrumentalist #1 s e uest, a d sent her the relevant information. She did not respond. In this case, the sanctity underpinning hospitality was violated. In discussing hospitality, Polese me tio s that the est hosts o lige guest e uests, ut also otes guests…should ot e a u de o the…host . While still extending the offer of hospitality, we sensed the ritual had become commoditized to an frustrating extent. In treating the freely offered provisions of HONK! hospitality, and the esta lishi g of a elatio ship “el : , as a service to be commanded, the Independent Instrumentalist #1 seemed to have missed the point of offer. Quoting Selwyn: Acts of hospitality achieve [the establishment or promotion of a relationship] in the course of exchanges of goods and services, both material and symbolic, between those who give hospitality (hosts) and those who receive it (guests). Was Independent I nstrumentalist #1attempting to cheat the exchange by avoiding mutual participation in the offer on both the material and symbolic level? In contrast, a HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 sent me an email requesting accommodations, a i le, a d o k fo food o e day prior to the scheduled arrival of my first guests. Without hesitation, I and the other organizers began providing options for him. He ran into transport difficulties along the way way to Austin, and we again provided options to make sure her arrived safely that evening. He was extraordinarily gracious throughout, and his tone was that not only of deep appreciation, but of understanding. He offered reciprocity in the form of assistance. But it is neither the altruism or reciprocity that I wish to highlight here. Rather, we HONK!TX organizers collectively knew that Honk Fest West Organizer #7 would not attempt to exploit the hospitality that he provides to others during HONK! Fest West. To the contrary, it was our honor to attend to the Honk Fest West Organizer #7 needs, perhaps in i itatio of “el s asse tio that: honour [sic] bestowed on a guest by his host derives in large part from the honour the guest i gs to his host….at the hea t of ea h a t of hospitalit is a e ha ge of ho ou between host and guest. BIKES FOR THE MASSES! AN ACT OF SYMBOLIC HOSPITALITY41 During a mid-November HONK!TX planning meeting, three crucial positions were identified as needing filled: transportation, housing, and volunteers. meeting, she voluntee ed to defi itel outside of i e the t a spo tatio Though it was only Orga izer #3’s second oo di ato . “he ad itted f a kl that it was o fo t zo e a d so ethi g I' e e e do e efo e, ut that so eho I atel u de stood ho t a spo tatio should o k. Within a few weeks of that meeting, Organizer #3 met with Organizer #1 and a HONK!TX Volunteer #77 in November to discuss bicycles as a possible means of supplemental transportation, in addition to walking, busses, and a few shuttles. The idea behind it was that Austin was geographically a hybrid of the Seattle HONK! Fest West with limited public transportation options and the Boston's HONK! with venues fairly lose togethe , I te est i usi g i les as a ti ipated to e After those first fe [HONK!TX] meetings, I made the mental leap of using music as building fairly low, community and as a way to give Once the plan was announced, Organizer #3 and HONK!TX Volunteer #77 ega back to our community. Yes, oo di ati g ith Austi s Yello Bike P oje t, Austin is the "live music capital a non-profit service that collects unwanted bicycles in need of of the world" but so much repair, voluntarily repairs them, and donates them back to money exchanges hands, it feels community families in need. Organizer #3 set up an online sign-up dirty. – Organizer #3 sheet for visiting musicians to submit requests for a loaner bike, that they would have access to for the entirety of their stay. She also arranged for the Yellow Bike Project workshop to be opened during each Sunday in February for bike-repair workshops where volunteers could repair bikes for HONK!TX, as supervised by HONK!TX Volunteer #77 and other Yellow Bike staff. Then, the unexpected happened. Expecting twenty or so requests for bikes, Organizer #3 realized she was getting dozens more requests than expected. To complicate matters, the bike-repair workshops were not heavily attended, and the repair work by novice volunteers was slow and of dubious quality. In all, only 21 Yellow Bikes would be in acceptable condition in time for HONK!TX. Organizer #3 had to heel a d deal to ake up the diffe e e of ikes ikes. O e agai , HONK!TX o ga ize s looked to the o 41 e ee u it to step up a d p o ide issi g… 51 hat as still All quotes appearing in this section that are not accompanied by in-line citation are drawn directly from Organizer #3 as informant or from post-festival survey respondents. needed. In the final weeks before HONK!TX, Organizer #3 reached out to members of Minor Mishap, HONK!TX volunteers, and the Austin biking community, exploiting friend networks to reach as many people as possible with a deceptively simple request: please, loan your bike to a visiting musician. It worked, albeit in a way that consumed the vast majority of Orga izer #3’s time. Logistically, each bike had to be picked up from wherever it was, stored in a central location to be examined for eeded epai s, epai ed as eeded, a d deli e ed to the assig ed host s house. In addition to communication and correspondence, the logistics of the bicycle provision represented over 160 hours worth of work - and that was on top of other requirements of transportation coordination. In the final days before HONK!TX commenced, musician-guests with bike-repair assistance pitched in to repair the remaining bikes so that all 72 requests could be fulfilled. Organizer #3 had gone so far as to match bike sizes to the nearest approximation of the requesting user, and HONK!TX Volunteer #77, in addition to sixty invested hours of repair time, provided locks for all the riders who did not bring their own. Symbolic Representation & Reception: By providing bicycles to any musician-guest “itti g o the ur o “aturday evening watching a group of bikes ride past heading to afterparty made all the blood, sweat, a d tears orth it. – Organizer #3 who requested one, Organizer #3 and her supporting cast were offering an unexpected gift as part of the exchange in hospitality. Symbolically it was as powerful as providing food, drink or shelter. HONK! culture has an ethos of self-sufficiency, and a passion for exploring cultural boundaries and borders. Here, Organizer #3 had provided a gift that fostered these and provided an alternative ea s of t a spo tatio that allo ed that est hospitalit hi h is the u o t usi e o e that allo s guests thei own space and a t s upo the guest s e uest. Polese: . The gift also repaid in kind to the organizers and hosts, since it eased the transportation burden. The provision of bicycles was not taken for granted by the musician-guests. One of them expressed surprise in his honorific: oh my fucking god, this is the est idea e e …just HONK! ould t e outdo e. A othe HONK! ete a he I thought e a ked that the donated bikes really made the experience. A thi d uipped big kudos for the bicycle arrangements. That REALLY made my weekend! Beyond that, the hospitality demonstrated by Organizer #3 and her supporters was realized through the a t of ge e osit itself. As she put it, this festival is bigger than any one person or any group of people. The end result, I was delighted to be an integral part of bringing HONK!TX to Austin. My musical family grew by leaps and bounds in a few short days. THE ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE: FIELD NOTES FROM HOSTING Between Thursday, March 10th and Tuesday, March 14th, I hosted a total of ten musician-guests from Scene of the Crime Rovers and HONK! Fest West Organizer #7. I have taken this opportunity to provide additional ethnographic recollections of the experience from the perspective of host. To be fair, I cannot recall with great accuracy the events of HONK!TX. Such a whirlwind of activity it was, and something I was heavily invested in emotionally and physically. As such, I have had to piece together the events of the day from memories, emails, surveys, calendar and journal notes, and clues from friends. The plan: Prior to guest arrivals, I would receive two packages from Fed-Ex: one containing Scene of the Cri e Ro ers’ bass drum, the other containing the a d s sousaphone. On Thursday, March 10th, I would be retrieving five members of Scene of the Crime Rovers from the airport in the afternoon and retrieving HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 from the Grayhound Bus Station in the late evening. I had two other airport pickups scheduled that day. On Friday, March 11th, as time allowed, I would pick up one additional member of Scene of the Crime Rovers from the airport. The remaining four members, arriving after festival commencement, would take the bus from the airport to my house or rent a car and drive themselves from the airport. Three Scene of the Crime Rovers members would depart on Sunday, March 12th, and I would drive the remaining seven to the airport on Monday, March 13th. Seattle Organizer was flying home from San Antonio, and I would take him to the airport on Tuesday, March 14th. 42 The Space: At the time of hosting, I occupied a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with approximately 950 square feet of total space. I had two roommates, one of whom opted to allow musician guests stay in his room, while the other did not. I occupied the master bedroom of the house, which had an attached 42 Scene of the Crime Rovers sent six females and four males to HONK!TX. bathroom, a walk-in closet, and was approximately 170 square feet in size. I had a queen-size bed aligned north-south against the northwest wall. Roommate #1, who opened his space to guests, occupied a bedroom that was approximately 110 square feet in size and had a small closet. He had a full size bed aligned north-south along the northwest wall. The remaining useable space for guests was the living room, approximately 230 square feet in size, but bordered by a hutch on the east wall, a love-seat on the south wall, a couch on the west wall, and another love seat aligned east-west against the east wall. Of the ten Scene of the Crime Rovers musician-guests, none had expressed the advance desire to sleep outside, though I had offered tenting arrangements for interested parties. Consequently, all ten would be housed inside, dependent on my obtaining enough bedding for everyone involved. HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 agreed to sleep outside in the tent, however since he arrived the rather chilly night before the other half Scene of the Crime Rovers, both of us slept in the living room. Thanks to Roommate #2, several volunteers from Minor Mishap and HONK!TX Supporters, I had obtained two additional air mattresses, three air cushions, and one plush foam mattress, as well as additional pillows and blankets. I also planned to use the couch as a sleeping platform for one of the guests. Outside, I set up my tent and Roommate #2 set up his tent; in each, we put one of the air cushions and a sleeping bag. Preparation: I went shopping at a local grocery store the night before the Scene of the Crime Rovers were to arrive with the express intent of having food available. A o igi al udget of $ - doubled into $103.48 worth of goods: assorted apples, oranges, tangerines, berries, bananas, several kinds of chips, several kinds of salsas, twenty gallons of purified water, two 1 lb. bags of coffee, three bottles of assorted juices, extra toilet paper, and shower-liners. A bottle of 12-year-old Irish whiskey, provided by a friend, sat on the counter any who wished to imbibe. I rearranged my room and walk-in closet. I moved two bookcases from the center of the room to the southwest corner of the room and a three-fold divider was placed in the walk-in closet. I placed a nightstand that had been in the southwest corner in the closet as well. I moved my clothes to the back rack of the closet to free up shelf and hangar space in the front of the closet. I stacked an additional on top of a third bookshelf and moved my camera equipment which had been on that bookshelf into the closet. I cleared a low table and moved it next to the created shelf stack. I moved my desk from the center of the room against the north center wall, lengthwise along the east-west axis. I emptied several shelves and moved the contents to crowd other shelves so the musician-guests would have more room to store things. I also cleared the space beneath my bed. Roommate #1 rearranged his room. He stored a large amount of items under his bed or in his closet. He emptied three of his five dresser drawers and moved the contents into his closet or onto other shelves. He also placed a series of humorous post-it notes in obvious and hidden spots throughout his room.43 We cleaned the remaining rooms of the house. This meant sweeping and mopping the floors, straightening furniture, dusting and cleaning surfaces, and moving additional items around or out of sight to provide more available storage for our visitors. We also washed our sheets and pillowcases, the couch covers, and cleaned and cleared the bathrooms. I also cleaned the kitchen, including the refrigerator, and set out and marked all food intended for the visitors. I set out bedding for all guests: a double air mattress with two pillows and blanket and a plush foam pad on top of Styrofoam core with pillow and blanket in my room; a single air mattress with pillow and blanket in Roommate #1 s oo ; a d a a ai ushio with pillow and blanket in the living room. Roommate #2 and I set up the tents and air cushions in the backyard, and I set spare blankets and pillows on couch armrest. I prepared a document detailing house guidelines, local information, and other items of pertinence to provide to guests. See Appendix 2 for excerpts from this text. Roommate #1 and I made three computers with guest accounts and internet access available to visitors: one in his room, one in my room, and one in the common space just off of the kitchen. Roommate #2 and I made our bikes available and Organizer #3 brought four more – three for Scene of the Crime Rovers and one for HONK! Fest West Organizer #7.44 The arrival: On March 10th, I picked up the first five Scene of the Crime Rovers members as scheduled. I managed to fit all five of them in the car, including all of their belongings: two drum cases, a horn case, and two carry-ons of varying sizes each. Three of them sat on the back seats, and one of the lighter fe ales sat o o e of the 43 Hospitalit is e e (Polese: 2007) 44 ales laps. The tallest male sat up front in the passenger seat. he e: it a e a s ile, i fo atio , a s all gift o hidde help that ou ill e e dis o e . Roommate #2 had also been present at each of the bike-repair workshops. Upon arrival at the house, I gave them a brief tour of the space, identified the available bikes and provided the information packet. Next, they claimed their respective rooms by placing their instrument cases and carry-on luggage on or near the provided bedding. Throughout this time, I was also performing my organizing duties, answering phone calls and completing additional errands. Around 1:30 PM, the guests decided they wanted to explore the area and find a restaurant suitable for them. I directed them to a local vegetarian restaurant and drew the easiest bicycle routes with a highlighter on a map they had brought from the airport. That evening, HONK! Fest West Organizer #7’s bus was delayed, and I had to take him with me directly to the airport where I was scheduled to pick up two Carnival Band members. The two scheduled to arrive were nowhere to be found, and after extensive waiting, we ran into two other HONK!TX musician-guests e uesti g ides. We p o ptl deli e ed the to thei espe ti e host s with the assistance of HONK!TX Organizer #3. Following that, Organizer #3 and I treated HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 to dinner at a local 24-hour café as a way of welcoming him to town. By the time we returned to my house, it was after 3:00 AM. Festival days: alcohol, theft, and reciprocity On Friday morning, I woke around 8:30 AM and brewed coffee for the Scene of the Crime Rovers guests. Since HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 was sleeping on the couch, we took our coffee on the outside porch and had the kind of discussions that revealed our personalities to each other in small doses. That morning, I had the idea that I wanted to host a small get-together at the house that evening and invite some of the other musician-guests staying in nearby homes as well as members of Minor Mishap. Scene of the Crime Rovers guests responded enthusiastically to the idea. Following the festival commencement and clean-up errands, I returned to the house at Getti g dru k ith so eo e ea s o i g approximately 11:00 PM with HONK! Fest West to trust this person, to trust that even in Organizer #7. Scene of the Crime Rovers guests weaker conditions this person will not abuse followed closely behind, and by 1:00 AM, other musician-guests, hosts, members had arrived. and Minor Mishap you, and you are mutually responsible for one another’s safety. – Abel Polese At its peak, there were about twenty people at the house, and the event culminated in a jam-session featuring four saxophonists and three drummers. As a group, we consumed the entirety of available alcohol in the house. After the temporary visitors departed, I retired to my tent and fell asleep slightly intoxicated. HONK!TX commenced at 12:00 PM the next day, and I had to run some errands before arriving on site. I performed with Minor Mishap twice, watched many of the other bands, took photographs, and helped transport musician-guests to the official after-party that evening. During the after-party, HONK! Boston organizers called the present members of the HONK!TX organizing committee together and presented us with a placard, then led a rousing rendition of the song Deep in the Heart of Texas, replacing the word heart with the word HONK!45 Shortly after that, I noticed I had a phone message from the Scene of the Crime Rovers guests that had returned to my house. They informed me the television was missing from the living room. I returned home immediately to discover that a laptop and a gaming console were also missing. My musician-guests were somber as I requested a crime scene technician come out to take a report.46 Though the theft as dis o e ti g, I fou d self la e ti g guests so e ood. The should be happy – it was HONK!TX, a time of celebration, community, and joy. They were notably concerned for me, and for my belongings, and expressed that concern – but I was concerned for them too, for their enjoyment and comfort. So, we encouraged each other, and soon we were joking about the event, finding humor in our shared experience. One of the Scene of the Crime Rovers guests later remarked, …we just wanted to support you and do whatever we could to help. Hopefully, the silly topics we talk about made you laugh a little despite the situation. That same evening, the Scene of the Crime Rovers guests reciprocated my hospitality with unexpected gifts, presenting a giant 5 lb. bag of coffee beans, a bottle of Irish whiskey, and a hearty meal from a local Ethiopian restaurant. It was difficult to maintain any sort of disappointment about the loss of material possessions in light of such reciprocation. “ e e of the Cri e Ro ers’ actions and support spoke to Polese s assertion that in reciprocity of hospitality, the border between social relationships and money- (or commodity- oti ated e ha ges is… lu ed… . The rest of the visit went without incident, and in the case of all musician-guests I dropped off, I received hugs and verbal expressions of gratitude. I let them know it had been my honor and pleasure to host them, and we made informal arrangements for me to visit them in their hometown someday. The following day, HONK! Fest West Organizer #7 and I spoke at length, conversing as old friends do. We passed the time before his flight eating authentic San 45 To our collective chagrin, we could not stall the presentation long enough to allow for the two absent organizers to return from the errands they were on. 46 Irony in naming? Scene of the Crime Rovers were at the scene of the crime. Antonio Tex-Mex before I dropped him off at the airport with a big hug and well-wishes for the journey home. Though there was still much post-festival work to do, the realization that HONK!TX was over hit me as I drove home. I wish I had kept up with my journal in those following days. There were more airport drop-offs, collections and redistributions of beds and bikes, errands, and barely enough mental time to recall the HONK!TX experiences. It had been rewarding and exhausting – and soon after felt a distant and remote thing: faintly tangible, but present only in the moment it existed. INFORMANTS AND RESPONDENTS: HONK!TX RESPONSES Although few informants and respondents elected to remain anonymous – and only two declined permission to include their responses in this report – I have elected to maintain the anonymity of festival hosts, guests, volunteers and organizers and bands to the extent possible. To give an accurate representation, I have included my assessments below, supported by quoted responses where appropriate. Otherwise, I have summarized the respondent data. Despite most homes having only one available bathroom for multiple guests, sharing of bathroom time was not of major concern: All 5 [bandmates] and our 2 hosts shared one bathroom, and though that may seem tight, it worked out just fine - we didn't really spend enough time at the house that it was an issue. We had to share two bathrooms so there was a bit of a wait at times, but we created a shower sign-up sheet. We all got along fine. One a scale of 1 to 5, one being low and five being high: Fifteen responding musician-guests rated their e pe ie e 5: It was incredible and I had a wonderful time % ; three rated their e pe ie e 4: It was nice, though a few things could have been better ; two rated their e pe ie e 3: Pretty average, just fine for my purposes ; and no o e ated it unpleasant – I ish it had ee ette , : it as p ett ho ifi – I still e o e i g o : it as hi h e e the othe a aila le espo ses. Overall, the responses were overwhelmingly positive. Though there are a few suggestions for improvement, most of the feedback is written in a positive, upbeat tone that focuses on what was done right. Here are some excerpts: The outpouring of support through our volunteers and community through food donations, monetary donations, time, bedding, airport pickups and dropoffs, and bikes was amazing. – Organizer #3 It was a ton of fun, we adored our guests. They were fantastic guests but also really enjoyable people. Can't wait to see them again next year. – HONK!TX Host #13 Our house was far away from many sites where we were playing. This was daunting at first, but everyone on the TX committee did a great job ensuring we were all able to get to where we needed to be. – Musician-guest #50 My main suggestion is that you just try to maintain!!! You set the bar really high, I would be very impressed if you could just match this next year, let alone improve! – Musicianguest #68 I thought the scheduling/locations/logistics was pretty pro. I would suggest a better merching/busking policy, both for bands, and for the festival itself, just more organized, hearts and souls were there! Web presence was great!, people and volunteers were great! BRAVO!! -Also, I feel its very important to have band members in the same location if desired, which was greatly appreciated, Our hosts were awesome! – Musician-guest #89 HONK!TX hosts enjoyed the experience and would do it again. According to the 13 hosts out of 2347 who responded potential respondents, ten are a solutel depe ds, ut I p o a l ope to it 48 illi g to host agai , and for one, it . No respondents voiced reservations about hosting again. In the case of five respondents, guests looked after themselves well / [I am] better for having [hosted] them ; five others reported their hosting experience as pretty good / one or two things [could ha e go e ette ; and one moderate cleanup afte still a solutel a ds ut had to do as ota l illi g to host agai The Scene of the Crime Rovers musician- Criti al geographi al approa hes to hospitality recognize that hospitality does not just take place in space, but rather produces certain spaces as ore or less el o i g, ore or less hospita le. – Paul Lynch et. al guests who stayed with me expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the experience, despite the theft. Six out of the ten Scene of the Crime Rovers musician-guests responded, each of them remarking that the theft affected them on an emotional level. Many also cited the experience as bringing band closer together and serving as inspiration for hosting. One respondent remarked: 47 48 This survey was only sent to those HONK!TX hosts who were assigned and actually billeted musician-guests. Two were organizers and did not answer this question outright. I'm not good with big groups, and I wasn't always a model of a zen-like attitude during this trip, but I learned that although I'm a bit rough around the edges, I can get through a long weekend with a lot of people without completely losing myself... According to the detailed responses I have received, and as in my own example, reciprocity was a common feature among respondent host experiences. In many cases, the visitors cleaned up after themselves, and in nearly all cases the visitors provided some manner of gift or gifts to the host. 49 The type and expense of gifts varied, but some common gifts included alcohol, coffee, food, band paraphernalia, sheet music, thrift store purchases, and in one case, an embroidered sign. What to make of those who did not respond? It can certainly be argued that those who had a less than pleasant experience refrained from sharing their feedback because they wish to avoid perceived griping or whining, risk ostracization amongst peers, seem ungrateful, etc. That being said, I have heard from several hosts and guests personally and informally, and they shared many similarly positive responses. It is likely that much of the non-response is due to a lack of interest in answering survey questions, or lack of available time to respond. This may be especially true for guest survey, which I had little control over distribution with. As explained before, HONK! bands are a lively and diverse bunch of personalities; some people would be interested in giving feedback, and some would not. Detail of responses: Many of the informants who have expressed a willingness to respond are fairly detailed in their responses. My questions were open-ended to allow for a more personable in-depth response, should the respondent desire. Such explanations are invaluable ethnographic information, however much of the information cannot be included here. Analyzing the responses: The response rate was varied and in the case of guests, fairly limited. But the feedback I received from my informants and respondents was illuminating. I quickly realized that what I was seeing in the answers were the same concepts and ideas expressed by anthropologists and philosophers. In some cases, the responses informed the research as I sought reasoned explanations for the generosity and enthusiasm I witnessed. In examining the cultural motivations for this hospitality, I found many of the answers in the responses themselves.50 49 Admittedly, without a higher host response rate, it is difficult to determine how universal the practice was. 50 The responses also help tremendously for future festival planning. CONCLUSION: HONK!TX HOSPITALITY WORKS BECAUSE IT MUST HONK! is a created folk-festival phenomenon that brings free acoustic and mobile alternative marching band music to people in the forum of their hometown community public spaces. As part of the HONK! experience, local festival organizers act as hosts for the group of traveling musicians and arrange hospitality in the form of food, drink, shelter, and gifts. These hosts and guests view this hospitality as an innate part of the HONK! framework that operates at a fundamental social level, exchanging it freely with good feeling. In examining why the organizers and Austin residents who served as HONK!TX hosts provide hospitality to visiting musician-guests, we find support for many of the theoretical frameworks suggested by anthropologists and philosophers. To illustrate this assertion, I reinforce the theories with direct quotes from HONK!TX respondents: 1. Hosting builds or improves friend and trust networks / relationships: Theory: The asi fu tio of hospitalit is to esta lish a elatio ship o to p o ote a al ead esta lished elatio ship. “el HONK!TX Result: Ma people ho I a : e f ie dships e e fo ged e ause of the HONK!TX ike p oje t e e had a oppo tu it to ope su h eautiful dialogues ith] -HONK!TX Organizer #3 2. Hosting is a Moral Obligation: Theory: Hospitalit is eithe olu ta o alt uisti , ut… e essa a d o pulso . “el : 2001) HONK!TX Result: I had oo . – HONK!TX Organizer #6 3. Hosting as Moral Enrichment: Theory: It appea s as o e of the the sel es. “el : ea s… hi h so ieties ha ge, g o , e e a d ep odu e . HONK!TX Result: I wanted to do what I could to make the experience of visiting Austin easy, comfortable & fun for creative people who spread happiness, wackiness & general joyfulness. HONK!TX Host #12 4. Hosting in anticipation or fulfillment of reciprocity: – Theory: B p o idi g fo the guest the host is… eati g depe de e a d g atitude. HONK!TX Result: it as tu to let so eo e sleep o floo …a d I k e it as p o a l going to be fun – and it was! – HONK!TX Host #20 5. Hosting as an essential social fact or cultural necessity: Theory: It o e s the ele e ta ules of li i g i so iet . Jellou : HONK!TX Result: It s fu ha i g people a ou d. It s ot as i t usi e as sha i g a house ith a roommate – you get the benefits of cooking, conversation, a community feeling. – HONK!TX Host #13 6. Hosting out of curiosity: Theory: The guest a offe so e i fo atio , a e dotes a d sto ies to the host. Polese: HONK!TX Result: I expected that people who are in community marching bands tend to be people who are creative and open and interesting, so hosting was a way to interact with some interesting people. – HONK!TX Host #12 7. Hosting as an act of honor and prestige: Theory: Hosti g a p estigious guest ill e o e a sou e of p estige fo those that host. (Polese: 2007) HONK!TX Result: …as a olu tee of….The usi ia i a fo eig ost i po ta t pa t of o ga izi g HONK!TX is it … ou'll e a solutel take aki g it happe o atte ae hat. – HONK!TX Organizer #1 8. Hosting as recognition of the divinity in others: Theory: A i t i si pa t of ei g a host is ha i g ega d fo the sa ed atu e of the guest. (Selwyn: 2001) HONK!TX Result: Ma e e e e lu k a d just got a eall spe ial g oup of people sta i g ith us. – HONK!TX Host #12 From my own experience, I agree with any of these quotes, and all of them in sum. These myriad explanations serve the underlying theme of hospitality as a gift, freely given, to be carried forward. HONK!TX is a celebration that is, like all HONK!s, its own act of spontaneous generosity, filled with gifts for all who participate in it. There is no single aspect of personality or sociability that makes hospitality in the HONK!TX setting successful. Why do people do it? Because hospitality is a gift, a social fact, a part of our culture that is ingrained. It feeds our curiosity, and serves as a moral obligation with rewards of enrichment. We recognize the sacred in others, and thus in ourselves. In the context of the HONK!TX festival, hospitality bestows honor upon us through our participation in collective welfare of the visiting musical community. HONK! Boston Housing Organizer poi ts out, HONK! the gift, a d like a gift, its spi it is kept ali e support network for fulfilling musicians-guests musician-guests a i tu akes people happ ! its o sta t do atio 51 That happiness is a part of H de: . B eating a eeds a d desi es at the individual and group level, the fulfill the audie e s eed and desire for musical inclusion and participatory celebration. To create such a space, volunteers must be willing to open their hearts and homes to strangers; to donate time, effort, energy and thoughtfulness to ensure the visitors feel welcome. Though expecting nothing in return for their seemingly magnanimous behaviors, these hosts and volunteers receive reciprocity in the form of friendship, music, gift exchanges, and sharing in the creation of joyous celebration. I sha i g his thoughts o hospitalit , Taha Be Jellou said hospitalit is aki to ge e osit . It is atu al…. ou do t talk a out ho to t eat a guest: ou ask hi i a d take good a e of hi , Jelloun: 1999). Writ large in the context of HONK! festivals, this means the musicians are cared for before they even arrive. Beyond the expectation of basic needs being fulfilled, they are given gifts, and in return share their musical gifts with the public. I a is a de o ati fo a ti le, Lee Higgi s e a ked as a p a ti e, o of hospitalit p o oti g e ualit a d a ess (2007a). This e hoes “el s asse tio e o d a u it usi p e o ei ed li its that hospitalit see s al ost u i e sall also to asso iated ith the possi ilities of pleasu es a d e esses e o d its o e ou da ies. The public returns and gifts financial support, supplies, food, shelter and encouragement to encourage the festi al s etu . The circle is completed. FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CONTINUING RESEARCH: The HONK! experience and culture, as well as that the culture and history of alternative community street bands, remains a topic of great interest to me, and is something I will continue exploring ethnographically. Within that context, I will be examining musical variations in repertoire, crowd reaction, and key differences between these bands and other types of community bands and performance bands in general. I ill also e taki g a look at hat is ollo uiall efe ed to as the HONK! agi , the elief that needed donations of goods and services arrive just in time to help HONK! festivals run smoothly and be a great experience for all involved.52 Following this project, I am also devoting additional research to the HONK!TX bike program, as it relates to urban anthropology, mobility, and hospitality. I will also be researching the organizational anthropology of the structure and evolution of volunteer committees for created folk-festivals, using HONK!TX experiences to help inform my research. This project also generated a fascination with hospitality, guest-host relations and free homestays. I plan to continue examining this relatively understudied aspect of anthropology and further explore the evolution of hospitality in the modern world. There appear to be myriad customs and traditions hidden within our collective cultural consciousness. On a more personal level, this experience restored a certain noble faith in the essential goodness of people - it reinforces my iases. I e al ead signed on as housing coordinator for the next HONK!TX festival. Witnessi g the i pa t the festi al s hospitality has on visitors encourages me to be part of the longstanding tradition of hospitality: honoring visitors by providing food, drink, and shelter and gifts – and honoring the divine in us all. 52 In the case of HONK!TX, several strategically located hosts, needed bedding and mattresses, donated bikes and bike repairs, and needed food donations and donated sousaphones, among other things were provided in the final two weeks before HONK!TX. As Organizer #3 put it, she lo ed people o i g th ough at the last i ute…a d seei g ho the o u it t ul suppo ted us. BIBLIOGRAPHY Works Cited: Antares, Michael. - ―HONK!TX set to welcome the HONK! community to Austin‖ in Harmonic Dissidents: A Journal of Street Band Culture. January 29, 2011. - ―How I Learned to HONK!‖ The Texas Observer. March 10, 2011. - ―7 Days & A Wakeup: Meals, Wheels and Bedrolls Still Needed!‖ HONK!TX.org weblog. March 4, 2011 Derrida, Jacques - Of Hospitality (p. 25, Stanford University Press 2000) - The Principle of Hospitality: An interview wih Dominique Dhombres for Le Monde, December 2, 1997. Translated by Ashley Thompson. Parallax, 2005, vol. 11, no. 1, 6–9 Graham, Andrea. ―The Up-Side of Folklife Festivals: Why We Keep Doing Them‖ In Folklore Forum 31:2 (2000), Pp. 71-72 Hartz, Jason M. ―The American Community Band: History and Development.‖ M.A. (Music) Thesis submitted to The Graduate College, Marshall University (2003) Higgins, Lee. - ―Acts of hospitality: the community in Community Music‖ in Music Education Research 9:2 (2007a), Pp. 281-292 - ―The Impossible Future‖ in Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 6:3 (2007b), Pp74-96 The HONK! Family of festivals’ official websites: - HONK! – www.honkfest.org - HONK! Fest West – www.honkfestwest.com - HONK!TX – www.honktx.org Hyde, Lewis. The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property. Vintage Books (1983) Jelloun, Tahar Ben. French Hospitality: racism and North African immigrants. Columbia University Press (1999), pp. 3-4 Lashley, Conrad. ―Towards a theoretical understanding‖ in In search of hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates. Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison, eds. Butterworth-Heinemann (2001), Pp. 1-5 Leppmann, Kevin. ―Origins and Evolution of the HONK! Festival‖ in Harmonic Dissidents: A Journal of Street Band Culture. February 5, 2010 Lynch, Paul with Jennie Germann Molz, Alison Mcintosh, Peter Lugosi And Conrad Lashley. ―Theorizing Hospitality‖in Hospitality & Society 1:1 (2011) Pp. 3-24 Marching for Change: Street Bands in the U.S., National Radio Project - http://www.radioproject.org/2010/09/ marching-for-change-street-bands-in-the-u-s/ September 14, 2010 (no author listed) McKay, George. ―’A soundtrack to the insurrection’: street music, marching bands and popular protest‖ in Parallax 13: 1 (2007), pp. 20-31 Moe, John F. ―Folk festivals and Community Consciousness: Categories of the Festival Genre.‖ Folklore Forum 10:2 (1977), Pp. 33-40. O'Gorman, Kevin D. ―Classical and modern hospitality: the Benedictine case,‖ in Thinking Through Tourism: Monograph of the Association of Social Anthropologists. Berg, Oxford. (In Press) Polese, Abel. - ―The Good Samaritan.‖ in Men of the Global South: A Reader. Adam Jones, ed. Zed Books (2006), Pp. 113-118. - ―The Guest At The Dining Table: Economic Transitions And The Reshaping Of Hospitality— Reflections From Batumi And Odessa.‖ in Anthropology of East Europe Review 27:1 (2009), Pp. 76-87 Sacks, Oliver.―Seduction and Indifference‖ in Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (revised and expanded). Vintage Books (2008), Pp. 312-323 Selwyn, Tom. ―An anthropology of hospitality‖ in In search of hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates. Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison, eds. Butterworth-Heinemann (2001), Pp. 18-34. Sidsel, Karlsen. ―The Music Festival as an Arena for Learning: Festspel i Pite Älvdal and Matters of Identity.‖ Ph.D. thesis submitted to Luleå University of Technology Dept. of Music and Media (2007) Saikat Banerjee. "Dimensions of Indian culture, core cultural values and marketing implications: An analysis" in Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal 15:4 (2008), pp.367 - 378 Stallman, Bob. 1999 ―Hospitality in the Ancient Near East.‖ In Divine Hospitality in the Pentateuch: A Metaphorical Perspective on God as Host. Ph.D. dissertation, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia PA Works Referenced Borland, Katherine. ―The Griteria in Miami: A Nicaraguan Home-based Festival‖ In Folklore Forum 25:1 (1992), pp. 19-27 Britten, Fleur. Adventures of a Couch-Surfer. The Sunday Times. June 14, 2009 Derrett, Ros. - ―Making Sense Of How Festivals Demonstrate A Community’s Sense Of Place.‖ In Event Management 8 (2003), pp. 49–58 - ―Why Do Regional Community Cultural Festivals Survive?‖ (2005) paper presented to The impacts of events: triple bottom line evaluation and event legacies: Third International Event Management Conference, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 13-15 July Farbrother, C. ―Non-Commercial Homestay; an exploration of encounters and experiences of guests visiting the UK.‖ (2010) paper presented to CHME National Research Conference , University of Surrey, Horsley Towers, Surrey, England 5-7 May Goldstein, Daniel M. ―Dancing on the Margins: Transforming Urban Marginality Through Popular Performance.‖ City & Society, 9 (1997): 201–215 Kaul, Adam R. ―The Anthropologist as Barman and Tour-guide: Reflections on Fieldwork in a Touristed Destination‖ in Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 12:1 (2004), Pp. 22-36. Molz, Jennie Germann. ―Chapter 4: Cosmopolitans on the Couch: Mobile Hospitality and the Internet‖ In Mobilizing hospitality: the ethics of social relations in a mobile world (with Sarah Gibson). Ashgate Press (2007). Pp. 65-80 (as available through Google Books online) Regis, Helen. ―Second Lines Minstrelsy, and the Contested Landscapes of New Orleans Afro-Creole Festivals.‖ In Cultural Anthropology 14 (1999), Pp. 472–504 Stoller, Paul with Cheryl Oakes. ―A Taste of Ethnographic Things‖ in Ethnographic Fieldwork: an anthropological reader. Antonius C. G. M. Robben, Jeffrey A. Sluka, eds. Wiley-Blackwell (2007) Zanca, Russell. ―’Take! Take! Take!’ Host-Guest Relations And All That Food: Uzbek Hospitality Past And Present‖ in Anthropology of East Europe Review 21:1 (2003). Pp. 8-19 Additional Resources: Couchsurfing.com Facebook.com Flickr.com Personal Correspondence Vimeo.com Wikipedia.org YouTube.com APPENDIX 1: HOST-GUEST ASSIGNMENT DETAIL EMAIL TEMPLATE Howdy, [Name of band contact] and a warm Texas welcome from the capital of the Lone Star State! And Howdy, hosts! We're mighty grateful to have your support for the festival! Mike Antares, your friendly neighborhood housing coordinator for HONK!TX here. I want to take a few moments and go over some things with you to help get a sense of where the fine folks of [Band Name] will be resting their heads while they're here. [Name of band contact], meet your hosts: [Host details] Hosts, meet [Name of band contact], a liaison for [band name], joining us all the way from [place]! Here's the skinny: [Band name] has [number of people] members needing accommodations during their stay in Austin. Of those [number of people], [subgroup] will need accommodations beginning Wednesday night (March 9th), another [subgroup] beginning Thursday night, and the remainder needing accommodations Friday through Sunday night. At this point, it looks like everyone will be leaving some time on Monday (March 14th). [special notes] All of our hosts welcome guests to stay Wednesday through Sunday, as needed, and all are located within a few blocks of each other. [names] also note that they can accommodate campers in their yards as well. [Na e’s] House @ [Address] Austi , TX: [Name] can house 4-5 people. There are no pets, and accommodations include a sofa, a queen-sized air mattress and some floor space. (Additional mattress or bedroll will be provided before your arrival) Smoking is permitted outside, and [Name] may be able to help transport a few guests during the festival. [repeats for all hosts, specific to their abilities] Here is a map of the four properties and the venues: [Google Maps created map for visitors showing information specific to them] General Info: The following information is being sent to all visiting bands to reference - it may differ between individual hosts. If confusion arises, please contact [email address] or your hosts. Some of the information has been tailored to your band, please read carefully! Transport: Transpo has sent you a general information packet, and she will include more detailed information before your arrival. Note: For band members who have made alternate arrangements (i.e., staying in a hotel or with friends), we are not able to offer special transportation arrangements at this time. Please contact Transpo [email address] if you have additional transportation questions. This housing cluster is located near bus routes [bus route numbers] which all transfer to other routes, and is a fairly easy bike ride to Friday and Sunday's events. Saturday is a moderate bike ride away. Sleeping arrangements: We typically recommend that anyone who can bring a bedroll do so. Bedding situations vary, so basing the decision off of what's available is usually the best strategy. Allergies, Smoking: I am attempting to honor all allergy requests that have been made, but this is not always possible. If any band members have allergies incompatible with the current arrangements, please let me know - I will find an alternate location for those afflicted, but it is not likely to be near the current arrangements. Also, in the general spirit of HONK!, we ask that you be very courteous with your hosts. I know I do t ha e to tell ost of ou this, ut I this the I o t ha e to o as goi g to a u h: as isiti g a s e ause I o a lot, a d if I sha e usi ia s, ou all a e the fa e of HONK!TX a d your actions will speak for us all. Showers: Many Austin hosts have only one available bathroom (and are also using it themselves). I humbly ask that you sort out with your band mates a system that kindly considers the limited use and potential water bill during your stay. Security & Access: For each host arrangement, this will be a little different - please coordinate directly with your hosts for specifics. In general, band members should secure a house they are leaving unless the host is staying behind, and they should bring with them any items of personal value or that they may your Yellow Bike, and keep your valuables out of easy reach and plain sight. Remember: HONK!TX, the organizing committee, and the volunteer hosts cannot be held in any way responsible for the loss or damage of personal property. Alternate Arrangements: In short, we do not recommend folks trying to search out accommodations themselves. However, if you have a few band members still searching, and intent on finding their own spaces, here are so e otes: it s the us seaso i Austi - SXSW tends to fill up surrounding homes and hotels (higher rates are probable!) pretty quick However, if ou e o e o fo ta le aki g ou o a a ge e ts, he e s a fe pla es ou a t :: Hotwire & Priceline: Both of these websites offer similar models - you can search available hotels in the area by price or location, and you can also attempt to bid for your price. Craigslist: http://austin.craigslist.org - lots of folks do sublets and room-stays. But the prices a e high fo hat ou e getti g. ‘e ti g a hole house is ofte p i ed u easonably (or already taken). You can also search individual hotel websites and couchsurfing.com There you have it - I will leave the detailed logistics and assignments for you all to work out, but please call or email for any and all housing questions or concerns, or if there is any way I can help. Thank you all! This is going to be a blast! HONK! on, Mike Antares HONK!TX Housing Coordinator [contact info] APPENDIX 2: SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM THE INFORMATION PACKET FOR SOCR MUSICIAN-GUESTS Howdy SOCR! Welcome to Austin, Texas. This here packet has some general information about your stay as a guest of HONK!TX & other items of pertinent interest. The Digs The house is a bit small, so your stay will be cozy. There are 2 bedrooms available, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen/open area, washer & dryer, and a nice-sized backyard. Access/Security: We have one spare key, so arrivals and departures will have to be coordinated. We tend to lock only the botto lo k doo ha dle he e e ot he e. Remember to always lock your bikes! Front or back porch is fine. Smoking / Patios & Yard: You can smoke on the front or back patio. **caution – the back deck has no rear barrier, and no stairs – I have a stepladder and two sturdy Appalachian chairs, but please mind your step** Noise: Two parks are nearby for rehearsal; indoor tuning up and jamming is A-OK, please be mindful of neighbors at night Stringer: We have an indoor/outdoor cat named Stringer Bell – he may scratch at the back door to come in or go out…a lot. He does as he pleases, e a t stop hi  How 10 people can sleep here: Bedroom #1, The Blue ‘oo : “leeps , has o 1 Queen bed (should be shared) 1 air mattress (should be shared) 1 foam pad e ti g ath oo Bedroom #2, The ‘o e t Goulet “uite : “leeps 1 Full bed (should be shared) 1 air mattress Living Room: 1 couch 1 Thermarest w/ insulator cushion Bathrooms: We have two bathrooms for the house – the main one in the hallway, and the one attached to my room. I o l ha e to els a aila le fo guests, so I hopi g ou e ought a fe … FOODAGE Water, Coffee & Tea – always available: coffee beans must be ground first and loaded into basket in coffee maker; a white electric kettle is available next to the stove for tea-water. Teas are beneath the water cooler in a tray – more can be found second shelf of far left kitchen cupboard [Information about local eateries] HONK!TX meals will be served Friday night and Saturday. The Burning Man community is providing a post-event meal on Sunday. I’m going to be in and out a lot, but please, make this house your home. I would like you to feel rested & relaxed during your stay here! It’s an honor and a pleasure to welcome you into my humble abode. HONK! on !!! ~Mike Antares Appendix 3: Select images of alternative marching band costumery and pseudo-uniforms53 EMPEROR NORTON’S STATIONARY MARCHING BAND 53 All photos released under Creative Commons BY 2.0 license and taken during HONK!TX SEED & FEED MARCHING ABOMINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL ENCROACHMENT MINOR MISHAP MARCHING BAND Afterword: I’ ot goi g to lutter this up. I stead, I a HONK!TX hosts: i ludi g a opy of a March 21 email I sent to all Wow, was that an amazing experience! I am so glad and grateful that HONK!TX was such a beautiful event in its first year. I hope you have also taken a moment to breathe deeply and smile at the extraordinary awesomeness that we all shared. I send a hearty THANK YOU! from your HONK!TX organizing committee and the hundreds of visiting musicians to you: we simply could not have done this without your help. Hosting musicians is such an important part of what makes this festival possible here and elsewhere, and for you to open your homes and hearts to visitors is a tremendous act of faith and generosity. When we set out in April of last year to bring the festival to Austin, we had no idea how residents would react to the different aspects of the festival. True to our deepest hopes, you came through in true Austin style and offered a little Southern hospitality to band members from around North America. Did you know we housed approximately 200 visitors during one of the busiest times of the year? That's a testament to your awesomeness…. ….On a personal note, your kindness, generosity, and openness has encouraged me in wonderful ways. I look forward to seeing and HONK!ing with you again. HONK! Hugs & High Fives, Mike Antares HONK!TX Housing Coordinator