THE 2008 DOOBIE AWARDS

South by Southwest—it’s the biggest independent music festival in America, flooding Austin each March with more bands and booze than most self-respecting Texas towns could bear. Of course, Austin isn’t like most Texas towns—it’s not only the state’s capital, it’s also the self-proclaimed “live music capital of the world.” Which is why, for over a decade now, SXSW has been the home of HIGH TIMES’s rowdiest annual party—and for the past few years, of our music awards, the Doobies. I’d attended many of those parties, but this was the first time I’d ever been put in charge of one. In fact, it had been over three years since I’d been down to the festival, and it felt damn good to be back. With my new leather cowboy hat and Pot Star by my side, I felt cocky enough to piss on the Alamo.
    

Not that I would, mind you.
    

 The club we’d booked to host the event was the Red Eyed Fly—one of the chillest spots on Red River Street. Like most places in town, it had a bar area up front and a large open-air stage out back. When I arrived that Saturday morning, I found that the Harley Davidson girls had set up camp right next-door, and the box of trophies (gold-tinted glass bongs courtesy of Zong) had luckily arrived. As per tradition, the party was slated to start at “high noon” and run until 6 p.m., but as expected, things were running slightly behind schedule. By the time we opened the doors around 12:30, there was already a line out front stretching down to the corner.
    

 After a few brief words of welcome, I introduced our first act of the day—the debut of power trio Blower, starring former HIGH TIMER Merilee on bass, her significant other Doug Evans (formerly of Illinois punk group the Didjits) on guitar/vocals, and Jimmy Delp on drums. I’d spent my first night in town at their place drinking beer and watching Kiss Alive on DVD, and learned of their new-found passion for showmanship. “We’re like stadium rock for the bar crowd,” explained Merilee before they headed onstage in their costumes—she in a pink dress, and Doug in leather biker gear and a German helmet. They got the crowd going, cranking out some high-octane, soon-to-be cock-rock classics like “Hot Wheels, Cold Beer and Big Titties” and “Rock Anthem.”
    

 After Blower, it was time for the first award of the day—presented by Marijuana Music Award–winning pot poet Paul Bullock, who entertained the audience with two witty, wired poems.
    

 “I’d like to ask you … ” he asked, beginning his first composition, “when you misplace your pot, / Do you hunt and peck a lot? / And look where you just looked before, / In the corner of the desk, in the very same drawer?” Bullock followed it up with another, more political poem about the hypocrisy of the Drug War entitled “Carpool Mom.” He then presented the Doobie for Best Jam Rock Artist to Keller Williams (who later accepted the award in New York—see the interview on page 72).
    

 Next up were Dickie Moist and the OTC. I’d originally booked local redneck rockers Honky to play, but when one of them had to skip town unexpectedly, their guitarist Jeff Pinkus (formerly of the Butthole Surfers) asked if he could play with his other project, the OTC—which includes former Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri and Moistboyz frontman Dickie Moist. The most raw and rowdy of the day’s performers, the OTC’s angsty, adrenaline-fueled style ripped the room a new one and had them begging for more. Afterwards, Oliveri returned to the stage with HT’s mistress of mayhem, Vaporella, to present the next awards.
    

 “I’m so lucky to be presenting with you, Nick—you guys were awesome!” Vaporella gushed. “You know, I like other music besides metal —I like hard rock, punk rock, junk rock, fuck rock … ”
    

 “That’s my personal favorite,” Oliveri interjected. “Fuck rock!” He presented the award for Best Metal Artists to Texas’s own Hellyeah, followed by Vapey’s awarding of Best Stoner Rock to Fu Manchu.
    

 “Fu Manchu fuckin’ rocks!” Oliveri announced approvingly as he clutched the pair of Zongs. “I’m happy to be accepting for Fu, as well as Hellyeah. Hellyeah!”
    

 The duty of introducing the next band—the Lions—also fell to Vaporella.
    

 “Austin truly is being represented here,” she cheered, “by your BBQ, your beer, and of course your music, with the Lions!”
 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE AUGUST 2008 ISSUE OF HIGH TIMES