Wednesday through Sunday at the South by Southwest music conference, a select few Oklahomans did their best to "keep Austin weird ... man."

The ubiquitous Texas catchphrase adorns most tie-dye shirts likely to be seen in Austin. And judging by the trademark pink-hosed transvestites and street-side performers that hit the streets this weekend -- not to mention Owen Wilson -- the city stayed weird.

What was particularly peculiar about the music conference is that in the first ten years of its existence it has become the make-or-break point for alternative rock bands.

The Mooney Suzuki, Matisyahu and The Broken Social Scene are but a few of the alt/rock acts who have churned out career-defining performances at SXSW.

This year the big hype preceded the performances which made the general attitude a little blas? among the hip elite and industry goers. But the apathy and damp weather conditions didn't stop the Oklahoma influence.

On day three of the conference, the "Austin Chronicle" directed praise for Norman locals, The Evangelicals. Norman often breeds under-appreciated talent, the blurb stated.

Norman's three-piece band is led by singer Josh Jones and anchored by bassist Kyle Davis, professional writing junior, and drummer Austin Stephens. The band went into the showcase with five scheduled shows thanks to management at Misra records in Austin.

Davis described the SXSW crowd to be the "too cool" crowd, but by the time the Misra showcase came around, the Evangelicals rocked the mostly alt-country showcase with a bullhorn and silly-string finale worthy of a thousand divas.

Green lights set the mood and judging from Davis' dual keyboard/bass playing and Jones' stage diving, the band provided some entertaining theater.

Friday night's show momentarily attracted the attention of 4AD records out of Britain. When one of the label's A&R representatives saw the band he said he loved the show, but Jones was the first to downplay the rumor.

"At the very least, if nothing comes out of it you get to hang out with the wristbands, eat at some nice restaurants and see some great bands," Jones said. "The one thing I've learned from being in other bands is that people say things all the time. Everyone talks to everyone at SXSW. If something comes then amazing, but nothing is on the table."

Like many budding bands, The Evangelicals looked at the conference as an initial foothold.

"I think going into South by Southwest was a way of establishing, ourselves as like a real band and try to make a little bit of a presence," Jones said. "Not a lot of people had seen us live. We are so new, there are things we are trying to get, like a booking agent. Playing South By Southwest was a chance for a lot of people who hadn't gotten to see us to see us."

With performances by other locals including The Flaming Lips, the Starlight Mints and even The Ills and El Paso Hot Button, an Oklahoma brotherhood could be felt.

The Lips were still that big fun band that fell in love with classic rock (they covered "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Sabbath's "War Pigs") and the Mints were still pushing for pop's potential with a full stage and string section that almost blew the Parish's outfit.

But talking with Jones, South by Southwest was an opportunity to have as much fun as possible.

His favorite moment?

"When Kyle and I got down here we got a flat tire and had to buy one at Wal-Mart and we bought a whoopee cushion. It was self-inflating and it sounded really good. We had fun with that on Sixth Street for three hours. We did David Lee Roth jumps and farting in mid-air," he said.

So much came to the band via the SXSW experience. The cushion antics could bleed into the live show or their live shows could bleed into Europe.

"It's a whirlwind," Jones said. "You're just sort of spent, it's like you had the flu. We are just going to go back to Norman and sleep for two weeks."
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