Dogsway does Dfest.
At Dfest, musicians are also music fans. Local band Dogsway cruised the festival grounds prior to their 1 a.m. show Saturday night at the Dilly Deli. The festival runs through tonight in downtown Tulsa.
The band was also here Thursday night, and loved mingling in the festival atmosphere. "Everybody's into it here," said band mate Shawn Wilson. "That's the most fun part of it all. The people are just wild."
Eric Demoss agreed. "We were watching Citizen Cope last night and there were tons of people there. I started asking people around me, 'How did you find out about this band?' They don't get a lot of radio play, but they're so popular. Nobody could tell me how they discovered the band. They know Citizen Cope's at Dfest, and that they're a good live band. So they're here. We're all here."
Local reggae stalwart Sam & the Stylees members were also roaming the streets early Saturday. They also perform 1 a.m. Saturday at Dfest venue Flyrap Music Hall. But during the day, they're music "nerds," just like everyone else.
The band will debut its new CD at the Dfest show.
"Dfest is the best of both worlds," said frontman Bee Meddler. "You get to see all the local music, tons of local music. You also get to see established acts."
Band mate Ryan Griffith agreed. "You see the big names, and the people who will be big names. I saw a great band from Austin, and wow, I didn't have to drive down there to see one of the best bands I've ever seen." The act was Oso Closo.
The band's been involved with the festival since its earlies days at a now-closed single club called the Fur Shop.
"Now, it's South by Southwest before it got over exploited.
"It's the street carnival atmosphere," said Meddler. "It's the downtown vibe. You can walk down the street with a beer and see everything you ever wanted to see. For a music geek, it's heaven."
