Hard to believe, but the annual South By Southwest music showcase/festival/conference in Austin, Tex., kicks off in only 11 days. As always, the huge event is featuring some artists from the Greater Cincinnati area. Two SXSW-bound local acts are playing kick-off shows soon to help raise some funds for the trip (the price of gas today makes traveling all the more difficult for independent acts). • Great Cincy rockers The Harlequins are heading to Austin for SXSW for the first time. The band is slated to perform at the festival on March 16 with the esteemed Gringo Star. Frontman Michael Oliva says the group will be playing shows on the way to and from the festival in Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. The Garage/Psych Rock trio — which is planning a new EP release in April — is performing its "bon voyage" show on March 7 at Over-the-Rhine's MOTR Pub with guests Stephen Paul Smoker. The show is free, but the band will be offering a limited edition screen print of the night's show poster (right over there, to the left) for $5. The band is also sweetening the pot by releasing a new single for free at the MOTR gig. You can also help The Harlequins out by donating to their gas/van rental fund online. In keeping with their DIY ethic (the group got into the festival without any label or other backing, a rarity these days), the band is eschewing Kickstarter in favor of direct donations through their secure Paypal account, accessible on the trio's official site. Here's the link to donate. Below is a little video spiel if you need further convincing. • Always dazzling Indie Pop locals The Seedy Seeds are returning to SXSW this year, journeying to Austin with pals The Ridges, a fantastic Athens, Ohio-based orchestral Indie Folk squad that has become a favorite in Greater Cincinnati thanks to regular show dates locally. The two bands will be performing shows together around the South and Midwest on their way to Austin. The groups team up for a show at the Southgate House Revival on March 6. The Seedy Seeds are encouraging fans to purchase advanced tickets to the "Supercolossal Little Giant Ye Olde South by Southwest Sendoff Show"; for just $6, if you buy your tickets before "day of show," you will receive a hand-draw postcard from the Seedys while they are on the road. Click here to get your tickets now.Here's a piece of groovy promo featuring both bands and the tour dates.

Not long after putting on a great show with her band The Seedy Seeds at the first-ever Bunbury Music Festival, the group’s Margaret Darling and friend (and equally gifted singer/songwriter) Jason Wells of Indie group for algernon were involved in a serious auto accident that has required not only some time away from music to recuperate (both suffered painful injuries; Wells says Darling suffered the worst of it, fracturing a rib), but also a gutting of their bank accounts to pay for treatment and recovery time. That’s on top of a totaled car and destroyed instruments. Both are expected to fully recover physically, but it will take some time still.After being screwed by insurance companies, Wells had to use all of the cash he had stashed away to record the next for algernon album. As a result, Wells started a Kickstarter campaign so that he could get back to work on his project as soon as possible. In an email, I could sense Wells was very reluctant to ask for help; it’s a sense of pride thing a lot of musicians (and humans) have. But in the Greater Cincinnati music scene, those who need help should never be embarrassed to ask. It’s part of the reason we (the fans) are here — you ladies and gents gives us the sweet gift of music and often enhance our lives greatly. It’s the least we can do to return the favor when you need us. (Don't be shocked if a benefit show pops up in the near future; I'm already hearing rumblings.)In that spirit, be sure to visit Wells' Kickstarter.com page here and kick in whatever you can. You can also visit facebook.com/theseedyseeds and send your best wishes to Margaret. For more on for algernon, visit www.foralgernon.com. Here are some tasty tunes by Wells and Co. to sample:

After two days of driving in the Vanarama — a 1996 GMC Rally 3500 in school-bus yellow — we're only about 3.5 hours outside of Austin.This is the second time I've made the trek to SXSW, but every time I make the four-state drive, a few things remain constant: Arkansas highways suck and everything truly is bigger in Texas.On the last stretch of 11 South, as you approach Crockett, Texas, road signs alternate between "Cemetery" and "Forest." This wouldn't have been so intimidating if we hadn't exchanged ghost stories about dead relatives and scary camping trips (Google "Appalachian Trail" and "scary photos"). We then stayed in a hotel that we seriously scoured for bed bugs before bringing in our gear. But cheap is worth it, right?We are by no means alone in this endeavor. Thousands of bands travel across the country and the world, whether or not they're "officially" a part of the festival. This is the biggest weekend of the year for bands — whether they're on the rise or struggling to get a fresh start — and they'll do whatever it takes to be heard.Tuesday (today) marks the beginning of the SXSW (as far as the music portion). The All Night Party's Midwest by Southwest showcase kicks off tonight and will feature some of our hometown favorites, including The Sundresses, The Lions Rampant, Wussy and The Seedy Seeds. This official showcase is an anticipated event, not only for us Cincinnatians, but also the locals. The Austin Chronicle has named Wussy as one of the top 10 shows to see Tuesday. (Scroll to the bottom of the link for the Wussy write-up,.)We're not even in Austin yet and Cincinnati's already making headlines at SXSW.