The idea of Perry Ferrell becoming the next Bono-style messianic celebrity superhero isn't new. But the frontman from Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros made great headway at SXSW.
The indie music crowd with their videocams and audio recorders were lapping up Ferrell's after-hours fireside chat at the La Zona Rosa barbeque pit after a "secret show" for a few hundred late Saturday night and on into Sunday. It's tempting to write off a guy who picked a name derived from the word "peripheral" (just say Perry Ferrell three times fast) as a kind of a do-gooder has-been out to help save the world.
But that's way too harsh: Ferrell did a surprisingly good job of representing the general vibe from the SXSW music festival this year. The confab's organizers were pushing a green agenda with their first carbon-neutral incarnation of the event, and Ferrell picked up the cue with his late-night appearance after playing an hour-long show with his band. His question to the crowd, “How do we save the world?”
For the most part, anyone can imagine all of the dutiful answers tossed out. But there were a few notable, including one from a woman who asked, "What about more funding for sources of alternative fuel." Ferrell hit back with, "Like Solar? Oh, what does that do? Solar? Yes, because we inherited the spirit of the sun! When we're unified, we are powerful. And when we have the power of the sun, we are powerful, alright?" After the 30-minute session, Ferrell continued his call to action: "We are powerful and we are unified. I have to go now, but let's continue this talk on globalcool.com."
Yeah, Ferrell's answer sounds a little lightweight now. But somehow, around 2 am on Sunday, after 10 days of SXSW, it seemed at least as plausible as Bono's plan to fight AIDs, tuberculosis and malaria across Africa.
