While walking down South Congress Avenue on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Austin at SXSW last month, Houstonist came up upon the unofficial Houston music showcase. We decided to hang out for a while, grab a beer and some chips and queso, and catch some great local acts. We chatted with the host of the showcase, Pete Lippincott, who just happens to be the man behind the band Petesimple.

Petesimple recently released their second CD Freaky Timber Witch. We talked to Pete as he prepares for his show this Saturday night at Cosmos Café.

What made you decide to do the Houston showcase at SXSW?

Every year we see fewer and fewer bands from Houston get to play in the "official event." There are always the lucky few, but there is too much talent in Houston to ignore when it comes to music, so we decided to make more H-town love during the event this year at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress..

How did it go?

This has been the most successful year to date. We hope next year will be even better.

After organizing the Houston showcase, did you find other local acts that you think have lots of talent?

There are always new acts to look out for in Houston, you just have to know where to find them. Local pubs like the Mucky Duck’s “Open Mic” night have a bunch of great new acts every week, and the wine bar The Corkscrew near downtown have some nice acts as well on Mondays. I personally found a few great acts like David Ransom, Melissa Sambrooks, and Andria Miguez. None of which have any albums to date but wait they will definitely blow your mind.

We can hear some Dave Mathews influences in your music. Who are some other influences?

Lol! I hear a little John Mayer too, but Jump, Little Children are by far the biggest influence on our music. Although anything old school jam band would def be a greater influence on our live show, such as the Grateful Dead, Phish, and Medeski, Martin and Wood. My personal lyric writing is reflected by Bob Schneider and Jason Mraz, although there is a bit of Rahzel .

What's behind your MySpace page name "folkboxing"?

Our old friend and former bas player Ian Hammer has a talent that we spotlighted for a US tour. He is an avid Beat-boxer and Bass player, but he also happened to sing and do all three of these at the same time. I'm a folk-er who likes to surround himself with rockers and jazzers, so Folk-boxing was a neat catch all to our duo act around the states and just sort of caught on. Ian has gone onto finishing school and making waves in the field of religion so folk-boxing is a dormant art for now. Someday we may have a reunion folk-boxing tour.

Who's currently in your band and how did you all get together?

Currently, we are featuring Sam Ortallono on bass and vocals. I met Sam through the open mic circuit and we both have a passion for recording. Sam has a great day gig at Sunrise Recording studios as a teacher for recording engineers and is a great engineer himself. Richard Cholakian- Drums and vocals. Rich met Pete downtown at a little club called Dean's Credit Clothing and both have a knack for pushing new acts. Their company formed on late 2003 and is called Live Music Records, and is the brains behind the showcase in Austin every year. Rich is a jazz/blues drummer around town and plays with a whole bunch of acts including Petesimple. Wayne Wilkerson is on lead guitar and vocals. Wayne is the open mic host at the Mucky Duck here and has been playing with me the longest, but has been one of the latest editions to our little project. Wayne, like most of the group, plays with a lot of acts around town. Devin Collins plays keys, green machine, and vocals. Devin and I met in college and he is one of the last original members of the group along with me. He is facing his last semester at Moore's school of music, earning a Bachelors of Composition. Oddly enough, Devin's main instrument is tuba. Then there is me; vocals and guitar. My day gig is with a local mom-and-pop travel shop in Houston, Luggage and Leather. I’m the web-administrator for that company as well as for www.petesimple.com.

What's your view on the current Houston music scene?

There is a lot here that is underground. We have been in the "scene" for about 7 years and people are still calling us that new act in town. I love it though; you really never know what you are going to run into at a gig. There are great country acts and rap acts, too. Really, some of the best new acts are coming out of Houston. Lee Alexander has a great sound of his own with his band. The Band of Heathens (really an Austin band but have my bro Gordy Quist from Spring playing with them), and the Brandon Thomas Band are all great bands that one should watch out for. They'll all be touring this summer through Texas and beyond.

What's your favorite venue in Houston play in?

Ooo -- that's a toughy. My favorite of all time would have been the Vintage Bar, but it burned down recently so I would have to go with Anderson Fair or Cosmos Café.. That would be my toss-up. Anderson Fair for solo performances and Cosmos for full band. I love Mcgonigel's Mucky Duck and JP Hops House sound systems as well, they beat all the competition there in town in that aspect, but over-all feel I like Mojo Rising Cafe -- they are truly laid back like the Last Concert Cafe, but have a very up close feel. So really any of these above would qualify.

If you could be any Houston landmark, what would it be?

I would love to say the butterfly museum or the light rail. Both have their catastrophes and beauty and are helpful and happy places, but if forced to choose I would have to say the water wall near the Galleria. It seems to be the coolest and happiest place in Houston.

Petesimple
Saturday, April 21st, 8 p.m.
Cosmos Cafe
69 Heights Blvd.
Tickets: $10