Dave King's two-night fest at the Walker

How did a drummer for a bunch of out-there experimental jazz groups get his own two-day festival at Walker Art Center?

He's Dave King, that's how.

The Happy Apple and Bad Plus percussionist -- whose prominence and promiscuity in a wide variety of bands prompted local group the Belles of Skin City to title a song "Hey Dave King, Save Some for the Rest of Us" -- still finds the time and inspiration to start new acts with new parameters, even as the in-demand Bad Plus has eaten up a lot of his schedule in recent years.

This weekend, a trio of King's new jazz groups are meeting up with his two well-established trios for a two-night marathon at the Walker Art Center. Despite the rather showy working title "King for Two Days," the event is more about touting King's ties to the Walker and his roster of collaborators rather than showing off his mad skills, he said.

Also, it should be noted, the Walker's staff actually approached him with the idea, not the other way around.

"The Walker is like one of my temples," King said. "As someone who grew up in town here and saw so many of the avant-garde musicians who heavily influenced me perform there, this is a huge honor all-around."

It's a huge undertaking, too. He had to align the schedules of more than a dozen similarly hyperactive musicians, including New York-based jazz stars Craig Taborn, Tim Berne, Hank Roberts and Chris Speed. Two of the acts are also performing for the very first time on Saturday.

The first debut will be Golden Valley Is Now, an electronic-based improvisational trio featuring Taborn on keys and Reid Anderson of the Plus on bass, both of whom grew up in the group's namesake suburb along with King. Then comes the Dave King Trucking Company, described as a rootsier ensemble inspired by the 1975 trucker classic "Convoy" (seriously) with Speed on sax, Happy Apple's Erik Fratzke on guitar and local innovator Adam Linz on bass.

Friday's sold-out lineup is more of a normal affair (relatively speaking) with Happy Apple, the Bad Plus and a meeting of the two trios billed as the Bad Apple -- only the third time they've come together on stage. Opening night will also feature another new-ish improvisational ensemble called Buffalo Collision, featuring Berne on sax, Roberts on cello and Plus pianist Ethan Iverson.

Since he just came off a two-week European tour with Buffalo Collision last weekend, King said, "The first night, I'm not too worried about. It's the second night that has me a little nervous -- in a good way."

The new groups were in the works before this Walker event came about, and they all intend to live on past this weekend. Likewise, King began working on his first solo CD years ago, but the Sunnyside label has just released it in time for the King fest. Titled "Indelicate," the disc features 12 wildly spun tracks that King wrote for piano and drums, and he played both instruments on the album. He has been tinkering on the keyboard for years, he said, but "benefited from being on the road with one of the best pianists in the world for the past few years" -- Iverson, that is.

The Walker event still doesn't show off all of King's wide range. His entire rock side was left off the show, a fact that he said had more to do with the logistics of setting up different equipment than anything else. Still, look for a special appearance by his Halloween, Alaska bandmate James Diers (and I didn't use "special" lightly). You might also see Hüsker Dü bassist and chef man Greg Norton, who plays with King sporadically in the curiously named band the Gang Font, feat. Interloper.

Summing up this not so easily described event -- and seemingly his philosophy as a musician, too -- King said, "There's so much inspiration and fun that can be had from collaborating with other amazing musicians like these."

"This is really a celebration of all these collaborations. I'm just the name tying it all together."

SXSW or bust One's playing the I Luv Video parking lot. Another is playing the Fat Wreck Chords showcase (and it's not Dillinger Four). And one is even planning to see its image planted on a billboard downtown (and it's not Mark Mallman!). These are among the myriad of planned activities for Minnesota bands at next week's South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas.

SXSW vets Romantica, for instance, have been invited to play Austin legend Alejandro Escovedo's popular Saturday party at Maria's Tacos in addition to their official showcase in one of 6th Street's biggest venues, Buffalo Billiards. Gay Witch Abortion's schedule includes an official showcase, a poster-art warehouse party and the aforementioned video store parking lot, which is seriously a pretty excellent location. Banner Pilot got on the Fat Wreck showcase, while Off With Their Heads will be at Epitaph's show before hitting the road with Bad Religion. Grant Hart is revered enough by SXSW officials, he earned two official showcases (a rarity).

Newcomers We Became Actors, meanwhile, are blogging/video-streaming their experiences as first-timers for Best Buy and Mi11.com. Amazingly, it'll also be Trampled by Turtles' first SXSW, and the wait paid off: Their first showcase is with alt-country buzz darlings Justin Townes Earle and Deer Tick.

As for last year's big breakout act Solid Gold, the dance rockers have another full plate of shows, including headlining the "Minnesota Music" showcase on Thursday (with Romantica, Lookbook, We Became Actors and "Are You Local?" contest winners Bight Club). Solid Gold's most high-profile appearance -- or at least high-elevation -- might be on a billboard that their backers are reportedly planning to erect on Interstate Hwy. 35 in time for the fest. That's the SXSW spirit in a nutshell.

Check www.startribune.com/sxsw for daily reports for preview posts and daily reports from the fest, which starts Wednesday.

Random mix It sounds like a joke, but Saturday's "Eggs for Africa" show at the Hexagon Bar is a real charity show, with chefs who've taken part in the Gastro Non Grata series taking turns concocting specialty egg dishes while six bands perform, including explosive noisemakers Total F---ing Blood and country bands Captain Clawfoot and the Annandale Cardinals. Proceeds benefit children's charities in Mozambique (8 p.m., $10). ... Bands of all ilks -- maybe not Gay Witch Abortion, though -- have been invited to compete in the first-ever "A Prairie Home Companion" battle of the bands. Garrison Keillor's show is taking applicants nationwide for a chance to appear on an April 17 broadcast from beautiful Newark, N.J. Details at PrairieHome.org. ...

This month's house band for the Nomad Pub's free Thursday night Minneseries, vintage twang-rockers Bitch N' Brown, are recording each show with plans to compile a live CD. They have the Knotwells and Western Fifth with them next week, and Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles will help close out the month March 25. ...

From the continuing, surprise-filled series "The Songwriting Adventures of Dan Wilson": The Semisonic frontman just returned from a month in Los Angeles, where he co-wrote songs with the Grammys' Best New Artist '09 Adele ("Chasing Pavement") and country superstar Keith Urban (Mr. Nicole Kidman), among others. He and brother Matt Wilson are now mapping out their first-ever duo gig, March 26 at the Pantages Theatre, with another booked the following night in Chicago. ...

Hippie/soul/Mexicano rocker Javier Trejo has put together "A Tribute to the Dude," featuring music from "The Big Lebowski," which he's bringing to the stage Saturday at Memory Lanes (10 p.m., free). Maybe the follow-up can be "A Tribute to Bad Blake."

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658