Category Archives: contests

contests, general

Giveaway: Radar Brothers’ The Illustrated Garden

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It may be this blog’s five-year birthday when we celebrate with the Radar Brothers, Letdownright and Soft Drink on July 7 at Yucca Tap Room, but we’re offering you a gift (besides the chance to see a free show).

The kind folks at Merge Records – the label home of many a great indie band, including Radar Brothers, Spoon, The Arcade Fire, Teenage Fanclub, etc. – are giving me a copy of the Radar Brothers’ latest, The Illustrated Garden, to give away to help promote the show and foster some all-around good karma.

As usual, I’ll try to make this as easy as possible: Just e-mail me at kevin@somuchsilence.com with “Radar Brothers” in the subject line, or something even more creative than that. I’ll draw a name from a hat and contact the winner. I’ll open this up for a week, so you have until next Friday (June 25) to enter.

Good luck!

contests, general

Contest: Two tickets to Brendan Benson (Feb. 22)

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benson

I told you in January that Brendan Benson would be rolling through Phoenix for a Feb. 22 stop at the Rhythm Room. And because I really, truly believe you should witness/hear Benson’s pristine pop in person, I’m happy to be able to give away a pair of tickets to one lucky winner for Monday’s show.

As always, I’m not interested in making you do tricks to win — just leave a comment with your name and e-mail address and a random winner will be selected out of a hat. Because of the quick turnaround, please leave your comment by Friday at noon Arizona time (or 2 p.m. Eastern time / 11 a.m. Pacific).

If you’re feeling really lucky, you can also win some swag via a Twitter contest. Find out more at Brendan Benson’s Web site.

contests, general, sports

The Baseball Project offers contest

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I talked a few times earlier this year about The Baseball Project, the collaboration of Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn (check a Q&A with Wynn here).

What better time to discuss the band again than during the playoffs? To that end, the group is putting on a pretty cool contest: They want you to predict the World Series winner (and in how many games) for a chance to win a Baseball Project T-shirt and baseball and a copy of J.C. Bradbury’s The Baseball Economist.

E-mail thebaseballproject@gmail.com with the subject “World Series Pick.” Go here for more.

contests

CONTEST: Jaguar Love tickets (Oct. 21)

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The fine folks at Beggars/Matador would like to send one of you and a guest to the Jaguar Love show on Oct. 21 at the Clubhouse in Tempe. The Polysics and Black Gold also are on the bill.

Jaguar Love, whose debut Take Me to the Sea came out in August, is made up of Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato, formerly of the Blood Brothers, and J Clark, late of Pretty Girls Make Graves.

To enter, simply e-mail me (somuchsilence@gmail.com) with “CONTEST” as the subject line. I’ll take entries up through Oct. 19.

Good luck.

contests, general, vinyl

Emma Pollock Acid Test 7-inch giveaway

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For reasons far too boring to go into here, I have two copies of the 4AD-released Acid Test 7-inch (b/w non-album track A Temporary Fix) by Emma Pollock, formerly of the Delgados.

The powers that be at Beggars have given me the OK to give the extra away.

I don’t want to make anyone jump through hoops or answer questions or whatever. Just leave your name with e-mail address in the comments and I’ll throw the names in a hat (my sweaty, yellowing Chicago Bears hat, to be exact) and pick a winner. (I’ve turned off the option for which I have to approve comments … bring on the spam!)

I’ll leave entry open for about a week.

contests

Calexico contest winners

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Thanks to everyone who entered the contest for Calexico tickets/autographed CDs. In our most scientifically controlled selection process yet, my wife randomly drew names from a hat for the winners. First prize is tickets for two to a show in either Tempe, Flagstaff or Tucson. Second prize is an autographed Calexico CD. Without further ado, the winners:

Tucson:
1. Lindsay T wins tix for the Dec. 2 show @ Rialto Theatre.
2. Matt Anderson wins the CD.

Flagstaff:
1. Alan Schussman wins tix for the Dec. 4 show @ Orpheum Theatre.
2. Tom Brecke wins the CD.

Tempe:
1. Roberto Diaz wins tix for the Dec. 5 show @ the Clubhouse.
2. B. Persons wins the CD.

I’ll be getting in touch with all of you on how to collect your winnings just as soon as I find out myself.

As for us, I have to work on Dec. 5, so we may trek up the hill to Flagstaff to catch the Dec. 4 show. Alan, you can buy us a drink!

Calexico | All Systems Red (acoustic)

contests, hip-hop

Lyrics Born’s “Callin’ Out” karaoke contest

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We’ve seen hip-hop labels/artists hold remix contests, but this idea has the potential to be really cool – and possibly funny as hell.

Lyrics Born, one-half of the Solesides/Quannum duo Latyrx, is holding a karaoke contest for his single Callin’ Out from his LP Later That Day … (2003). The contest also serves to promote his new live album, Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live.

LB is providing the instrumental and the lyrics; you’re providing the raps. The winner gets two tickets to any Lyrics Born show, autographed CD, T-shirt, poster and, more important, their version posted on his Web site and MySpace.

Check out his karaoke contest page for more information. LB will be selecting the winner himself. Oh, how I’d love to hear those submissions.

Lyrics Born | Callin’ Out (original)
Lyrics Born | Callin’ Out (instrumental)

Also:
Lyrics Born | Lady Don’t Tek No (live)
(From Overnight Encore, available at eMusic)

contests

Death Cab concert ticket giveaway (via Barsuk)

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Barsuk Records is giving away a pair of tickets for each show on Death Cab for Cutie’s upcoming tour, which includes a Dec. 2 stop in Arizona at Mesa Amphitheatre with Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins.

According to Barsuk, winners will be randomly chosen from among entries made at the label’s Web site. Entries will be cut off a few days prior to the date of each show. (No purchase necessary to win, but you do have to be at least 18 years to enter. Hey, I didn’t make the rules.)

If you don’t feel like risking it, tickets to the Arizona show (brought to you by Stateside Presents) are $29 and available at that giant ticket corporation that probably will make your ticket cost a lot more than $29. So enter that contest.

Death Cab for Cutie | A Movie Script Ending
(An oldie, but a goodie.)

Also, EZarchive, file host du jour, is in the process of upgrading and migrating files. So there’s a chance some older mp3s won’t work for now.That said, I’m toying with the idea of fully hosting this site on an external host or moving to Word Press or something. Anyone smarter than me have thoughts about this?

contests, radio rips

Calexico on MPR and contest

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Fact: I enjoy Calexico’s Garden Ruin quite a bit. Fact: Calexico is coming to Arizona for three shows in three cities in December. Fact: I have tickets to give away for said shows and autographed CDs. Fact: I couldn’t come up with anything clever to write to get this post started so I resorted to this lame tactic.

I’ve always felt that Calexico so perfectly captured what it’s like to live in Arizona, what with its beige landscape and lonely desert existence. And then Garden Ruin comes along and makes you rethink everything you thought Calexico sounded like. The hushed beauty of Yours and Mine is a high point in the group’s catalog if you ask me (which you didn’t).

The group (sans drummer John Convertino) stopped by Minnesota Public Radio’s great show the Current for a set. They didn’t play Yours and Mine, but frontman Joey Burns does explain in the interview that the name Bisbee Blue derives from a specific strain of turquoise from copper mines in Bisbee, located in the southeast corner of Arizona. A little Arizona history for ya.

Calexico, live on Minnesota Public Radio, 9/28/06:
1. Cruel
2. Bisbee Blue
3. Roka

ABOUT THAT CONTEST: Calexico is playing three shows in Arizona in December – Dec. 2 in Tucson; Dec. 4 in Flagstaff and Dec. 5 in Tempe. All tour dates are here. (The Tucson show benefits a public radio station there and Humane Borders. Read more here. Via Largehearted Boy.)

I have a pair of tickets for each show to give away. I’ll randomly select winners by e-mail. So, e-mail me at somuchsilence@gmail.com with “Calexico-(city)” in the subject (obviously, replace “(city)” with the actual city for which you are entering). You can enter for more than one city but can only win one. Three runners-up will receiver autographed copies of Garden Ruin.

If you don’t win, Garden Ruin is available at eMusic.

Related:
Calexico: Lucky Dime (alternate version).
Calexico on KEXP: “The high lonesome sound”.

Also, yesterday I said I’m cleaning out files but that I’d point you to some of the more popular posts on which I’ll be keeping the mp3s active. Here’s a couple of them, related to Calexico:

Calexico’s set on NPR (12/1/05).
Iron and Wine on NPR (12/2/05).
Iron and Wine/Calexico on NPR (12/2/05).

contests, remix, vinyl

The Streets vinyl contest

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The folks at addVice wanna hook someone up with a copy of the Streets’ new album The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living on vinyl. And I’m always one to promote the collecting of vinyl. Chris was running a similar contest, so if you didn’t win there, you get another chance.

Before that, anyone have any well-constructed thoughts on the new album? I find myself listening to it in small doses at a time – sort of digesting two or three tracks at a time and then moving on. I’m not sure why. My wife, upon hearing about the first four tracks, thought it sounded like a British musical. (I can just see it: ” … Starring Mike Skinner in the stage version of Oliver Twist … “.)

My initial (and probably hasty) feeling on The Hardest Way is that I’m attracted more to Skinner’s production and beats than his writing and rapping. The title track and Memento Mori are my faves so far.

I think we can all agree that Skinner’s heavy (maybe exaggerated?) British accent gives him a unique voice among hip-hop acts.

About that contest … because I’m a bit uninspired and don’t feel like making anyone jump through hoops, just email me with “The Streets” in the subject line and your address in the body (in case you win) to somuchsilence@gmail.com. A winner will be randomly selected by my wife out of my favorite Cubs hat. Entry deadline is Sunday night.

Now, it’s time to head over to the Vice Records blog for your Streets mp3 fix:

The Streets | When You Wasn’t Famous (Professor Green remix)