FREE GIVEAWAY - CLOSED

- Win a $50 Ticketmaster Gift Card (US Dollars) to see your favorite musician, or sports, theater, and family events! Read below for what you need to do in order to enter.

- Leave a comment on this post stating a musician/band (any musical genre) that you would like me to feature on my blog. The musician must be scheduled to perform in the NYC area (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island) this year (2012). Also, the ticket price for the musicians’ show cannot exceed $20. I am only looking for up and coming musicians.

Contest Rules:
- You must follow my blog. In the right-hand column of my blog, click “Join this Site” and follow the instructions.
- Post a comment on this "FREE FIVEAWAY" post stating the musician you would like to see featured on my blog.
- The winner will be picked randomly on random.org.
- You must be 18 or older to participate in this giveaway.
- Open international.
- You can enter more than once (no more than 10 times), but only state one musician per comment.
- The contest begins May 1st,2012 at midnight and ends on June 1st, 2012 at midnight (Eastern Standard Time).
- Participant will be disqualified if any of the rules above are broken. Sorry.

The winner will be announced in a separate post on Sunday June 3rd, 2012 between 12p and 11:59p, 2012 (Eastern Standard Time). The winner must claim her/his prize 48 hours after the annoucement is made. I will use random.org again if the winner does not claim her/his prize before that time. I will set another 48 hours for the new winner to claim the prize. I will repeat this process until a winner claims the prize.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

Also, if this free giveaway is successful, I would love to do more giveaways, contests, sweepstakes, etc. in the near future. Thank you to everyone who enters in advance!

Furthermore, I just ordered a new camera that will allow me to record better videos at night. I was having a shadow/darkness issue in my past videos (see videos below). They weren't too bad, but I promise the fancy camera is on its way!

The Clatty Lads

Artist Info: You might have seen The Clatty Lads performing live on Imus in the Morning show in July 2011 for their National Radio and Television debut on Fox Business Network and ABC Radio. If you missed that, then maybe you have recently seen the band this past Wednesday on April 25th when they were invited back for a second appearance on the same show. What a WOW factor! I had the pleasure of meeting the band at a studio in Queens where they record their tracks, and also at Arlene’s Grocery in New York City. The band’s music will hit you like the force from a waterfall, which will refresh and rejuvenate your soul. You can’t help but sing along to the song “A Shade Further Grey” from their EP The Clatty Lads. With six members making up the band, you can tell they each bring their own influences to each song, which pulls in a wide range of audiences. Even though you can rock out to their music, The Clatty Lads are down-to-earth folks who are like your next-door neighbor. Who wouldn't enjoy a band like this?

Albums:
- A Very Clatty Demo (2011)
- The Clatty Lads - EP (2012)

Upcoming Shows:
- June 9, 2012 @ 10p: The Bitter End (New York, NY)

Website: theclattylads.com

The Morning Code

Artist Info: The Morning Code—made up of Ashwin on guitar and vocals, Doug on drums, Eric on guitar, and Justin on bass guitar—makes music that is like a delicious pot of soup, with a taste of energetic and pulsating sounds that will surround you and a bit of soothing melodies that will quench your appetite. Throw in vocals that will have you in a trance, a dash of guitar chords that will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, and a handful of blows on the kick-drum keeping everything in sync, and you will find yourself coming back for seconds. This band makes it look easy to make music that attracts the crowds. The song “Primal” on the album Tell Someone has an extreme sound similar to the band Muse, while the song “Keep On” on the same album starts out so sweet and so innocent but then erupts right into your eardrums, comparable to the songs by the band The Fray. In all, The Morning Code will satisfy your thirst.

Albums:
- Tell Someone (2010)
- Superhero Complex (2007)

Website: www.themorningcode.com

Mieka Pauley

Artist Info:
- The first time I heard Mieka Pauley was at the NEMO Music Festival in Boston, MA in 2007. Her strong and luminous vocals drew me to the stage on which she was performing. Her singing voice is unique. It is one of those voices where even if you have never heard the song before, you will be able to pinpoint that the song is sung by Mieka Pauley. Along with her phenomenal vocals, Mieka Pauley’s lyrics are equally strong. While listening to one of her songs, such as “All the Same Mistakes” from her album Elijah Drop Your Gun, the lyrics are formed together perfectly to create an image in your mind that will test your emotions in a wonderful way. Her lyrics will dance around in your brain accompanied by brilliant instrumental harmonies and melodies. If you want to rock out to her music, turn up the volume on “Be Like the Man” on Elijah Drop Your Gun, or if you want to detach from your hectic day, grab your headphones and hit play on “That Golden Room” on From The Mouth of Paris. Either way, your ears will absorb all that good-sounding music.

"Stronger" performed at Rockwood Music Hall from the albums Out of Car Wrecks and Hurricanes and Mieka Pauley (Acoustic) EP

"We're All Going to Die" performed at Rockwood Music Hall from the album From The Mouth of Paris

Interview with Mieka Pauley

Albums:
- The Science of Making Choices: To be released in 2012
- From The Mouth of Paris EP (2009)
- Elijah Drop Your Gun (2007)
- Out of Car Wrecks and Hurricanes EP (2006)
- Mieka Pauley (Acoustic) EP (2006)

Upcoming Shows:
- April 21, 2012 @ 8p: Café 939 (Boston, MA)
- April 25, 2012 @ 8:30p: Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY)
- April 29, 2012 @ 7p: Tin Angel (Philadelphia, PA)

Website: mieka.com

ABBY AHMAD

Artist Info:
- The talented and passionate Abby Ahmad creates music that is refreshingly original and powerful. With poetic lyrics that will melt into your heart, Abby Ahmad’s music tells stories that are precious and relatable, as in "Star Pupil" and "Tri-Me" on her albums Curriculum and The Rearview, respectively. Abby incorporates many musical genres in her work, such as folk-rock, blues, and alternative. Not only will her lyrics capture your attention, Abby’s tranquilizing vocals and artistic guitar playing will win you over.



Check out Abby Ahmad's live performance at the American Folk Art Museum below.

Song: "Who Do you Think You're Fooling?"

Song: "Tea with Shadows"

The interview starts inside, but we were kicked out of the building because they were closing. Just giving you the heads up.

Albums:
- Curriculum (2009): Follow-up album to her acclaimed debut
- The Rearview (2006): Abby Ahmad’s acclaimed debut album

Upcoming Shows:
- April 29, 2012 @ 7:15pm: The Scratcher (New York, NY)
- July 14, 2012 @ 5p: The Blacksheep Ranch House Concert Series (Clinton, CT)

Website: www.abbyahmad.net