Recent Stories in Contests

If you haven't been to the refurbished Columbia City Theater yet, what the hell are you waiting for? The venue hosts great shows in a cushy club, delivers tasty libations care of the bar, and the light rail can get you there on the cheap in no time. 

If you need another reason, Columbia City Theater has a big (and diverse) Halloweekend lined up, with Mash Hall's final (ever? or at least for a while) show on Friday, the orchestral pop of Hey Marseilles and the heavily tattooed, tiny dog-loving singer-songwriter Fences on Saturday (both of whom recorded Doe Bay Sessions with Sound on the Sound earlier this year), and the Cabaret Macabre on Sunday, with Bad Things, Baby Gramps, burlesque (natch), and more. COSTUMES HIGHLY ENCOURAGED--caps not mine, but I appreciate the sentiment, plus it gets you in for $2 cheaper on Saturday and Sunday.

The SunBreak has a pair of tickets to give away to Saturday night's show with Hey Marseilles and Fences.  The show is 21+, so you be that old too. We'll be drawing a winner on Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

We're only one episode into Season 4 of Mad Men, and already I can't wait to see where things are headed. Like, how will the Surgeon General's 1964 report on the dangers of smoking (and the subsequent required warning on cigarette packs) affect the fledgling ad firm's biggest client, Lucky Strikes? Will we ever see our old pals Kinsey and Cosgrove again? And wherefore art thou, Joan's terrible husband and Roger's terrible wife?

And what better way to kick off the new season than with Natasha Vargas-Cooper's new book?  Born of her recurring series on The Awl, Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America is a look at the show via mini-essays that make pointed, witty observations on the cultural context of the early '60s. So you can quickly read all about what Betty's suburban decor says about her and her family, how the writers of the time--John Cheever, Helen Gurley Brown, Mary McCarthy, Frank O'Hara--inform the series, and why the character of Don Draper is the careful combination of traits found in Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, and John Wayne.  That's a near-deadly admixture of sex appeal.

To celebrate the return of Mad Men, The SunBreak has three copies of Mad Men Unbuttoned to give away. Enter below for your chance to win a copy. We'll be drawing three winners' names Friday at noon.... (more)

There was a great sigh of relief Sunday night all across the land to accompany the Season 4 premiere of Mad Men. It was so good to see all our old friends again, especially how they've all changed in the past year of television time: Peggy grew out her bangs! Don likes it rough! Betty's unhappily married! JFK is still dead.

And what better way to kick off the new season than with Natasha Vargas-Cooper's new book?  Born of her recurring series on The Awl, Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America is a look at the show via mini-essays that make pointed, witty observations on the cultural context of the early '60s. So you can quickly read all about the great real-life ad men of the time, the Rothko painting in Bert Cooper's office, what Peggy likely did and didn't learn in secretary school, and just how easy it was to procure an illegal abortion. Fun facts for the whole family!

To celebrate the return of Mad Men, The SunBreak has three copies of Mad Men Unbuttoned to give away. Enter below for your chance to win a copy. We'll be drawing three winners' names Friday at noon.... (more)

If one thing is clear it's that the New Pornographers are just as good live as they are in recorded form.  (See their recent late-night performance on Jimmy Fallon above.) Their new album Together features not only the band's core eight members, but also Will Sheff from Okkervil River, Annie Clark from St. Vincent, The Dap Kings, and Zach Condon from Beirut, amongst others.  Not bad.

The ridiculously talented Canadian supergroup comes to Seattle for two nights--July 31 and August 1--to share their deliciously whipsmart power pop goodness with sure to be sold-out crowds at the Showbox. The SunBreak has a pair of tickets to give away (you pick the night at the Showbox), along with the new album. The grand prize winner gets the tickets as well as a copy of the album; second prize is just a copy of Together. (Transportation is not provided, so you need to be able to get to the venue in order to win the tix. You don't have to be local to win the copy of the album.) We'll be drawing the winners on Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

It's summer and that means one thing: time for big fuzzy slippers! Alright, not quite, but even in the midst of a heatwave, your feet can still use some serious pampering, especially after a long day of wearing cute heels. 

Enter Aroma Home with their line of (non-scented) Fuzzy Friends slippers.  They come in seven super-plush animal styles, but it's the funny little faces on the ladybugs that make me smile. (In England, "ladybugs" are called "ladybirds" and "slippers" are called "lorries.") Added bonus: The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Dina Manzo was seen wearing a pair of the 'bugs on an episode, no doubt the only way to kick back and relax during some time away from the life-size monsters she calls her family and friends. 

The SunBreak has one pair of Fuzzy Friends ladybug slippers to give away.  One size fits most (up to women's size 10).  We'll be drawing a winner's name Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

This weekend the Safdie Brothers, Josh and Benny, were in town for their new film Daddy Longlegs, currently showing at the Northwest Film Forum.  During their time here, they also taught a class entitled "Emotionally Sloppy: A Crash-Course in Cinema of the Gut," which gives you a window into what the film is like--mumblecore meets Cassavetes in its loose, shaggy style and an emphasis on exploration of character over plot.  Taking place in a quasi-timeless New York City, the Safdies' second feature is a semi-autobiographical look at a dad, played by Ronald Bronstein, who is wildly incompetent but brings a lot of chaotic fun to his two grade school-aged sons' lives during the two weeks of the year when he has custody. 

The SunBreak has three pairs of tickets to Daddy Longlegs to give away during the rest of its Northwest Film Forum run.  We'll be drawing three winners on Tuesday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

Shout Factory is well known for their releases of cult TV shows and movies on DVD.  On Tuesday they opened the vault on legendary prolific low-budget director Roger Corman, in releasing Rock 'N' Roll High School and Suburbia.  It's the first two titles in Shout Factory's Roger Corman's Cult Classic series, and there's plenty more where that came from.

Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World) wrote and directed 1984's Suburbia (clip above), about a bunch of punks in the suburbs who run away from home to live in squats.  For the most part, the film features non-professional actors, as Spheeris recruited street kids and musicians to play most of the punks in the film, including a young Flea.  The DVD has a commentary track with Spheeris and the theatrical trailer, amongst other extras.

The SunBreak has two copies of Rock 'N' Roll High School and Suburbia to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win a DVD set.  We'll be drawing two winners' names tomorrow at noon.... (more)

Shout Factory is well known for their releases of cult TV shows and movies on DVD. Today they opened the vault on legendary prolific low-budget director Roger Corman, in releasing Rock 'N' Roll High School and Suburbia. It's the first two titles in Shout Factory's Roger Corman's Cult Classic series; I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from.

Both films feature out-of-control teens from the '80s and tons of music performances, including The Ramones (natch), T.S.O.L., The Vandals, and D.I., and both DVDs are chockfull of extras, like audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and original trailers and tv spots. This is actually the deluxe thirtieth anniversary edition of Rock 'N' Roll High School, if you can believe that. 

The SunBreak has two copies of Rock 'N' Roll High School and Suburbia to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win a DVD set.  We'll be drawing two winners' names Friday at noon.

Post-punk noise trio Liars are but the latest band to appear on Dirty Laundry, the new web series (we dare not say vlog) to feature musicians in unlikely places--in this case, what is assuredly the coolest laundromat in L.A. In the above interview, Angus Andrew and Co. discuss love songs, opening for Radiohead, System Of A Down, lunch meat, and reality TV.

The experimental art-rock band's playing a 21+ show at Neumo's Saturday night, with openers Fol Chen and Flexions. To celebrate, The SunBreak has a Liars prize pack to give away, which includes a poster and a selection from the band's catalogue: They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, Drum's Not Dead, Liars, and a Sisterworld two-disc deluxe edition. We'll be drawing the winner of the prize pack from all entries received this Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.

Post-punk trio Liars have become wily veterans of the noise scene, considering last month they just released their fifth (!) album, the dark, brooding Sisterworld (see track "Scarecrows on a Killer Slant," performed at SXSW above). Since their first full-length, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, was released in 2001, as Americans we've experienced two wars and six Brangelina children, while Liars have experienced one poorly received witch-themed concept album, a few band lineup changes, and one breakup with Karen O.

The experimental art-rock band's playing a 21+ show at Neumo's Saturday night, with openers Fol Chen and Flexions. To celebrate, The SunBreak has a Liars prize pack to give away, which includes a poster and a selection from the band's catalogue: They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, Drum's Not Dead, Liars, and a Sisterworld two-disc deluxe edition. We'll be drawing the winner of the prize pack from all entries received this Friday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.

The Runaways, the big-screen biopic about the famed chick band, opens this Friday.  Locally, it'll be playing at the Meridian and the Guild 45th.  If somehow you don't know, the film stars Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie (not to mention Michael Shannon as the band's svengali/manager Kim Fowley) and brags an R rating, which warns of "language, drug use, and sexual content--all involving teens."  Mothers, hide your children.  (Mothers, also please note that Joan Jett will be performing at Little Creek Casino on March 27th.)

To celebrate The Runaways' release, The SunBreak has a couple prizes to give away to lucky readers. We already gave away a pass to a preview screening of the film, taking place at 7 p.m. this Thursday night at Pacific Place--congrats Angela!  But we've still got a super bad-ass prize pack, which includes a t-shirt, a poster from the film, a copy of Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie and Tony O'Neill (the book that the film is based on), a copy of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' Greatest Hits CD, The Runaways' soundtrack, and Joan Jett's upcoming photobook with Todd Oldham.

We'll be drawing the winner of the prize pack from all entries received this Friday at noon.  Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

The Runaways, the big-screen biopic about the famed chick band, has had major buzz around it ever since it was announced that Kristen Stewart would be playing Joan Jett.  (OMG, BELLA, I LOVE YOOOOUUUUU!) At the world premiere of the film at Sundance, the venue was oversold and the teenage girls who had their tickets turned away were crying in the lobby at withdrawal from KStew.

Cry no more, angsty girls (and the boys who are tough enough to be in touch with their emotions), because The Runaways opens this Friday. To celebrate its release, The SunBreak has a couple prizes to give away to lucky readers. We've got a pass to a preview screening of the film, taking place at 7 p.m. this Thursday night at Pacific Place.  We've also got a super bad-ass prize pack, which includes a t-shirt, a poster from the film, a copy of Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie and Tony O'Neill (the book that the film is based on), a copy of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' Greatest Hits CD, The Runaways' soundtrack, and Joan Jett's upcoming photobook with Todd Oldham. 

We'll be drawing the winner of the preview pass on Tuesday night.  This is a local screening, so you've got to be here in Seattle to win it (no doy).  We'll be drawing the winner of the prize pack from all entries received on Friday at noon.  You don't have to be local to win the prize pack, though you do need to live in the US.  Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

A couple months ago, Neon Monster, the San Francisco-based arts/toys/comics collective introduced their very own toy line.  The first of their stuffed monsters?  A cuddly version of cycloptic mascot Mitch.  Sure, he's basically just a big eyeball, but an eyeball full of love.  And he's green too--Mitch is made out of 100% recycled fleece plush, which makes him extra environmentally lovable. 

To celebrate Mitch's Neon Monster debut, The SunBreak has one albino pink Mitch to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing a winner's name Friday at noon.... (more)

In January of this year, Neon Monster, the San Francisco-based arts/toys/comics collective introduced a toy line of their own.  The first of their stuffed monsters?  A cuddly version of their cycloptic mascot Mitch.  Sure, he's just a big eyeball, but an eyeball full of love.  And he's green too--Mitch is made out of 100% recycled fleece plush, which makes him extra environmentally lovable. 

To celebrate Mitch's Neon Monster debut, The SunBreak has one albino pink Mitch to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing a winner's name Friday at noon.... (more)

It goes without saying that if you liked it, then you should've put a ring on it.  With Valentine's Day right around the corner, those wise words are double-plus true.

With that in mind, the good people at Baronella have offered up some gift certificates for SunBreak readers to use on their jewelry. (Fellas, if you are thinking about giving your lady a cellphone for V-Day, please think again.) The SunBreak has three gift certificates, each worth $50 to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing three winners' names Friday at noon.... (more)

Here we are in February, and wouldn't you know it, Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  The holiday means many things to many people: a chance to celebrate lurve, a chance to have a blotto hookup, a chance to make a lot of money, or a chance to make a terrible movie. 

With that in mind, the good people at Baronella have offered up some gift certificates for SunBreak readers to use on their jewelry. (Fellas, if you are thinking about giving your lady a cellphone for V-Day, please think again.) The SunBreak has three gift certificates, each worth $50 to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing three winners' names Friday at noon.... (more)

Kathy Griffin has two shows coming up in Seattle later this month, January 29th and 30th at the Paramount. For a sneak peek of what to expect, check out her latest DVD, She'll Cut a Bitch, available as of Tuesday. 

In the hour-plus of comedy (taped at a show last year at Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall), Kathy dishes on celebs from Alec Baldwin to Miley Cyrus. The SunBreak has two copies of the DVD to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing two winners' names Friday at noon.... (more)

Kathy Griffin's a busy lady.  Along with dropping f-bombs on CNN, she's always working on her reality show My Life on the D-List and constantly performing live at clubs across the country.  In fact, she's got two shows coming up in Seattle later this month: January 29th and 30th at the Paramount. 

Now on top of all that, her latest DVD, She'll Cut a Bitch, came out yesterday.  In the hour-plus of comedy, Kathy dishes on celebs, as per usual.  TV Squad put it best: "But the focus is always celebrities, and no one drops a name like Griffin. She tells the story of sharing her birthday cake with Cher (who is apparently a D-List fan), meeting James Gandolfini, trying to resist laughing at Tracy Morgan making fun of Oprah Winfrey while Winfrey is within earshot, and questioning the Jonas Brothers' appeal."

The SunBreak has two copies of the DVD to give away.  Enter below for your chance to win.  We'll be drawing two winners' names Friday at noon.

Thanks to the Seattle Red Cross for sharing this in our Flickr pool.

Don't forget to email jeremy(at)sunbreakmagazine.com for your chance to win tix to Zubatto Syndicate this Thursday night at Town Hall. Winners announced tomorrow afternoon!

Andrew Boscardin, a local jazz guitarist and composer, is trying to break down musical barriers with his newest project, Zubatto Syndicate, a 12-piece almost-Big Band that's drawing its musical inspiration as much from contemporary rock and pop as from Glenn Miller.

The idea's pretty simple: jazz music, no matter how technically brilliant, has a much lower appeal than a three-piece punk outfit. But Boscardin was energized seeing the success of more orchestral-minded bands ranging from locals like Hey Marseilles! to international touring acts like Gogol Bordello, so he set out to try to bridge the gap with danceable, rocking tunes. Zubatto Syndicate may borrow from funk and rock and maybe even hiphop, but it's executed with the skill and talent of trained jazz musicians.

So the band's debut this Thursday, Nov. 5, at Town Hall, is well worth the drive to First Hill. And just to sweeten the deal, The SunBreak is giving away three pairs of tickets.

Just send an email to jeremy(at)sunbreakmagazine.com for your chance to win, and we'll let you know by four o'clock on Wednesday if you're going.

Paris Hurley in "Bridging Wounds" at NW Film Forum. Photo by Bruce Tom.

Last night I saw Bridging Wounds: Staying the Course of Uncertainty, the first show in NW Film Forum's new live-performance series, Live at the Forum. It's a mind-bending mix of experimental music from some Seattle's best musicians, dance by Ezra Dickinson, and brilliant animated sequences.

And now, courtesy of our friends at the NW Film Forum, we have a limited-time offer: Email me at jeremy(at)sunbreakmagazine.com by 2:30 p.m. to enter yourself in a drawing for a pair of free tickets to Saturday's show. Please include your name, email address, and preferably a phone number. We'll contact you by 3 to let you know you won.

As Clint mentioned yesterday, Pearl Jam's new album Backspacer comes out this Sunday, and Eddie and company kick off their fall tour with two dates at the Key Arena next week. The SunBreak has a pair of tickets for next Tuesday's show for one lucky winner--enter to win below!