PhilipsSo you may recall that last month I was jetted off to Austin for a weekend to see Matt & Kim and partake in some breakfast tacos, all courtesy of Philips and with the promise of no strings attached. Of course, we all know there’s no such thing as a free breakfast taco, so here’s the catch.

I have been asked to give away to one of my readers one Philips GoGear Spark, a cute little 2GB MP3 player/FM radio that purports to make your MP3s sound better through the miracle of modern technology. The veracity of that claim I will have to leave to you to decide because I haven’t spent any appreciable time with it – it’s a Windows-only device. It also comes with a 6-month Rhapsody subscription.

Now the above prize pack is only available to Americans, but fret not countrymen, I’ve something for you too. During the trip I was given another model of the GoGear, this one with 8 GB of storage, video playback, Bluetooth (for something) and some really quite decent headphones. I can’t use this thing because a) I’m on a Mac and b) I don’t need another MP3 player. But maybe you’re on a Windows box and you do need/want one. So I’ll offer up this thing to any Canadians who want to enter the contest.

So. If you want some of this action, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to GoGear” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest closes at midnight, January 17, and remember – these things only work with Windows so make sure your computers will work with them. Alrighty?

Frank Yang2009 is almost upon us, and Ottawa’s Amos The Transparent has big plans. In a MySpace blog post, they promise “new tracks, and new ep, new blogs, new webisodes, a new myspace page”, but first they’ll be a-rolling down the 401 for a show in Toronto.

They’ll be kicking off the 2009 series of Two-Way Monologues in style, ably supported by Whale Tooth and Bellewoods, and I’ve got a super-deluxe prize pack to give away for the show, consisting of a pair of passes and a CD from each act. It’s like Christmas has come, um, late.

To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see (through) Amos The Transparent” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest will close at midnight, December 30 and even if you don’t win, come out for what’s likely to be your best post-New Year’s hangover option. Cover is $7 at the door. And in the meantime, grok the show poster and enjoy a Christmas carol from the band. Again, no longer timely but that’s my fault, not theirs.

MP3: Amos The Transparent – “Title Track”
MP3: Amos The Transparent – “White Christmas”
MySpace: Amos The Transparent

Jaime HoggeLast month I talked a bit about Moody Motorcycle, the debut album from the Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn-powered folk-pop project Human Highway. I mentioned the short Canadian tour that kicks off next week and stops in at the Tranzac in Toronto on December 16 and while at that time, a month out seemed a bit early to try and get people to plan out their activities on a Tuesday night, but now that things are drawing closer, I think it’s reasonable to ask you to commit.

Courtesy of The Tranzac, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away to the show and they could have your name on them. If you want, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to ride the Human Highway” in the subject line and your full name in the body and get that in to me before midnight, December 13.

My Old Kentucky Blog has a holiday-themed interview with Guthrie and Thorburn.

MP3: Human Highway – “Sleep Talking”
Video: Human Highway – “The Sound”

Frank YangIt seems like holding holiday-themed live throw-downs with fun names is all the rage these days, and this upcoming edition hosted by The D’Urbervilles is no exception. They’re closing out a year in which they released their excellent debut full-length We Are The Hunters by holding a two-night soiree they’ve dubbed “Rock’Em Sock’Em” at the Tiger Bar this coming weekend, Friday December 12 and Saturday December 13. And because it’s not a party without having friends along, they’ve invited along Katie Stelmanis and Mantler to come out and play on the first night, and Bocce and Slow Hand Mortem on the second.

Courtesy of No Shame, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away for each night so if you’re looking for a little hot basement rock action this weekend, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Rock Em Sock Em on Friday” for night one or “I want to Rock Em Sock Em on Saturday” in the subject line, and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, this Wednesday – December 10.

MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Dragnet”
MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Hot Tips”
MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “National Flowers”
MySpace: The D’Urbervilles

jinglebellrock.caA little too much going on right now for proper posting, so you’ll forgive me if I just ride out the next couple days by partaking in the spirit of the season and giving some stuff away? But good stuff coming, I just need to work on it.

Jingle Bell Rock is the creatively-named tour featuring Can-indie luminaries Metric, Tokyo Police Club, The Dears and Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains on a ten-date mission to rock out, spread holiday cheer and raise funds for a range of worthwhile charities in the process. Things kick off with a two-night stand in Toronto at the Sound Academy on December 12 and 13, head west for single-night engagements in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton before going two-fer in Calgary and wrapping up with a triple-shot in Vancouver from December 21 to 23.

And, courtesy of Filter, I’ve got passes to give away to not one, not two, not three, but four of the shows. That’s one pair for each Toronto show and two of the three Vancouver dates (it would have been a solid run of both cities but they went off and added the third Van-city show). So if you want to go to any of the above, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Jingle Bell Rock in Toronto/Vancouver on December 12/13/21/22”, where you only include the city and date you’re looking for. For the Toronto dates, get entries in to me before midnight, December 9. Vancouverites, since you’re three hours behind anyways, you have until December 16 to get me your entries in. Lollygaggers.

And enter for multiple dates if you like.

Update: Hey, powers that be wanted the names sooner rather than later, so I closed the Toronto leg of things a bit early. And I’ve moved up the deadline for the Vancouver dates If you were waiting to enter… well damn, I have no idea why. Sorry.

MP3: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Juno”
MP3: The Dears – “Disclaimer”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”
Video: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
Video: Metric – “Poster Of A Girl”
Video: Metric – “Empty”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Graves”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Tessellate”
Video: The Dears – “Money Babies”