FameCast – Part 1 – Starting Over

A while back, I spent a lot of energy promoting an online competition that my band was in (FameCast). In each round, fans can vote for their favorite artists, and the top artists in each round keep moving on, until there is a Top 5. Those 5 artists get flown to Austin, TX to perform in the FameCast Fenom Finals. The show is webcasted live, and once the show is over, fans go back online and vote for the overall winner. That winner receives $10,000 and National Exposure.

Flashback: Last season, we made it all the way to the Top 5 Round on FameCast’s Pop stage. However, a conflict between the date of the show and the Jewish holiday of Passover made it impossible to go. After spending all of my energy, and the energy of our fans, we were left with no choice to withdraw, as FameCast was unable to come to a compromise between the timing of the holiday and the show.

Flash Forward: Season 2 of the FameCast Fenom competition started last night for us, on the brand new “Singer/Songwriter” stage, which seems to be much better suited for our music. This season, I’m not sure how much more energy I can put into promoting the competition. From now until our ending point of this online version of American Idol, I’ll be documenting our efforts into making it back to Austin, and our own experiences with the fans and artists at FameCast to give you an inside track on what kind of mentality lies behind this kind of competition.

The round we are in right now is the “Open Submission” round, which ends on Tuesday, June 5th at 12pm Eastern. Voting in this round determines the Top 50 artists to move on in the competition.

It’s gonna be a bumpy ride…

If you’d like to vote, whether you enjoy our submitted video, you want to fuel our efforts, or would like to continue this blog series, here’s how you can vote:

1) Create a Fan by going to: http://www.famecast.com/registerfan.php
2) Verify your email address after you register.
3) Head to our current Voting Page to: http://www.soundscapesoul.com/famecast1
4) Click on the “Vote For This Artist” icon on the left side of the voting page, next to our video.

Voting Tip: Every email address you use is worth 1 vote. If you have more than 1 email address, use them to make fan accounts if you’d like to submit more than 1 vote. (This is something we shyd away from last season, but it seemed to be somewhat of a normal practice among the marketing strategies of artists on the website.)

How does one appropriately end this first installment of the FameCast series? With a Daily Moment oz Zen, of course!

HR Kitty

stopped by to visit us in the office today! Hooray HR Kitty!

In honor of HR Kitty’s visit, I share with you my Daily Moment of Zen, brought to you by Adam West.

What a ridiculous name for a cat!

Attention New Yorkers

That is all…

Rocket Man

Today is my sister’s birthday, so I’ll be spending the day with her instead of writing a cool new blog. But until then, please enjoy your helping of the Daily Moment of Zen, brought to you by Elton John, William Shatner, and the one and only, Stewie Griffin!

And I think it’s gonna be a long… long… time…

If that didn’t do the trick, maybe you need a little Saxophone therapy. Take it away Bill!

*sigh*… Night Court…

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Friday night was the first night of the Subway Series. For those of you who are baseball deficient (which are few, but I won’t go hatin’), The New York Mets and the New York Yankees play each other for two three-game series’ during the course of the MLB Season. This year’s Subway Series is particularly different for a couple of reasons.

1) In celebration of the Subway Series, the Empire State Building will change its colors. Starting on friday night, the tower was to have Yankee Blue and White on the North and South sides. The East and West sides of the tower was to have Metropolitan Blue and Orange. The winner of this month’s Subway Series will have their team colors shown on all four sides of the Empire State Building’s tower.

2) The Mets went into this year’s subway series with a 26-14 Record and a 1.5 Game lead in the National League East. The Yankees entered the Subway Series with an 18-21 Record and 9.5 Games behind the Boston Red Sox. Clearly, without debating on what league is better, the Mets have had the better season this far.

So, with these 2 tangibles entering the Subway Series, it was obvious that the Yankees were the team “on the ropes”. A Subway Series loss to the Mets might not mean much this early in the season, but it would add to an already dismal start to the Yankees’ 2007 Season.

With the series over, here is how it all went down:

Game 1: Mets 3, Yankees 2
– Mets are now 2 Games ahead of Atlanta and alone 1st Place in the NL East
– Yankees are now 10 Games behind Boston and are tied for 2nd in the AL East

Game 2: Mets 10, Yankees 7
– Mets are now 2.5 Games ahead of Atlanta for 1st Place in the NL East
– Yankees are now 10.5 Games behind Boston and alone in 4th Place in the AL East

Game 3: Yankees 6, Mets 2
– Mets are now 2.5 Games ahead of Atlanta for 1st Place in the NL East
– Yankees are now 10.5 Games behind Boston and tied for 3rd Place in the AL East

 

There’s a new King of New York!

Yo Bob! Hows about my Daily Moment of Zen! I’m thinkin’ a little… Theme Song?

Bob Costas is the man!

Dance-off!!!

Bored at work? Enough to do the Electric Slide?

[ Go on.. start reminiscing about that Bar-Mitzvah, Wedding, or Sweet Sixteen where you were forced into the massive line of Electric Sliders… Hurts, doesn’t it? ]

Why don’t we check in on how Trybecca and Ashley like to spend their “bored” time at work, shall we?

It’s Electric! Boogiewoogiewoogie!

I bet you thought that was my Daily Moment of Zen, huh? Well, you were wrong… Ready?… Wait for it… Wait for it…

Dance! Dance with me!

Stuck in Whitlock

It feels like ages since I’ve heard anything about Don Imus and his harem of ho’s, but that all changed this morning. While browsing SNY‘s YouTube videos, I was introduced to Jason Whitlock, a sports writer for the Kansas City Star. In the video I’m about to post, he offers some insight on how the Imus situation was mishandled. Somebody give this guy Al Sharpton’s job, please!

Mr. Whitlock, if you ever feel the need to take over for the troublemaker (aka: Angry Al), you have my vote (Purely based on the point you made at the end of that video). Better yet, I’ll show you my gratitude in the form of my Daily Moment of Zen. Enjoy!

Anybody need a flying elephant?

My Uncle – The Mets Fan

Did everyone have a wonderful Mothers Day? I went to my grandparents’ in Little Neck and had an early dinner for Mothers Day. Usually, the day is supposed to belong to my mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother… but times have changed… and this day, this year, belonged to my uncle! You see, I live in a family of Mets Fans (except for my grandmother, who is secretly a Yankees Fan). Today, we had a family friend come over who happened to be a Yankees Fan. No harm, no foul, right? My uncle was just making common Mets/Yankees conversation (more along the lines of “I Hate The Yankees!”). But after our family friend left, my uncle took the stage, and went on an interesting rant.

So, without any more introduction, I give you… My Uncle! (or, in other words, my Daily Moment of Zen!)

I love living in a family of Mets fans!

Okay, so if that video didn’t do it for you, then how about the return of Peter! Welcome back Peter!

Disney World – Gaza Style

I came home from work, checked my email, and made some dinner… It was the typical routine for me after a long day in the office. But today was a little different. My sister came home and showed me the front page of a local newspaper. what was on the front page? This!

Are you kidding me? And we’re all worried about Barry Bonds and steroids? And we’re all worried about Paris Hilton and her 45-day jail sentence? And we’re all worried about American Idol? Give me a break! Mickey Mouse has been taken to a whole new level (thanks to Al Aqsa TV) by spreading a very chilling message of hate. Disney, if you’re watching, I hope you’re doing *something*, because I’m sure Walt is rolling in his grave!

(Note: If you have children, this might hit home a little harder for you. As disgusting and hateful as this video is, I feel obligated to share it in order to show everyone that there are more important things going on in this world to be worried about than Barry Bonds or Paris Hilton)

And I thought Fox News was bad… Yikes…

The Neverending Story

I’m not one to write about celebrities (ok.. that’s a lie), but this really got to me. I’m going to quote a website that I will share with you at the end of this post.

“In September of 2006 , Paris Hilton she was arrested for driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher. In January, Hilton pleaded no contest to those charges and was sentenced to 36 months probation, her drivers license was suspended and she was ordered to enroll in an alcohol education program within 21 days. She never enrolled in the program and she was photographed driving her Bentley convertible just two days later.

Just one month later (on February 27), she was pulled over by Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies at 10:30 at night for driving 70 miles per hour, without her headlights on, down Sunset Boulevard, which is a 35 miles per hour zone.

In March 2007, the Los Angeles City’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion citing Hilton for violating the terms of her DUI probation, asking for 45 days in jail, even though the law allowed Paris to be sentenced to 90 days in jail. Hilton violated at least three conditions of her probation; driving at 70 mph without her headlights on in a 35 mph zone, driving with a suspended license, and failing to enroll in the court-ordered alcohol education program.”

Naturally, my first reaction to hearing about the 45-day sentence was, “Great, she violated her probation, and the law allows her to be sentenced.” But after being told of a petition to free Paris Hilton from the charges so she wouldn’t have to serve her jail time, I was besides myself. Not only was this petition’s link being passed around everywhere, but she’s openly promoting it on her MySpace page, and wherever else she goes. So not only am I besides myself, but I’m in total shock. Once again, another celebrity is trying to prove to the world that they are above the law, and can do whatever they want (See Mel Gibson…. bastard!).

So, in the midst of my rant, I’m urging everyone I know to sign a counter-petition that is in agreement to Hilton’s 45-Day jail sentence. Nobody is above the law. Lets make sure she doesn’t dodge the law yet again!

Sign the Petition!

(Note: When signing, it will prompt you to make a donation to the website, but you do not have to make a donation. Your signature will have already been recorded once you reach that screen. Don’t let that scare you away from signing the petition. However, if you feel like making a donation, go for it!)

Phew… that was tiring… why don’t you check out my Daily Moment of Zen while I catch my breath…

I miss being a kid watching this movie…