Happy Wednesday.  Hello friends..a few weeks back I wrote the following:

THE QUEERS new album BACK TO THE BASEMENT is complete and on track for a NOV. 16th release.  The songs remind me of a trek back to LOVE SONGS FOR THE RETARDED era QUEERS.  Short and snotty punk songs.  I really like it, but I really like their slower pop gems too, so I guess anything they delivered would have been good for me. 
 
The tour that will accompany this record will be called ROCKET TO AMERICA (a play on the Ramones Rocket To Russia and will feature THE RIPTIDES, KEPI GHOULIE, and THE APERS on different parts of the journey.  We are thinking of having a contest for local openers.  What do you think of the following contest???? :

Once we release the tour dates, we will ask local bands that are interested in opening the show to send in a cover of their favorite RAMONES song and then we will pick the winners and have them open the shows in different markets.  Does that sound pretty cool?
Hmmmm......
Let me know what you think?  I would like to do some kind of contest for local openers and this is what came to mind.
 
Well, we got a ton of feedback on this idea, so here we go.  This is the official contest.  Lets call it:
OPEN FOR THE QUEERS CONTEST. (how original)

THE QUEERS w/ special guests KEPI GHOULIE and the RIPTIDES present:
ROCKET TO AMERICA TOUR 2010

Ok, since it is no secret that the QUEERS love the RAMONES, we have decided it would be great to have bands do a cover of their favorite RAMONES song.  Here is the info. we need from you:

-Send us a link to your band doing a cover of a RAMONES song.  It can be from a live show via you tube or a ghetto recording posted on myspace.  Please do not spend money trying to record something fancy.  Any ghetto recording will do.  And please don’t attach a wav file, just a link to the song.  And do not send more than one song for us to check out. 

-Please list the show that you are applying for.(Only one show per band)  And that goes for the unconfirmed cities too.  Please apply only for your hometown market.  The purpose of this is to give a boost to the local music scene, so if you are from San Francisco, please do not apply for the HOLLYWOOD show.

-When sending your info., please email gabe@asianmanrecords.com  Do not reply to this email.  Submissions not to Gabe will get tossed in the trash.
 
Ok, that is the info. we need.  As for how we are deciding the winners??  Well, I am not quite sure.  I am thinking of doing some kind of online voting, but I am not 100% sure yet.  But wanted to at least open the door for submissions. 
 
-the deadline to submit stuff is September 17th. 
We will have all the winners announced by September 22nd.

The winning bands will receive a QUEERS prize package that includes a copy of their new album, button, and t-shirt for each member of the selected bands.

Below is a list of the confirmed shows and the unconfirmed shows.  Again, please only apply if you are a local band in one of these markets.

CONFIRMED SHOWS:
NOVEMBER
11th-Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
12th-New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
13th-Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
14th-Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock
16th-San Antonio, TX @ Korova
17th-Austin, TX @ Red Seven
18th-Denton, TX @ The Boller Room

19th-Oklahoma City, TX @ The Conservatory
20th-Albuquerque, NM @ the Launch Pad
21st-Tempe, AZ @ Chasers
23rd-San Diego, CA @ Casbah
26th-Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
27th-San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
 
UNCONFIRMED SHOWS:
WED    11/24/10    Riverside or Pomona or Las Vegas or TBA - not sure where yet
SUN     11/28/10    Santa Cruz or SAN JOSE
MON   11/29/10    Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo
TUE      11/30/10    Sacramento
WED    12/1/10     Chico or Reno or Redding 
THU     12/2/10     Portland
FRI       12/3/10     Seattle
SAT      12/4/10     Boise
SUN     12/5/10     Sat Lake City
MON    12/6/10     off
TUE      12/7/10     Denver
WED    12/8/10     Omaha or Lawrence
THU     12/9/10     Minneapolis
FRI       12/10/10    Madison
SAT      12/11/10    Chicago
SUN     12/12/10    Waterloo
MON   12/13/10    Detroit
TUE     12/14/10    Cleveland
WED   12/15/10    Newport
THU    12/16/10    ST Louis
FRI      12/17/10    Paducah
SAT     12/18/10    Atlanta

Okay, so hopefully this sounds fun for everyone.  I am trying extremely hard to make music fun and involving local bands is always a good idea.  Dont you think?

Also, a quick note that SUNDOWNER is playing a record release show this Saturday at the Subterranean in Chicago.  The show will surely sell out, so buy your tickets now before it is too late.

Finally, the HOT TODDIES are doing a string of shows on the east coast in October and need help with two shows.  OCT 1st and 2nd in NYC and DC.  Here is their complete listing for their tour. 

Sept 30: Boston (at PAs Lounge w/ To the Wedding)
Oct 1st: NYC (NEED HELP!!)
Oct 2nd: DC (NEED HELP)
Oct 3rd: Baltimore (at Charm City Art Space)
Oct 4th: day off
Oct 5th: Atlanta (at Wonderroot w/ the Wild & Laura Stevenson)
Oct 6th: Durham (at Motorco Music Hall w/ Trophy Fire)
Oct 7th: Richmond (at Gallery 5 w/ Laura Stevenson)
Oct 8th: Philly (TBA)
Oct 9th: Asbury Park (at Asbury Lanes w/ Laura Stevenson)

Thanks for making it through this lengthy newsletter.  Be well.
peace, mike park