Newsletter 9-15-08

Hey Everyone,

I’m back!

Sorry there was no newsletter last week. All will be explained below…

…but first…

Here it is, the official announcement for BANDING TOGETHER: A BENEFIT FOR THE SPONDYLITIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

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Friday October 17th through Sunday October 19th BlowUpRadio.com & ThePenguinRocks.com will present BANDING TOGETHER: A BENEFIT FOR THE SPONDYLITIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.

This 48 hour benefit webathon will feature over 50 bands performing live on the internet radio stations to raise money for this good cause. Among the bands performing will be nationally known artists like Brian Vander Ark (The Verve Pipe), Miles Hunt (the Wonder Stuff), and Paul Sanchez (Cowboy Mouth).

“The webathon will be the internet radio equivalent of the Jerry Lewis telethon, only with better music,” says Lazlo, the founder of BlowUpRadio.com and the organizer of Banding Together.

During the course of Banding Together, we’ll be asking people to donate money via a secure on-line section of the Spondylitis Association Of America’s website. As a thank you, everyone who donates during the webathon will be sent a CD.

About the Spondylitis Association Of America (SAA):

SAA is a non-profit organization that was the first and remains the largest resource for people affected by spondylitis. Through their efforts, they help advance education, research and treatment for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and related diseases. Their interactive website boasts more than 600 pages of content and receives more than one million hits per month. For more than 25 years SAA has dedicated all of its resources to help improve the lives of people coping with spondylitis.

"This is a very personal benefit for me as my wife, Naomi, suffers from ankylosing spondylitis (AS).", says Lazlo, " I have seen the debilitating effects of this disease and the chronic pain and discomfort it causes. This benefit is the least I can do to help my wife, and over a million others who suffer from AS."

The following bands are scheduled to perform as part of BANDING TOGETHER: A BENEFIT FOR THE SPONDYLITIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA:

Agency, Alex Brumel, Alter Ego, Beatallica, Ben Godwin, Billie Burke Estate, The Break Evens, Brian Vander Ark, Colie Brice, Copesetic, The Crayons, Crewman Number Six, The Cucumbers, Deena Shoshkes, Dipsomaniacs, Echofission, Evergreen File, The Future Kings Of Nowhere, The Heshers, J Stanley, Jim Testa, Joe Canzano, Joe Harvard, John Raido, John Taglieri, Jon Caspi, Jon Dacks, Jonathan Andrew, Joshua Van Ness, Kate Hart, Kevin McGowan, Kosmic Daydream, Matt Colligan, Miles Hunt, New Day Dawn, Paul Sanchez, Paul Zunno, Private Iron, Randy Morning Band, Rich Conroy, Rik Mercaldi, Scruff, Six To Eight Mathematics, Souls Release, Spiraling, The Successful Failures, Synthetic Sympathies, Thomas Martin & Jeanne O'Neill, Tris McCall, Whiskey Flask Revenge!, The Winter Sounds, Zigman Bird

In addition to the webathon, on October 11th a live benefit concert will take place at Buddie’s Tavern (277 Johnsons Lane, Parlin, NJ), which will feature live sets from The Comrades, The Tea & Whiskey, Frank Bressi (of The Chilling Details), and special guests. All proceeds raised that night will also benefit the Spondylitis Association Of America.

For more information on the webathon and live benefit concert, please go to www.BlowUpRadio.com, or e-mail Lazlo@BlowUpRadio.com.

BlowUpRadio.com is an internet radio station and website started in 2000, dedicated to the support of New Jersey's local original music scene.

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Now onto why there was no newsletter last week, and why Lazlo’s Den is changing…slightly.

Nearly 8 years ago I started BlowUpRadio.com, and shortly thereafter, Lazlo’s Den.

A lot has changed during that time.

Both sites and webcasts have changed and grown in ways I never imagined they would, but I am glad they did. However, it does add a lot more work to my plate for this hobby (I always like to remind people that I have never made a dime off of either site, and lose money each month because of operational costs).

Also during the past 8 years, I’ve changed jobs, settled down and got married, and have a whole host of other responsibilities in life that I didn’t when I first began BlowUpRadio.com & LazlosDen.com.

Sometimes, as happened a couple of weeks ago, the stress of trying to keep up with everything becomes so much that I become more susceptible to getting sick. The result this time was a nasty sinus infection which knocked me out for 4 days.

I should point out that I woke up sick the morning after being infuriated by Guliani’s and Palin’s speeches Republican National Convention, and that was probably just another contributing factor. Fucking Republicans, can’t get me better health coverage but do a great job of making me physically sick.

But I digress.

So as people who tuned into Lazlo’s Den last week already know, Lazlo’s Den is no longer a hard line 1 hour show every night. The show will still run Monday thru Friday at 8pm ET, but much like Happy Harry Hard-On in “Pump Up The Volume” (one of the inspirations for me becoming a DJ in the first place, along with real DJ’s Vin Scelsa, and John Peel), the show will now run however long I feel like doing. It’s unlikely to ever run much over an hour, but shows may be 30 minutes sometimes.

The good news about this is that the shows should be more solid. There have been nights where I hit a point and just start playing whatever to fill out the hour, but no more.

There will also be some weeks where I just don’t get to send out a newsletter.

Some day when I become my wife become a wealthy heiress to a beer distributor, and we have 7 houses, maybe I’ll have time to do everything I would like to with BlowUpRadio.com & LazlosDen.com, but for now, I hope you all will be happy that I am doing the best I can to bring you the best music and information with both sites/shows.

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Concert Picks of the Week

Lazlo (BlowUpRadio.com)
Saturday at Starland Ballroom is a benefit concert for Operation Home Front featuring sets by Arlan Feiles & his Lone Orchestra, Anthony Fiumano and the Medicine Chest, and the Christine Martucci Band.

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Jim Testa(Jersey Beat)
If you missed the Feelies at their sold-out shows at Maxwells and Central Park this summer, you have two more chances to catch them this weekend. The band will be at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly known as Northsix) on Saturday and the Bowery Ballroom on Sunday.

The Feelies were one of the most original and influential New Jersey bands of the Eighties, helping to set the stage of the Hoboken pop scene that erupted out of Maxwell's. Last summer, playing their first shows in over a decade, they proved that they haven't missed a beat, mixing hypnotizing drones with electrifying rave-ups.

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Jared Migden(WRSU)
Thursday night will see a bit of punk and a bit of funk brought to the Court Tavern in New Brunswick. The Vanities will bring the punk as they play their first show the bar in nearly 2 years. They will be joined by Elephant Ghost, a band that is beginning to build a name for themselves playing pretty heavily in clubs around NYC and in New Brunswick

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And now it's time for this week's Pissed Off!

I would love to rattle off all the things that bother me about the Republican attack dogs right now, and how anytime anyone questions them (say a Democrat, or the hosts of the View), the republicans try to turn it around and call it sexist, or an unwarranted attack, etc., etc., but I think I’d rile myself up and get myself sick all over again.

Suffice it to say, the republican party should be ashamed of the disgusting level to which they’ve sunk to in order to try to steal another election.

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That's all for this week folks.

Peace,
Lazlo
www.BlowUpRadio.com