mike
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Posts by mike
Power Pirate @ RnRHotel!
Feb 20th
Hey everyone!
It’s Emily. I’m in DC, and we have a show coming up this Saturday, the 26th. We’re playing at the Rock n’ Roll Hotel with some great bands, and if you haven’t been to this venue, you have to go! It’s one of the biggest all-ages venues in DC, and even though it’s not a real hotel (you can leave your sleeping bag at home), the sound system and atmosphere are top-notch.
We’ve also got a really cool deal this time around. It’s very simple. Bring a friend, get a free CD. SO! Bring your parents, bring your brother, bring your cousin from Canada, and between every two people, you get a CD.
Here’s the skinny:
- 8 pm doors / 9 pm bands
- $10 cover
- Rock n’ Roll Hotel: 1353 H Street NE Washington, DC
- you + friend = free CD
- Facebook event
See you there. 🙂
– Emily
Bring Them Back Music Video!
Jan 3rd
We’re pleased to announce the release of the Bring Them Back Music Video! It was a blast shooting it, and a huge thanks goes out to everyone involved. It was directed by Nic Weinfeld & Mike Holland of Silver City Productions. Check it out and let us know what you think!
Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqWVv9vKxm8
The Word
Nov 8th
In the past few weeks we have made some announcements. If you’ve read those, thanks for putting up with us. It means something that you’ve even read this far. You passed the test. You’re exactly who we want to talk to: the people who care, even just a little bit. We’re interested in what you think we’re doing well, and what we’re not.
Basically, we want to inform you. If you know what our situation is, you might be as excited as we are to get out there and win this thing together. Here’s what’s going down:
Power Pirate is in a national contest, going for earning $5,000 for school music programs. If we receive enough votes, we will compete for this prize live in California, and the #1 band performs in Germany. That’s what we’re aiming for.
– Top prize: $5000 to local school music programs, we perform in Germany and California cash for [pp] to upgrade equipment. There are also non-top prizes that are exciting and cool.
– The voting system isn’t perfect, but we’re doing everything within our power to make it easy.
[youtube]mnVmN_Tahxc[/youtube]
To make it easier:
- http://powerpirate.com/vote – Vote here. This is the main hub.
- http://bit.ly/d3UJUI – Daily reminders. Click here if you want to help, but aren’t sure you’ll remember every day. (PS- I’m signed up myself…)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnVmN_Tahxc – Video about how to vote. It’s kinda confusing, I know. Sorry about that- it’s beyond our control.
- Want to help? Talk to friends, family, and teachers. Email and Facebook are always good. Here’s an email template to make it easier. http://powerpirate.com/emailtemplate/
WOW. This has been a novel. Sorry about that. To sum up: please vote and spread the word. This means a lot to us.
Thanks!
-Mike
Big News and Goodies
Nov 1st
We’ve got big news! We’re in the semi-finals in a nationwide high school battle of the bands. We could win $5,000 for school music programs and a trip to Germany. The rules are simple: If we get more votes than the other 10 bands in our region, we will perform at the NAMM Show in California this January. Since you’re our core fan base, we are really hoping for your help.
You can vote here: powerpirate.com/vote
Basically, you sign up once, and from then on it takes just a few seconds to vote. You can vote every day. This is key: make sure your voice is heard.
We have also set up a system where you can sign up for a temporary, pain-free daily reminder. You get a discount from our web store just for signing up. More on that below. We hope that you’ll also take comfort in knowing that you’re making three teenagers really happy by helping out. :]
Multiple people can vote from one computer, so feel free to ask your friends, siblings, parents, and cousins to vote.
Here’s what we’re giving:
- 10% store discount to everyone on the daily alerts mailing list.
- An additional 10% to the top 20 people who vote from the reminders. If votes are going extra well, we will extend this more.
- Free shirts and CDs to the households that vote the most times.
- Free stickers to anyone who refers 5 friends or more to our reminder list – http://bit.ly/d3UJUI .
SchoolJam is raffling off to voters $1,000 for a new musical instrument and other great prizes.
Stuff [PP] can get:
- A trip to Europe to perform at SchoolJam Germany in the Spring of 2011.
- $5,000 for our school music programs.
- $1,000 towards the purchase musical gear.
If you were watching Power Pirate a year ago, you’ll remember we went to California to play in this same Battle of the Bands last January. We placed 3rd in the entire country and won best keyboardist and best guitarist in SchoolJam USA, a nationwide high school Battle of the Bands.
Since then, we’ve released a CD and played dozens of shows. Our stage presence has improved, our musical ability has improved, and we’ve gained experience on all fronts. Give us another chance. Please vote – http://powerpirate.com/vote
…And send us an email. Even if you’ve never written us before or haven’t written in a long time, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know if you have any ideas for the contest!
Thank you so much. <3
Emily + PP
New T-Shirt Design!
Oct 17th
The shirts are in our new web store. We’ve also got CDs, stickers, and a killer combo pack. Everything is all in one place, and there’s no middleman so you’re supporting us directly. We really appreciate that.
There are several really cool things going on there. First of all, all orders over thirty-five bucks get free shipping. That’s a given. Below that, we’re just charging a couple dollars for shipping (anywhere in the world!) to help cover some of the cost.
But, what you really want to know about is the super-fan sharing bonus. If you do any of these, you’ll get twenty percent back from your order:
- Suggest the [PP] Store to a friend. Just have him or her add your email address to the personal comments box on the PayPal checkout page.
- Invite all of your friends on Facebook to like our page. (email us a screenshot. If you’re not sure what to do, just reply to this email with a question.)
- Send a picture of 3 people or more wearing a [PP] shirt or holding a [PP] CD.
- Blog about us. If you have creative space in a blog, newspaper, radio station, or cook book, write an article about us. Send us a link or clipping, and we’ll hook you up.
If this didn’t make any sense, you hate guacamole, or you just want to chat, send us an email.
Guacamole Recipe
Oct 10th
Finally, it is time for the official Power Pirate guacamole recipe. I never thought this day would come. I’ve been preparing for this all of my life. Why guacamole? Why now? These are questions with one answer: it’s great.
If you haven’t had guacamole in a while, or you are not sure whether or not you like it, it’s time to revisit. The classic combo of chips and guac has saved many a study-session at my house. I hope it can work wonders for you, too.
Guacamole Recipe
Serving Size: 2 people (eating well).
Skill level: beginner
Rating: E (for comic mischief)
Ingredients
- 2 Avocados
- 1-2 Lime(s) (or 2 tbsp. of lime juice)
- 1/4 cup of Salsa
- 3 tsp of salt
- Passion
Bonus Ingredients
- Hot sauce
Directions
- Cut the avocado in half, and remove the pit.
- Scoop out everything left inside the avocado using a spoon, and add it to a bowl.
- Mash with a fork.
- Add other ingredients to taste. All amounts are approximate. Use as much as you think you want.
- Experiment. Think it needs more salt? Add more salt.
- Enjoy!
- Send photos of yourself making or eating guacamole, and we’ll send you free stickers. (email to contact@powerpirate.com)
Future of Music Policy Summit
Oct 3rd
I’m at the 2010 Future of Music Policy Summit at Georgetown University. I came out here last year, and had a great experience. This year does not disappoint. We’ve heard about marketing, tips for emerging artists, and info about the effect of the new health care reform on musicians.
The 10th Anniversary Future of Music Policy Summit puts the focus where it belongs: on the artists who are the very reason for our existence. It is the talent and creativity of musicians, songwriters and composers that bring clarity and focus to the pressing issues facing the entire music community.
The current panel is Bred for Cred: Indie Labels in 2010. If you’re interested in the business, I suggest you check out the FMC website.
-Mike
To DC and back again
Sep 26th
Hey,
So coming to DC was amazing. I was there for 5 days but saw tons of people who I hadn’t seen in months.
A couple things to note as to why it was awesome:
- I had chips with salsa for breakfast at least twice.
- I played a show again.
- I went to my old school for a day.
- I got to see my BC Rich Bich again after a month away from it (D:).
- We had a band Starbucks trip.
… and more.
Some thoughts on why the trip back was less enjoyable:
- I had to leave DC. Duh. Lameee.
- On the way back I took with me close to 140 pounds of luggage. You can check in only 50 pounds. I’m a weakling, so my back hurt.
- I arrived on Monday morning at 7. I did not sleep on the plane. I stopped at home, took a shower, and went straight to school. I was exhausted.
Anyway, I’m awake way too early on a Sunday right now after 5 days straight of playing soccer. I should be sleeping. But don’t worry I blogged for Power Pirate instead.
Much love. :]
Emily
PS: My French sucks. Yes, Brussels is a French speaking city.
H Street Festival (W/PHOTOS)
Sep 22nd
Everything went great! We had a ton of fun on stage, and made several new friends. There was a record attendance this year, with a 30,000+ person crowd. Check out the photos. My personal favorite is the truck driver putting a [PP] sticker on the hood of his truck.
The Rock and Roll Hotel treated the bands very well, and there were many great artists performing all around the festival. There were two main stages going and a few smaller stages / DJ areas as well.
We will probably be putting up more from the show soon. I am putting together a video from some footage we shot at the event.
Stay tuned!
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- Photo by Photorock
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- Photo by Photorock
Boris Willis rocks out to [PP]
Sep 20th
At the H Street Festival, The Pink Line Project captured this priceless moment on camera. Dancer Boris Willis, who performs with City Dance and is a faculty member at George Mason Univsersity, has some smooth moves while listening to “Alone”.
Watch on Vimeo
