Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Poster Children’s Rick Valentin to release debut album as Thoughts Detecting Machines. “Work The Circuits” arrives March 16th.

First single “New Day” brings together the guitars of Valentin’s previous band with electronics of Salaryman side project. Hear it now.

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Rick Valentin as photographed by Gilman Chatsworth.

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“New Day” is the first single from Work The Circuits by Thoughts Detecting Machines. Hear it via Slicing Up Eyeballs or at the links below!





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Each copy of the Work The Circuits vinyl is packaged in a one-of-a-kind jacket created with a pen plotter built and programmed by Rick Valentin.  Read more about it below!

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Thoughts Detecting Machines is the latest project from Rick Valentin, the man behind the pioneering late-80’s alternative band, Poster Children and its concurrent electronic side project, Salaryman.

“New Day,” the first single from the upcoming Thoughts Detecting Machines debut album Work The Circuits humorously details how supposed conveniences aren’t all that convenient after all.  “This is a simple song about how things like self-help mantras, life hacks, and fad diets are supposed to solve problems, but are problems themselves,” says Valentin.  “Musically, I think of it as a kind of suburban raga that gets interrupted by pogoing guitars.”  The track was recently premiered via Slicing Up Eyeballs here.

Valentin’s previous band Poster Children existed at the forefront of new media, blogging, and webcasting long before these activities were even remotely commonplace in music marketing, much less in our daily human existence. The band was hosting its own internet radio show in 1997 (before there was an iPod to podcast to), and most notably, a song from the 1995 Poster Children album Junior Citizen was included with iTunes version 1.0.

Launched in the college town of Champaign-Urbana, a couple of hours outside of Chicago, Poster Children went on to release records with legendary indie imprints such as spinART and Creation, and also survived a stint with the majors on both Sire and Reprise.

Considering the band’s proximity both physically and in time to the world of filmmaker John Hughes, one wonders if there was something in water.  Continuing through to Valentin’s current Thoughts Detecting Machines project, there is a sound of the era that is evoked in his music that literally feels like an edgier version of the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack smashed together into one awesome tune.

Listening to the new material, it seems Valentin hasn’t lost his touch over the years either, though these new songs have been a long time coming.  “When I started Thoughts Detecting Machines, I hadn’t written a song by myself in 20 years,” he explains. “I tried to do the singer-songwriter thing, but writing songs on an acoustic guitar made no sense to me. There’s just not enough volume.”

The songs on Work The Circuits merge the punk rock guitars of Poster Children with the electronics of Salaryman. Even the design of the physical packaging is a call back to Valentin’s eternal instincts, exploring the connection between art and technology, with custom-created covers made using a computer controlled pen plotter.

“I love the pen plotter,” he exclaims. “It has the exactitude of a computer with uniform curves and lines but there are also imperfections. Blobs of color where the pen first sets down, ink bleeding into the paper and gaps and overlaps where the servos don’t quite guide the pen to the right location on the page. It’s like the music - a collision of digital and analog, the perfect and imperfect.”

Work The Circuits, the debut album from Thoughts Detecting Machines, arrives on March 16th, 2015Rick Valentin is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Thoughts Detecting Machines
Work The Circuits
(Twelve Inch Records)
March 16th, 2015
  

Track Listing:

01. New Day (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
02. In the Right
03. The Call
04. The City
05. Bully
06. Fine
07. White Lies
08. Shine Me On
09. Night for Day
010. Say You Will

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Thoughts Detecting Machines Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE (TDM) : WEBSITE (RICK VALENTIN) : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The March Divide announces “+1” EP follow-up to critically praised “Billions” album; Tour launches Feb. 11th

Prolific San Antonio songwriter Jared Putnam accomplishes release of two albums, three EPs in just two years.

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Jared Putnam of The March Divide as photographed by Greg Gabrisch

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The March Divide – In The Press

“Impressively hooky.” – American Songwriter
“One of the year’s very best.” – Stereo Embers
“Completely clever.” – Performer
“All about lyrics and melodies.” – Babysue
Billions is a rich success.” – Nanobot
“Gifted with a serious set of pipes.” – The Aquarian
“An emo revival really is taking place.” – MAGNET

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Watch “Until I Explode” by The March Divide now via ArtistDirect or at the link below.




Watch “I Told You So” by The March Divide now via Performer or at the link below.


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 “Instead of making us music videos, he makes our songs the sound track to his short films.” – Jared Putnam of The March Divide

“I’ve been excited to see the video, to get the rest of the story,” says San Antonio-based songwriter Jared Putnam of The March Divide, who gave over control of concept and production to Ben Pien of Minneapolis-based Doubt Films for the music video for The March Divide songs “Until I Explode” and “I Told You So” from the band’s latest album Billions, out now. Putnam goes on to explain, “Until now, I didn’t know why the star of the ‘I Told You So’ video appeared at the beginning lying unconscious on a rock next to a river.”

Pien explains, “The videos explore the sometimes polarizing dynamics of relationships and their effects.  The prop camera seen in both of the videos was used as a segue between the two, but also represents the inability we have to see things for what they are when we are in the midst of a situation.  We need something or someone to show us the reality.” As for splitting this narrative between two music videos, Pien says, “I wanted to leave viewers with a cyclically disorienting feeling after watching the videos by having both start and end where the other left off.”

Referring to The March Divide’s upcoming “+1” EP, Putnam declares “These aren’t B-sides!” Scheduled for release on February 10th, 2015, “+1” comes hot on the heels of Billions, the sophomore The March Divide full-length, which was released to critical acclaim in late 2014.

“I was really in a good place writing these releases,” Putnam says.  “I saved some of my favorites for ‘+1,’ so they wouldn’t get lost in the mix of Billions.” The EP also contains several of Putnam’s guilty pleasures, as well as his channeling of Damien Jurado and Soundgarden on the original tunes “The Breakup” and “Lessons”  Then there’s “Slow Down,” about which Putnam jokes, “It’s an Emo power ballad!”

Fans of The March Divide are feeling the levity, and finding Putnam’s latest material less earnest than previous releases, but still completely clever. “I haven’t been taking everything so seriously, which really helped me to open up,” Putnam says of this evolution. “I’m finally at a stage in my life where I don’t have to bleed all over the page to write a song.”

Even with “+1” just on the horizon, Putnam is still out supporting Billions, and will launch two weeks of tour dates next month (all supported by Ryan Traster) throughout Texas. The pair will also be hitting New Mexico and Oklahoma for some shows. See below for full itinerary.

Jared Putnam of The March Divide is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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See the official The March Divide tour announcement and “You Save Me” track premiere via Digital Tour Bus!

The March Divide – Live

01/08 San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven 7PM, All Ages
01/24 Austin, TX @ Cherrywood Coffeehouse
01/27 San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar 8PM, 21+

02/11 El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
02/12 Santa Fe, NM @ The Underground
02/13 Amarillo, TX @ The 806
02/14 Norman, OK @ Red Brick Bar
02/15 Tulsa, OK @ The Hunt Club
02/16 Fort Worth, TX @ Magnolia Motor Lounge
02/17 Austin, TX @ House Show (e-mail: info@themarchdivide.com)
02/18 Corpus Christi, TX @ Boneshakers
02/19 McAllen, TX @ The Flying Walrus
02/20 Brownsville, TX @ Haven
02/21 San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven *, “+1” EP Release Show
02/22 Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s British Pub

02/28 San Antonio, TX @ Bonds 007 Rock Bar
03/19 Austin, TX @ Shangri-La SXSW 2015, MidCoast Takeover Showcase, Acoustic Stage, 4PM
04/11 New Orleans, LA @ Checkpoint Charlies
04/17 Harlingen, TX @ Hop Shop

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The March Divide
“+1 EP”
(S/R – Feb. 10th, 2015)
  

Track Listing:

01. Forward Thinking
02. The Breakup
03. Slow Down
04. Don’t Be So Proud
05. You Save Me (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
06. Someone Nice
07. Lessons

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The March Divide
Billions
(S/R – Out Now)


Track Listing:

01. I Told You So (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)
02. Come Apart
03. November Suicides (VIDEO)
04. Dumb Luck
05. Rewind
06. Mislead
07. Given Out (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)
08. Last Call
09. Until I Explode (VIDEO)
10. Situations

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The March Divide Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Friday, January 23, 2015

Chattanooga-based songwriter Nick Lutsko comes off decidedly folk debut album with a new record that is decidedly not.

Ambitious, eclectic sophomore release “Etc.” arrives March 17th; Hear “Predator” single streaming now via Popmatters.

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Nick Lutsko as photographed by Harris Oates

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 “Predator” is the first single from “Etc.” from Nick Lutsko. Hear it via Popmatters or at the links below!





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“With Etc., Lutsko breaks out of the largely folksy trappings of his first record and dives headfirst into a colorful mélange of noise.” – Popmatters

Chattanooga-based songwriter Nick Lutsko comes off of his decidedly folk debut album with a new record that is decidedly not.

“I wrote the bass riff for ‘Predator’ while I was finishing my debut album,” Lutsko says of the first single from his sophomore effort Etc., due March 17th, 2015. The track was recently premiered via Popmatters here. “Heart of Mold was a folk record,” he explains of his previous full-length, “and this was a major departure from that.”

The song took shape on the bass, which Lutsko then added a distorted Nine Inch Nails-esque drum loop to.  The proof of concept came when he presented the track to his band. “Their enthusiastic reaction was the catalyst for this new record,” he says.  “I’ve learned that a lot of people who are overly self-righteous often have the dirtiest skeletons in their closets,” Lutsko says of the single.

The song takes a more personal turn when he goes on to explain that “You can turn on the news any day of the week and see this, but this song was directly inspired by two individuals who inhabit my day-to-day life.”

The shift in sonic style on Etc. actually represents Lutsko’s newfound ability to realize a sound that he was logistically unable to record during his initial dip in the waters of record-making. This time around, Lutsko has captured a sound that curiously, but accurately, designates him one of the few musicians on Facebook listing their genre as “Folk/Funk/Blues.”

Loud drums, crazy bass, and dirty guitar solos are all in the mix on Etc., an ambitious album that never sacrifices a hummable melody or clever turn of phrase to simply stand out as eclectic.

Etc., the new album from Nick Lutsko, arrives on March 17th, 2015Lutsko is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Nick Lutsko – Live

01/29 Chattanooga, TN @ World of Beer 9PM
02/01 Chattanooga, TN @ Flying Squirrel 11AM
02/05 Chattanooga, TN @ The Honest Pint 9PM, w/ David Bronson

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Nick Lutsko
Etc.
(S/R – March 17th, 2015)
  

Track Listing:

01. Cherry Red Medicine
02. Okay
03. Predator (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
04. ALL SHOOK UP
05. Dreaming of Medusa
06. Geranium Thief
07. By & By
08. (You Aren’t So) Beautiful
09. Thanks to Uncle Stacy
10. Remember Me
11. Morning Star

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Nick Lutsko Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Scorsese-like Manhattan streets star in NYC “electro art rock” foursome Una Lux’s cinematic video for “Somewhere”.

Hear band’s sonic cross-section of Vespertine, Dummy, and Dark Side of The Moon now; Debut release on the way.

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Una Lux (L-R): Matteo Liberatore, Chris Connors, Kelso Norris, Jake St. John.

Photo Credit: Kristina Williamson.

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Una Lux – In The Press

“Amber-hued synth rock with a grandiose slo-mo attack.” – Brooklyn Vegan

“An altogether hypnotic listening experience.” – WNYC

“Caravaggio meets Portishead” – Entertainment Weekly

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 See the music video for the latest Una Lux single “Somewhere” here.


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“The band’s third and most powerful single yet.” – Diffuser with the premiere of the “Somewhere” music video by Una Lux.

“Somewhere,” Una Lux’s third single, features all the sonic elements that were praised in the band’s previous singles “Simon” and “Black Carbon,” but on a much larger scale.  Due to its intrinsically cinematic quality, Una Lux decided to release “Somewhere” along with a short movie.

Shot among Scorsese-like Manhattan streets, a ghostly apartment in a state of transitional undress, and a forgotten industrial Brooklyn waterfront, “Somewhere” is a surreal, intense production. It is a conflicted love letter to New York and the particular kind of loneliness the city can inspire, as well as an ambitious artistic statement that goes completely against the concept of New York-as-urban-Disneyland depicted lately in several media outlets and by artists like Taylor Swift and others.

The straining, wraithlike synths and gently thudding drums of the song’s intro accompany our lonely chauffeur as she finishes her night shift and begins to face her painful memories, but the strikingly prismatic voice of Una Lux front woman Kelso Norris quickly finds and guides her through an immense and liberating exploration of her own past, all the while scored by an unbroken crescendo that dives into a glittering, shattering finale.

Never shying away from referencing masterpieces like Drive or 2001: A Space Odyssey in its videos, Una Lux manages to authentically envelop such classic influences in an ethereal, gothic shroud that makes for a stunning parallel with the band’s unique music.

Currently finishing its debut with a release date to be announced soon, this first group of Una Lux songs are being brought to the surface by producer Nick Sansano (Sonic Youth, Le Tigre), who began working with the band in 2013 after recognizing their idiosyncratic style and ability to translate the human condition into something beautiful but troubled, futuristic but immediate, and mysterious but universal.

 Members of Una Lux are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Hear the latest Una Lux single “Black Carbon” via Pancakes and Whiskey or at the links below.






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Hear “Simon” by Una Lux via Brooklyn Vegan and see the video via Entertainment Weekly or at the links below.




  
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Una Lux Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Third annual Slingshot Festival celebrating the unique artistic diversity of Athens, Georgia announced for March 26th-28th, 2015.

Intersection of music, electronic art, tech and comedy to feature James Murphy DJ set (DFA / LCD Soundsystem), Jamie XX, Nosaj Thing, plus unique range of national and international performers.

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Brooklyn Vegan announces the third annual Slingshot Festival in Athens, Georgia on March 26th-28th

The many spring and summer festivals taking place throughout the country rarely throw the spotlight on the towns that host them.  Not so of the Slingshot Festival, which will take place for the third year in a row in the historic college town of Athens, Georgia on March 26th-28th.

As announced today by Brooklyn Vegan, this year’s Slingshot Festival features an eclectic and diverse roster of music, electronic art, tech and comedy.

Tickets are on sale now at all-inclusive special price while they last.

Some of the featured performances and events at Slingshot in 2015 include a rare headlining DJ set from James Murphy of DFA / LCD Soundsystem, sets from Jamie XX and Nosaj Thing, a comedy night headlined by Kurt Braunohler, and dozens more acts including Clark, Skylar Spence, (formerly Saint Pepsi), Reptar, Holly Herndon, Glenn Kotche, Prince Rama, Single Mothers, and a DJ set from Washed Out.

The biggest star of the weekend will be Athens, Georgia itself.

Besides being recognized throughout the world as the birthplace of REM, The B-52s, and Neutral Milk Hotel, among many others, Athens maintains a near-mythological status for its ability to foster emerging artists, embrace experimentation, and push boundaries.

Slingshot founder Kai Riedl elaborates, “Over the last 40 years, Athens has been that rare place where musicians can comfortably collaborate with each other and perform for audiences that approach music with open minds and open ears.  Athens is a creative epicenter, and Slingshot is a natural outgrowth of that.”

With several world-class venues within a few blocks of one another, Slingshot benefits from this physical concentration of artists and audience, allowing festival attendees to experience the small-town atmosphere and creative freedom that is the lifeblood of this town.

“Though we’re still a young festival, we pride ourselves on making things happen here at Slingshot that can’t happen anywhere else,” Riedl says. “We encourage our performers to leave the big city behind and think outside the box.”

In this spirit, Slingshot also makes it clear that Athens thinks globally when it’s acting locally, providing a rare opportunity to catch some of the best acts from around the world on its stages.

This year’s Slingshot will include “Japan Nite” featuring five up-and-coming bands from Japan headlined by hard-touring sensation Peelander-Z.  Other international performers include Syrian-based synthrocker Omar Souleyman, Argentinian pop experimentalist Juana Molina, and Awesome Tapes from Africa.

In addition to the dozens of music acts, Slingshot will host electronic sound and visual artists from all corners of the globe, displaying their works throughout the urban environment and performance venues.

“Sensory Overload,” a Slingshot-hosted technology conference, will also take place during the weekend featuring leaders in the fields of big data and visualization.

Of course, Slingshot is also about having an amazingly good time, a sentiment illustrated by comedian Jonah Ray, a Slingshot headliner, who wonders “At what other festival can you go from dancing to a crazy Japanese band to embarrassing yourself in front of Michael Stipe?”

Only at Slingshot!

The third annual Slingshot Festival takes place in Athens, Georgia from March 26th-28th. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

This year’s sponsors and partners include MailChimp, Dust To Digital Records, Uberprints, The Willson Center at UGA and more.

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Slingshot Festival Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Five San Francisco-based songwriters spend secluded time in California Redwoods for upcoming album “Seven Seasons.”

Latest single from Hidden in the Sun is vocalist Lizzie Clapper’s hometown tribute, “San Francisco Blues,” streaming now.

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Hidden in the Sun (L-R): Jason Vivrette, Lizzie Clapper, Sean Alexander, Ciara McAllister, Scott Rouse. Photo Credit: Scott Rouse.

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 “San Francisco Blues” is the latest single from the debut album by Hidden in the Sun. Hear it via Culture Collide or at the links below!





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See the album trailer for Seven Seasons by Hidden in the Sun



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“Pure mood, dropping the listener into the middle of some beautiful and history-rich ‘other’ world.” – Blurt

“Hidden In The Sun knows how to hit hard with few frills. Lizzie Clapper delivers a quietly devastating tale of loss.” – Culture Collide

The previous Hidden in the Sun single “Salt and the Spring” is the only track from the band’s upcoming Seven Seasons debut album that was composed collaboratively. The San Francisco-based group is comprised of five distinct songwriters who just so happen to have found something special enough in one another to make the group an inevitability.

Stepping out to start showing off the individualism that defines Hidden in the Sun as a band (ironic, huh?) is vocalist Lizzie Clapper with her powerful piano ballad invoking the group’s hometown, “San Francisco Blues.”  The track was recently premiered (along with a guide to the band’s favorite San Francisco spots) via music discovery website, Culture Collide.

“Unlike other songs I write which are often fictionalized histories or emotional tall tales, ‘San Francisco Blues’ is purely autobiographical,” Clapper says. “Though it is one of the earliest songs we performed together as a band, the emotion of it still speaks very strongly to me. It’s about reaching out to someone who isn’t reaching back.”

The deep traditions of American roots music contrast with styles ranging from the Blues to Ambient Electronic in the unique music of Hidden in the Sun. Recorded deep in the Redwood forests of Mendocino, California, Seven Seasons (arriving January 20th) shows off the transcendent results that can come from true, egoless collaboration.

“We isolated ourselves for two weeks and only spent time with each other, our producer, and the occasional grocery store clerk!,” explains Clapper. Contrary to the band’s usual writing processes, guitarist Sean Alexander explains that “The riff for ‘Salt and the Spring’ was brought to rehearsal and each member of the band came up with his or her own unique contribution.”

For a group comprised of five songwriters, each with a multitude of influences, cooperative creation could be a challenge. But, Hidden in the Sun isn’t just any band. They’ve got this.

Members of Hidden in the Sun are available for interviews.  The band will play a record release show in San Francisco at Viracocha (998 Valencia St.) on January 31st at 9PM. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Hidden in the Sun
Seven Seasons
(S/R – Jan. 20th, 2015)
  

Track Listing:

1. Seven Seasons
2. My Magdeline
3. Three Flavors of Five
4. Waiting on the Storm
5. Salt and the Spring (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
6. San Francisco Blues (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
7. Coat of Armour
8. Roulette
9. Smoke Signals
10. Bend
11. The Gun Song
12. Lexicon

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Hidden in the Sun Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion