The Art of Asking (Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk)

Amanda Palmer says don’t make people pay for music. let them ask. Could the same wisdom apply to the world of books, film, & TV?  Hmmm…

 

Updates from the road

So it looks like the Level3 boys are stuck in France a little longer. Poor them. But no matter, Dilly, Dilly is rocking those libraries without them!  Here are some pix from the Chicopee, MA event.  So glad I’m going to  the gig in Hampton!  (Lane Memorial Library, Hampton, NH – Monday, 7/23 6:30pm).

Chicopee girls in the Pea Pod. (That’s a lot of peas!)

Dilly, Dilly – on banjo.

Slow down, ladies!

Dilly’s set list.

No brakes!

Oh, and in case you missed this little bit of awesomeness.

Winner announced for Battle of the Boy Bands

A hearty thanks to everyone who stopped by the blog to share their boy band love.

I’m happy to announce that One Direction fan Christina K. walked away with the prize–a $10 iTunes gift card & a copy of REUNITED.

Stay tuned for more summer giveaway fun.  And don’t forget to stop by the Level3 Tour page to see if the boys are coming to a town near you!

 

Win a $50 Ticketmaster Gift Certificate by following the REUNITED Summer Music Tour

The REUNITED Summer Music Tour

To celebrate, Level3′s inclusion in REUNITED, Simon & Schuster is sending them on a tour of libraries (!!) from Boston to Austin this summer, with the awesome indie girl rocker, Dilly Dilly as their opening act.  Follow the tour by texting reunited to 25827!  Stay on Level3′s text list until 9/1/12 and they’ll draw a single name to win a $50 TicketMaster Gift Card!

July 17, 2012 @ 3PM

Chicopee, MA
 
- Chicopee Public Library


July 18, 2012 @ 6:30PM

Johnston, RI 
- 
Marian J. Mohr Library


July 20, 2012

Barrington, RI 
- Barrington Public Library 


July 21, 2012

Darien, CT
 
- Darien Library 


July 23, 2012

Hampton, NH
 
- Lane Memorial Library 


July 24, 2012

New London, CT
 
- Public Library of New London

 


July 25, 2012 @ 2:00PM

Quincy, MA 
- Thomas Crane Public Library


July 27, 2012

Hershey, PA
 
- Hershey Public Library 


July 31, 2012

Pittsboro, NC
 
- Pittsboro Public Library


August 1, 2012 @ 3:30PM

China Grove, NC 
- South Rowan Public Library 

August 4, 2012 @ 1PM

Grand Prairie, TX 
- The Bowles Branch Library

Battle of the Boy Bands (with prizes!)

Are you a die-hard 1D fan?

One Direction

 Or is The Wanted the one that you want?

Maybe you’re kicking’ it old-school, locked in a decades-long feud with your BFF over the various merits of the Backstreet Boys versus NKOTB.

Either way, it’s time to let your opinion be heard!  And if you’re lucky, you may even walk away with some prizes!

Just type the name of your favorite boy band in the comments section of this post and you’ll be automatically entered to win a $10 iTunes gift card plus a copy of the ultimate fan-girl novel, REUNITED.

Big TIme Rush

Level3

Jonas Brothers

NKOTB (the band formerly known as New Kids on the Block). Just like when Kentucky Fried Chicken started calling itself KFC.

Contest ends Friday July 6th.  Open to U.S. residents only.  And enter the poll, too!  But you must leave a comment if you want to win the prizes!

Super-fan awesomeness: manicure edition

I thought I showed my love for REUNITED when I got my toes painted yellow for BEA, but @amabe421 has clearly one-upped me.  I present to you the best REUNITED-themed manicure ever.  And possibly the only REUNITED-themed manicure ever.

Coordinating one’s nails with one’s literature is a must this season.

Level3′s summer tour poster

Coming soon, to a library near YOU!

 

Young Turks

The J. Geils Freeze Frame may have been my first album,   followed closely by Rick Springfield’s timeless masterpiece, Working Class Dog,  but Young Turks by Rod Stewart was the first song to completely rock my world.

It was the video on MTV that first got me hooked—Billy and Patti, two teenage lovers running away together through the gritty urban streets, followed closely by a troupe of their own personal back-up dancers.  What 11-year-old girl doesn’t have that romantic fantasy?  And let’s be honest—if there was a way to work back-up dancers into my present day-to-day life, I’d be all for it.

So moved was I by the Young Turks video that I was compelled to scrawl the words “Young Turks” in giant letters on the street outside my house with a stick of caulking putty I’d found in the garage.  When I left for college seven years later, it still hadn’t faded.

Young hearts, be free tonight.
Time is on your side.

Maybe the reason I loved Young Turks so intensely is because tweens feel everything intensely. Or maybe nothing can ever really compare to that very first time a song grabs you by the soul, even if that song culminates with Patti giving birth to “a ten pound baby boy.”  Ouch.

Want to win an advance reader copy of REUNITED?

I know of a website for an adorable indie-rock trio from Austin where you can enter to win.

Oh, and while you're there, you may want to download some songs. For free!

Or enter here, on Goodreads.

Not a Fan-girl

I had a friend back in college who was a huge Blondie fan. One night, he went to a Blondie show, and afterwards, got to meet Debbie Harry backstage. So thrilled by meeting his idol, my friend wanted to keep a little piece of the experience forever—not just in his memory, but in some tangible way. So he stole Debbie Harry’s plastic cup of water, carrying it—half full—back to his apartment where he carefully stowed it away in the freezer, preserving the cherished artifact in perpetuity.

“Debbie Harry actually sipped from this cup!” he would remark, flaunting the frozen hunk of ice to his guests, four, five, six years later. I wouldn’t be surprised if he still had the cup in his freezer today.

And I will always remember this act of rabid fandom with great affection (and more than a little curiosity) because personally, I have never been one of those crazy super-fans.

Had I been a teenager in the 60’s, I would not have screamed over the Beatles, no matter how adorable Paul’s dimples were, especially when he hit the high notes and shook his floppy hair. Unlike my husband and sister, I never “went on tour,” nor did I get overly excited when I got to shake Thom Yorke’s sweaty hand. And I LOVE Radiohead. And I never really got what was so damn important about buying the concert t-shirt.

Which leads me to wonder—why do some people get all riled up over their favorite bands while others do not? What separates the fan-girls and fan-boys from, say, me?