- The Gaslight Anthem are giving away some autographed vinyl – a limited edition of the demos from their debut full-length Sink or Swim. For your chance to win, you need to snap a photo of yourself helping the homeless. Seriously. Here is the release:

“Take a picture as you donate a blanket or jacket, work in a soup kitchen or give a meal to someone on the street and send that picture to VOLROCKS@LIVE.COM and you will be entered in the drawing. You can enter everyday from now until the 24th of December.”

- If you’re in Richmond, VA this Sunday you can catch Ann Beretta and Pedals On Our Pirateships playing a show in conjunction with the charity organizations Punks for Presents. There will also be art for sale from a number of artists, including Richard Minino, a.k.a. Horsebites, whose distinctive work has represented bands like Less Than Jake, The Loved Ones, Cobra Starship and many more.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Punks for Presents describes their organization as being “dedicated to putting on ridiculous events to benefit Richmond-area charities and whatever the fuck else we deem worth… but it’s usually for kids.”

Saturday, 12/14/08
10pm
Empire Bar, 727 W Broad St
Richmond, VA

21+ / $5

Something I have been sweating over at my job recently is the idea of artwork and if “kids” (or your typical consumer) even pay attention to a layout these days (or even buys a hard copy of the record to begin with). I do my best to find the most compelling, talented artists to visually represent bands when it comes to their record artwork. Yet I am sometimes left with a feeling of emptiness when I see it in stores next to records that in my opinion, look god awful.

Not to mention – I really encourage bands to get a bit more in depth with their lyrics, perhaps even including explanations of songs – similar to, for example, a band like Rise Against. It’s not that bands should all be political or have something poignant to say (even though that is a different conversation entirely), but they could at least give music fans something to chew on beyond plastic and paper.

Check out this exclusive video feature on Sons of Nero’s first-ever art exhibition.

With their work having represented the likes of Every Time I Die, Unearth, Paramore and many more, this design collective unveiled its very first public exhibition at Lancaster, PA’s Metropolis Gallery. (Metropolis is a great modern art/modern furniture gallery that also carries lots of tasty toys and books – we’ll be featuring more on them soon.)

The show runs through November 30.

Enjoy!

On October 2^nd guerrilla artist Banksy opened The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill, his first official exhibition in New York City. My girlfriend and I made our way over to the Lower East Side storefront location of this installation, cameras in hand. The exhibition features chicken nuggets with legs, busily dipping themselves in sauce; a rabbit wearing a pearl necklace and filing its nails; a robot monkey wearing headphones and watching TV in a cage. There’s also the disturbing still figure of Tweety, a caged bird that has lost all of its feathers.

This is the first time that Banksy has used animatronics, and the effect is absolutely amazing. It’s admirable that it’s being held in a tiny storefront that’s less than 300 square feet and can’t hold more than 20 people at any one time. It will also catch you a bit off guard if you’re just wandering down 7^th avenue and your eyes stray toward the exhibition. That’s how Banksy’s art works though – it’s simple and cerebral. This fake pet shop in the middle of New York City aims to question “our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming.” Banksy also said: “New Yorkers don’t care about art, they care about pets. So I’m exhibiting them instead.”

I am really glad I was able to view this installation before it shuts down on Halloween. For the curious, I’ve linked the official video clips.

http://www.youtube.com/user/banscopetstore