New Music Tuesday: Shaun Barrowes

The name Shaun Barrowes may only ring a bell to the most devout American Idol fan, which -- depending on your point of view -- is either for better or for worse.

His brief foray into the pop culture mainstream notwithstanding, Barrowes more than holds his own with his debut album, Big Bang Theory. When he's not licensing his music to animated children's shows and winning countless indie competitions (most recently, the Slice the Pie competition, which allowed him the needed funds to catapult his career), he's channeling all the singer-songwriter greats on such tracks as "When I Take Your Hand" (romantic without being cloying), "Hop, Skip, and a Jump" (think Jerry Lee Lewis on Red Bull), and "Somebody Like You" (an American Jamie Cullum).

Comparisons aside, Barrowes' music is shown strong on this solid debut album, which -- while clearly defined -- shows that he has room to grow and evolve while remaining true to his artistic vision.

FILE UNDER: Indie, singer-songwriter
SOUNDS LIKE: Jerry Lee Lewis, Jamie Cullum
MUST HEAR: "Somebody Like You."

WANNA WIN A COPY OF BIG BANG THEORY? EMAIL info@akashamultimedia.com WITH THE SUBJECT "SHAUN BARROWES" AND YOUR NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS. THE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM AND WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON NEXT WEEK'S NEW MUSIC TUESDAY BLOG!

The Green Contest! Enter to win 10K!

Sundance Channel invites consumers to share their inspired eco-solutions in the second annual national contest entitled "What’s The Big Idea?" presented by Lexus Hybrid Living. The contest, in which consumers submit a short film or photo essay demonstrating how they work green, play green, eat green or live green, helps to kick off season two of Sundance Channel’s original series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” which launches on April 1 as part of The Green , Sundance Channel’s weekly destination focusing on environmental topics. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 to help make their “Big Idea” a reality as well as a private green audit by “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” subject Current Energy. Four runners up will receive a Sundance Channel Green VIP Bag.

Current Energy provides energy-efficient solutions that are environmentally sensitive or advanced. Focusing on home and business systems as a whole, Current Energy saves customers money on products, services and utility bills. They are featured in “Big ideas for a Small Planet: Gadgets” airing on June 17th.

Contestants will submit their one-minute short film or photo essay featuring their “Big Idea”via http://www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen#/bigIdeasContest:overview between April 1 and May 20. Sundance Channel will select the top 25 entries to be viewed and voted on by users between May 27 and June 24. The five proposals to receive the most votes will be reviewed by a panel of environmental experts who will pick the winner. Pieces will be judged on creativity, overall theme, feasibility and presentation. The winner will be announced the week of July 7th.

The Green presents a lively mix of original series, documentary premieres and interstitial series about the earth’s ecology which provide viewers with ideas on how to work green, play green, eat green, dress green and live green. Its documentary presentations survey a broad scope of eco-related topics, from climate change and energy to design, fashion and architecture. “The GREEN” airs every Tuesday night at 9pm et/pt and is presented by Lexus Hybrid Living and Citi Smith Barney.

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, CBS and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel’s website address is www.sundancechannel.com.

AZ Jukebox - Win Free Airtime for Your band!

Arizona Jeans recently launched a contest at azjeans.com to give independent and unsigned bands/artists the chance to become the next sound of AZ Jeans and get their big break in the biz.

Individual artists and bands can submit up to 3 original songs for potential to win and have their song played in the AZ Jeans jukebox. Plus,each winner will be featured in a band profile.

Check out the details below to enter:
• Go to http://extras.azjeans.com/?ID=contest and fill out the online submission form. Each band or artist must submit at least one original song and may enter up to three original songs total.
• Bands/Artists have until May 2nd to submit their original music and then until May 23rd to get the most votes for their songs to win.
• Visitors to azjeans.com will be given the chance to choose their favorite artist from the submissions, and up to five finalists will be selected based on the most votes.