Last weekend in Los Angeles was VH1’s Rock Honors Weekend celebrating The Who and you could absolutely not escape the promo for this event. 2 of the club events I attended under the umbrella of this occasion were Sunday’s Toms Shoes Benefit @ the Hotel Cafe and Monday’s Steel Panther show at the Key Club. Reviews Below, but first… The WINNER of the AvantTrash/Filter Magazine/VH1 Rock Honors “WHO AM I?” CONTEST!

The Questions: and answers.
1. I can’t hear, I can’t talk, I can’t see. Who am I? “Pinball Wizard” or “Tommy, Can You Hear Me” Were both acceptable answers.

2. No one knows what it’s like to be me. I’m sad. Maybe even bad. Who am I? “Behind Blue Eyes” was the correct answer but a couple people answered Brick or Jumbo, which was a more amazing answer. So I decided to reward the winner for ignoring the rules (I was looking for the song title, not the narrator) and giving the more nerd-tastic answer.

3. I’m not old, I live on the Isle of Man. Kids can’t hurt me but they try, try, try. They ride on my head with furry donkeys. They can’t prevent me from being what I am. Who am I? “Happy Jack”…of course.

The winner of The Who prize pack was David Basile of Valley Springs, NY who says,
“I really enjoy your site, good content, your contests are the best!”

So congrats David! Cheers!

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Sunday, July 13th, The Hotel Cafe’s Toms Shoes Benefit, Hollywood, CA

Sunday’s show was nearly a who’s-who (pun accidentally intended) of Hotel Cafe Singer/Songwriter regulars, headlined by the always amazing elder statesman Butch Walker (long ago of The Marvelous 3). Also playing sets were Greg Laswell (who had an album release show the night previous) and Cary Brothers (not siblings, one guy). Honestly I felt a bit aglazed (fuck you spellcheck i made the word up) Sunday and didn’t show up until the last 6 (of 14) performers took the stage. The cause was noble enough: Toms Shoes has a philosophy where for every pair of their shoes they sell, they donate a pair to needy foreign children. Unfortunately the show didn’t have much to stand on. Too much sausage and not enough talented ladies at the end of the night. Butch Walker’s set was full of “new” and “in progress” songs bound for their inevitable obscurity. Walker’s music is too amazing for public consumption (thankfully?), leading many to call him “The best musician you’ve never heard of”. I put “quoteys” around “new” because although they haven’t been released yet (album delayed) I’ve heard some of these songs nearly half a dozen times live (see “Atlanta”). But a good thing about Butch Walker is the way he lets the fans hear his songs evolve between live show and recording. Somehow “Racecars and Goth Rock” from 2004’s Letters sounded better in it’s acoustic “California Gridlock” bootleg form. This trial by fire of sorts has also made some of Butch’s compositions some of the best category-free Rock and Roll of the last 10 years. As per his 1 downer song per album trend I jokingly noted that there would probably be a new song about someone dying and sure enough he sprung one into his set titled something along the lines of “I drove by your house, I saw his car, I thought of you”. I give Butch’s show-and-tell performance a 7/10. It would be unfair to judge the rest, I wasn’t really paying attention.

I didn’t hear any WHO covers that evening.

Monday, July 14th, Steel Panther @ The Key Club, West Hollywood, CA

Big Hair, Spandex, Synchronized Guitar Coreography, Hair Solos, Simulated Oral Sex and Tits. If you’ve never seen the Steel Panther (formerly Metal Shop Metal Skool) show @ the Key Club, then you must truly hate Hair Metal and all things Sunset Strip. Either that or it has somehow remained under your radar despite its continued success. A packed house, every monday? But why? Because it’s hilarious, brilliant, crude, disgusting and shamefully nostalgic. What it boils down to are 4 Hair Metal maestros with Studio Musician cred, playing covers with amazing accuracy and more importantly…enthusiasm. Some Mondays are better than others, but this one was pretty good. I’ve seen better nights and I’ve seen worse. And almost always that has to do with how many of the regular special guests they have joining them during their set. Usually it will be a figure from the glorious 80’s hayday, a slumming pop icon, or in this instance another piece of 80s nostalgia… William Zabka. You know perhaps know him best as “Sweep the leg, Johnny” from The Karate Kid. (or if you are really cool from “Just One of the Guys” or “European Vacation”.) “Billy” as he was addressed by the band, played guitar on a cover of Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and actually did a pretty good job. Unfortunately David Cassidy’s older brother was also in the house and played drums on the track…causing its calamitous ending to die in a whimper.

Adding to the festivities was a bevy of what looked like Jager shots delivered to the birthday boy, “53 year old bassist” Lexxi Foxxx. If you go, I suggest you get a birds-eye view of the debauchery from the balcony. You will also get an eye full of L.A.’s biggest douches rubbing metal flake Christian Audiger’d shoulders with semi-famous musicians and personalites of L.A.’s Past and Present (but mostly past). Steel Panther doesn’t take the stage until 12:15 so I suggest you head down to the famous Rainbow Bar and Grill for a bite (great food) and few pre-party drinks (cheaper than the Key Club). 2nd to the food and drink is the amazing people-watching; which is so beautiful it is hard to put into words …there will be fringe, feathered and dyed bangs, spandex and cellulite and probably a few guys who have played Jason or Michael Myers (or could if they removed the masks).

The only Who cover performed was “My Generation” with the lyrics replaced with rhymes about well… groupies mostly. There were masks of Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend circulating the crowd, Half of a Daltry made its way to Michael Starr for the final set of rhymes before the finale. Although sometimes the show borders on the bad side of “Girls Gone Wild”… it is just one of those L.A. things that you have to see. 8.3/10

The Who are being rightly worshipped by VH1 for their annual “Rock Honors” (info @ www.Rock.VH1.com) and a promotional blitz they have hooked me up with the power to reign gifts of Quadrophenic goodness upon you, the AvantTrash faithful. And for you lucky Los Angelenos there will be miles and miles of WHO shennanegins and goings on during the week of the 10-17th that you can partake of including the ceremony itself (which I unfortunately don’t have any tickets to). DETAILS AT THE END OF THIS POST.

AliUptown and I saw these unbelievable legends play a couple years ago in Omaha and we were floored by how amazing and energetic these gents still are. It was post-Entwistle, Zach Starkey was on drums and Simon Townshend on Rhythm Guitar but of course Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend tore the roof off the place like they’ve been doing since they nearly invented the Arena Rock spectacle back in the 60’s. We caught The Stones in the same year and despite their similar *ahem* maturity, the Who defied their ages and played as if they were Live at Leeds. If you get a chance to check out these legends, we suggest you do so.

“WHO AM I?” CONTEST!

Up for grabs thanks to VH1 and Filter Magazine we have THE WHO: VH1 Rock Honors gift pack which includes:

- The Who commemorative flask

- The Who shot glasses

- VH1 Rock Honors custom t-shirt

- set-of-4 The Who guitar picks.

And all you have to do to win it is tell us “Who am I?”. Its simple, I will describe 3 characters from WHO songs in the first person and you just have to guess which song they are from. I’m not making this very hard, any Who fan should know them. Send answers to contest@avanttrash.com and you’ll be entered to win.

1. I can’t hear, I can’t talk, I can’t see. Who am I?

2. No one knows what it’s like to be me. I’m sad. Maybe even bad. Who am I?

Those were easy, but here’s the kicker:

3. I’m not old, I live on the Isle of Man. Kids can’t hurt me but they try, try, try. They ride on my head with furry donkeys. They can’t prevent me from being what I am. Who am I?

Send your answers to contest@avanttrash.com by 11:59am PST on Thur, July 10 and you’ll be registered to win. Then you can go drink like Keith Moon… well, hopefully not.

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LOS ANGELES EVENT INFO:

*FYI I will be attending the Steel Panther @ Keyclub and Greg Laswell CD Release show at the Hotel Cafe*

THURSDAY, JULY 10
6pm: Guitar Center Presents Sessions with Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) @ Guitar Center Hollywood
8pm: The Gutter Twins & Ed Harcourt @ The Roxy www.theroxyonsunset.com
8pm: Tribute to Sublime @ Malibu Inn www.malibu-inn.com
9pm: Supreme Being of Leisure @ Viper Room,featuring “Who Am I” mojitos www.viperroom.com
All night: The Who Karaoke Night @ Blue Goose Lounge www.myspace.com/bluegooselounge
All night: Quadrophenia Night @ Seven Grand www.sevengrand.la

MONDAY, JULY 14
Doors TBD: Indie 103.3 presents local bands @ Viper Room www.viperroom.com
8:30: Steel Panther (formerly known as Metal Skool) tribute to The Who @ Key Club www.keyclub.com

In honor of the recent release of Priscilla Ahn’s debut album A Good Day and her recent appearance on Jay Leno. Here is an Email Interview I did with Ms.Ahn a couple weeks ago:

AvantTrash: When i’d seen you last year at a school fundraiser in the back of a store; your set painted a lovely picture of Pennsylvania. How would you describe your upbringing?
Priscilla Ahn: In general, it was pretty quiet. My parents were strict as I got older, so I didn’t go out much and “party”. I spent most of my time at school. I was involved in sports and music and drama, which took up most of my time. When I got home I studied. The older I got, the more I fought with my parents, so I tried to spend most of my time in my bedroom, reading, playing guitar….

AT: What made you pick up the guitar or start writing songs?
PA: My Dad always urged me to do it. But I never had any real interest in it until 9th grade, when a guy I liked played the guitar really well, like James Taylor style. I thought it was the coolest thing, and dug out my mom’s old guitar she had brought with her from S. Korea.

AT: Did you tour? Did you do the coffee house circuit? Any busking or singing for your dinner?
PA: When I first started out I did a lot of coffee houses. I also tried to get gigs anywhere I could. A lot of those places were restaurants and bars. I’d play for like, 3 hours, and make $60. I never liked to “busk”. I was never in a position where i had to, so i figured why should i? it’s exhausting work. But when my family and I were on vacation at the beach, my dad made me sing for change on the boardwalk. I was into the first night, but then…..well, like i said….it’s exhausting. You’re constantly giving energy to a majority of people who didn’t care, and your only real validation that people like you, is their loose change. Although, i have to say, I didn’t do too bad.

AT: And the trip out to L.A.? What prompted it and how was your trip out here?
PA: My first trip out here was with 2 other musicians. Our goal was to write songs on the road. We never wrote anything, but the traveling was unforgettable. And the moment we drove into L.A. I knew it was a place I wanted to be. So….one month later I packed up my car and drove out. It took me 5 days. It was truly an adventure. I was 19, traveling alone across the country, staying in hotels by myself for the first time, blasting Led Zeppelin in my Saturn. It was cool.

AT: I heard you waitressed… where was it and how long did that last?
PA: I waitressed at a restaurant called Cheebo. I was there for a year.

AT: How did you get hooked up with Joey Waronaker?
PA: My manager hooked me up with him. We had coffee and I really liked his personality, and we became friends from there.

AT: How was the Hotel Cafe tour? Who do you think is going to be the next big thing from that group?
PA: The tour was a lot of fun. All good people, singing together, traveling together. It was pretty cool. I have no idea who’s gonna “blow up” next. I’m never really good at guessing those things, cuz the ones you would think are the least likely to, are playing in the grocery store the next day. I can say, though, that I listen to Buddy’s album ALL the time. He gave me an advance copy of it about a year ago (lucky me!) and i think i’ve worn it out.

AT: With all the craziness in the music business, where do you see music going?
PA: Who knows? It seems like it’s going into the hands of whoever wants it, really. Music will always be one of the most popular forms of art and entertainment. It’s just, how people hear it, and how people choose it, that’s changing. I love that music is available wherever you are, and that I can record a song on my laptop and post it to a bunch of people on myspace in a matter of a few hours, or less. Things are just gonna get faster and more efficient…..and smaller probably.

AT: Thanks for your time.
PA: no prob!

—–
How Lovely. So a couple days ago I asked for people to send me emails telling me why they should get Priscilla’s CD and that I’d give them to the best 2 answers. Well the winners were Tonya Howell from Grand Island, NE and Mrs. Beth Miller from Lebabon, PA
Mrs. Miller Wrote:

Priscilla Hartranft Ahn is from Bernville, PA but also descends from Korea.
I was her high school counselor at Tulpehocken High School where she was encouraged to follow her heart and not the expectations of others.
She resisted those enormous conformity pressures and look what has flourished!
I am a proud mama. We are a Tulpehocken Proud village.
That is why I want to win the CD.
Otherwise, I will have to call her mother and pay for one!
(^_*)
Mrs. Beth Miller, retired

Wow! My guidance counselors weren’t that helpful!
Tonya Howell wrote:

Why I should get the CD? Because her song “Rain” has gotten me through these massive amounts rainy days, flooded basements and sewer back-ups on the island that is Grand. I included it on my mix: http://www.mixwit.com/tonya_howell/rain-more-rain-even-more-rain

Yeah that weather stuff is nasty. We don’t have that stuff in L.A. anymore. Congrats to the winners and stay tuned for more contests and a LOT more live reviews!

I saw Priscilla Ahn at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood for her CD Release Show tonight. She is still amazing! I will be posting a glowing review and an interview tonight. In case you want a little taste of Priscilla Ahn then set your Chin seeking TiVo tonight (Wed) and catch her performing her single “Dream” to perfection on the Tonight Show.

To celebrate her amazing CD Release, Filter Magazine has hooked me up with 2 copies of A Good Day to give away to 2 lucky AvantTrash readers. All you have to do to get one is to email me at contest[at]avanttrash.com and tell me where Ms.Ahn is from and why you want the record. HINT I’ll pick the 2 best.

Massive amounts of reviews coming soon, its been a busy week.

I cut the wheat from the chaff for this most recent contest by making it extra hard to anyone who hadn’t field tripped to see Shuttlecocks, Taken in a Royals Game or Rode the Orient Express (RIP) at Worlds of Fun.

The Answers were:
1. Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenberg at the Nelson-Atkins
2. Truman Sports Complex (or Arrowhead/Kauffman Stadiums)
3. nobodies favorite American Idol winner David Cook
4. Harry S. Truman (not Roosevelt, not Eisenhauer)
BONUS: Cody Critchloe from KC’s mindblowing art punk disaster of ecstacy known as SSION.

The Winner of the Grand Prize of the Dakine Medic Messenger Bag and the Republic Tigers Keep Color CD was Rachel Farha from Mission, KS who says:

“WOW! I never win anything. Makes my morning a little better after my car was smoking and had to be taken to the shop… First saw Ssion opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Pretty freakin’ awesome. Thanks AvantTrash for giving the Republic Tigers the props they deserve. You guys rule.”

The First Prize winner of the Autographed Keep Color CD and Republic Tigers t-shirt was Michelle Hudak from Cleveland, OH! who says:

“Thanks so much, the contest was fun! I like a little brain-work with my reading. Your site is great…one of my bookmarked favs! Keep up the excellent work.”

It was good to hear from some Republic Tigers/Ssion fans who were proud of their hometown heroes.

During the course of the contest there were a few messages about how much people loved American Idol and hated David Cook along with some excellent comments from KC residents in close contact with AC/DC (which means goes both ways) with some INTERESTING stories about him. Some dropped the word “poser” and others preferred “douche”. I myself see about 20 minutes of American Idol per season and mostly just catch the traffic as I am a block from the Kodak. But i’ll tell you one thing… honky dreadlocks are a crime.

Thanks to everyone who entered and keep checking back for more contests from AvantTrash!

Wootie woo! Its time for another AvantTrash contest! This time we have teamed up with Filter Magazine to bring you into the world of The Republic Tigers! Hailing from Kansas City, the Tigers emerged from the ashes of Golden Republic and have been adding steam to their buzz train with a performance last Thursday on Letterman and an upcoming tour with Nada Surf! AliUptown herself of this very blog will be catching them June 8th at Ribfest in Chicago we suggest you do the same should they meander into your areas*.

Here is your chance to pick up their lovely new album Keep Color** as well as an awesome DAKINE Messenger Bag. This isn’t Target stuff, this is fancy bag you want to throw your iPods, Obama Buttons and Moleskine SketchBooks in and strap to your bagless vegan/indie/hipster butt.

There will be 2 winners for this contest:
- First Prize gets and autographed copy of the CD Keep Color along with a Republic Tigers T-Shirt.
- Grand Prize takes a copy of Keep Color as well as the DAKINE Medic Street Series over-the-shoulder travel bag, a favorite of The Republic Tigers. It retails for $60 if that makes you want to win it even more.

So get ready to roll up your right pant leg and ride your fixie down to the Pure Luck cause here comes the CONTEST!

The last contest was easy, this contest is an education! We want you to be smart enough to put some books into your brand new bag. The Republic Tigers hail from Kansas City, close to our old neck of the woods. And knowing what Midwest pride is all about I have decided to show you 4 pieces of Kansas City Paraphernalia (spellcheck, are you sure thats how thats supposed to look?) and all YOU have to do is NAME WHAT IS PICTURED (click to enlarge) and you’ll be entered to win! Send your answers to contest@avanttrash.com and 2 winners will be drawn and quartered at random after the contests’ end at 11:59pm PST on Sunday, June 1st. Here we go:

1. SUBJECT: ARTS & HUMANITIES

2. SUBJECT: SPORTS

3. SUBJECT: CURRENT EVENTS

4. SUBJECT: HISTORY

BONUS: THE FUTURE

Good Luck and stay tuned for reviews and photos from a long Memorial Day weekend!

—–
*Your geographic areas, not your other areas.
Republic Tigers Tour Dates:
MAY
28 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
29 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 w/The Helio Sequence
30 Athens, GA - Center Stage Theatre #
31 Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits #
JUNE
1 Orlando, FL - The Social #
2 Miami, FL - Studio A #
3 St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre #
5 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
6 Memphis, TN - TBA #
7 St. Louis, MO - Bluebird #
8 Chicago, IL - Ribfest Chicago #
9 Indianapolis, IN - The Music Mill #
10 Columbus, OH - The Basement #
11 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom & Tavern #
# w/ Nada Surf

**As heard on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl and wherever modern alternative rock radio knows whats good for them.

2 winners have been drawn from the 27 correct entries for the Elvis Costello Momofuku contest!

The grand prize winner of the Elvis Costello Vinyl LP is Jim Schaefer of Kannapolis, NC who says, “Wooooo…hooooooo.Thanks so much intr0vert! Avanttrash always rocks, always did, and always will! Thanks again.”
The winner of the Elvis Costello CD is Brenda Helgeson from Cotton Grove, OR who was drawn first but opted for the CD. She says, “omg! i love this win, i’m such a huge fan. thank you very much.”

Thanks to everyone who entered!
The Answers were: 1. Costello, 2. Costello, 3. Presley, 4. Costello.
The Answers to the Bonus Dealbreaker Questions were: Elvis Costello interrupted “Less Than Zero” on SNL to play “Radio, Radio” and went on to Interrupt the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” to play “Radio, Radio” with the boys as his backing band. Both winners got this right!

A couple people were kinda clueless and didn’t recognize #1 and 4 as Mr. Costello. I was looking for this seriously haggard photo of him playing in a gold bedazzled baseball cap, visibly overweight and bearded in the late-80s/early-90s from SNL or Letterman.

We will have another contest starting up this week so keep checking back and keep the comments coming! I’m super jealous to everyone who has tickets to the Police/Elvis Costello show at the Hollywood Bowl just a couple blocks away next week. If you have an extra let me know and I’ll let you park in my space!

Some albums get better over time. When an album comes out and you really like it you listen to the shit out of it and then you let it go for a while, and then if it’s really good you can come back to it and its just as great as it was. Sometimes those albums reach that “personal favorite” status by some magical form of musical inflation (even in a recession). Elvis Costello does that a lot (King of America, My Aim Is True). And sometimes I forget how good he is because he’s been making amazing music for so long. And I don’t think I’m being premature here but I’ve given his new record Momofuku (on Lost Highway) a few listens now and it’s pretty fucking good. You will hear a lot of that Attractions sound thanks to the keyboard work of Steve Nieve (see Vox Continental Organ in “American Gangster Time”) and the new addition that you’ll really like is the subtle backing vocals from the queen of Silverlake, Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis. (Perhaps most audible on “No Hiding Place” and the final track “Go Away”) When I’d heard they were working together I thought it would be like a duet album but really she is just a backing vocalist like it says in the liner notes. I guess they really couldn’t have called it just an Elvis album if she was any more prominent.

Momofuku has the right mix of moderate rocking in tracks like “Stella Hurt” and mellowness in the latin rhythmed “Harry Worth” and is super solid overall. Because of this, Momofuku has been added to my Saturday afternoon being-lazy-and-pretending-to-clean-my-apartment music. I never notice the lyrics in a piece of music first, I hear them and sometimes I note lines that stick out but I follow the melodies and let the music build in my head until after a few listens I hear the album overall as it is. This makes Elvis’ music last a bit longer to me because after you peel away all the layers of this bloomin’ onion of great musicianship and perfect songwriting there are some AMAZING lyrics waiting to find you. And the great thing about it is that when you get done with it, you can let it go for a while, come back, and it might be even better than now.

So I’m gonna give Momofuku an 8/10.

“…to the bridge”

And now the CONTEST! AvantTrash and Filter Magazine have teamed up again to give away Elvis Costello’s new album Momofuku on CD and VINYL to one lucky reader. Actually though, i think i’ll break this up and give the VINYL to the first place and the CD to the 2nd place winner.

So I’m gonna make this game easy. I’ll show you 4 Elvis’ and you just have to tell me whether its Elvis Presley or Elvis Costello:

1)

2)

3)

4)

Bonus dealbreaker question: What song did Elvis Costello interrupt on SNL to play “Radio, Radio” and with whom did he perform “Radio, Radio” years later on SNL?

Send your ANSWERS ONLY to: contest@avanttrash.com. I will ask for your info if you are a winner. Winners will be selected at random from the CORRECT entries. Dealbreaker is simply for my amusement.

This contest ends WEDNESDAY, MAY 21st at 11:59pm PST.

The Winner of the T-Rex Contest is Elinor Artsy of Somerville, Massachusetts. She was the first person to email me and her name was drawn at random from the 13 correct answers. There were 30-40 some entrants mostly disqualified because some d-bags just emailed their personal info and nothing else. Did they expect free stuff for NOTHIN’? Pa Shaw!

Elinor says,

“Thank you so much for the Wallpaper. goods and the colored disco ball (new dance party backdrop)! I rarely win online contests, so it’s an even bigger thrill to win something I want.

I <3 Avanttrash.com. Definitely in my favorites list.”

Thanks Elinor! And if you didn’t win then FRET NOT because we have 2 contests coming up in the next couple weeks. The next is coming tomorrow and involves some vinyl and and the bespectacled King of America… from England.

Stay tuned…

OKAY FOLKS! After much ado here is AvantTrash’s FIRST GIVEAWAY! I mean sure, everyday we give away AMAZING links, reviews and commentary on all things entertainment, newsworthy pop culture. But now you get a chance to take home some free music, fresh gear and lightey disco’ey stuff compliments of Filter Magazine and SacramentOakland’s own party-pumpin’ dance rock-splosion, Wallpaper.

So here is the contest… Presented before you are 4 AMAZING T-Rexes (Rexi? Rexae?). Answer the Questions associated with each Terrible Thunder Lizard and you will win (1) Signed copy of Wallpaper.’s T-REX EP, (1) Wallpaper. T-Shirt, and (1) Fancy Disco Light to get your own party started! Sound Great?! Should multiple people answer correctly then I will select a winner at random (probably cointoss, maybe roll a die, or if all else fails, random number generator.

Ready? Here ya go:

T-Rex #1: Jim Henson made this wacky sitcom neighbor T-Rex. Who is he or who is he eating?	T-Rex #2: This T-Rex might have eaten someone’s prized Red Bicycle in a dream sequence.
T-Rex #3: Name the belated Flying V loving glam-rock dynamo frontman seen below:	T-Rex #4: Name the pint-sized human voice of this plastic T-Rex (Hint: “INCONCEIVABLE!”)

Think you got it? This contest ends May 12th @ 11:59pm. The winner will be announced (discreetly if preferred) by next Wednesday. Warm up your Googles and send your answers to contest@avanttrash.com