Tuesday, December 30, 2008

We have a WINNER !

"Yeah, it's over now"...The 2008 AiC Fantasy Football season has come to a close, and Jerry "Aroma of Tacoma" Cantrell is this season's Big Baller. Tony's "Shameless Hopefuls" were smothered by the Aroma (209-181) in the finals..."Yeah, we pay our debt sometime". Tony may have lost his chance for bragging rights, but the autographed guitar is a pretty nice consolation prize for being top fan team in the league...Congratulations Tony! Now it's time for me to crawl out of my Commish Cave, and spend some time with my family until next September, when 8 more fans will get a chance to go up against Jerry & Mike for the AiC Fantasy crown.

Championship Box Score

Final 2008 standings

Happy New Year...See ya next season!

The Commish

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

AiC Championship Finals 2008

As if the heavy snow wasn't enough, the Aroma in Tacoma got so thick this week, that Santa may have to avoid most of the Pacific Northwest this year. Jerry's "Aroma of Tacoma" piled up a 33 point lead on Tony's "Shameless Hopefuls" in the first week of the 2008 AiC Fantasy Football Championship (105-72). The "Hopefuls" need a Christmas miracle to pull off a week 2 comeback and catch JC now. Tony...join hands with your loved ones, and do your best Whoville "Dahoo Doray", Grinch Cantrell is just about to steal Christmas and the 2008 AiC Championship !

AiC Championship Week 1 Box Score HERE

Commish's Christmas shout out...Ho Ho Ho Lakeport family!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Week 7 Update

Hey all, here's the 7th and final update for 2008. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season. Check back soon as we kick off 2009 with the final 4 videos in our series.


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

AiC Championship Finals

...and then there were 2

The AiC Fantasy League finals will be slugged out between Tony and his "Shameless Hopefuls" vs Jerry "The Aroma of Tacoma" Cantrell.

Tony's feeling no shame as he stuck it to the league's #1 seed Robert...his Shameless Hopefuls sautéed Robert's Mellow Mushrooms with a 2 week total of 197-183, and put an end to Robert's run for the guitar. The Shrooms had a hell of a season, but the Hopefuls peaked at just the right time to take him out. Box Score

There was plenty of football drama in Dallas all week, and it carried over into the AiC league. Gautam had a 7 pt lead over Jerry after week one, and things were looking pretty good for him week 2 going into Sunday night's Dallas vs NY game...after Jerry's entire roster played, Gautam was only down 10 pts, and still had Jason Witten, and Terrell Owens of the Cowboys left to play...surely they would easily amass 11 points between them and send Gautam to the finals! ....Uhhhh...3 pts for Owens, 4 pts for Witten? JC dodges a bullet, and heads to the finals 174-171...Gautam was last seen heading for Dallas mumbling something about "I'll give those crybaby pricks something to whine about!"...Tough break G. Box Score

Should be an exciting final...Fan vs Band...stay tuned

Consolation box scores HERE

Friday, December 12, 2008

Post This Banner EVERYWHERE!

Alice In Chains are in the studio making their first record in over a decade. It’s time to spread the word! Do your part and you could win this signed poster from the band’s ’07 acoustic concert in St. Louis (#179 of 250):



Here’s how:

Use the code here to post the banner below on your own Myspace page, your forum signature, your blog and anywhere else possible online. Next, take screenshots of where you put the banner. (To take a screenshot, PC users press "Print Screen", open Paint, go to Edit>Paste and save. Mac users press Apple+Shift+3 and your screenshot will save to the desktop.)

Finally, upload your screenshots by DECEMBER 24 to the "AIC: New Album Banner" Challenge in the Community section of VelvetHammer.net. You will need to register if you are not already a member. Everyone who submits screenshots will earn points for the VelvetHammer.net Community, and ONE screenshot will be chosen at random for the prize. The person who submits the winning screenshot will win the poster signed by all the members of the band. Each individual screenshot counts as a separate entry, so the more banners you post, the better your chances of winning!



Week 6 Update

This week Jerry has been tracking guitar for the new record. Check it out...

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Guitars

Tune in tomorrow for Week 6's in-studio installment.




Wednesday, December 10, 2008

AiC Playoffs - Week 1 Semi-finals

After the first week of our 2 week semi-final, #4 seed Tony, and his Shameless Hopefuls seem to be handling the normally overpowering effects of our #1 seed Robert, and his Mellow Mushrooms. The Hopefuls are grinning ear to ear out front (111-90), but the Shrooms have the power to sneak up and lay a bad trip on ya just when the giggling starts. Stay tuned and see if Robert can cut into that 21 point lead....BOX SCORE

Our other semi-final matchup is a good old fashion barn burner. #3 seed Gautam's Whales n Wasps hold a slim 7 point lead over #2 seed Jerry's Aroma of Tacoma (89-82). Gautam better hope for a strong breeze, because Jerry's been hunkered down in the studio refusing to shower so the Aroma will be good and ripe for week 2. Let's see if Whales n Wasps succumb to the stench and go home blubbering, or sting JC and head into the finals....BOX SCORE

Check out the rest of the AiC league scores from round 1 in the Consolation Ladder...SCORES

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

New Merch Items

Alice in Chains has now released seven new designs in their online merchandise store; head there now to pick up the newest AIC merch.

And while you’re shopping, don’t forget to take advantage of the older items that are currently on-sale; only a few more days to take part in this massive sale before the holidays are here.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Week 5 Update

The guys check in with an update for week 5...


Thursday, December 4, 2008

2008 AiC Fantasy Football Playoffs

The 2008 AiC Fantasy Football regular season has come to an end, and only 4 big dogs are left to move on into the playoffs:

1) Robert's "Mellow Mushrooms"

2) Jerry's "Aroma of Tacoma"
3) Gautam's "Whales n Wasps"
4) Tony's "Shameless Hopefuls"

Jerry "The Aroma" Cantrell is gonna try to do something he's not accustomed to...disappoint a few fans! Sure Robert, Gautam and Tony may own every Alice album, and waited faithfully in line for concerts, but this is FANTASY FOOTBALL, and having seen first hand how JC competes, I can attest that until week 17 is over, they are mere slabs of meat standing in the way of victory! By the same token, Robert, Gautam and Tony may have thrown their fists adoringly into the air for the "Master of Wild Grungy Riffaroma", but for the next 4 weeks, they'll show Jerry the level of respect an 80's tribute band guitarist playing the Tacoma High prom gets! Normally, a shared love of AiC music bonds the fans on this site together, but there are 3 right now who'll be going deep into their "Your momma is so..." catalog for a few weeks. Thankfully there's a new record on the way with healing powers that will surely be needed when the fur stops flying!


Buckle up kids...it's playoff time!
The Commish

Check out the final week/playoff breakdown HERE

Another Day on the Job

Tune in tomorrow for Week 5's video update...



Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Baldy Checks In

Here we are in December, the holiday season is in full swing, and William & Jerry are just a few days away from recording vocals. Guitars and bass are heading down the home stretch, and although the drums are done, Sean is coming in almost every day to provide input and give full body massages to anyone he can get his hands on.

There's not a lot to report because it's pretty much like the movie Groundhog Day in here, just with a different soundtrack each day. Recording an album can be a long and laborious process. Play the song. Tune the guitar or bass. Play the song again. Tune again. Play a different part of the song with a different guitar. Tune again. Try something different on the bridge. Tune. Play a 12 string on the chorus. Tune. And so on and so on and so on…

Are you bored yet? Try doing it 'til two or three A.M. six days a week for three months and you'll be amazed that the upcoming album isn't just the sound of four guys smashing their heads against the wall in beautiful Dolby surround sound.

Although I'm still under a gag order concerning the material, I think I can get away with saying that this album will run the stylistic gamut as far as the songs are concerned.

A couple of uptempo crushers? Check.
A few droning mid-tempo head trips? Check.
A couple of radio friendly super catchy tunes? Check.
A pair of straight up white-knuckle mind-f*%# sonic roller coaster rides? Check.

Lyrically speaking, it's going to be more of what you've come to expect from Alice In Chains: rainbows, kitty cats, bubble gum, and skateboards. Words & songs that make you want to go to the mall and buy hair care products.

The further we get into this process, the more excited I get for it to see the light of day. The economy is a mess, record stores are closing down all over the country, and the music industry is a disaster, but I know a good song when I hear it, and this album is gonna be full of them.

Hopefully that, along with the support of all of you guys, will be enough to put this band back on top where it so rightfully belongs.

Happy Holidays.

-Baldy