Eugenian transplant John Shipe makes his debut as an Angelino tomorrow night at the House of Blues' Voodoo Lounge on the Sunset Strip. Catch John at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10, according to John. He says, though, that they might be $15-- but he hopes not.

If you're not already familiar with John's work, here are a couple of solid tracks by him. Check them out, and then come out tomorrow to check HIM out!

The John Shipe give-away is over now, and we've crowned our winner: CONGRATULATIONS TO AME! YOU HAVE WON JOHN SHIPE'S CD CATALOG!

You can also still get in on any of the following fabulous prizes, including treats from Arthur Nasson, The Octopus Project, Immune, and Kristy Lee!

The remaining active give-aways are after the break...

It's Day 5 of our 15 Days of Give-Aways here at BestNewBands.com, and that's a big deal for two reasons:

1. John Shipe, songwriting darling of the Pacific Northwest, wants to give one lucky reader his entire discography on CD: Villain, Yellow House, John Shipe & Blue Rebekahs, The John Shipe Song Clearance, Sudden & Merciless Joy and Pollyanna Loves Cassandra

2. Our first two Give-Aways end today!

I've been a Shipe fan since getting to know him and his music whilst living in Eugene, Oregon, his hometown. I'm thrilled that he's recently moved to LA & started playing down here. The title track on Pollyanna Loves Cassandra is so haunting that it stays with me. "Better Off Without You," also on Pollyanna Loves Cassandra, has become my favorite breakup anthem. "Underground Debutante," from John Shipe & Blue Rebekahs, has a permanent spot on all of my sing-along playlists. And "Hours Go By," off of Yellow House, is among my favorite love songs of all time. I just got a copy of Villain the other day, and I love it so far.

We got John to sit down and answer some hard-hitting questions about holiday gifts, so read on to see what he had to say & to enter this Give-Away and the others we've still got running!

Leona Laurie: Why do you think your albums would make the perfect holiday gifts?

John Shipe: Because my music is so diverse, it's guaranteed that at least some of it will please the ears of the giftee!

“Underground Debutante” is my feminist anthem.

It’s one of my only songs for which I composed all the music before penning a single lyric.  (That’s rare for me, because my melody-moods are usually compelled by story elements and words.)  I sat on the back porch humming and strumming through chords on my guitar, with the help of wife—Amy Wray—who chimed in with cadence suggestions.

I want to publish interviews with bands and musicians I love here, but I am a terrible interviewer. As gifted as I am with writing in “spin,” I stink as a straight journalist. Having made my peace with that, I decided to try to come up with a generic list of interview questions that I could send musicians and let them fill out at length in their own words.

I thought basing the interview on the game “20 Questions” (pretty much in name only) would be catchy. This is the beta version of my interview format. So far, only one musician has had the stamina to answer all 20, but I think it’s awesome. I’ll play with this some more, but kudos to John Shipe for jumping in!

John Shipe, a good friend of mine from Eugene, has been parked in San Diego for the last six months, and he finally played a couple of shows in Orange County recently. His shows on January 30th and March 6th at the Santa Ana location of The Gypsy Den, were characteristically solid.

John is a musician's musician. He's a talented songwriter whose lyrics defy expectations, and he gets so in the zone while he's playing his guitar that he closes his eyes and performs an unconscious dance that looks a little like tenuous marching in slow motion.

One of my favorite of John's songs is "Underground Debutante," a tune he recorded with his former band, The Renegade Saints. I didn't think to bring my camera to either show (I am getting better about it, though!), so I'm borrowing a video from John's YouTube channel to share here:

My friend, John Shipe, a talented singer-songwriter based in Eugene, OR, recorded a song a while back called the Pit Bull Blues. He's generously shared the song with a number of rescue organizations and charities who've used it in their fund-raising efforts, and he's recently made a music video for it that's taking off on YouTube. Here's a bit from the official press release:

“Pit Bull Blues” Video Defends Maligned Breed and Soars in Popularity-- Video Director, and animal rights advocate, Jeff Fleiss, released the official music video for John Shipe’s “Pit Bull Blues” on July 14th. The immediate response was overwhelmingly positive in light of current events relating to Pit Bull Terriers. Before Fleiss posted the video on You Tube, grass roots demand was high for an official version of “Pit Bull Blues.” The song had been adopted as an anthem by advocacy groups around the world in protest of canine abuse, Breed Specific Legislation, and the high-profile case of ex-Falcon quarterback Michael Vick.

Check out the video below, and if you'd like to contact John, you can do so through his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/johnshipemusic.