Greetings,

As another year comes to an end, we'd like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. As we do every December, we look back to reflect on what has happened in the music industry. Some of my favorite CDs in 2009 were from Kid Mud, John Vanderslice and Fever Ray. Having the chance to interview Todd Rundgren and Doug Martsch were also highlights for me. Next year looks like it will start off strong as well with new releases from Beach House, Spoon and the Eels. We have SXSW in March and then the summer festival and concert season. Feel free to let us know what your favorites were from 2009 and what you're looking forward to in 2010. I've just posted my top five at:
http://blog.onlinerock.com/2009/12/top-releases-of-2009.html

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS AND DEALS: Are you still looking for something to give your favorite musician over the holidays? Maybe that musician is you? Periodically we receive discount and coupons to offer to our readers. These tend to be limited time offers of free shipping, cash back or deep discounts. We've set up a section on our blog to post them as they come in. To see the latest, please visit:
http://www.onlinerock.com/deals

MONTHLY GIVEAWAYS:

- Win an AmpliTube Fender® Studio Courtesy of IK Multimedia - OnlineRock is giving away an AmpliTube Fender® Studio Courtesy of IK Multimedia There is no purchase necessary. The AmpliTube Fender® Studio gives you all the tools you need to practice, play, and record with classic Fender® tone on your computer Featuring the StealthPlug™, a simple plug-n-play Guitar-to-USB adapter, AmpliTube Fender® SE Amp and FX modeling software, and RiffWorks™ T4 recording software.

- Win A Pair Of Dave Matthew's Band Movie Passes - The Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Gogol Bordello will perform in a 3D feature movie, "Larger Than Life ... in 3D," on digital cinema screens nationwide. The 3D movie will run for one week only, from December 11-17, 2009. The performances in "Larger Than Life ... in 3D" were filmed at critically acclaimed music festivals this summer, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas, the Mile High Music Festival in Colorado and at All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey. We have two pairs of passes to giveaway for the movie.

To register for a chance to win either of these items, just visit http://www.onlinerock.com/partners/giveaways.shtml

FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD: Grammy Winning Reggae Icon Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s, name has become synonymous with experimentation and innovation both as a legendary producer and influential performer. After over 40 years, “The Upsetter” shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Guest artists on his latest release Repentance include electronic maven Moby, seminal producer Don Fleming, bassist Josh Werner of Matisyahu, drummer Brian Chippendale of staccato noise duo Lightning Bolt! and adult entertainer Sasha Grey. We have a free holiday MP3 download of "Santa Claus" at:
http://www.onlinerock.com/partners/freedownload.shtml

CD SPOTLIGHT: Since beginning life as an Allman Brothers Band side-project in the mid-nineties, Gov’t Mule has amassed a sizable reputation as a signature live act for the jam band set, fusing muddy blues and razor sharp guitar solos into a foundation of classic Southern rock templates. The band’s eighth studio release, "By A Thread" shows the many talents of this band. Read the full review at:
http://www.onlinerock.com/CDreview/review_govt_mule.shtml

FEATURED ARTIST PROFILE: Earlier this year, Chilean singer and guitarist Cat Tasso (formerly of the May Fire) recorded her fist solo ep GOWER in Los Angeles, CA, at the all-analog studio of Manny Nieto (The Breeders, Darker My Love). Not long after she broke away from her band The May Fire, TASSO was born. You can find out more about the band and watch their latest video at:
http://www.onlinerock.com/profiles/tasso_profile.shtml

WEB HOSTING: OnlineRock offers an inexpensive solution for hosting your music or band web site. These are perfect additions to your MySpace or Facebook pages as they provide you with the flexibility to build your web site any way that you want with no advertising or restrictions. Our packages include your own domain name, multiple email accounts, FTP access, advanced reporting and CGI access along with a long list of options. We can even move your old OnlineRock site into place. For more information on our hosting options, please visit:
http://www.onlinerock.com/partners/webhost.shtml

See you next year!

Steve Beck
Founder
---------------------------------------------
OnlineRock - http://www.onlinerock.com

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/onlinerock
Twitter: http://twitter.com/onlinerock
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/onlinerock
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/onlinerocktv
Blogger: http://blog.onlinerock.com