No webcast of PJ at Bonnaroo... but I hear they'll be on FUSE tv

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you now though Pearl jam are playing Bonnaroo, there will be no webcast of them. guess they're really pissed at AT&T. Suck it, AT&T!!!! Anyway...

There is a good chance of seeing a few songs on Fuse. Check out www.fuse.tv and check listings and times

Given To Cast Podcast Show #1 -6-12-2008

Hey guys,

The first show of what I hope are many podcasts to come. Enjoy!!!!



Show Notes:

New Intro
Week in Review
Song of the week - Here's to the State...
Pearl Jam-Covered - Seether covers "Immortality"
Mailbag

Please feel free to email any suggestions, comments, show reviews and/or show ideas to:
mario@giventocast.com

NOTE: If you want to participate in a LIVE roundtable discussions on the Pearl jam or the topics of the day, join me and others PJ fans at my Skype address : GIVENTOCAST1 If you need to download software, it's FREE d/l and to participate, you can d/l it at: www.skype.com. You will need Mic/headphone and cable or DSl connection.

Time of roundtable will be at: 8:30 pm CST, Sat., June 14, BEFORE Pearl Jam take the stage at Bonnaroo.

Don't worry if they webcast show, we will not go longer than that. Email me to RSVP for the chat session.

PODCAST CORRECTION: When announcing the start of Pearl Jam's Summer tour, I mistakenly announced their first show was on Thursday, June 12. the correct day was Wednesday, June 11. Sorry for the mistake.

The Empire Strikes Barack

I thought this was funny, even though we are supposed to be uniting th party. this is pretty good.



New podcast coming this week with a new format... The podcast is going to an adult format, which means no censorship of language and content!!!

Stay Tuned.

I am trying to get back to this...

He guys,

I wanted to let you guys know that I am working on some things and I will get another podcast up very soon. I have been very busy with family, work and other things that consume our lives and I'm finding it harder to buy gas to get around to do them.

Gone forever are the days of 59 cents a gallon. The price it cost to fill up my go-cart and drive it around an empty parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. Now, if I still had that go-cart, I would be paying $ 3.49 a gallon to ride that around.

I am so glad there is someone running for president that understands this and isn't afraid to tell the American people the truth, instead of pandering to them and promising little more than a band-aid solution for an on going problem. Take a look at this video and see why I am voting for this man.



Stay Tuned, we'll be back!!!!

Bill Clinton urges you to choose HOPE..

Hey guys,

Been totally swamped lately and I know I promised to get this blog going again but I have been way too busy with work, family and just life. I am going to start this someday, maybe when they start touring again, I'll bring this back. For now, I'm going to focus on using any free time I may have to campaigning for Barack Obama.

Being a Texan, I got my turn at voting AND caucusing last night. Though we didn't do well in our precinct, he did much better in the cities and areas around Houston and Dallas. As for the popular vote, we just missed it. Pretty good though for someone that was 20 point underdog last month. Just ran outta time.

In any event, it's over. I'm beat after standing out side my polling place in Corpus. But I wanted to let you guys know that if you live in Pennsylvania or any other state that will vote in the next few weeks, get involved and help Barack wrap this up in April.

I found this clip of Bill Clintion praising John Kerry in 2004 when he campaigned for him. Listen to what he says and ask yourself this question, "How can he sing the praises of John Kerry about how he inspires "hope"? With that logic you should vote for Obama, right?

Anyway here's the clip:



TRANSCRIPT: Now, one of Clinton Laws of Politics is this: "If one candidate is trying to scare you and one candiate is trying to get you to think, if one cadidate is appealing to your fears and the other is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the one that wants you to think and hope. That's the best."



"Yes, We Can"
will.i.am

www.barackobama.com

Episode 36 is coming soon & other things

Hey guys,

Putting finishing touches on the next episode but I wanted to let you in on what will be happening in future episdoes starting with Episode 36. I am bringing back The Call Out contest and I will giving away some pretty cool prizes including A-one-of-a-kind T-Shirt I made as a mock up for some future T-Shirts I am in the process of making,indoor wall decals (just like FatHead decals) of Pearl Jam and much more!!!

So here's what you need to do. Email me your name and phone number you wish to be contacted at and best time to call and you will be entered in the contest. If you're picked, I will call you and ask you a Pearl Jam related question, if you answer correctly you will that episode's prize. It's that simple.

Stay tuned

UPDATE: my email address is: mario@giventocast.com

Vote for me and win!!!

Hey guys,

As you know from my last post, I entered the banner below in the brickfish.com contest. I have decided if you guys help me win, I will give one lucky winner the New Pearl Jam DVD, Immagine in Cornice. And if you sign up(FREE)on brickfish.com and vote for me, I will give the winner the DVD and a Given To Cast T-shirt. Please vote as much as you can. Thanks!!

Once you vote, send in your name, email and phone number where you can be reached at and I will enter your name in the drawing. Good Luck!!! mario@giventocast.com or giventocast@aol.com

go to www.brickfish.com/giventocast

Pearl Jam DVD banner contest - Vote for mine, Please!

Hey guys,

There's a Pearl Jam contest on Brickfish.com I have entered. You have to create a banner for your web pages. I need all the votes I can get. Please vote for mine. Here's what it looks like:



Thanks!

New Poll for SotW

Hey guys,

I want to leave it up to you to choose the next Song of the Week for the next podcast. Check out the poll on the top right hand side and votee for your choice. The top vote will be played in Episode 36. Hurry poll closes Friday, Sept. 14 at 12:00 pm.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: #35

Hey guys,

Long time, no podcast, huh??!!! We'll, if you have been waiting (yeah, right, Episode 35 is up and ready for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!!!

Show Notes:
- The Week in Review
- Song of the Week - Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder
- What happened to me in the last few months?
- Rare Song - Anything In Between (unreleased track)
- Email Question

P.S.: New email is giventocast@aim.com

Trailer for New Pearl Jam DVD

Hey guys,

Here's the trailer for the new Pearl Jam DVD coming out September 25, Immagine In Cornice (Italian for “Picture In A Frame”).



Enjoy!!

AT&T: It was a mistake??!!! Yeah, right!

Hey guys,

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in about what AT&T admits was "a mistake" by the monitor of the Lollapalooza webcast.

If you haven't heard, during the webcast of Pearl Jam's set this past weekend, AT&T took it upon itself, at least this "monitor" did, to censor Ed and the band from their opinions of George Bush. Now, if you guys know me, this is a big issue with me, censorship and this "president".

This is what you should've heard:


Now, I know what some of you might be thinking, "It was just a few seconds. It wasn't that bad." Well, I beg to differ. If we allow big corporations to censor what we say, in any way whatsoever, we are setting a precedence that could allow them to censor our phone calls, blogs or any other free speech protected by the constitution. If you noticed that as soon as they we called out by the band, AT&T immediately issued a statement.

"The editing of the Pearl Jam performance on Sunday night was a serious mistake made by a Webcast vendor and completely contrary to our policy," AT&T's statement said. "We have policies in place with respect to editing excessive profanity, but AT&T does not edit or censor performances. We have that policy in place because the Blue Room is not age-restricted."

I think AT&T needs to go further than just issuing a statement. I don't even think they apologized for it. They just say it isn't their policy to censor artists. They need to fire their vendor.

This isn't the first time the AT&T has done this. They did the same thing on the webcasts from Bonnaroo in June during the John Butler Trio show when he was talking about the lack of response from our government during Katrina, and also during the Flaming Lips show when the lead singer was talking about how much George Bush had screwed up. I saw the webcasts. The sound did not cut out at any other time - only when someone was talking about George Bush or the goverment in a negative way.

I think it's time for us to let AT&T know that we won't tolerate this from them or any other big corporation. As of yesterday, I have decided to cancel my home phone and internet service I have with AT&T. I have had their service for over a year now so I won't incur any penalties. When asked by the rep. why I was canceling my service, I ,at first, said it was personal reasons. She kept on asking in different ways, why I was cancelling. After taking a deep breath, I told her I can not in good conscience continue giving my hard earned money to a company that believes in censorship. She quickly retorted that they don't. Then I told her the story about the show and that this wasn't a one-time incident. To her credit, she heard me out but said she knew nothing about what I was telling her and that it was news to her. I suggested she look into it for herself but that I had already made my decision to cancel. She went ahead and did just that for me and apologized for what "I felt" happened.

So, I challenge all you PJ fans and others to take a stand like I did. If you use AT&T, stop using them. They will get the message.

Peace!

Sorry for going M.I.A. but...

Hey guys,

Sorry for going M.I.A. in the middle of the 3 part series on the The Gorge Box Set but it couldn't be helped.

On July 12, I lost a good and old friend of mine. It was a shock to hear the news. I dropped everything and went to be with his parents. They are taking it the hardest.

He was an only child and a father of three boys and loving husband. We grew up together as kids and there wasn't a weekend that went by that we didn't sleep over at each other's houses. But as the years past, we grew apart and found other friends but we would see each other at least 4 or 5 times a year on holidays.

I had visited with his mother the week before his death and asked how he was doing. She let me know that he had been kinda down lately. It seems he had been unhappy about living 2 hours away from his parents and the job he had was less than he envisioned for himself.

I should've called him. I should've been there for him. But life got in the way and I missed my chance.

He came home to visit his parents that week. I think it made him feel happy being home. On July 11th, sometime that night, he took a handful of prescription medicine from his mother's cabinet and never woke up.

As a person of faith, it goes against my belief to take your life and I have been wrestling with this in my mind for these past weeks. Anger at him and myself. Sadness and tears at his funeral. The realization that he's gone.

If you know of anyone that is depressed, don't ignore it or put off speaking with them. Your voice and ears could be what puts their minds at ease. Get them some help or just be there for them.

The next podcast is dedicated to him.

Alex, we miss you!!!

Here's a link to his Obit:

http://obits.caller.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewobit&ID=55193

The Gorge Box Set Podcast (Part 1)

Hey guys,

Had to get this out ASAP for those of you who can't wait for their copy.

Enjoy!!!

Part 2 coming very soon.

The Gorge Box Set is Here!!!

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know I received the Gorge Box Set early!!! i just got it in and it's awesome of course. look for my three part episode featuring these awesome shows!!!

Episode 34 in the Works.. but need your help!!!!

Hey guys,

I am in the process of finishing up the next episode to get out this weekend and I wanted to get you guys to send me your suggestions on new sites and your favorite Pearl Jam fan sites. I am starting a new segment to the show entitled, "The Fan Site Spotlight". I will visit the featured site and promote it on this blog. When possible , I will try to have a brief interview with the webmaster of the site.

Send your suggestions to mario@giventocast.com

Episode 34 coming up!

Also, I will have a three part episode dedicated to the Gorge Box Set release. I should be receiving it on Tuesday. Feel free to send my your thoughts on the shows and if you were there, your reviews would be great. I'll read the best ones during the shows.

Episode 33

Hey Guys,

Here's Episode 33.



Show Notes:

The Week in Review
Song of the Week (No More)
Rare Song (Constellations)
Our Favourite Shows (April, 2003 - San Antonio, TX)
Bonus Show: (Festimad 2007 - Madrid Spain 6-9-07)

Pearl Jam rocks Madrid

Hey guys,

I just got through rockin' in the afternoon with our favorite band and the show was excellent, if you you don't count the two radio announcers that felt they need to give a play-by-play. Anyway, I will include the show on my next podcast coming out on Monday. Stay Tuned

Putting the final touches..

Hey guys,

It's been a busy last couple of weeks and I'm almost done with episode 32 and it should be up by this weekend so look for it on your iTunes or come back here and d/l it.

I'm a celebrity.... well, not really

Hey guys,

Just wanted to post here that I have had my 15 minutes of fame yesterday. Well, if you call winning a contest and being able to sponsor a lunch hour request show on the radio, fame, then I'm a celebrity.

Oh, BTW, the DJ that hosts the show, sent me a copy of the short interview and I'll play it on the next show. Got in a little plug for the podcast, too.

Anyway... stay tuned for Episode 32.