Streetlevel Uprising Signed CD Giveaway

We’ve teamed up with the Lawrence, KS based reggae/funk band, Streetlevel Uprising, to giveaway a couple copies of their album, “Dusk To Dawn Revolution”. You can check out more info on the band and find out how to enter, after the break.

We’re giving away three signed copies of Streetlevel Uprising’s “Dusk To Dawn Revolution” (pictured below). To enter for a chance to win, all you have to do is fill out the form below! It’s that easy.

About the band:

Singer-songwriter Jay Canter is the spiritual lightning bolt behind the Lawrence, Kansas folk-reggae band Streelevel Uprising. His balmy and bold debut, Dusk to Dawn Revolution (WTFU Records), is rich with social commentary, uplifting affirmations, and masterful songwriting.

Streetlevel Uprising is a band moniker for the fluid creativity of one man. Needing a break from the rollercoaster of being in bands, Jay Canter sought solace in his growing collection of quaintly intimate acoustic grooves. The purposeful grace of Dusk to Dawn Revolution recalls Sublime, Jack Johnson, Peter Tosh, Everlast, and Bob Marley.

Canter’s presence–dreads down to his knees, sweetly urgent vocals, and his vibrant and emotive lyrics–lend him an effortless shamanistic charm. His message, whether being sharply critical or warmly compassionate, is of inclusion. “Pounding something in people’s heads is not the way you make change,” he cautions. “Emotion connects people.” He invites everyone into his songs through his refreshingly non-dogmatic approach to social change. “We offer a humanitarian message, human rights, food rights, farmer’s rights, we don’t care about this party or that party. We’re not a political band.”

The 13-track record is thoughtfully balanced. “I tend to group songs into two categories, militant and the celebration of life,” says Canter. “I feel the need to remind myself, and the listener, that even though we talk about a lot of messed up stuff, that’s not all life is about. There are some beautiful things.”

The lilting “Who Feels It,” built on mesmerizing cyclic acoustic guitar figure, epitomizes these complimentary contrasts. During each verse cycle Canter is raw and poetic with lines like: Some say they want peace, but a piece of what, I don’t know/They pray a savior in a suit will come to lead us all home/They say they’re not prepared to cut on down to the bone/But still they know you can’t reason with heads of stone. And during each chorus he’s unflinchingly positive with the refrain:

Oh, who feels it knows it/Who knows it feels it/Why can’t this be done?

The breezy “Life Is Beauty” is another standout in the “celebration of life” category of Canter’s songs.

The defiant “A Prayer from Anywhere” has a gorgeously haunting minor tonality that invigorates the record. The track effectively ties together brief character sketches for a powerful anti war mosaic. “That’s in the category of angry militant songs,” Canter says. “It’s a call for people to stand up and fight back, and it’s a reminder that people do stand up and say ‘I’ve had enough.’”

Canter ended up producing, engineering, and mixing the album. As word spread of the delightful body of work he was documenting, friends dropped in to add elegant instrumental flourishes like hand percussion, organ, piano, and fretless bass. His longtime friend and frequent music collaborator Bill Walker provides gorgeously supportive basslines throughout the record.

Overall, Dusk to Dawn Revolution is rife with layers of beauty and meaning that unfold more with repeated listens. Reflecting on the title, Canter says: “I’m a dusk to dawn revolutionary. Just like everyone else I work all day and I’m creative at night. But the title also means you don’t have to be a fulltime revolutionary. You don’t have to quit your job and stop bathing,” he laughs. “Take part of your time to devote yourself to something bigger than yourself. If all of us took five minutes a day think about how much we could accomplish.”

Keep up with the band on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

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***The last day to enter is June 1, 2013. The winners will be chosen and contacted on June 2, 2013. Once the winners are contacted, they will have 48 hours to respond/claim their prize. If a winner fails to respond within this time period, Digital Tour Bus reserves the right to chose a new contest winner. This contest is only open to United States residents at least 18 years of age. Only one entry per person. Multiple entries will not be counted.***