300 getting close

How you doing everybody? I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy holiday. I want everyone to be safe, healthy and happy this year.

Next week will feature my 300th episode of the podcast. In just over five years I’m amazed at the following and responsive that I’ve gotten from the listeners and podcast community. I feel exceptionally blessed to be able to work with and compete with the people in the podcast world. 300 episodes for me represents a lot of great independent music that I’ve been able to share with you. There are so many amazing bands that I’ve had the opportunity to play. Each one of them has a special place on the show.

I’d also like to thank my sponsors. Without the sponsors the show would definitely not be possible. Go Daddy has been an excellent sponsor since the beginning. I’d really like to thank them for their hard work and support. It’s not easy to find a sponsor who will put their money where their mouth is when it comes to heavy metal show. I’m glad we have a partnership it’s worked very well over the years. Make sure you visit our Go Daddy promo code page and take advantage of all those special offers.

Angie’s list is another great partner that I’m happy to have. Not only have I received hundreds of testimonials from listeners, but I’d even saved some money myself by joining Angie’s list as a full-fledged member. What can I say they have great service and help me find exactly who I need when it comes to hiring other people to do tasks around the house.

As if I don’t do it enough I would like to remind you that this show is entirely supported by the different offers and promo codes that we provide you. Taking advantage of these promo codes or not only helps you save money but it helps to pay the bills and helps bring the independent music to you each and every week. If you’re shopping online make sure you that you visit The Scene Zine first. It not only helps you save some money, but it helps provide some assistance to the show as well. That’s a win-win situation if I ever saw it.

I do have something new to share with you. There’s a new video podcast that I’m working on. It’s called the Daily Plugin. It’s all about WordPress plugins. WordPress is the number one blogging platform on the planet. While producing the show and this website I have become one of the foremost experts on WordPress plug-ins. I literally spend hours every day rifling through the newest and most updated plug-ins. As I get closer and closer to launching the show I realize this is what I was meant to do all along. Sure I love hosting the heavy metal show, but this is really where the fun is for me.

Again thank you for listening to the show. I certainly could not have gotten to episode 300 without you.

Marcus

2010 Summer Shows

How ya doin’ everybody! We’re just about ready to start the new band challenge brackets, scheduling the new tracks for New Music Monday and of course I am up late most nights finding the best of the best to play for you on our classic Scene Zine episodes on Wednesdays.

If you have a request, make sure you send it in! We’ve got a great bunch of new independent music to share and we can’t wait to get it all to you!

Let me know what’s up..

Marcus

Quick voting reminder

We are working on a smoother way to do the voting. From the emails that I have been getting, a lot of people are really loving the new format! Glad to hear that!

Also, please remember to use and spread the news about our Godaddy Promo Codes. Godaddy Code SCENE749 is the best code to use, as it provides $7.49 domains and renewals, which is $3 off the regular price. You cant go wrong with Godaddy.com.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. We truly appreciate all your support of The Scene Zine.

Black Friday Horror Stories

This is the most unbelievable consumerism I’ve ever seen, and I witnessed it all first hand.

I was in line at STAPLES in Aliso Viejo, CA to buy a Compaq Notebook, which was advertised at $399.98. I arrived at 5:10am for a sale that began at 6am. When I found my place at the back of the line, there were already 40-50 people in front of me. A mere 20 minutes later, there were over 100 people in line behind me!

At 5:30am, a Staples employee emerged from the store, addressing the crowd that he would be walking down the length of the line to distribute coupons for the most popular sale items. He called out various items. People held up their hands. The employee found them and handed them a coupon for the item. Item after item was read off, but no laptop.

As I waited for the employee to walk back to where I was to inquire about the laptop, I witnessed something I’ve never seen before. At the front of the line were two Mexican men in their 30s. They were grabbing every coupon that was offered. Then, it happened. A white mother in her 40s and her teenage son got out of a black BMW 7 series, walked to the front of the line in place of the Mexicans, and the Mexicans handed their sale tickets to the woman and went back to their beat up car and drove off. THIS WOMAN HIRED THESE MEXICANS TO WAIT IN LINE!! Can you believe this? (Well, it IS Orange County!)

Just after this event (Now 5:35am), the Staples employee finally made his way back to me. I asked him, “Sir, I’m here for the Compaq Presario V5303NR Notebook that is on the front page of our ad. Do you have any tickets for that item remaining?”. “Let me check” he replied, where he did an about-face and marched into the store to see what was left. After a few minutes the guy returned to me in line and stated “Sorry, but that item is not available in our district”.

So in essence folks, Staples ran an ad for something NATION WIDE that isn’t even available. This item was on the FRONT PAGE of the Staples circular. False lead, false advertising. In other words, this was a LIE.

In line I overheard even more stories..

A woman behind me described the scene at COMP USA. Apparently Comp USA was open on Thanksgiving from 9pm-Midnight, yet their sale didn’t take effect until the 24th. This meant that people were loading up on items that scanned FULL PRICE at the register. When they complained that the price should have been the sale price, the employees then informed them, “Oh, those items don’t go on sale until tommorow!”, meaning COMP USA opened their stores with the false pretense of a sale.

Another man in line described an experience he had at a CIRCUIT CITY that was just up the road. Apparently some early bird shoppers were using shopping carts to block aisles in the store, and some even abandoned their carts some 10 feet inside the store entrance, so that other shoppers wouldn’t get ahead of them in the mad rush for merch.

I doubt I will ever do this again. It made me sick to watch all the blatant consumerist greed out there. Not to mention I went home with no laptop for my wife! Looks like after-Christmas sale hunting is on at my household!

The Scene Zine in the NEWS!

Well we all knew it was bound to happen. I got a great write up in the Feb 20th Chicago Tribune and Sun Sentinal (Miami) today. Chris Coomey wrote a really good piece on podcasters from Chicago with sources from around the country. The editors messed up the spelling of my last name, but beyond that everything was well written.

Marcus Couch