Event Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/543615512321067/

I love Halloween. I love carving pumpkins. And I love ska music.

And I’m putting my money where my mouth is and betting that there are people out there who feel the same way as me. So in that spirit, I welcome you to enter the 2012 Ska-o-lantern pumpkin carving contest. 1st prize is 50 bucks in Itunes money, 2nd is $25, and 3rd is $15.

A lot of cool bands are kicking in merchandise. Your submission automatically enters you in a drawing to win merchandise. I’m doing the band merch this way for a couple reasons. Number one, it seems like a fun way to hook contestants up with CDs they may not already own. Number two, it keeps one person from walking away with the lions share of the loot. And, number three, it keeps me from imposing my personal taste on the prize structure.

The rules are pretty simple.

Email your submission to skanbiology@gmail.com

If possible include a clever caption with the photo

Photos of the entries will be posted on this website skanbiology.wordpress.com

Submissions are due October 25th

Band merch will be given away by drawing, but the top prizes are decided by judges vote

Celebrity guest judges include: Robert “Bucket” Hingley, Less than Jake, Greg Proops, Dave Wakeling (10/17/12: Big thanks to Tbone Willy of Save Ferris/Starpool fame)

I hope to announce the winners Halloween night, maybe even with a special guest doing the announcement–could just be me in a costume, could be someone cool, I just don’t know yet.

I’m pretty damn enthusiastic about the whole venture. After 8 months of making videos and posts, this feels like a nice synthesis. A lot of bands who’ve let me use their music in my videos are chipping in prizes, and even a couple of new bands are getting into the mix. So to have everyone coming together for this contest is pretty damn cool.

Also, the guest judging panel? I’m pretty floored by who said yes. I mean if you were to go back 7 years and tell me that I’d have Bucket, Less than Jake, and Greg Proops working with me on one of my projects, I’d have said you were crazy. It just goes to show that asking politely can still get you somewhere in this day and age.

To all the bands, who are working with me on this, I thank you so much for your support. Your collaboration, your music, and your friendship is just incredible.

To all potential competitors, I eagerly await your submissions. I want this website to be a collage of Ska-o-lanterns.

Happy Skalloween everybody!