HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SWEAT RECORDS!!

Dear Friends,

What a crazy year it's been!! We know we're not alone when we say we are SO looking forward to 2009 - new President, new energy and hopefully a safe, uneventful year for our store and fish tank!!

Well, not unEVENTful... In 2008 we threw over 100 events and parties!! We premiered films, hosted tons of fantastic bands, read books together, and partied our asses off at The Vagabond. We are working on all kinds of goodness for 2009 including HEY WILLPOWER at Vagabond on January 16th and MATT & KIM at Churchill's on March 28th!! We'll also be an official ticket outlet for the amazing LANGERADO Festival very, very soon.

We wish everyone the best and thank you all so much for your support. Sweat turns 4 years old in April and we couldn't be more excited.

For tonight, we invite you to party with us and the whole Vagabond family for NEW YEAR'S EVE!! Come out for a special live performance by AFROBETA, DJs galore, guest emcee JOHN HOOD, and titillating shows by the ladies of SHAMELESS BURLESQUE, BAMBY'S KITTENS + WILDCHILD!! It's one of the best yet least-offensively-priced NYE parties in Miami, period, with your $20 cover including a free champagne toast when the clock strikes 12. We hope to see you there.

Much love,
Lolo, Jsin and the Sweat crew

SWEAT STOCKING STUFFER SATURDAY!!

Dear Friends,

What a crazy week for us but it's all been worth it!! Tomorrow night is the 3rd annual SWEAT STOCKING STUFFER and boy is the store looking better than ever and full of great holiday gifts and goodies!!

Here's what's new merch-wise:

*TONS of new records, and new sections to boot!! Snatch up gorgeous, heavy reissues from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, WAY MORE indie goodness (Magnetic Fields, Bikini Kill, Islands, Stereolab, etc.), classic hip hop, and all the hot new releases, like Gang Gang Dance, Squarepusher, Belle & Sebastian, Kings of Leon and beyond.
*Fresh stock of Sweet & Sara (NYC) vegan 'Smores and Vanilla Marshmallows!!
*Full-sized Kid Robot DIY munny dolls + Frank Kozik's PLUSH Labbits with mustaches!! You or someone you love definitely needs a mustache bunny.
*Books galore - on punk rock, on lowbrow art, on veganism, on tattoos and everything in-between.
*Kid Robot's awesome "Yummy Breakfast" and "Things That Hurt" keychains!!
*NEW: Sweat's permanent teeshirt rack filled with local band shirts and more!!
*We got a sick batch of used LPs in including just about every Bob Dylan album, and a bunch of great new wave pieces by Cabaret Voltaire, Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and more!!
*Album frames!! Someone's favorite LP in a nice frame is a fantastic gift, for real.
*We've also marked down tons of toys, CDs, LPs and more to make room for new goodness so you can definitely score some sweet merch on the cheap.

And now, here's what's going on during the Stuffer, 8pm to midnight:

*Live silk-screening by R. GRIMES of Faction!! He'll be bringing some shirts but everyone is more than welcome to bring their own shirt or other item for him to screen!! Makes for a truly one-of-a-kind wearable gift...
*Samples of Sweat's organic hot cocoa and vegan egg nog!!
*The debut of our new ART!! FEDERICO NESSI + DINO FELIPE spent hours upon hours on their new permanent installation at the store!! Pieces from Federico's previous installation were stolen during the September burglary so this one is un-stealable!! It's definitely a visual treat and something you can look at for hours and still not have taken in every detail...

Last but not least...

WE FINALLY HAVE A NEW FISH TANK!! Having our tank smashed was the lamest part of the whole burglary thing and we are so happy to say that thanks to donations sent in by all you awesome folks, we've got a brand new (and improved!) Red Sea Max Aquarium!! Once again the amazing Colin and Jared of CORAL MORPHOLOGIC have set up a gorgeous saltwater reef full of the aptly-named discosoma coral (some even that were saved from the last tank), harlequin sea stars and some new surprises... Come out to the Stuffer and see it for yourself!! We'll be putting pics up soon as well for those far away or who can't make it.

So there's all of that, AND if you spend $10 on anything at the Stocking Stuffer, you get a wristband to get in FREE to the awesome show next door at Churchill's - DEATH OF AN XMAS PARTY!! Featuring live performances by DINO FELIPE, THIS HEART ELECTRIC, TEEPEE, FLUX FORCES, DROWNING THE VIRGIN SILENCE + DJ HEALER, it will be a night of Miami electro art-rock gothic goodness!! Cover is $5 w/o the Sweat band, and the show starts at 9pm and goes late.

Tonight however, we'll be pre-partying at an action-packed FRIDAYS AT THE VAGABOND!! In the Garden, MOD L'ONE will be performing live and in the Main Room, guest DJs CARMINE P. FILTHY + RUDY M. SIXTEEN (Even Further, NYC) will be rocking the decks AND we've got KENICHI from "The Most Interesting Show in the World" back to do a pop-lockin' breakdance performance!! Not only that but we're also taking part in the New Times' Club Kids Toy Drive so if you bring a gift for a child in need, you'll get free Asahi before midnight, or half-price cover after that.

Hope to see you all this weekend!!

Much love,
Lolo, Jsin and the Sweat crew

Local Press + Pure Imagination 5 Tomorrow!!

Dear friends,

TGBO - Thank God Basel's Over!! It was a wonderful whirlwind but it's nice to get back to normal.

Well aside from all the art hoo-ha, it's been an incredible month for our local music scene in the press!! First was a fantastic article in the NEW YORK TIMES proclaiming: "In South Florida, Tropical Bohemia in the Makings" - right on!! It mentions Sweat and Rachel Goodrich and Honor Roll Music and lots of other people working hard to fill Miami with beautiful music. On the telly, the Miami Bass Warriors (Jose El Rey, El Tigre and Otto Von Schirach)'s new video "Going Back to Calle Ocho" debuted on Mun2 and Blowfly was on Comedy Central's Chocolate News!! Last but definitely not least, Torche's latest album "Meanderthal" was named Number 1 Album of the Year by new-metal bible Decibel Magazine!! Congrats to everyone, we hope to see this trend continuing for quite some time...

NYT Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/arts/music/30mcdo.html?_r=1&ref=music
Miami Bass Warriors: http://holamun2.com/shows/pitbulls-la-esquina/ (it's the first clip in the show)
Torche in Decibel: http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=140086

For our David Byrne ticket giveaway we got so many great entries but congrats to winner Ravi B. who suggested we should give out mp3s of local music to encourage people to go see more local bands!! We'd been meaning to do that for some time, so when we launch our completely bad-ass new website in January we'll also be hosting weekly free music, hell yes.

On that note, tonight at FRIDAYS AT THE VAGABOND we're proud to present JOHN HANCOCK of ANR who will be performing live to celebrate the release of "Antenna Death" - his new solo album!! The entire album is available, for free, right now at http://www.honorrollmusic.com/JohnHancock (case sensitive) so download your hearts out and then come see it live tonight in the Garden!!

So yes, tomorrow night is the David Byrne show, or for a free and super awesome alternative, you can come to PURE IMAGINATION LIVE 5 at Sweat!! We are obsessed with the Pure Imagination podcast (get it through iTunes) but seeing it in person with local musicians improving the soundtrack is even better. Starts at 9pm so come out, grab some tea, and enjoy the stories and melodies.

Finally, mark your calendars because the annual SWEAT STOCKING STUFFER is next Saturday, the 20th!! Sweat is a great place to buy cute, unique, inexpensive holiday gifts for your friends and family and we've been stocking up on goodies!! During the Stuffer, we'll be serving vegan egg nog, offering 10% off books and new LPs, deep discounts on CDs and lots of clearance items will be on the tables. We're also happy as heck to let you know that R. Grimes will be silk-screening live (for a truly one-of-a-kind gift) and that tonight will be the debuts of our new permanent art installation by Federico Nessi and Dino Felipe and OUR NEW FISH TANK!! Not only that but spend $10 on anything and get in FREE to the concert next door "Death of an Xmas Party" featuring some great dark goth/electro bands. Full info next week!!

Much love,
Lolo, Jsin and the Sweat crew

P.S. Hey singers, check out this contest!! The deadline is Monday - short notice we know but it's a national vocalist search that'll be judged by Dave 1 of Chromeo, DJ Franki Chan and the head of Vice Records!! All you need to do to enter is submit a one-track CD with your contact information and you could get paid to sing on some hot new electronic tracks. Go to scion.com/vocalist for the details and drop your demo off at Sweat today through Monday.

Baseliciousness + David Byrne Giveaway!!

Dear friends,

Last week's '80s Prom was truly, truly, truly outrageous. OUTEREACH once again killed it with some amazing '80s covers and everyone looked beyond fabulous. You can view 2 huge galleries of radical photos on www.nefariousgirl.com - one of the party and another from the signature photo booth - and make sure to mark your calendars for November 25th, 2009 for next year's Prom!!

ART BASEL is in full swing in Miami!! Here are some great suggestions of things to check out...

*Friends With You's "Fun House" at SCOPE...it's a giant bounce-house extravaganza!!

*A whole weekend of events based on "The Visionary Art of ALEX GREY" at 7th Circuit Studios up by Sweat!! You may recognize Grey's works from many TOOL album covers and the man himself will be painting live. Also at 7th Circuit, a special "zero-edge" installation tank featuring priceless sea creatures from Coralmorphologic!! We've got tickets in the shop for the weekend's festivities, and the full info is here: www.mokshafamily.org/events.htm

*Around the corner from that tonight, check out "Of Sound And Vision" at Honor Roll Studios curated by Aja Albertson and featuring some great local artists

*And around the corner from that on Saturday is "Miami Art In Action" at the News Lounge featuring CP1 (Sweat's famous muralist!), Krave and LEBO painting live!

*Live bands and classic punk/indie rock flier art at the "Kill Your Idols" space in the Design District, info at www.killyouridols.com

*Gen Art's "Vanguard" Art Fair at Charcoal Studios is sure to be visually incredible (and a great party)

*VENETIAN SNARES returns to Miami Saturday night at Black Sheep Bar (formerly Laundry Bar) - pre-sales at Sweat!!

*Black Mangrove Collective's show "SWARM" at Studio 1415 in North Miami

*Last but not least PREFUSE73 (Warp) and ELLIOTT LIPP performing live on Sunday at Heathrow!! Good stuff.


On to Sweat's events, and beyond!!

Tonight at FRIDAYS AT THE VAGABOND we've got a scintillating art installation of "the world's largest lite-brite" - we're not kidding folks! This thing is huge... To make the party even bigger we've got a special guest DJ set by electro-superstar TOMMIE SUNSHINE and a live performance by Miami's own MODERNAGE!! You know where to go...

Next Tuesday night is December's CASA DE HA-HA!! It's been getting bigger and better and funnier every month so come on out. Starts at 9pm and is FREE!!

Wednesday the 10th the SWEAT BOOKS BOOK CLUB meets to discuss "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks. We've gotten a great response from people who've read it and loved it so meet us at 8pm to discuss - we'll have some coffee and talk...

Next Friday at Vagabond we've got a special solo performance from JOHN HANCOCK of ANR!! He'll be releasing his new album "Antenna Death" for free on the 'net that day so come out and hear it live.

And here's what you've been waiting for!! We are giving away a pair of tickets to next Saturday's DAVID BYRNE concert at the Fillmore!! To enter, email info@sweatrecordsmiami.com with your suggestion for how we can improve Sweat Records. We are always looking to serve you better and love feedback so get creative (but be realistic!) and the best suggestion will win the tickets!! We'll announce the winner in next week's email and the deadline is 5pm Monday.

Much love,
Lolo, Jsin and the Sweat crew