WIN a Darkest Hour Skate Deck + Vans Gear

Up for grabs is a sick Darkest Hour skate deck from Indie Merch, the latest Darkest Hour album and some Vans apparel including a pair of kicks, a tee and a hoodie. 3 lucky winners will be chosen at random when the contest ends on March 25th.

HOW TO ENTER:

- Send an e-mail to music.vans@gmail.com
- Enter DARKEST HOUR in the subject line
- Include you full name, mailing address, clothing size and shoe size (remember to specify Men's or Women's sizes)!

Good luck everyone!

Don't forget to catch the guys on tour now:

02/25 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
02/26 Virginia Beach, VA – Skate High
02/27 Greensboro, NC – Greene St
02/28 Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel
03/01 Joliet, IL – Mojoes
03/02 Sauget, IL – Pop’s
03/03 Covington, KY – The Madhatter
03/04 Detroit, MI – Harpos
03/05 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
03/06 St. Paul, MN – The Station
03/07 Iowa City, IA – Blue Moose
03/08 Omaha, NE – Sokol Underground
03/09 TBA, CO – TBA
03/10 Salt Lake City, UT – Club Sound
03/11 Reno, NV – The Alley
03/12 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
03/13 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
03/14 Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
03/15 Boise, ID – The Venue
03/17 Santa Clara, CA – The Avalon
03/18 Modesto, CA – Seasons Hall
03/19 Anaheim, CA – The Grove
03/20 Tucson, AZ – The Rock
03/22 Tulsa, OK – Marquee Theatre
03/24 Indianapolis, IN – Emerson Theatre
03/25 Dayton, OH – The Attic
03/26 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
03/27 Albany, NY – Northern Lights

Concert Pics: OFF!

We have another amazing photo set from our new photo contributor Colleen Allison! Last week she checked out OFF! at the Echoplex. Check out her shots from the show:

Welcome Between The Buried and Me!

Vans music is expanding by the day! We're stoked to welcome Between The Buried and Me to our roster of bands- and just in time, too. The band is soon hitting the road for a headline tour and releasing The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues on April 12th. The conceptual effort is a 3-song, 30 minute story connected by 2 humans living millions of light years apart. If that doesn't make you want to check it out, I don't know what else will! You can hear a sample of from one of the songs below:

Between the Buried and Me "Specular Reflection" (Sample) by Metal Blade Records

The album is currently available for pre-order until it's April release.

And don't forget to enjoy the guys this spring!

04/15 Farmingdale, NY – The Crazy Donkey
04/16 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
04/17 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
04/18 Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar
04/19 Williamsville, NY – Club Infinity
04/20 Montreal, QC – Le National
04/21 Toronto, ON – Opera House
04/22 Toledo, OH – Headliners
04/23 Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom
04/25 Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
04/26 Lawrence, KS – Granada
04/27 Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
04/29 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
04/30 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
05/01 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
05/03 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
05/04 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
05/05 Pomona, CA – Glasshouse Music Hall
05/06 San Diego, CA – Soma
05/07 Mesa, AZ – Nile Theatre
05/09 Dallas, TX – The Door
05/10 Tulsa, OK – The Marquee
05/11 Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theatre
05/12 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
05/13 Nashville, TN – Rockettown
05/14 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel

She Wants Revenge Tour

She Wants Revenge is hitting the road in March. Check'em out!

03/17/11 - Beauty Bar Austin , TX

03/21/11 - Bluebird Theater Denver , CO

03/22/11 - Bar Deluxe - Salt Lake City , UT

03/24/11 - El Corazon Seattle , WA

03/25/11 - Dante’s Portland , OR

03/26/11 - The Alley Sparks , NV

03/27/11 - The Blank Club San Jose , CA

03/28/11 - The Independent San Francisco , CA

03/30/11 - The Boardwalk Orangevale , CA

03/31/11 - Glasshouse Pomona , CA

04/01/11 - SoHo Santa Barbara , CA

04/02/11 - Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach , CA

04/17/11 - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Indio CA

Visit us at MUSINK

Mark your calenders for the 4th Annual MUSINK festival this spring! The event next weekend, March 4-6, at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA. If you love music, tattoos, skateboarding and BMX, this is the place to be. Needless to say, Vans is all over it.

You can find the Vans booth next to our buddy Oliver Peck's booth where we will host some signings during the weekend and have sweet gear you should check out. Come meet some bands, skateboarders and hang out with the cool kids.

Vans Exclusive: Set Your Goals

We sent over some questions for Set Your Goals before they left for their tour with Parkway Drive. Check it out to hear their favorite Warped Tour story, insight on the new album and what a pair of Set Your Goals Vans would look like.

Meet Danko Jones

We are very pleased to welcome Danko Jones to our Vans family! If you are looking for good music, look no further. These guys are awesome. They are heading out on tour this Tuesday for a handful of East Coast shows- even a free performance.

Feb 22- Harrisburg, PA- Drinkin Bone
Feb 24- New York, NY- The Studio @ Webster Hall
Feb 26- Syracuse, NY- Benjamin's On Franklin
Feb 27- Hartford, CT- Webster Underground
Mar 01- Philadelphia, PA- North Star Bar

To get a good feel for Danko, check out the music video to the latest single "Full of Regret." Though really, it would be more accurately described as a mini-movie. One of the coolest videos I've ever seen. Did I mention it even as a cast?! Lemmy of Motörhead, Elijah Wood, Selma Blair and Mike Watt. I know, right!? If you like what you hear, Below The Belt is available now with an exclusive iTunes release featuring 3 bonus tracks.

SXSW AP Showcase

It's that time of year again! Music, interactive and film nerds all pile into Austin for the oh-so fabulous South x South West (SXSW) conference. Yours truly will be in attendance with the Vans crew and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we can't wait. I may or may not already be counting down the days.

Anyway, our friends at Alternative Press host a rad, all-ages and totally free showcase during SXSW. This year, you can check it out on Saturday, March 19th, across all three stages at Emo's. With over 20 bands performing, everyone will have a reason to come out. And after seeing the crowd from last year, everyone will also have a reason to come out early.

See you there!

Concert Pics: Motörhead + Valient Thorr

More concert photos have arrived courtesy of new contributor Colleen Allison. She went with the Vans music crew to check out Motörhead and Valient Thorr last month at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. Take a look at her shots right here. We can't wait to get some more of her work posted in the blog!

Happy Valentine's Day!