Win An Autographed Copy of the New Chuck Mead Album, Journeyman’s Wager

6/15: Thanks to everyone for playing. KathyP, you’ve got mail.

In a seemingly neverending celebration of Country California’s first anniversary, we’re bringing you weekly music giveaways throughout June. Congratulations to the winner of last week’s Ryan Bingham Roadhouse Sun giveaway, Sam G. Your CD will be in the mail shortly, Sam. Thanks to all the entrants.

This week, the good people at Grassy Knoll Records and Thirty Tigers have hooked us up with an autographed copy of the new album from Chuck Mead, entitled Journeyman’s Wager. (Psstt… a second autographed copy might show up later in the month.)

I could tell you that the album’s pretty great and you may or may not believe me. But who’d have the gall to doubt Juli Thanki? In a review for PopMatters last month, Thanki wrote:

BR549 was one of the better ‘90s neotraditionalist bands, but Mead more than holds his own as a solo artist. If anything, Mead is even better by himself because he’s not tied solely to BR549’s sound. Journeyman’s Wager winds through typical country song subject matter, from the Johnny Paycheck sentiments of the blue-collar anthem “I Wish It Was Friday” to the lovelorn ballad “Albuquerque”. But thanks to Mead’s skilled songwriting, these songs sound sharp: retro without being tired, traditional without sacrificing innovation.

To enter to win, simply comment with (a) any sort of comment about Chuck Mead and/or BR549 or (b) a country-related haiku. That’s one option for fans of the artist and one option for people who want to discover him. Why a haiku? If I’m going to offer you a prize this cool, I’ll reserve the right to make you do something a little silly for it.

Because I didn’t manage to get this post up on Monday, the giveaway will run a bit longer than previous ones. You have through the weekend to enter. A winner will be chosen at random next Monday.

Have at it, folks.