Let’s do it… One! More! Time!

In December 2009, you helped us rock out for Child’s Play at the first annual Ümloud! The show was a smashing success: With your help, we raised $7000 for children’s hospitals and had an amazing time doing it. Your bands took the stage and rocked the house.

Time to do it again. We’ve signed the contract and it’s official: Ümloud! 2010 will take place on Thursday, December 9, 2010. Once again, we’ll be working with the good people at DNA Lounge in downtown San Francisco to let you live out your rock star fantasies for a great cause.

We listened to your concerns. You wanted an event later in the week. Thursday is the new Friday, or so it’s been said.

In the coming months, we’ll be revealing new details about Ümloud! 2010. We’ve got some great plans that you’re going to want to be a part of. Just keep following this blog to get the latest updates, fresh from the delicious source.

You can also befriend Ümloud! on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

And if you want to help us make this year’s show the best it can be, then contact sponsors@umloud.org.

See you in December, and talk to you soon!

Share on Facebook

Hey wow! It’s a video that recaps all the highlights of Ümloud!

Didn’t make it to the show? Want to relive your favorite moments? Now you can, thanks to the tireless work of Tracy Peterson at One Two Many Productions.

Yes, it was this awesome. And Ümloud! 2010 will be bigger, better, and more bad-ass.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or on this blog’s RSS feed for news about this year’s event!

Share on Facebook

Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you who donated, sponsored, played, or otherwise just showed up to make Ümloud! 2009 an incredible success.

We hit the DNA Lounge hard and rocked it all night. Our on-site partners at DNA, Tekamaki, Heatwave, Tyler Winegarner Photography, One Two Many, Reverb and Harmonix all worked in concert to give our hundreds of attendees a professional-quality show that I think exceeded everyone’s expectations.

You know now that Ümloud! 2010 is going to be incredible.

Many videos of our generous, talented Ultimate Bands are currently available on YouTube. Some of our favorites: Ironheade, real-life Lego Rock Band, Daylight Savings Crime.

DNA Lounge is streaming the audio webcast of the show via MP3 for the next two weeks, so listen (and grab the MP3s if you want) while the getting is good!

Many photos are popping up on Flickr. The best so far are from volunteer Brian Haberer, who took the amazing shot above.

If you were in an Ultimate Band, we’ll be putting you in touch with photographer Tyler Winegarner about those glamour shots that he took of you before and during your big performance.

Now, the big question: How much did we raise for Child’s Play? We are happy to say that we will be giving over $6,000 to the charity. We’ll have a final figure once we do all the math, but for now we’re blown away by the numbers.

We’ll be back soon with more videos, music, and notes from Ümloud! Thank you once again for coming to support us. This is only the beginning!

Share on Facebook

Hey, remember that awesome somewhat controversial tentacley sexy cover art that the Muramasa: The Demon Blade team made for Play magazine?

Remember how they put it on a T-shirt? Oh, you already guessed, you’re so smart: We have one of these tees, courtesy I Am 8-Bit, in the Ümloud! raffle.

It’s in men’s size S.

To make up for this, practically every other T-shirt at Ümloud will be in XL, aka Journalist Size.

Share on Facebook

Ümloud! is all about rocking like a true superstar.

And that doesn’t have to stop when the event is over.

Thanks to some very generous donations from Numark and Mad Catz, some of the best Rock Band equipment on the market today will be in the Ümloud! Raffle.

The Ion Drum Rocker looks and feels like a real drum kit. We’ve got one of these to give away. This is the big one, the $299 premium set for Xbox 360.

Courtesy Mad Catz, we have two wooden replica Fender Stratocaster premium guitars for Xbox 360. These also retail for $299 each.

And if you don’t end up winning one of those, Mad Catz has also provided two of its wireless Fender Telecaster replicas, which retail for $109.99 each.

All in all, we’re staring at a mountain of awesome right here, all up for grabs at Ümloud! 2009 this Wednesday.

Share on Facebook

What would a videogame raffle be without videogames?

Yes, we have tons of swag and T-shirts and stuff in the Ümloud! raffle, silent auction and swag tables. But we’ve also got games. The real thing.

The folks at Valve have kicked in a couple of copies of everyone’s favorite zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2. From the office of sponsor Reverb Communications comes a whole mess of Rock Band track packs for all platforms.

And pulled from some private collections of classic games, mint complete copies of some collectible oldies, like Pinball of the Dead for Game Boy Advance and Chu Chu Rocket for Dreamcast.

Many of these will be on the Swag Table, yours in exchange for your donation of $10 or more at the door this Wednesday!

Share on Facebook

Of course, you’ll be able to win some prizes from our generous sponsors at Astro Studios.

In the raffle will be two sets of the company’s fantastic A40 Audio System headphone and MixAmp package, with an optical cable (approximate retail value $250 each).

And then there’s the Scout Backpack (ARV $80), which you can use to haul your 360 or PS3 around in style.

All this can be yours at Ümloud on Wednesday!

Share on Facebook

Remember back a couple days ago when we mentioned that something for Mega Man fans might be coming up in the Ümloud! silent auction?

That day has arrived.

Bring your checkbook, bring a pile of cash, bring shiny stones to barter because you do not want to go home without this bundle of blue joy. The Mega Man Prize Pack includes a one-of-a-kind Lego sprite sculpture of the man himself, created by a fan for last year’s Funde Razor. It got lost at the event and we weren’t able to raffle it off.

But this year, it’s beign paired with something even awesomer: The Mega Man 9 box, produced and donated by the wonderful I Am 8-Bit. This replica slash parody of a classic 8-bit game box contains an empty plastic game cartridge that unfolds to reveal an artwork CD and a download code for the game — not that you’d ever, ever want to break the shrinkwrap!

These will be yours if you are the highest bidder on the night of Ümloud!

Share on Facebook

You thought you had seen all that Ümloud! had to offer.

You were mistaken.

Not only are we going to have a table full of choice limited-edition game swag for anyone who makes a donation and a raffle of even awesomer prizes, Ümloud! will also be home to a silent auction of prizes that are so unbelievably rare your wallet will start to cry in sheer anticipation of the violation it is about to receive.

Here’s what we’ve lined up for auction so far, and how you can get it.

• Uncharted 2: Fortune Hunter’s Edition. It’s the super limited edition of the biggest PlayStation 3 game of the year. Only available to winners of a Sony-sponsored contest, this gigantic box includes the game, a ceremonial “dagger,” and a whole mess of other Uncharted stuff. It sells on eBay for thousands of dollars, apparently.
• Brütal Legend Eddie Riggs statue. This life-size — okay, not life-size, but 17 inches tall — polyresin statue brings Jack Black’s character from Double Fine’s latest game into your very home. Only 1,000 of these statues were made. This one could be yours.
• Signed World of Warcraft limited edition. The limited edition box of the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade expansion, signed by many of the game’s developers in brilliant silver Sharpie. Also, a sealed copy of Wrath of the Lich King LE, not signed by anyone.
• Gigantic Lost Planet Salamander Plush. Only available as a contest prize from Capcom at this year’s Comic-Con, this is the biggest black and orange plush thing you will ever have in your house. Ever.
• Signed Space Invaders Print. This framed print, featuring pixel art from the original Space Invaders games, is one of only 180 in existence and is hand-signed by the creator of the original game, Tomohiro Nishikado. This print was created by Backbone Entertainment as a promotional item for the release of Space Invaders Extreme on XBLA.

That’s all the items that we can reveal right now, but there may just be another that will be of particular interest to Mega Man fans. We’ll try to make it happen. (Update: It happens.)

Alright, let’s take some questions from the audience.

How does a silent auction work?

Good question. During the Ümloud! event on the evening of December 9, all of these items will be on display. You’ll be able to check them out and confirm their awesomeness. You will need to fill out a simple form for a bid number, then your ready to bid. In front of each item will be a piece of paper, and you’ll write down your bid number and how much you’d like to bid on the item.

Starting at 10:30 p.m., we’ll start closing the items one at a time. Whoever has the highest bid will win the item, and you’ll pay us for it right then and there.

We will have all the official rules and details available that night.

How can I pay you?

Cash is nice. DNA Lounge has an ATM machine, so you can withdraw it. If you’ve got a personal check and a photo ID, we’ll take that, too. We’ll also have a PC on hand and we can email you a Google Invoice, which you can pay immediately by entering your credit card information on site. Be mindful of your credit card’s daily limit!

Checks need to be cleared and credit cards charged before we can release the item to the winner. If this doesn’t happen during Ümloud!, we will personally deliver the item to you later once payment is confirmed.

This sounds great.

I know.

Share on Facebook

These days, any good product needs a viral video.

And since we don’t have a dog that can ride a skateboard, we needed to go with our second choice: a ROCKUMENTARY.

Watch our band, Baby Dog Time, struggle to get back together. In the end, we managed to put aside all of our differences and reunite to play a very special charity gig. A charity gig that’s just over one week away!

(It’s Ümloud! That’s the charity gig I was referring to above!)

Very special thanks to the amazing Wired.com video production team for donating their time and energy to producing this video for Ümloud!

You can also watch it on Wired or Vimeo or Facebook or YouTube, GameTrailers or GHtv.

Watch more Wired videos here.

Share on Facebook

Today’s amazing Ümloud! prize that you yes you can win in our raffle is this.

Thanks to the generosity of AWR Music, the good people in charge of the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert series, we are in possession of one signed soundtrack CD.

It bears the insignias of both conductor Arnie Roth and — take a deep breath! — legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Even better, the CD itself is full of beautiful new orchestrated recordings of Uematsu’s greatest hits. So there’s that, too.

Hey, did you know that Distant Worlds is about to put on an incredible concert in Chicago? It’ll feature the world premiere of music from Final Fantasy XIV and a guest band performing the songs of the Black Mages.

It’s on December 12, so I don’t think I can make it. But perhaps you can, if you live there. Just saying.

Share on Facebook

Plants, zombies: Everyone loves PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies.

And when I saw this box full of awesome arrive on my doorstep, I knew that I couldn’t keep it for myself. It had to go to one of you.

Show up at Ümloud! and you can win this Plants vs. Zombies prize package, which includes:

• Plants vs. Zombies retail box copy
• Two (2) slightly bent PvZ masks
• “No Zombies” sticker for your front yard
• “Your Grass Is Mine” T-shirt
• Official PvZ comic book
• Bubble wrap
• Cardboard box (opened)

That’s a lot of things. If we pull your raffle ticket, you can come claim it, but you have to go to Ümloud, first. Won’t you?

Share on Facebook

That’s it, kids! Ultimate Band Packages for our 2009 show have been sold out.

The good news is, that’s 15 dedicated bands who are going to give it their all and rock you so hard on December 9 at DNA Lounge.

The bad news is, unless you bought one, it won’t be you doing the rocking.

But!

You can still get a Standard Band Pass, which will put you up on the very same stage, just without all the super awesome lighting and swag bags and band photos that the Ultimates are getting.

It’s still totally worth it — and only $35 if you pre-order online, as opposed to $40 at the event itself.

So come on. Let’s fill the dance card and load up on donations for Child’s Play.

Share on Facebook

Donate directly to Ümloud!

You can donate directly to the cause if you can’t make it to the event. We’ve set up a Google Checkout Donation button to accept donations via credit cards. The minimum is $1 and you can put in whatever you feel you can give. We also accept personal checks if you mail them in.

Just to be clear, this is not the way to get a band pass, advance tickets or anything else offered at the Ümloud! event. Check each respective links to get these things.

Regardless if it’s a band pass, on-site donation, or though the donation button:
All proceeds will go to Child’s Play Charity.

Share on Facebook

First, you get the bag: a geniuine school backpack perfect for carrying those 50 pound math textbooks.

Second, you get the sweatshirt, so you can cuddle up with a Lagiacrus on your chest on those cold winter nights.

Third, you get awesome Japanese MonHun swag: some cute little buttons and a handy notebook.

Fourth, you get a download code for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP, so you can actually figure out what all this stuff is for.

But only if you come to Ümloud! can you have the chance to own the above-illustrated awesomeness.

Share on Facebook

The Tekken 6 limited edition for Xbox 360 contains the fighting game, yes, and an art book of the fighting game, but it also contains a wireless fight stick by Hori.

Is your fight stick wired? Perish the thought. Upgrade to the freedom of no wires. Come to Ümloud! and win this thing.

Share on Facebook

Windows: Alt-0220
Mac OS X: Option-u, then shift-u
iPhone: Shift for capital letters; Hold down the U key till a popup menu shows up for Ü.
HTML: Ü (case-sensitive)

That’s what you need to know to type in Ümloud!

You’ll notice that in some places we use a regular U: anything that’s a URL, for example, or the Twitter account @Umloud. While you can use umlauts in the location bar, the URLs will convert to Punycode, not to mention not everyone knows how to make a Ü.

Well, except you. Now you know how to Ü with the best of them!

Share on Facebook

Feels all official and stuff! Check it in PDF or right here:

Gamers Give Back with Charity Event Supporting National Children’s Hospital Organization

San Francisco, California—November 19, 2009—Do not miss out on the San Francisco gaming charity event of the year! Ümloud! is an annual fundraiser event for Child’s Play Charity, a “gamers’ charity” started by Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik that provides toys and games to Children’s Hospitals around the country, including Oakland Children’s Hospital.

The spiritual-successor to last year’s successful Fünde Razor, and hosted by gaming industry vets Chris Kohler (Wired), Joe Markert (Gamehelper), and John “Seg” Seggerson (Telltale Games), Ümloud! will hit the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California on December 9^th, and feature a full-blown Rock Band 2 main stage set up courtesy of Harmonix Music Systems, where you and your band can melt the face of San Francisco clean off at one of the hottest music venues in the city, all in the name of charity!

“Ümloud! is a great way to get the community involved in a fun charity event and give towards a great cause,” says Ümloud! co-founder Chris Kohler. “We have awesome sponsors and industry leaders involved in this event and we want you to come out and rock the night away for us in effort to raise money for children’s hospitals through Child’s Play.”

Doors open at the DNA Lounge at 7:00pm and the party will rage until 2:00am. There is a suggested donation of $10.00 upon entry to the event, and all attendees will be entered into an epic raffle that will go on throughout the night boasting amazing prizes and limited edition gaming swag, courtesy of participating sponsors. You can sign your band up for either the Ultimate Band Package for $120.00 or the Standard Band Package for $40.00. Come join the fun, be entered to win some totally awesome prizes and, best of all, leave knowing that your night at the bar was for a good cause!

“Ümloud!  is one of our core community fundraisers at Child’s Play.  We rely heavily on the efforts of video game community, and events such as Ümloud! form the backbone of that support,” said Kristin Lindsay, Project Manager for Child’s Play Charity.  “It’s an amazing night of Rock Band 2, prizes and partying, and it’s all for a great cause. Donations from Ümloud! help support the Child’s Play network of children’s hospitals around the world.  When gamers give back, it makes a big difference!”

For more information about Ümloud! please visit www.umloud.org and become a fan of Ümloud! on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Umloud or follow Ümloud! on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Umloud/

Reverb Communications is a silver sponsor of the event, helping Ümloud! with marketing, public relations and sponsorships. If you are interested in a custom sponsorship package in support of Ümloud! please contact Mel Kirk, mel@reverbinc.com, 209-586-1495 x104.

####

About Child’s Play Charity:

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

This year, Child’s Play Charity has continued expanding across the country and the globe. With almost 70 partner hospitals and more arriving every month, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child’s Play hospitals everywhere.  When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

About Ümloud!:

Ümloud! is an annual fundraiser held in San Francisco, California, with proceeds benefiting Child’s Play Charity.

Founded in 2003 by Penny Arcade, Child’s Play has provided over $3.5 million in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals around the world.

Ümloud! Media Contact:

Danitra Alomia
Reverb Communications
danitra@reverbinc.com
209-586-1495 x115

Tracie Snitker
tracie@reverbinc.com
209-586-1495 x104

Share on Facebook

Ever wanted your own Centaur tank, from Gears of War?

We can’t help you get a real one, but we do have three (3) toy-sized ones for our raffle. They’re radio-controlled.

Don’t you want one? You can have one if only you come to Ümloud!

You could also have a copy of Lips Number One Hits, from the good people at Inis.

Which will you choose?

Share on Facebook

Share this poster with everyone you know! If you want to print it out, you can use this very high quality PDF (10.5mb) for the best print quality.

Put it in your break room at work! Put it in the bathroom! Put it at your local game store. Just make sure you have permission, wherever you post it.

Get the word out that on December 9, you can rock out while helping out your community!

Share on Facebook

You’ll never need to purchase clothing again.

T-shirts are the most common form of swag. And some of them are way better than just slapping a logo onto the front of a shirt.

Here are some stylish shirts from Nintendo, Rockstar, and ThinkGeek among others. Maybe you will win one!

Share on Facebook

Scribblenauts is great and all, but wouldn’t it be great if you could magically make things appear in real life?

Like, if you wanted a Scribblenauts hat.

OMG. We can do that for you. You can own this Scribblenauts hat, as if by magic. All you need to do is come to Ümloud! and get lucky.

Share on Facebook

It’s time for one of the big prizes, I think.

We’ve been posting some cool stuff, but this is the real deal. These Marvel vs. Capcom vinyl LP records, featuring remixed soundtrack tunes, are selling for a lot of money on eBay. Wouldn’t you like to say that you got yours for something more reasonable, like zero dollars?

We’ve got one all ready for you. It’s waiting. Will you come claim it at Ümloud?

Share on Facebook

As we left the Street Fighter IV event earlier this year, we were handed bags of stuff.

It went right in the Ümloud! pile. Just for you.

Inside this (now slightly tattered, sorry) paper bag are a SFIV shirt in Journalist Size (XL), a poster, a limited-edition Udon comic, and best of all, a bar of Street Fighter soap.

You know, because the event was a “Fight Club.”

Share on Facebook

Here’s just some of the prizes we already have for Ümloud! 2009.

That Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story backpack, complete with Mario and Bowser beanbag dolls, will make you the envy of all your friends.

If your tastes run more to plastic, there’s a Comic-Con limited edition Dead Space figure, or a Wizard World exclusive Naruto.

How about a Darth Revan Mighty Mugg? Or a limited-edition maquette of Shank, star of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, from Penny Arcade Expo?

Any of these things could be yours if you come to Ümloud! on December 9.

Share on Facebook

It’s like an umlaut, only louder.

No, really, what is it?  I’m getting too excited and you need to tell me.

Ümloud! is an event providing gamers and music lovers alike the chance to live out their rock n’ roll fantasies while playing Rock Band 2™ on stage at one of San Francisco’s premier music venues.  All proceeds will be donated to the amazing Child’s Play Charity, which donates games, toys, and books to kids in children’s hospitals all over the world.

We’ve included all kinds of additional details for those who like to read on our EVENT page.

Should I buy my tickets or band package in advance?

YES! By purchasing your tickets in advance you’ll get a free piece of swag from Ümloud’s giveaway table (while supplies last), you can use your credit card to make it easy peesy and we’ll make you feel like a rock star and put your name on the list at the door!

Band packages are limited to 15 for the Ultimate Band Package $130 and 30 for the Standard Band Package $35 ($40 at the door) so we urge you to reserve your slot today!

Where can I buy my Advance Tickets or Band Packages?

Great question!  We’ve included some simple direct links at the top-right of this web page that will get you right there or just click on the appropriate link below:
Advance Tickets – $10
Ultimate Band Package – $130
Standard Band Package – $35 ($40 at the door)

Where can I learn more about what’s included in the Band Packages?

To learn more about what is included in our Band Packages we’ve put together a detailed section under the navigation option at the top of this page labeled ‘BANDS’ – OR – you can just click the name of the package you’re interested in below and we’ll take you right there:

Ultimate Band Package
Standard Band Package

Tell me more about these Prizes?

We’ll be announcing a Prize of the Day each day on the Ümloud Blog (well, almost daily) right up until the event so set your RSS reader to stay up to date!  You can read all about the source of these cool prizes on our PRIZES page.  Stay tuned, there’s a lot more cool stuff on the way.

Dude, this event rawks – can I volunteer to help out?

Absolutely! We need as many extra hands as we can get.  If you’d like to help us make this event shine please contact visit our VOLUNTEER page for more info.

My company would like to become a Sponsor, how can we get involved?

We have a full Sponsorship Kit we can send your way with all the relevant details.  Please visit our SPONSORS Page to get in contact with our team.

Who are you guys anyway?

We’re just a bunch of gamers who like you want to make the lives of children spending their days in a hospital somewhere just that much brighter.  By playing a game or watching a movie they can remember for awhile what it is to be a kid and forget about being a patient. For many of these kids that’s a big deal! If you really care to learn move about the Ümloud crew you can check out our ABOUT Page.

Share on Facebook