New York, U.S.A – Matt Braunger brings the funny to Comedy Central, and the awkward comes along for a ride in the world premiere of his original one-hour stand-up special, ‘Matt Braunger: Shovel Fighter,’ debuting Saturday, July 14 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.

In his first one-hour special, Braunger enthusiastically brings awkward to a whole new level of funny with his descriptive and inventive wit. In front of a live audience at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, he covers his genius business ideas, from a strip club that women will really want to visit, to a frighteningly realistic frozen dinner, to the world’s most needed new airline. With his expressive style and perhaps a little song, Braunger also imparts key life advice, explaining the one sound everyone should learn to recognize, the importance of trusting one’s instincts to be afraid, and why working in a greeting card store may not quite be the worst job on the planet.

The ‘Matt Braunger: Shovel Fighter’ extended and uncensored DVD, featuring 15 minutes of content not seen in the broadcast, will be released on July 17 by Comedy Central Home Entertainment. The bonus features include commercials for ‘Lonelyman Dinners,’ a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the open, and Braunger’s pitch for the stand-up special.

Also on July 17, Comedy Central Records will release the ‘Matt Braunger: Shovel Fighter’ digital album, recorded live at The Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. The special also will be available on July 17 in HD exclusively on Xbox LIVE and Sony PlayStation Network, and in SD on iTunes and Samsung Media Hub. Pre-order will be available on iTunes on July 9.

Leading up to the on-air premiere, the Comedy Central Stand-Up Web site will feature preview clips from the special, as well as exclusive clips featured on the DVD.

Braunger’s television credits include a recurring role on NBC’s ‘Up All Night,’ a series regular role on ‘MADtv,’ and various roles on ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,’ ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ ‘United States of Tara,’ ‘Pushing Daisies,’ ‘Carpoolers,’ ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,’ ‘Acceptable TV,’ and Comedy Central’s ‘Live At Gotham.’ He is also a regular guest on the ‘Chelsea Lately’ roundtable. In 2009, Braunger was named to Variety’s ‘Top 10 Comics to Watch’ and Comedy Central’s ‘Hot 9 in ’09’ lists, and his debut album ‘Soak Up The Night’ was released by Comedy Central Records and named to the iTunes Rewind ‘Top 20 Albums of 2009’ list. His episode of ‘Comedy Central Presents‘ aired in 2010.

Along with touring comedy clubs across the country, Braunger is a regular at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. He also has performed at a variety of prestigious comedy festivals, including the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and Chicago, The TBS Comedy Festival Las Vegas, and SXSW. In addition, Braunger won the 2008 ‘Best Of The Fest’ at the inaugural Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen and co-founded the popular Bridgetown Comedy Festival, which takes place annually in Portland.

Image Courtesy of  Matt Brunger

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Monster, the global leader in advanced connectivity solutions, power management products, headphones and A/V accessories, is proud to bring its “higher definition” music making experience to the Music Gear Expo 2012 during SxSW. At Monster’s Booth # 404 in “Gear Alley,” the company will demonstrate a variety of leading edge products aimed at meeting the everyday needs of musicians and bands.

Among the innovative Monster products aimed at helping music professionals improve their sound are the super rugged and reliable Studio Pro 1000 Mic and Instrument cables, as well as Monster’s renowned Rock Series Instrument and Performer Series Mic Cables.

In addition, Monster will demo its powerful ClarityHD Model One High Definition Multi-Media Speaker Monitor (SRP: $749.95), with built-in high-powered digital amplifier and dock for iPod and iPhone, along with its full line of “Monster Pro MI” such as the high-performance Pro MI Power rack solution for an entry-level price of just $59.95 retail.

In addition to showcasing its leading-edge products from music professionals, Monster will be actively reaching out to musicians and bands at SxSW in order to give them an opportunity to “Monsterize” their sound.

Head Monster Noel Lee noted: “Monster has always been laser-focused on creating products that make music sound better, whether for fans listening at home, musicians performing live or for in-studio use.

We’re attending SxSW this year because we want to reach out to established and up-and-coming bands with the message that Monster has all the gear – from the world’s most reliable, high-quality cables to our innovative power and audio products – all  to help you get the most out of all your equipment, protect your valuable investments and always perform your very best!”

Monster is the world’s leading manufacturer of premium headphones and advanced connectivity solutions for high-performance home entertainment, audio, home theater, computer and gaming, as well as a leading innovator in the field of mobile accessories and professional audio.

The company was founded by Head Monster Noel Lee more than 30 years ago with a commitment to creating products that literally “make music sound better” and it has continued to expand and diversify ever since.

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OurStage.com, the premier digital music destination for unsigned artists, is headed to Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Music Festival. OurStage will crown a winner for the Season 2 finale of the site’s original web series, The OurStage Panel at their official SXSW party on March 16th at The Parish. Popular brother-and-sister pop duo and SXSW showcase band, Blondfire will also perform at the show’s culmination event.

Season 2 of the month-long web series, ‘The OurStage Panel’, launched February 16th on http://panel.ourstage.com, and features a total of sixteen OurStage artists. Each week throughout the series, four OurStage artists have one of their original songs played before a live audience and an all-star panel of music industry experts.

The winner of each episode advances to the series’ finale, which will be filmed before a live audience during the official SXSW OurStage party.

The best performance – as determined by the panel – will receive a grand prize of $5,000 along with a number of cool career opportunities, including a professionally produced video interview/EPK shot by Emmy Award-winning Director/Producer Mitchell Stuart of HQ Productions,  a mentoring session with The OurStage Paneljudges and a mentoring session with a senior music licensing expert. For those unable to attend SXSW, the finale will air on http://panel.ourstage.com on March 29 at 7:30 am EST.

The esteemed panel of judges includes Bruce Tyler (Executive Producer/Entertainment Consultant/Former Executive VP of Sony Music), Lee Dannay (Warner/Chappell Vice President of A&R), Scott Igoe (Jimmy Kimmel Live! Music Producer) and Sharon Dastur (Program Director Z100, New York, NY).

Z100 late night jock, Trey Morgan serves as the show’s host alongside Carla Marie, Producer for Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.  The series is the first of its kind to give top-ranked independent artists the opportunity to hear authentic feedback from music industry heavyweights, a process that is normally done behind the scenes.

Find OurStage on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ourstage

Follow OurStage and The OurStage Panel on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ourstage & www.twitter.com/ourstagepanel

Engage with The OurStage Panel series using hash tag: #ourstagepanel.

Image Courtesy of    https://www.facebook.com/OurStage

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