"Big in Japan," Tacos, and a Chance to Win a Terrific New CD

So it seems Thursday night was a big night for music among the mental_floss staff. The NYC staff partied at the well-publicized New Amsterdam Records blowout in Brooklyn. For the Birmingham flossers, our event was much less publicized, but no less fun. We got to wine and dine (ok, beer and tacos) one of our favorite magazine contributors *and* meet a famous musician as a bonus. Frequent contributor Bill DeMain was in town to perform an acoustic set with singer-songwriter David Mead at the coffee shop conveniently located across the street from our office. Bill and David have been collaborating on two new albums, one of which, Almost and Always can be yours if you read on. We got the lowdown on the new album, what it's like to *actually* be "big in Japan," and their upcoming album of kids' songs that should be out later this year.

At the coffee shop, Bill and David put on a heartfelt show for entirely too small a crowd. They debuted a few songs from "Almost and Always" (amazing) and played a few older songs of David's that are personal favorites of mine. It hurts to part with this new CD, but we've got to share the love somehow. So if you're a fan of Bill's work for mental_floss, don't miss this album. You can hear his sweetly emotional lyrics sung in David's honeyed Nashville twang -- the perfect album for the long summer nights coming just around the corner.

To win, you ask? First person to leave the title of Bill's debut column for mental_floss in the comments wins the CD. Hint, it was one of the 2008 issues. Don't win it today? Check it out at davidmead.com.