At long last, we’re ready to announce the winner and runner-up of Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest!

Thanks to everyone who submitted an bankruptcy song, to everyone who voted and shared their comments and to illustrator Gideon Kendall for suggesting the cartoon announcement prize idea.

Also thanks to our sponsors for their support of the first-ever (to our knowledge) Bankruptcy Song Contest and for collectively making a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted (for which we received a nice thank you note from the NCLC’s Executive Director):

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. Demott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

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2nd Place

Congratulations also to Arlene Robins of Woodbury, NY for her wonderful submission “BANKRUPTCY WIFE’S LAMENT”. Arlene will receive a t-shirt (or other item from our fabulous catalog of BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill merchandise on Zazzle.  (Note:  Arlene is the wife of good-humored Long Island bankruptcy attorney Craig Robins, who also has an excellent song entry titled “DEBT-FREE GIRL”.)

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The Bankruptcy Song Submissions

Once again, here are the song entries for Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest:

1.  “AMEND IT MY WAY” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California)

2.  CABARET” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) (Click song title or scroll down the page to see lyrics.)

3.  “DON’T CRY FOR ME HOUSEHOLD FINANCE” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) 

4.  “DEBTS IN WRONG PLACES” by Judge Alan S. Trust (United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of New York)

5.  “‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE FILING” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

6.  “PHARAOH OBAMA – LET THE DEBTORS GO” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

7.  “THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE SONG” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

8.  “DEBT-FREE GIRL” by Craig Robins, Esq. (Woodbury, NY)

9.  “BANKRUPTCY WIFE’S LAMENT” by Arlene Robins (Woodbury, NY)

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BONUS!

And if you just can’t get enough bankruptcy music, CLICK HERE to hear “Bankruptcy Lover“ by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts.

The voting results of Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest are not yet complete, due primarily to baby-raising reasons.  So in the mean time, we thought it might be entertaining and/or a good space filler to share the “Bankruptcy Song” from an episode of The Drew Carey Show where Drew holds a party to celebrate his filing for bankruptcy.

While the song doesn’t have a lot of actual bankruptcy information in it (like, say, “Bankruptcy Lover” by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts), it is about bankruptcy and it was on a very popular mainstream sitcom.  Hence we believe it merits inclusion in the liturgy of pop culture bankruptcy songs out there.  (And yes, we realize it’s a rather small liturgy as liturgies tend to go.)

It’s time to vote for your favorite song submitted for…

Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest!
(Click here for rules and prizes.)

THE BANKRUPTCY SONG ENTRIES (click here to see lyrics):

1.  “AMEND IT MY WAY” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California)

2.  CABARET” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) (Click song title or scroll down the page to see lyrics.)

3.  “DON’T CRY FOR ME HOUSEHOLD FINANCE” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) 

4.  “DEBTS IN WRONG PLACES” by Judge Alan S. Trust (United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of New York)

5.  “‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE FILING” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

6.  “PHARAOH OBAMA – LET THE DEBTORS GO” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

7.  “THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE SONG” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))

8.  “DEBT-FREE GIRL” by Craig Robins, Esq. (Woodbury, NY)

9.  “BANKRUPTCY WIFE’S LAMENT” by Arlene Robins (Woodbury, NY)

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VOTING PROCESS

HOW DO I VOTE? E-mail bill [@] bankruptcybill [.] us with your choice for favorite song.  Feel free to include your second and third choices as well for which points will be awarded. (Update:  The email address has been corrected to “.us” instead of “.com”.  If you sent your vote to “.com,” then it was not received.  We’re very sorry for any inconvenience.)

JUDGING CRITERIA: You’re voting based on the lyrics, not the tune.  But you know what you like, so go with your gut.

VOTING DEADLINE: December 31, 2009 by 12:00 p.m.

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THANKS! Bankruptcy Bill would like to thank the below-listed parties for their support of the first-ever (to our knowledge) Bankruptcy Song Contest and for collectively making a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. Demott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

Click image to hear "Bankruptcy Lover" by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy!

And now without further ado, here are the songs submitted….

(more…)

Bankruptcy Bill

and the following blog-loving bankruptcy lawyers:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. DeMott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

are pleased and excited to announce the first-ever…..

Bankruptcy Song Contest!

1.  FIRST PRIZE: Announcement of the winning entry in a BAPCPA Man cartoon (which will include a cartoon drawing of the winner as one of the characters), plus a signed print of the cartoon.

2.  SECOND PRIZE: A BAPCPA Man t-shirt (or other item from our fabulous catalog of BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill merchandise on Zazzle)

PLUS…

3.  DONATION:  Bankruptcy Bill and each of the above-listed sponsors will collectively make a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted in this contest.*

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 5:30 pm EST

How the contest works:

1. E-mail your song(s) to bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us.  (Up to 5 submissions allowed per person or group.)  Submissions are just lyrics, by the way.  Do not send music.  (That’ll come later.)
2. Include: (1) Your name(s), (2) your law firm name (if applicable and desired), (3) city & state, (4) a short 1 or 2 sentence bio about yourself, and (5) any links or contact info.  (All of this info will appear with your song submission when it’s posted.)
3. After the deadline, all entries will be posted on the Bankruptcy Bill site and readers will be invited to vote.
4. The winning entry will be announced in a BAPCPA Man cartoon strip, and the winner will be a included as a cartoon character in the strip.
5. Stay tuned for a future contest/project where we invite people to submit recordings of the songs.

Comments:  Contest is open to anyone and everyone. Songs must be original, i.e., written by the person(s) submitting.  However, it doesn’t have to be new.  It’s fine if you already wrote it 3 years ago while sitting through a deathly boring CLE presentation.  Songs can be about anything and in any style, as long as they tie in to bankruptcy somehow. You’re more than welcome to indicate if the lyrics are intended for a particular tune or style of music, though it’s not necessary.

Intellectual Property: By sending us your submission, you’re of course giving us permission to post the song lyrics on the Bankruptcy Bill site.  But don’t worry.  Other than that, you keep all the intellectual property rights in the song.

*Contest Modifications: Since this is the first time we’ve tried something like this, we reserve the right to modify the rules or adapt appropriately using logic and common sense if there’s something we overlooked or that needs to be addressed.  Also, if we receive some unexpectedly large number of submissions, we’re not going to bankrupt the sponsors/donors or overly tax their coffers.  We’ll just cap it at some appropriate amount, probably work a reference into cartoon somewhere and just go with that groovy BAPCPA flow.

Why are we doing this? Because it’s fun and educational.  The goal is to draw on the latent creativity out there in the bankruptcy world, come up with some good (or at least half-decent) songs, build on the liturgy of bankruptcy pop culture and have a good time with all of this along the way.

Questions? E-mail bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us

Inspiration: Have a listen to Bankruptcy Lover, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy.  Click here for the lyrics.  (For the record, Bankruptcy Lover is not eligible for this contest.)

Additional Inspiration (11.15.09): Check out this post by bankruptcy lawyer Craig Robins on his Long Island Bankruptcy Blog which includes an already existing bankruptcy song by Michael Silverstein of Bloomberg Financial Press on his website www.wallstreetpoet.com.

Ladies and gentlemen, debtors and creditors, we are pleased to share the debut single by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts….

“Bankruptcy Lover“

http://bankruptcybill.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bankruptcylovermp3.mp3

(Click either the link above or the image below to listen.)

Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts groupies can get their…

• Posters here: http://www.zazzle.com/poster_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-228608539647711199
• Mugs here: http://www.zazzle.com/mug_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-168135713990751518
• Hats here: http://www.zazzle.com/hat_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-148439025032658748
  

Click here for the lyrics and explanatory notes as well as a note on copyright and use restrictions. (more…)

The Deal’s Bankruptcy Insider has a feature this week (subscription required) in the Letter from Delaware section on the Indubitable Equivalents, a band comprised of bankruptcy professionals that has been rocking the bankruptcy conference circuit.

According to their web page on the ABI site, the “Indubies” (as they call themselves) are:

• Andy Caine (Alto Sax)
• Jack Esher (Bass/Acoustic Guitar/Vocals)
• Steven Golick (Organ, Wind Controller)
• John Good (Trombone/Bass/Percussion)
• Dillon Jackson (Pedal Steel/Autoharp)
• George Kelakos (Lead Guitar)
• Jordan Kroop (Organ/Piano/Lead Vocals/Harmonica)
• Steven Rhodes (Rhythm Guitar)
• Michael Richman (Piano/Vocals)
• Mitch Ryan (Lead Vocals)
• Tom Salerno (Drums/Vocals)

Click here for audio samples, here for t-shirts and here for photos.

No word yet on rumors that they plan to team up with Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts for a summer stadium tour.

Just wanted to let everyone know that soon we’ll be releasing a recording of “Bankruptcy Lover,” the debut single by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts.  (If you’ve never heard of the group, then you’re clearly not hanging out in the right venues.)

Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts groupies can get their…

• Posters here: http://www.zazzle.com/poster_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-228608539647711199
• Mugs here: http://www.zazzle.com/mug_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-168135713990751518
• Hats here: http://www.zazzle.com/hat_bankruptcy_bill_the_fresh_starts-148439025032658748
  

Interested in advertising/sponsoring?

We’ll be releasing the song regardless of whether there’s a sponsor, but if anyone is interested in a sponsorship/advertising arrangement, contact us at bankruptcybill /at/ zoho /dot/ com and, assuming it’s a legitimate inquiry, we’ll be happy to share the lyrics and a sampling of the recording with you in advance.

FYI, sponsorship could mean:

• Placing an ad on this site, or
• Releasing the song on your site, or
• Even working the sponsor into the recording (if you want us to get extra creative), or
• Anything else you might want to do.  We’re open-minded and flexible.