By chance, today marks the official unofficial CD release party of our new album A Band In Hope! It has leaked. The tiger is out of the ziplock.
How may you make payment to the musicians who created it? Glad you wondered.
When you download or rip the album, do something nice for a stranger. Give a dollar to one.org. Jumpstart a car. Give a rose to an old woman eating alone. Leave an open ended love letter in someone’s shoe at the gym. But actually, those examples are not as great as the ones you will come up with! Take a video of it on your camera or cameraphone or if you don’t have that, take a photo, or draw a picture, and send it to us (or yousendit.com it if it’s a big file) to us at abandinhopepayment@gmail.com
Of course, when March 18th rolls around, it’s still hugely helpful to us if you buy the record. Yet we only ask that you purchase it if you love it and/or want to/ have the means to support us.
Eagerly awaiting brilliant directorial debuts of good karma stirring.

Shawn Harris
the Matches
How may you make payment to the musicians who created it? Glad you wondered.
When you download or rip the album, do something nice for a stranger. Give a dollar to one.org. Jumpstart a car. Give a rose to an old woman eating alone. Leave an open ended love letter in someone’s shoe at the gym. But actually, those examples are not as great as the ones you will come up with! Take a video of it on your camera or cameraphone or if you don’t have that, take a photo, or draw a picture, and send it to us (or yousendit.com it if it’s a big file) to us at abandinhopepayment@gmail.com
Of course, when March 18th rolls around, it’s still hugely helpful to us if you buy the record. Yet we only ask that you purchase it if you love it and/or want to/ have the means to support us.
Eagerly awaiting brilliant directorial debuts of good karma stirring.

Shawn Harris
the Matches
81 Comments :
Sounds like a fun idea!
What else can I say other than I hope the rest of your fans are ready for this album. If they expect you to stay 18 forever than they are in for a sad suprise.
hey, do you guys have any plans for the morning/afternoon on April 5th?
plus...looking forward to this.
it is quite amazing
from now on when i'm super nice to people, i'll tell them to thank you
freakin' leak.
hmmm
i don't think I'll download it, but i will do something nice :)
you'll see.
ps.yaymeforgettingajobtoday!
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I guess release dates don't really stand a chance anymore. Here's hoping it encourages many, many acts of goodwill.
Well, I'm not going to download it. I find albums much more satisfying when bought at an actual store. I like taking a cd home, prying off the security stickers, and finally popping it in my stereo and soaking it all in. It's even better with a lyric book in hand. Nothing beats that.
I can't wait for March 18th! Well, actually, I can. And that's why I'm not downloading it. :]
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Oh, also...I will obviously be purchasing the album on March 18th. I'll drive to my local cd retailer at 6 A.M. to do it.
All right, I'm finished.
I've downloaded it, and there are a few songs that defiantly stand out to me that I'm absolutely in love with.
If I was going to OKLAHOMA tomorrow I would pay you guys the $15 right there and maybe some baked goods, but I couldn't afford those purple pants, and I can't afford a trip to the south.
Now how to regain my karma...
I solemnly swear to spread hope and delicious karma in massive quantities wherever I go this week.
Oh, and of course camp out at the local record place on the morning of the 18th with cash and caffeine firmly in hand.
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I've been listening to it on repeat all night. I was debating whether to download it or not, and I gave in.
I honestly wasn't too sure at first. I knew I liked it, but it was almost a 'this is different' feeling.
I'm not sucking up.
I'm not just saying this.
I love. this. cd. I can't stop listening to it. It's still on repeat.
Thank you so much for this.
I'm still pre-ordering the album and buying it the day it comes out.
It's beautiful, man. Congratulations. I'm not even sure if that's the right word.
I'm still trying to rake up enough money to fly my broke ass out to seattle for the AP tour (and to see some friends).
I hope to see you there.
Best part is, it's still growing on me.
How you manage to put out a completely different cd every time and make each one incredible, I do not know.
Alright, this is slightly sucky, but it was called for. It's not even because of the name on it. It's just....incredible.
Ideas are brewing.
-Allyson
(it signed me off, i can't sign on)
If I can I will download the album only because I am so impatient to hear the bounty of wonderful new songs!!! Make no mistake when the cd is released I will buy it :) I always like to have the actual cd in my hands.
I tried holding off at least a good 8 hours until I spammed your comments again, but it just couldn't wait.
From 24C is a particularly eerie, yet deep song. With lines like, "I'm a liar too, that's why I think I understand you," and, "Like Adam we are flawed, in the image of our God(s?), of our fathers, who never bothered to consider they were not the only ones," I have to praise you for them.
The whole vibe of this song is chilling. I totally love it.
Now it's a test of morals and curiosity.
^From 24C is my favorite song on the CD as of right now.
It's great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWVh56CkFXg
Well OBVIOUSLY everyone HAS to buy the album for the ARTWORK.
Obviously.
colin, you're mad. Slater is on screen for the word "curls". So bad it's good. Or the other way around?
Recognition for his valient efforts!
will there hopefully be a nifty cd release show? maybe with a sexy ABIH poster to go along side this Decomposer one? Maybe a lighter (color and content) themed one to properly juxtapose the two posters as the albums do each other?
-B.S.
ps, make a trade, you bring the posters, ill bring the cereal box. i miss tradition.
Every now and then you hear something like this, and it makes your shitty day so much better. Keep up the good work. You make me proud.
but where is this leak?
still not letting me sign in.
second day impressions- i may have to let this sit with me for a while. songs are grabbing me one by one. Just as powerfully as decomposer, but in a sort of different way.
and HAHAHA.
that does sound like fun but im not going to download it...and not because im one of those elite weirdos that are all like "save the music industry"...more like when i buy the album on march 18 i want to be surprised and not know all of the words already...i already feel like i know too much...i havent listened to point me towards the morning for the same reason...i dont know. when i get a cd that ive been waiting for for a long time i usually make an afternoon of it (lol im a loser and have WAY too much time on my hands) i usually listen to it once, then again with the little booklet and lyrics and then again while doing homework or something...downloading would ruin my fun
but i will probably do something nice too...because i like filming things
I'm going to wait to buy it,delayed satisfaction and all that shit,but i think i'll send you something anyway.
I'll see you in april :)
I'm definitely going to buy the CD. I don't do that whole downloadnig thing. The music quality just isn't the same.... Anyways, I think that more people would buy your guys' CD if you, like, put golden tickets in them or free candy bars or something. It would totally work.
I plan on waiting until the CD comes out to listen to it, by the way.
When I do listen to CDs before they come out, I feel like a horrible person and the excitement of listening to the CD on the day it's supposed to come out is gone.
Yeah, but that's just me.
perfect. love the idea i will be sure to send in some pics. <3 am counting down the days till the new cd!!!
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so shawn, my friends and i have done the math. after four years of trailing your ass and choking on your van's gas up and down the east coast, we discovered that collectively, we've spent nearly 1,800 dollars. so i caved and downloaded the CD, and this way i can hold off and buy it at your show, rather than having to enter some florescent FYE and, while repeating the alphabet over and over in my head to make sure i don't pass M section, curse the gods when i discover "a band in hope" isn't there, but i am also in the R&B section. honestly, they should have a valet of sorts at record stores.
uh oh...there goes my plan to wait until march 18th to listen to this in its entirety.
aha this post is quite goofy!
Obivously i will be buying a copy the second it comes out (maybe even two copies). But i cannot wait any longer.
Where is this leak? Where do i download it from?
All I can say is this:
Your ability to take a disadvantageous situation and morph its potentially foul consequence into an amazingly positive idea is praiseworthy.
I've already pre-ordered the CD, and I'm too lazy to look for a leak. So yeah.
Damnit, I was trying to be nice to people today, but I failed miserably. There's just something about my friend Robin ("Batman's feminine sidekick with incredibly sexy hotpants" - his standard description of himself) that makes me vicious. I can't help but to bully him. Just a little. So, I'll try to be nicer tomorrow... I won't see him tomorrow, so I'm all good.
can my good deed be taking you guys out when you come to vegas in march? I didn't get to make it last week because I got sick the day of the show ON THE WAY up there and had to turn around and come back at the hoover dam. The biggest bummer EVER.
please put this out on vinyl. Then the leak can just serve as my means to listening to it away from a turntable.
Well, I happened across it. I'll try and take your challenge to heart and see what I can do...
I just downloaded it, and I still plan on buying it when it comes out. Just like I'll continue to see them live, trying to never miss a show in NY (unless I'm out of town), and buy their merch, and preach to all my friends how wonderful they are.
hmmm. you have given me many ideas!i shall save the world! (and get it all on tape...hehe!)
Are you serious? that's bogus. I am going to wait until March 18th. Although there is temptation but I will contain myself. I am going to buy it on March 18th.
"Steve said...
please put this out on vinyl. Then the leak can just serve as my means to listening to it away from a turntable."
Oh, I would KILL for this on vinyl.
i'll get on that niceness thing not that i don't already fully believe in karma. I think the way you're handling this is amazing. so many other artist out there would have cried about it on mtv but you've realized that that doesn't get you anywhere so you might as well make the best of it! thankyou for being a great human being!
I'll be patient and wait to buy it :D
Any chance you guys are coming back to New York City after the AP tour? I couldn't get tickets in time, and I have been DYING to see you guys!
you make me smile.
i will definitely do something nice...along with buying my own copy of the album on march 18th. in fact, i have the date circled on my calender already :-D
I'll wait until it's officially released
I'm slightly tempted, but I've already waited this long. I think I can hold out another month. Well maybe not... I'm too lazy to look for a download anyway. I hope to see you guys soon, even though I can't make it to any of the shows in my area since it is the closing weekend of the show I'm in. *tear*
Yes, well, things are cutting close. If I fall upon the songs, I'll listen, because I'm too big of a fan to torture myself by closing the screen if I find a leak. But, like Louie said, I'm too lazy to go searching the endless computernet.
I'm gonna be at Best Buy when it opens on March 18th (which happens to be the same day as the Tucson show), I'll race/ walk briskly through the rediculously small aisles to the "M" section and pick up my copy of A Band In Hope. Then I'll take a copy and put it on the "employee's favorites" section, hoping that there are other people like me who take the employees reccomendations and will also buy the CDs, becoming lifelong fans and eventually getting a crow tattoo'd on the arm of their infant child whom they've named Justin.
Or something like that...
-D
Alright, my second comment..
I feel guilty but..
damn this record is a masterpiece..
It would have been far too difficult to wait..
I'll do as many random acts of kindness to even TRY to add up to the sufficient amount this record deserves.
and of course, on March 18th i will be buying a copy for not only myself but whomever else i think will benefit from having heard it.
well done.
Thank you for writing it.
It made my whole month fantastic.
if yall were wondering...my good deeds were uploaded to youtube
quite lame but i make up for it in good music (in my opinion)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHqVsboVArc
Is 24C about Alicia?
Is it bad that I didn't even illegally download it myself? A friend and fellow crazy Matches fan sent it to me.
But why wouldn't we buy the album? There's all that lovely art to look forward to, as well as supporting the boys we love so dearly.
I will buy the cd, of course, but I do like the ideas of helping others, so I will do that too. It sounds like fun!
I hate when albums get leaked though. I will wait until March 18 to listen to ABIH, however hard that may be.
Uhm, I kind of want to hear it.
but I'd rather wait for the offical release.
Where I can marvel at your genius.
My ears are still ringing from your show. You guys were Awesome. Hope Okie-homa didn't suck too much for you. I enjoyed seeing you guys.
I'm still a little sad I couldn't stick around to meet Matt and Justin.
You're probably still at the club right now, though.
Hmm.
The new album is utterly wonderful as time progresses you guys just keep getting better and better. I am now getting even more excited for the official album comes out on the 18th though to get the full effect. I am counting down the days until you guys come to PA in April, its going to be the best birthday ever!
Anyways now that I downloaded the album I'll make sure to do some good deeds for people. Maybe help some old people or being nice to my worst enemies for a day haha that will fun haha. But yeah I am still going to be faithful and buy the album thoughg when it comes out in stores.
Shawn, I'm glad you are ok with the leak. I'll definitely be buying the cd when it comes out! And of course, I'll be spreading the karma. Loads of it :)
im so excited that i got the new album man, but dont worry im still gonna go buy it
having the files doesnt replace having the tangible object in your hand
its just getting me a head start to listening and then ill go buy it just cause i love you guys
I feel really guilty, but I downloaded it. I couldn't wait any longer. Every song is amazing. I can't stop listening to it. I'm definitely going to buy the album on March 18th and I can't wait to see you guys in April!
So, I was at work, doing a project today using Excel. Who wants to do work though, right? Certainly not me. Procrastination is my friend. Instead I made this chart, rating my feelings on the new cd.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/aseezy220/cd.jpg
shawn-
i'm sure most of us here will want to purchase the album. are you guys doing any kind of pre-order??
thanks
Amarillo really was great. I really admire the way you're handling this.
It's too bad the AP tour doesn't hit ABQ, but we'll see if we make it to Tucson or Tempe.
Sometimes the best things in life are free, and other times they're well worth the wait (and a few bucks). For me you guys are the later, but for anyone wrestling with his or her conscience or uncertainty as to how to embark on your Haley Joel-Osment payment quest, I suggest heading over to http://www.chfinternational.org/section/darfurstoves
12,000 Darfur refugees crossed over into Chad over the weekend (making a total of 300,000, now being kicked back out), and donating a stove is a way to make an actual change, if tiny. Admittedly a shameless plug, but I think it relates.
And, um, buy the CD.
I had a feeling something was up when last.fm was suddenly flooded with new matches plays. I'd download it but my computer is already on the verge of crashing and I'd rather pay for a cd than a new laptop.
Either way, mp3s are lower quality and they destroy the listening experience. Oh, and you guys should release the album on vinyl too.
I'm not going to use the excuse of not having the album downloaded to not do this.
Heeeeeerrrreeeeeee weeeeeee goooooooo!
I think that I am going to wait until the album is officially out to BUY it. I always tell everyone I support the bands I like and if that means buying their album when it comes out by gosh I will buy that album! =) and in the mean time I will continue to keep 'my good deed of the day' streak alive...
oh one more thing...you guys should do a pre-order thing. that would be awesome (since I have the money now and probably won't then)
www.hungersite.com
it's free and it'll help.
just click once a day.
I wonder how long it will take for all the "fans" that download stuff illegally to understand that they are killing the music scene. I am not talking about the industry - thats something most people dont understand.
However, if a band does not get a dime for their album - how are they supposed to record a follow-up?
Even if they are not entering a "professional" recording studio - the do-it-at-home software does cost money as well. A producer will charge them as well.
So in the end less and less bands wil get the chance to put out musical art at all.
Maybe the downloaders will switch to porn or recipes then.
I strongly support the music scene and encourage every single music fan and interested person to think about it, before downloading unauthorized copies.
Its neither cool, nor friendly - it is just plain stupid and short sighted in terms of future music and band developments.
I hope for the Matches, that their album will do well nonetheless.
All the best,
Robert
Rock Kitchen Catering - International Tourcatering
I will be purchasing multiple copies of this CD the morning it comes out, let me tell you that right now. LOVE! it's amazinggggg.
I must say also, many props to you guys for being so awesome about this. You totally rose many notches on the awesome scale for being so cool about it.
For the record; The 6th comment down (AhoyArielle's) she downloaded it. Yes, she did! And so did I, I'm not ashamed, I am not above that.
But we're going to do nice things this weekend, we've got a plan.
This album sounds great!
I'm sending $10 to Oxfam America right now.
I encourage everyone to do the same, beccause they do awesome work here in the US and around the world: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/donate
Come play in Rhode Island soon!
I didn't download the album, nor will I.
I have to admit though, you made me think a lot. Instead of complaining about a leak, you're making the best out of it and in return want your fans to put a smile on a stranger's face, on anybody's. Today I realized I want to be a better person, and this will be the start of it.
Thank you for that. Hope IS March 18.
I feel proud of myself for my bubble-blowing endeavors. Of course, that was something like two days before I read this post. May I have kudos anyways?
Well I had no idea the album leaked until just now and would have no idea where to get it. I pre ordered it and like the growing anticipation. I however will do a good deed in your honor shawn.
Well I had no idea the album leaked until just now and would have no idea where to get it. I pre ordered it and like the growing anticipation. I however will do a good deed in your honor shawn.
Well, considering I use a heavily monitored college connection, I won't be getting the leak. Even if I were at home, I don't think I'd download it either.
There's enough crappy quality YouTube vids to tease me into wanting to wait for the new album. Haven't heard one I completely dislike yet. I'm not saying this CD will be the most amazing thing ever, but it will without a shadow of a doubt be original, creative, and musically entertaining.
You guys seem to be well-rooted in who you are, have the courage to go in new directions, and be confident enough in yourselves to make the most of whatever musical direction you do go in.
Thank you for your music, and I'm looking forward to hear the real deal on the 18th.
Additionally, thanks for motivating me to do a good deed. I anonymously donated money to who a friend for a charity event that I wouldn't have normally donated to.
It's not so much that people lack motivation or willingness to do good things, they just need more reminders for doing so. Thank you for being tha