Music and Democracy

Some things you should know this fine week ...

· Spring Club CrawlTM is Saturday, April 21. You can find all the pertinent details in the 12-page supplement in the middle of this newspaper. This Saturday offers a fantastic chance to listen to and support live music. Check it out!

· Speaking of local music ... inside the aforementioned Club CrawlTM supplement, you'll find our Tucson Area Music Awards (TAMMIES) ballot. (We don't currently offer online TAMMIES balloting for a number of reasons, so you'll have to use the paper one; sorry.) Music enthusiasts: Please vote for the best our music community has to offer, and send those ballots in ASAP; make sure we get them no later than Wednesday, May 23.

· To those of you who submit a Best of TucsonTM and/or a TAMMIES ballot without either an e-mail address or a phone number: Guess what? Your ballot is going to be deleted. We give each submitted ballot--both print and online--at least a passing glance, and if there's not what appears to be a valid phone number OR a valid e-mail address listed, the ballot's thrown out. Why? If we can't verify that a ballot is legitimate, we're not going to count it. We're making an effort to verify more of these ballots, too, so don't be surprised if you get a call or an e-mail.

· And to anybody who even THINKS of ballot stuffing in the TAMMIES or Best of TucsonTM polls: Don't do it. Ballot stuffers suck.