See that several of these are from Azed, so you should try some lateral thinking.
8 is a a kind of tent plus the letter A for American and is a city in Kansas.
11 almost solicit is a another word for solicit cut short (minus one letter) plus the first letters of the words rudimentary organisms (the answer is 2,5)
12 is an anagram of sir-rum-he
13 is a three letter word for listener inside a four letter word for card (a not very common word since this is Azed).
If you haven't already got it, Bradfords is a big help for these
puzzles (see other questions are from the Guardian) and Chambers is a must for Azed. Good luck.