'Calling All Bands' Finalists Announced

'Calling All Bands' Finalists Announced

One of Five Finalists Will be the First Band to Launch Its Career on V CAST Music

BEDMINSTER, N.J., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and MySpace today announced just five finalists from more than 4,000 entries in the "Calling All Bands" contest. The Arrival, Unset, Berto Ramon, Aroarah and Parlour Boys are now one step closer to becoming the first unsigned band to launch its career on V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless, the nation's most comprehensive mobile music service. The initial bands were winnowed down to 15 semifinalists; votes from MySpace.com community members selected the five finalists. The lucky winning band will have the opportunity to have its song, music video, ring tone and ring back tone released on Verizon Wireless -- the nation's leading wireless provider with 51.3 million customers.

Finalists in the "Calling All Bands" contest include:

* The Arrival -- Hailing from Madison, AL, The Arrival speaks volumes of
truth through the unwonted exercise of blending. Dynamic energy is
interwoven with poppy harmony to deliver unyielding tracks, heavy with
sound and heavy with emotion: http://www.myspace.com/thearrival

* Unset -- Unset is from San Diego, CA and their goal is to create songs
that are snapshots of moments in time. Unset describes their music as
dramatic, edgy, dark and beautiful: http://www.myspace.com/unset

* Berto Ramon -- Berto Ramon aims to make an impact on their community
through the culture that surrounds them, hip hop. The ten piece live
band from Chicago, IL, consists of everything from Latin jazz
percussion to soulful guitar licks and melodic violin strings laying
the foundation for powerful conscious lyrics spit in order to challenge
the listener and give a voice to those who are often muted:
http://www.myspace.com/bertoramon

* Aroarah -- Aroarah is a four piece band based out of the heart of
Orangevale, California. These girls have been together for four years
and have played numerous places all up and down the west coast. After
starting the band while they were in high school, the girls progressed
with age and by the time of graduation, all four made the move to Los
Angeles. Now living back home in Sacramento, the girls are busy
writing new tunes, living in music and traveling more so than ever:
http://www.myspace.com/aroarah

* Parlour Boys -- Formed in 2005, Parlour Boys hail from Lexington, KY.
In a short time, they have garnered significant media attention and a
large following of dedicated fans:
http://www.myspace.com/parlourboysmusic

The music content team at Verizon Wireless, which secures music for the new V CAST Music service, ring tones and ring back tones and the MySpace music editors will evaluate submissions from the five finalists and determine the winner of the "Calling All Bands" contest. The winner will be announced on March 29.

Winner's Package

Verizon Wireless will release the "Calling All Bands" winner's song on V CAST Music -- marking the first time an unsigned band will release its first single on a wireless phone. The winner will also collaborate with a MySpace independent filmmaker and Verizon Wireless to produce a music video that will be released on V CAST, plus a ring tone and ring back tone of the winning song that will be available for purchase by Verizon Wireless customers. MySpace helped Verizon Wireless introduce up and coming bands to the mobile world, further extending the music experience on customers' communication devices they use most every day -- their wireless phones.

V CAST Music

V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless lets customers play music on their wireless phones from well-known and independent artists -- the same device they have come to rely upon for entertainment, information and mobile communication. The V CAST Music store lets customers browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from their phones or in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music online store. V CAST Music songs cost $0.99 if purchased from the PC or $1.99 if purchased and downloaded over the air onto a V CAST Music phone.

With more than 500,000 songs in its catalogue, V CAST Music runs on Verizon Wireless' broadband network, the most robust, award-winning wireless broadband network in the nation, available from coast to coast. Customers need a V CAST-enabled phone and a subscription to a V CAST VPak, which is $15.00 monthly access, added to their Verizon Wireless calling plan to access V CAST Music and music videos on their phones. Customers interested in managing their music from their PCs in the V CAST Music Online Store can do so without a V CAST VPak.

V CAST Music is available through Verizon Wireless' 2,000 Communications Stores and Circuit City locations and online at http://www.verizonwireless.com/. For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/music.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com/. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Jeffrey Nelson of Verizon Wireless, +1-908-306-4824,
Jeffrey.Nelson@VerizonWireless.com

Web site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
http://www.verizonwireless.com/music
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia
http://www.myspace.com/thearrival
http://www.myspace.com/unset
http://www.myspace.com/bertoramon
http://www.myspace.com/aroarah
http://www.myspace.com/parlourboysmusic

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