Six Bands One Step Closer to Taking Stage With Motley Crue as Guitar Center On-Stage Enters Final Stretch

Six Bands One Step Closer to Taking Stage With Motley Crue as Guitar Center On-Stage Enters Final Stretch

Guitar Center, Motley Crue and Panel of Industry Judges Narrows Search For The Next Band To Make Rock History

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Guitar Center and Motley Crue announced today the six finalists for the Guitar Center On-Stage: Your Chance To Make Rock History. The final six bands were chosen from a pool of 30 semi-finalists over a period of two days as each semi- finalist performed one song live in front of a panel of industry experts at Guitar Center's legendary Sunset Boulevard location. The final six bands will continue onto the finals to perform live for Motley Crue at the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on November 10th in Hollywood.

The top six bands were chosen by influential leaders in the music industry, including President of FUSE TV, Eric Sherman; Producer and Front man of Sixx:A.M., James Michael; Music Director of Los Angeles radio station 98.7, Julie Pilat; Chris Nilsson of Tenth St. Entertainment and General Manager of Eleven Seven Music, Frank Woodworth.

Sixx:A.M. front man and producer, James Michael shares, "I was amazed by the talent I saw over the past few days. Rarely do I get to see so many great bands play one after another. The "Guitar Center On Stage" program has already proven effective in finding America's best up and coming rock bands."

The finalists who are just one step closer to being official rock stars include:

-- The Spittin' Cobras (Seattle, WA)

-- Lorene Drive (Victorville, CA)

-- The Dirty Pearls (New York, NY)

-- Waterstreet (Peoria, IL)

-- Something To Burn (Los Angeles, CA)

-- The Heroine (San Antonio, TX)

Since launching the search for the next great American rock band in August, Guitar Center and Motley Crue have had a staggering 7,930 bands register and close to 175,000 online votes cast at the program's web site -- makerockhistory.com. The site also garnered nearly one million unique visitors since its launch on August 1st.

Motley Crue's Mick Mars notes, "Our partnership with Guitar Center gives us the opportunity to help an up-and-coming band by giving them every element needed to succeed. Like Ozzy did for us when he took an unknown band called Motley Crue on the road, we too are looking for the next generation's great rock band."

Continuing its support of aspiring artists, Guitar Center and the world's most notorious rock band will provide one up-and-coming band the ultimate, career-altering opportunity -- the chance to open on tour for rock icons, Motley Crue. The winning band will also receive $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth St. Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Motley's management and record label.

"Guitar Center On-Stage is our most revolutionary program yet, and we are truly amazed with the quality of talent that will go onto perform for Motley at the finals," said Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center. "Guitar Center invests millions every year behind programs that are dedicated to helping striving artists realize their musical dreams and this initiative is literally going to make rock history."

The Guitar Center On-Stage finals, which are free to the public, will be held November 10th at the world famous Whisky A-Go-Go at 7 p.m., where each of the bands will perform live for Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Mick Mars of Motley Crue who will select the top band and winner of Guitar Center On-Stage.

Allen Kovac, CEO and Founder of Tenth Street Entertainment and Eleven Seven Music said, "From the performances that we have witnessed over the duration of this initiative, it's apparent that Guitar Center On-Stage is an innovative platform that helps find fresh and groundbreaking new artists, whom would otherwise not have a chance to tour with the likes of Motley Crue. The winning band will not only have the chance of a lifetime to open for the notorious rockers, but they will have the support of the record label, management, credibility from Guitar Center and marketing to launch them into the competitive music industry to jump start a long and successful career."

To check out the audio and videos of the final six bands or for more information about the finals at the Whisky A-Go-Go on November 10th, please go to http://www.makerockhistory.com/.

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards, and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 214 Guitar Center stores across the nation. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, http://www.musiciansfriend.com/. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at http://www.guitarcenter.com/.

The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

About Motley Crue

Having survived three decades of decadence and nearly every possible obstacle, including several brought on by themselves, Motley Crue now find themselves alive and elevated to rock royalty. The Crue have returned with the recent release of Saints of Los Angeles, their first CD with the original line-up -- Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil -- in over a decade and the ninth studio album in their career. The disc debuted at #1 on the Independent Album chart and was the top debut of the week at #4. Based on the band's New York Times bestseller, The Dirt, the revealing CD offers tremendous insight into the lives of the rebellious leaders of the "L.A.sleaze rock" movement. The single "Saints of Los Angeles" broke barriers when it was released simultaneously on Rock Band and by traditional means, selling more than five times the number of downloads via the video game as it did on iTunes in its first week of release. The band has just completed the inaugural Crue Fest, the top rock festival tour of the summer and tour stops from Japanto Mexico. They will play at the legendary Palladium in Hollywood on November 14th before beginning their U.S. arena tour at the beginning of the year. http://www.motley.com/

About Tenth Street Entertainment

Tenth Street Entertainment, the leading music management company founded by industry veteran Allen Kovac is a leader in the kind of wide-ranging marketing alliances, branding opportunities, research based promotion and online convergence that mark the future of the entertainment business. At Tenth Street Entertainment, every release is a convergence of the company's departments that oversee the music, radio, marketing, press, online media, touring, branding, international, third party licensing and strategic partnerships that inspires each artist's brand to live long lives in many areas and in unexpected places around the world. The prestigious artist management roster includes Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Debbie Harry and Blondie, Sixx:A.M., Papa Roach, Jet, Drowning Pool, Charm City Devils and Marion Raven. Tenth Street Entertainment also encompasses Eleven Seven Music, the #1 Independent active rock label (according to Mediabase and industry trade Radio & Records). The label ranks among the top five performing rock labels, controlling up to 25% of the rock charts since its inception in January 2006. http://www.10thst.com/

About Eleven Seven Music

Eleven Seven Music is the #1 Independent active rock label (according to Mediabase and industry trade Radio & Records) and is among the top five performing rock labels, controlling up to 25% of the rock charts since its inception in January 2006. With the recent #1 independent release from Motley Crue (the label scored the #2 position last year with Sixx:A.M.'s The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack and Buckcherry's Platinum and Grammy-nominated 15), Eleven Seven continues to build on its model of research-based marketing strategies targeted directly to the fans and building out from that base. Helmed by President Nikki Sixx, the label's roster includes Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Sixx:A.M., Trapt, Drowning Pool, Charm City Devils, The Exies and Marion Raven. Eleven Seven Music was founded by industry veteran and pioneer Allen Kovac, a revolutionary mind who has been at the center of some of the most creative and successful campaigns in the music business.

About Gibson Guitar

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Gibson's HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson's website at http://www.gibson.com/ or http://www.gibson.com/press.

About TuneCore

TuneCore (http://www.tunecore.com/) has changed the 100-year-old rules and model of the music business. It is a low, flat fee service that delivers anyone's music to iTunes, eMusic, Amazonmp3 and many other major download sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. Artists are building careers, selling significant volumes of music and generating revenue while keeping their rights utilizing the new model created by TuneCore. TuneCore has delivered the music of Nine Inch Nails, Keith Richards, Bjork, Jay-Z, Public Enemy and thousands of others to the digital download stores.

Source: Guitar Center

CONTACT: Alyssa Miller of 5W Public Relations, +1-212-584-4290,
amiller@5wpr.com, for Guitar Center; or Jill Siegel of Eleven Seven Music,
+1-212-334-4156, jills@10thst.com

Web site: http://www.guitarcenter.com/

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