One Week Remains for Signups in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 10 Competition

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA (May 08, 2006) - After ten whole years, it’s apparent: the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands is getting better with age. Already, nearly 11,000 bands have entered this year’s competition, and with a week to go before signups close on May 15 at 5pm PST, there’s still plenty of time for last-minute hopefuls to upload their music and round up their fans for their shot at earning one of over 200 spots on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour—and potentially winning a whole lot more!

This year, in addition to vying for a place on their hometown Warped Tour schedule and competing for thousands of dollars in rock and roll prizes through the online competition, Battle of the Bands 10 participants are also in the running to showcase their band at the Vans Warped Tour Afterparty in Hollywood and to secure a spot at the final Battle of the Bands showcase, which will be held at a high-profile New York City club. Bands will also get the chance to be one of 20 tracks on the Battle of the Bands 10 compilation CD that will be globally distributed by Warcon Records.

            “We are hearing some fantastic music from all the bands that have entered this far, and with one week left, I bet we’ll be hearing a lot more!” said Brian Ball of the Ernie Ball Company.  “Our judges have some tough decisions on their hands, and I’m confident that the Ernie Ball stage will be packed with talent this summer.”

Last year’s competition, which also attracted over 10,000 applicants, resulted in record deals for seven Battle bands, including Hit The Lights, The Fully Down, Four Letter Lie, The Classic Crime, Love Equals Death, The Panic Division and The Bleeding Alarm, and the company is hopeful that this year’s Battle will bring similar success.

            Bands that make it to the Ernie Ball stage will be playing alongside the likes of The Smashup, Cartel, Gym Class Heroes, The Felix Culpa, We Are the Fury, Monty, Adair, Rock Hard Power Spray, Catch 22, Dropping Daylight, Glass Intrepid, The Panic Division, Throwdown, A Change of Pace, Your Name In Lights, My American Heart, Love Equals Death, Nural, Mute Math, Heavy Heavy Low Low, So They Say, He Is Legend, The Fall of Troy and Meter Maid. Bands will perform on select dates, with a full schedule available at http://www.battleofthebands.com/bb10/perform.php.

To take part in this year’s Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition, bands must upload photos, a band biography, and two MP3 audio files to the Battle of the Bands 10 site by May 15. For more details on sign-ups, please visit the Battle of the Bands 10 website at http://www.battleofthebands.com/bb10/signup.php.

Since its debut ten years ago, the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands has given the best local bands from North America the opportunity to showcase their talents in the world’s longest running and largest live music promotion in the music industry.

The Vans Warped Tour, the most prominent live music festival in North America, will hit 50 major venues in the United States and Canada and will feature, among others, Rise Against, NOFX, From First To Last, The Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake, and Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 9 participant hellogoodbye. Additionally, four Battle 10 bands per Warped Tour stop will be showcased on the Ernie Ball Local Heroes Stage.

Ernie Ball was the first to offer rock strings with the creation of Slinkys, and further revolutionized the market by offering guitarists Custom-Gauge single strings. The Ernie Ball Company also produces Music Man guitars and basses, volume pedals, and other accessories. The company's strings and accessories are available in more than 6,000 music stores throughout the U.S. The company also exports to 82 countries. For more information, contact the Ernie Ball company at (800) 543-2255, or visit their website at www.ernieball.com.

These products are Ernie Ball trademarks registered in the USA and many foreign countries:

ERNIE BALL®     CUSTOM GAUGE®     SLINKY®     EARTHWOOD®
MUSICMAN®
STINGRAY®     SILHOUETTE®     AXIS®
STERLING®     4+2®     3+1®

Trademark ownership is indicated by the symbol ®, however, for the sake of brevity it is omitted during the story.

Contact:
Brian Ball
Ernie Ball, Inc.
(800) 543-2255

Media Contact:
Keith Negrin
MORSEKODE
(952) 853-9555