Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands Online Voting Ends September 1

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA (August 8, 2006) - Online voting for the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands is heating up, but the clock is ticking down, as there?s less than one month to cast ballots - online voting officially ends on September 1. Every band profile is online at www.battleofthebands.com. Since voting began on June 15 thousands and thousands fans have caste a vote for their favorite bands out of the 11,500 unsigned bands who entered the Battle. It?s NOW time to get out and rock the vote!

    The top four bands from the online competition will each win $25,000 in rock-n-roll gear from Battle sponsors, including Auralex, BOSS, Coffin Case, DW, Electro-Voice, Guitar Center, Krank Amplification, Mark Bass, M-Audio, Modern Amusement, OLP, PureVolume, Remo, Taylor Guitars, TC Electronics, Vans Warped Tour and Zildjian.

    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.

    Beginning June 15 The Vans Warped Tour, the most prominent live music festival in North America, headed into its 12th year with a lineup of more than 85 bands on six stages including Saves the Day, From First To Last, Rise Against, NOFX, Thursday, Hellogoodbye and more.

    The Ernie Ball Company was the first to offer rock strings with the creation of Slinkys, and further revolutionized the market by offering guitarists Custom-Gauge single strings. Ernie Ball also produces Music Man guitars and basses, volume pedals and accessories. For more information on the Battle, contact battle@ernieball.com. Editors may contact On the Horizon Communications at (805) 773-1000 or claudia@thepressroom.com.

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