Monday, December 21, 2009

The Last Vegas Top ITunes Rock Singles of the Year List


Below is the press release from Guitar Center in regards to The Last Vegas and their contests for musicians. I haven’t listened to The Last Vegas since seeing them open for Crue, but with all the buzz they’ve gotten this year, I think I need to check them out.

December 14, 2009 - Guitar Center, the world's largest music retailer, announced that its On-Stage winner, The Last Vegas, topped iTunes critics' 2009 "Rock Singles of the Year List" with their hit single "I'm Bad" (Eleven Seven Music). Recently, Guitar Center partnered with Mötley Crüe, the world's most notorious rock band, on its undiscovered music program Guitar Center On-Stage through which one band, The Last Vegas, received an opening slot on Mötley's Crüe's 2009 U.S. tour, $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth Street Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Mötley's Crüe's management and record label. Due in part to Guitar Center's commitment to the support of aspiring artists, the band has risen to the top of the most popular digital music store in the world's annual "best-of" list in just one year. The chart topping single can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/ImBadiTunes and its music video can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ImBadYouTube.

"We cannot thank Guitar Center enough for kick-starting our careers with its On-Stage program," said Chad Cherry, lead singer of The Last Vegas. "From the moment we won their extremely generous prize and were hand-selected by Mötley Crüe to open for them on tour, our lives have been sent into a whirlwind of rock and roll. Look at us now; we're sitting on top of the iTunes charts and it all started with Guitar Center."

The Last Vegas has been dubbed "Best Discovery" by SPIN and, since winning Guitar Center On-Stage, has built an impressive touring history throughout arenas, clubs and theaters in 2009, side-by-side with renowned acts like Buckcherry, Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and Papa Roach.

Guitar Center On-Stage is just one of many Guitar Center initiatives created to foster growth and success within the music community, including its annual King of the Blues and Drum-Off competitions, among others. Guitar Center's King of the Blues is a nationwide amateur guitar skills competition with the goal of finding the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. Drum-Off is an annual drumming competition that, now in its 21st year, has been a launching pad for many drummers, including Cora Coleman-Dunham and Tony Royster Jr, two Drum-Off winners who have gone on to become highly acclaimed professional drummers (with Prince and Jay Z respectively).

"Guitar Center prides itself on helping musicians pursue and accomplish their dreams and The Last Vegas are the perfect Cinderella story," said Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center. "The Last Vegas has gone above and beyond the achievements we had hoped for when we started the Guitar Center On-Stage program and we can't wait to see where they're headed."

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 U.S. 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, 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/.

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