A North Texas Battle of the Bands will give up-and-coming local high school musicians a chance to make it big. The contest is open to young bands whose members are younger than 20, with at least 50 percent of the members attending high school full time. The bands must include three members, but no more than eight. To enter, bands submit MP3 recordings at www.dentonrc.com between Feb. 5 and 19. The contest is sponsored by the Denton Record-Chronicle, Lone Star Attitude, Inc., the Texas Music Project and University of North Texas (UNT). The winning band will receive a day-long professional recording session aboard the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile recording studio. There is no charge for the contest entry. After the Feb. 19 deadline for entries, six finalist bands will be chosen to perform in the North Texas Battle of the Bands concert on Feb. 29 at UNT'™s Murchison Performing Arts Center. Five of the finalist bands will be chosen by judges, with one finalist being determined by popular vote through the Denton Record-Chronicle website. Tickets for the North Texas Battle of the Bands concert will be $10 per person. Net proceeds from the contest will benefit music education.

The North Texas Battle of the Bands is a competition and fundraiser rolled into one,� said Michael Clay, executive director and co-founder of Texas Music Project. It will give high school-age musicians an opportunity to win great prizes, meet new friends and learn about the business of music with the amazing technology available today. Texas Music Project is thrilled to partner with these like-minded organizations that understand the importance of music education for this event.�

The winning band will receive a prize package including a day-long audio and music video recording session in the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, which will be in Denton Feb. 26 through March 1. The band also receives entry into the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with a grand prize of $20,000. The winning band will compete in the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus National Battle of the Bands with a chance to win a spot performing on its local Warped Tour stage. Each winning band member also receives an Apple iPod Shuffle. Voting for favorite bands is accessed at www.dentonrc.com. Tickets for the North Texas Battle of the Bands concert are available through the Murchison Performing Arts Center box office at 940/369-7802 or www.thempac.com.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit mobile recording studio outfitted with traditional instruments and advanced technological recording equipment. It allows students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce music videos. More information on the bus is available at www.lennonbus.org.

Lone Star Attitude, Inc., is a Denton-based entertainment production company focusing on all the unique aspects of Texas, ranging from music and food to culture. Lone Star Attitude will open its first store at D/FW Airport in late February. The Texas Music Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to music education in public schools. More information on the organization is available at www.texasmusicproject.org.

Contact: Texas Music Project Michael Clay bands@texasmusicproject.org

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