LOS ANGELES (FUSE/Zippo/ www.clspublicity.com/ www.zippohottour.com) -
Music is in the air all across the nation, rock 'n' roll music that is. Zippo announces the eight bands advancing to the four-week finals round launching December 1.
The finalists, who emerged with the most votes from their fans during the 2004 ZIPPO HOT TOUR, are: ELEMENT (Austin, TX), Ben Park Drive (Denver, CO), LAST (Detroit, MI), Murge (Minneapolis, MN), Adam Evil & The Outside Royalty (Pittsburgh, PA), Downfall (Raleigh-Durham, NC) 3against1 (San Diego, CA) and Trendkill (W. Palm Beach, FL).
Fans nationwide can visit www.zippohottour.com to sample music from the eight bands and cast their votes online to decide which band amongst the finalists will be crowned "The Hottest Unsigned Rock Band in America."
The band receiving the most votes in the finals round will be flown to New York City to showcase their talent to Island Records executives, and will a full equipment package from tour partners Tama Drums, Washburn Guitar and Randall Amps, amongst other hot prizes.
Additionally, HDNet, providing up to 20 hours of original features per week, produced in the highest quality 1080i HDTV format, will broadcast the Zippo Hot Tour Concert Series, featuring select bands from the 62 semi-finalists, which debuts in Spring 2005.
"We at the Zippo Manufacturing Company congratulate all of the finalists," said Mark Paup, Director of Global Marketing. "Zippo lighters have been synonymous with the concert scene for decades and we felt this tour was the perfect match for us to support the local music scene and bands that may otherwise have limited possibilities to reach record labels."
More than 1,200 bands originally signed up for the ZIPPO HOT TOUR for a chance to showcase their talent with only 62 advancing to the semi-finals round in October.
"We're so excited and grateful that our fans stuck with us throughout the last few months," says Brian David, lead singer for Murge in Minneapolis, MN. "Because without them, none of us would be here!"
"With all of the changes in the music industry recently competitive tours are the greatest way for any band to be seen and heard," said Jeremy Stephan, President of FUSE. "We were overwhelmed by the response of the fans, and look forward to the next round of hot competition. Because of the success of this year, plans are already underway for the 2005 Zippo Hot Tour."
