Los Angeles, CA (Deep Purple Fans Website) - Frontman for
Deep Purple and a rock legend in his own right, Ian Gillan has joined forces with his record label, immergent, to offer a few lucky fans the opportunity of a lifetime – to win a trip to Las
Vegas and join him onstage during his upcoming North American tour. The 'Smoke This!' contest invites fans to upload their own version of 'Smoke On The Water', the classic anthem made popular by Deep Purple, to www.gillansinn.com, where winners from two categories (Best Vocal and Best Guitar) will compete to win the grand prize, a trip to the House of Blues in Las
Vegas to actually perform the song on stage with Gillan on
September 17th. A separate contest category allows bands or artists to simply record their own version of the song for a chance to win $2500 worth of music gear.
'Smoke This!' marks the first time that an artist has offered his fans the chance to take a classic song and become an integral part of it. Thanks to the power of the Internet, Gillan's fans can collaborate with their idol who will also personally judge the final round of the contest and hear their work for himself. Contestants are encouraged to be as serious or as crazy as they want and simply have fun with this iconic song.
As an added facet to his North American tour, Ian and his record label are encouraging fans to tape, photograph and film any and all of the shows, and requesting that they upload their tapes to his site (www.gillansinn.com) so that the tour can be accessible to all his fans around the world.
The six-week tour launched in Buffalo, NY on August 16, and features songs from his latest solo album, "Gillan's Inn," where he revisits his classic solo and Deep Purple songs as well as his personal career favorites. "Gillan's Inn" is available on DualDisc which has both the CD and DVD on the same disc.
The DVD side of the DualDisc is loaded with interviews, videos (a 'making of' the album and bootlegs) as well as an artist commentary by Ian. There are also photos and several versions of 'Smoke on the Water,' each with a different guitarist putting his stamp on the classic guitar solo, including Joe Satriani, Jeff Healey and Tony Iommi. The collection also features guest performances by some of the biggest names from the past 30 years of rock history
