Rocking the Daisies - Red Bull RADAR competition

It is difficult enough for bands and artists to get the right gigs to expose their musical might, let alone record a demo to open the doors of prospective venues, record-labels and fan-bases. The band or artist that is selected as the RADAR winner will get to record and produce a demo in the Red Bull Studio in Cape Town; RADAR's musical equipment laden head-quarters.

The search begins:

Taking place from 9-11 October, Rocking the Daisies is South Africa's premier eco friendly music and lifestyle festival. Rocking the Daisies and Red Bull RADAR, in partnership with Speakerbox.co.za, are offering three talented emerging bands the opportunity to play on the main-stage at Rocking the Daisies 2009, simply by submitting a basic recording demo!

The best of these three bands will win five days in the Red Bull Studio in Cape Town to record themselves a 4-track demo while living it up like rock stars!

So here's how it works:

1. From 9-16 September (and for the duration of the competition) create a band profile for your band on Speakerbox Bandspace. Find out how to sign-up for a profile.

2. Go to http://www.speakerbox.co.za/radar/submit.aspx to register your Bandspace URL and sign-up for the competition. You will automatically appear on the ‘Newest Entries' list on the Speakerbox Radar site.

3. From 16 September, beg, bribe or blackmail your friends, family or random people on the street to vote for your track on the Red Bull RADAR page on Speakerbox.

4. There will be two rounds of voting.
16 - 23 September: Vote for any band you like. The top ten bands with the most votes move on to round 2.
24 Sept - 2 Oct: By the end of the second round of voting, the three bands with the most votes will be announced on 3 Oct. These three get to battle it out on the main stage at Rocking the Daisies on Saturday, 10 Oct.

5. The top three bands will be judged at the festival by five of South Africa's most respected entertainment figures, and the best band will win five days of studio time in the Red Bull Studio in Cape Town.

It's a no-brainer really. If you haven't got a basic demo, just plug a mic into your laptop and record your band jamming during practice and send the track to .

Grand prize details for the winning band/artist:

1. Five days of full studio time at the Red Bull Studio in Cape Town to record a four-track demo. Marshall Music will be providing the backline and fresh guitar strings to ensure the band is ready to rock out, and will be on stand by to assist in any way they can.
2. Return flights for up to five bands members from either Johannesburg or Durban to Cape Town.
3. Five nights accommodation at Ashanti Lodge and meals for the entire week - think Butlers Pizza, steak at HQ, yummy nosh at Rafikis and burgers at Royale Eatery.
4. Interviews and support from all the RTD media partners.
5. A slot at Rocking the Daisies 2010.
Says Jeremy Moyle, The Plastics: RADAR winners 2008: ”Red Bull RADAR was an awesome experience for us. It gave our band the opportunity to play at our first major music festival. This year I see the RADAR competition has an even better time slot, which means even more exposure for the three finalists. The first leg of the competition is all about the votes really, so just make sure you get everyone in the world to vote for you, and come October 10, you will be on that big stage."

Rules and Regulations:

1. The competition runs from 9 September till 12 pm on 2 October 2009.
2. All band members have to be over 18.
3. All bands must be unsigned and unpublished and own the rights to their own music.
4. Have to be an original performer / no cover bands.
5. The band needs to have its own instruments.
6. Any genre of music is allowed.
7. Have to be available for photo shoots and interviews.
8. The three chosen bands have to be available to play at Rocking the Daises on 10 October 2009. These bands are responsible for getting themselves to and from the festival in Darling, Western Cape.