Battle of the Bands 2003

Following last year's success, the second edition of the Hard Rock Café Battle of the Bands 2003 will be taking place from September 4.

There have been some slight modifications since last year's battle, won by Colourblind.

Twelve bands will be paired off for a first round, head-to-head battle, with the six winners qualifying for the second round. Based on the same format, the three winners and the losing band with the highest score will qualify for the semi-final, and the winners will face each other in the final on November 25, Hard Rock Café's birthday.

The scoring system has changed slightly, with four judges still awarding a maximum of 40 points, based on stage presence, originality, crowd response and music ability, while the public have another 80 points available.

These are split between patrons who visit the performances - who get a vote with every Lm2 spent at the bar - (60 points), and SMS voters (20). Voting numbers will be announced at a later date. All performances will be held on Thursdays.

The winning prize has also changed. Whereas last year's winners had an all-expenses paid trip, as well as three concerts, in Hard Rock Café, Rome, this year the first-placed band will win Lm750.

Bands will be interviewed on Peter Busuttil's programme, Red on Net TV on the Monday prior a performance, to give a bit more exposure to up-and-coming bands. Applications (which cost Lm23) will be received until Thursday.

Bands can collect registration forms from the premises, or by phoning 2372-2253 or Hard Rock Café director Arthur Gauci on 7940-6104. There is no restricition for bands who participated last year.