The contest is open to any independent (read: unsigned) musical group that plays in one of the following genres: blues, country, folk, jazz, pop, punk, rap, and ska. You'll also need access to the Internet, as submissions will be taken in the form of digital recordings only.

Submission is easy. Simply go to www.shrapnelcommunity.com/band/form.htm and fill out the information requested and hit "submit". We'll do an initial evaluation to weed out obviously poor choices (e.g. "Inagadadivida" done on a kazoo…). After that initial elimination round all submitted songs will be offered up for public consumption. At this point the public will vote on the songs they like best. It's sort of like American Idol, except you know, it won't suck. Then the half-dozen or so songs in each genre that get the most votes will be chosen to become part of the Shady O' Grady's Rising Star experience! These songs will then be used in the game.

Will being part of Shady O' Grady's Rising Star allow you and your bandmates to acquire fast cars, faster women, and plenty of bling-bling? Perhaps, but probably not. What it will provide though is the chance for your music to be heard around the world in one of the most popular forms of entertainment, the computer game. And hey, it's a great conversation starter! Trust us, there's nothing that gets the ladies hotter than knowing you're now part of the computer game industry. Best of all, who knows who will be exposed to your music? Perhaps some big-name label president, or famous A&R fellow, is a gamer and discovers your band thanks to Shady O' Grady's Rising Star, leading to fame and fortune. Anything is possible!

Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is the musical role-playing experience for all types of gamers. If you've ever wanted to rock and roll, it's for you. If you've sick of pointy-eared elves and magic doodads, it's for you. And if you just want an engrossing single-player RPG experience, well, it's definitely for you.

Featuring over twenty hours of a single career (akin to finishing the story of typical RPGs), Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is endlessly replayable thanks to the fact that the game doesn't dictate the story, you dictate the story to the game. Focus on songwriting and endorsements in one game, performance and hotel destruction in another. Boasting plenty of customization too, Shady O' Grady's Rising Star will let the community change anything from the maps you play on, to equipment, to the music that plays. Want to recreate your local music scene? Not a problem, thanks to the mod-making capabilities.

Currently on sale for the specially discounted pre-order price of $34.95 until August 15th, Shady O' Grady's Rising Star may be pre-ordered at the Shrapnel Games e-store by visiting www.gamersfront.com/xcart/home.php.