Rock and Roll Dreams Come True, Thanks to Rock Band Live

At some moment in time, everyone has had dreams of becoming a rock star. Bright lights, screaming fans, and earsplitting guitar riffs united with your best friends to rock out the night. With the inception of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, people all over the world can live that dream in the comfort of their own homes, and currently, a select few can live that dream in for real.

Rock Band Live recently launched a concert tour with a twist. When you purchase your ticket to see Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional, Plain White T's, and The Cab, you also get the chance to compete for a spot to play Rock Band on stage between sets. That's right ladies and gentlemen, your chance to rock out on stage between some of music's biggest stars. And not on some dinky stage in some backwoods tavern, but in a major venue (aka The Scottrade Center) and in front of over 5,000 rockin' fans! How cool is that?

"When I purchased tickets for this concert for myself and my sons back in June, I never thought we stood a chance of getting up on that stage. When we got there, there was a lot of competition, so we were really nervous about trying out." says Tammy Biri, vocalist for 'Have You Met Ted?'.

"There were two practice stages and two competition stages. You practiced twice then you played again and they took your score. Then you had to wait. Waiting was the worse part, but we got to watch the other bands compete to try and beat our score. They failed miserably." explains Spencer Biri, drummer for the band.

"When we went inside to watch the concert, I saw the mega screens and I kept thinking OMG, OMG, OMG, we could be up there." adds Russell Pagano, a friend of the family who filled in on bass guitar.

As the minutes passed, no one seemed to be able to reach a score close enough to knock them out of first place. Finally the announcement came; 'Have You Met Ted?' had won. They would take the stage between the two headlining bands. "I wasn't surprised; I know how awesome we are. We've been practicing for months, since competition between Rock Band fans is gonna be part of what we offer at Playmoors, the gamers' arcade we getting ready to open. Yeah, we totally rocked!" exclaimed Trevor Biri, lead guitarist.

Taken back stage with the second place band, they were given their instructions. They waited for Dashboard to finish their set, then up the ramp and onto the stage they went. "All the nerves just vanished when I walked out on stage" said Russell. The others echoed his sentiment. Then, as the drums hammered out the opening notes to 'Come Out and Play' by The Offspring, Tammy screamed into the mike, "Are you guys ready to rock?!"

The audience screamed in response, cheering, jumping, and singing along while the four members of 'Have You Met Ted?' made their rock and roll dream, a dream come true.