Rising Star Talent Search Winners Announced!
Posted by: Aaron Lockard on October 17, 2006 4:18:28 PM (78 Reads)

Yes, You Can Still Rock In America!

he vote has been officially rocked, rolled, and shaken up all night long, and now the polls have closed on the Shady O' Grady's Rising Star "Are you a Rising Star?" contest. Shrapnel Games and Gilligames would like to extend our gratitude to all the wonderful music fans that showed their support by voting, and to all the musicians that entered in the first place. The competition was fierce, the talent was exceptional, but unfortunately not everyone could make it onto the soundtrack, so without further ado, here are the contest winners:

Pop Genre

Extra Stuff - Artist: John Anaya, Writer: John Anaya
Heart V Head - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
Nothing at All - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
Hands of Time - Artist: Tumbledown, Writer: Alan Collins
Pieces of You - Artist: The Dirt, Writer: Jason Kleiss

(The last two had vote totals so close together, and with every single song being excellent, the decision was made to simply include both on the Shady O' Grady's Rising Star soundtrack.)

Blues Genre

South from Detroit City - Artist:The Pete 'Big Dog' Fetters Band, Writer: Pete Fetters
Big Dog Boogie - Artist: The Pete 'Big Dog' Fetters Band, Writer: Pete Fetters
Blues Playin' Man - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
It Ain't Love - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards

The "Are you a Rising Star?" contest was run by Shrapnel Games as a means to give unknown musical talent another venue for their music, exposing it to a brand new segment of listeners. Contest winners would be included in the upcoming musical RPG, Shady O' Grady's Rising Star. With the rock and metal genres already filled to the brim even before the contest, the search was on for other acts to pad out the other eight genres. Ultimately the contest came down to the tough decision of choosing the songs for the pop and blues genre, as the other genres ended up being a slightly easier sell.

Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is primed for a November release through Shrapnel Games. Developed by Gilligames (developer of Space HoRSE, the reimagining of the classic EA game for the Atari computer system, M.U.L.E.), Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is a single-player role-playing game for Windows. Unlike the familiar computer RPG staples of dungeon crawling, evil wizards, and nefarious midget flame-wielding mushroom-eating driders, this game is set in the real world of music. Players create their dream band and attempt to coast their way to the top of the music world before the next young hot act comes along.

As in real life gamers will have to make a myriad of decisions that will affect how their band does. Group harmony, the right equipment, great songs, and more will all play a role in how quickly your ascension to stardom occurs, if it occurs at all. Being an open-ended RPG, replayability is high and so is the customizability. Most aspects of the game are open for modding, allowing those with some creativity and time to remake the game to suit their personal tastes. Want to recreate your local music scene? Go for it.

More information on Shady O' Grady's Rising Star can be found at www.shrapnelgames.com/gilligames/SOGRS/1.htm. Shady O' Grady's Rising Star will sell for $39.95 when released, and will be available from the Shrapnel Games e-store, the Gamers Front.

Thanks once more for everyone who entered the "Are you a Rising Star?" contest, and for everyone who shredded the vote! There's a lot of great musical talent out there, and it just goes to show you don't have to have an obnoxious Brit to have a music contest.


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