Graceland, Sun Studios, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Regional Final at the New Daisy Theatre: Just a few of the major attractions this past weekend in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a hectic weekend to say the least, but the bands rocked and the fans drank heavily on Beale St. Saturday night at the New Daisy Theatre. 14 Bands played their hearts out for a chance to play the National Finals in Atlanta, GA next week. After a long day of sound checks and preparation, Tesco took the stage to open up the night. These guys were super young but rocked like they had been on stage for decades. Be sure to keep an eye on these guys in the near future. The Bass player for Tesco had a smile from ear to ear as he took home the beautiful Music Man bass as a prize for one of the two best players on stage that night. Down the Highway took the stage next and played some old fashioned local blues jams. It was great to hear the tradition of those songs lingering from such a young group of guys in the city that got it all going. Satchel Boogie followed and picked up the pace with some harder tunes and took one of the most impressive awards of the night. They recieved the award for the favorite band of all the other bands on stage. That's quite an honor considering the company they were in. Paraphanellia played next and had an impressive response from a great, rowdy crowd. Ide (in picture), the winning band from the regional final in Nashville took the stage and wowed the crowd and the high profile panel of judges. They travelled 5 hours with a loyal crowd and it payed off. They took the night and won the chance to go to Germany when they play next week at the National finals in Atlanta. Drenched rocked out next followed by Image and both had impressive followings. Image took the award for best guitarist and best singer of the night, recieving and amp from Crate and the Sennheiser wireless microphone. Maux Faux, the most ecclectic band of the night followed Ide. These guys were great and won the Emergenza Staff''s vote for best sound and visual performance, not mention the music man guitar for the other best guitar player. They reminded me a rockstars from 5 different bands who decided to start a super group. So She Sang hit the stage with guns blazing and absolutely kicked @$%. These guys put on an incredible show, and their drummer took home took home the Sabian Cymbol set for the award for best drummer of the night. Starroy was the next to take the stage. None of us knew what to expect when arriving in Memphis, but here was another band that got a solid response from the loyal crowd. The other favorite drummer of the night went to the next band that played; This is Goodbye. The judges awarded him with a brand new high-hat pedal from Janus. One bullet booth played next and put on a solid sound and visual stage show. These guys had the look and the sound, but unfortuantely just fell short of moving on to Atlanta. Tribe of Eli was the second last band to play at The New Daisy and played a solid set. Unfortunately, high school graduation hindered some of their following from making it to the show, but they played a great set regardless; damn high school graduation! Gabby Johnson was the final band on stage at the regional memphis finals. These guys are a fantastic band and they play out a whole lot. They are a real solid band and you can be sure to see a lot of them in the near future. They had a great night and their bass player had an even better night as he walked away a brand new bass amp from Ampeg. A very special thanks to our illustrious panel of judges: Malcolm, Wes, Joel, Nikki, Brian, Mike, and Dan. These people are producers, DJ's, music video makers, and local music gurus. Thanks to them we had a night to remember at the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis Tennessee. Congratutions once again to Ide for making it out to the nationals in Atlanta, and to all the bands who made to the regionals in Memp