The first rule is to read the rules. Thoroughly. We’re not kidding here. This is serious stuff.

To sign up for the Battle of the Bands, each member of the band will be required to pre-register for the convention. This is in order to ensure that anyone who signs up will absolutely be attending the con. Only the first eight full bands to sign up will be entered. This does not mean that all four members have to sign up at the exact same time, but if one of your members delays for too long you risk being beat out by another band signing up. Anyone wishing to sign up should e-mail Matt Holman at bgluggins@gmail.com Re: SugoiCon Battle of the Bands signup. Your e-mail should include your name, the name of the character you wish to play (see below) and (if you are band leader) the details of your band (also see below).

The Battle of the Bands will consist of eight bands, with each band having a full roster of four members. Each member of the band will be required to play the same role throughout the set. If you play the bass on the first song, you will play the bass on the last song. If one of your band members is unable to perform (despite the precautions outlined above) it will be your responsibility to find a suitable replacement at the convention. Bands with less than four members will not be permitted to compete and will be disqualified. Band members may not compete in more than one band.

Each band will play a three song set. Set lists must be submitted to bgluggins@gmail.com by October 25th. If after submitting a set list you wish to change it, this will be permitted providing your final set list is submitted by the deadline. Any songs available for Rock Band 2 are permitted, including downloadable songs and songs brought over from Rock Band 1 (This means Enter Sandman, Run to the Hills (RB1version), and Paranoid will not be available) NOTE: Though you may be tempted to pick the longest songs in the game in order to maximize stage time, the scoring system involved includes a panel of judges who may become bored with overly long performances. We ask that you try to keep the total time of your set list to about fifteen minutes, for everyone’s sake. Once we have received a set list from every band, we will mail everyone’s set list to all the band leaders for review. We do this so that bands may compare set lists, and if another band is playing the same song(s), your set list can be altered. You will not be required to alter your set list in this case, but the order of bands will be determined randomly and your score may suffer if you end up playing the same songs another band already did. As noted above, once past the final deadline, set lists cannot be altered.

Before the competition begins, the order the bands will play in will be randomly determined and all bands will be informed of the order. Once your band has been announced, you will have two minutes to report to the MC. This means all band members must be present and ready to play. If your band is not ready when you are called, your risk disqualification.

The competition will be played under Stage Mode. This means that you cannot fail the song, and the game cannot be paused at anytime during the set.

The competition will be scored based on a formula including: The average number of stars gained across the three songs, the average difficulty each band member is playing at, the average difficulty of the songs played, and a score given by a panel of judges. The band with the highest score at the end of the competition will be declared the winner. In the unlikely event of a tied score, all tied bands will participate in a sudden death. The band leader will pick one song from the available songs currently installed on the system, and the band will then perform the song immediately with each band member playing at the same difficulty he or she was playing as before. The scoring system will remain the same with two exceptions. The judges will not vote on the sudden death round, and Stage Mode will be turned off. This means you could fail the song and be disqualified, so keep that in mind.

Once you have signed up for the competition, you must send us your characters information. This means your name, style, place of origin etc. It also means you must send us all relevant info as to your characters build, hair, clothing, coloring and so on. Each character will have $20,000 total to spend on clothing, jewelry, and instruments. We will attempt to create custom tattoos and face paint from a description, but we cannot guarantee that it will match your idea exactly. If you have the capability, an uploaded photo of your character would help in this regard. Please keep all names and tattoos civil. If we believe your character has inappropriate characteristics, we will inform you. All character information must be submitted by October 7th. No exceptions. If you miss this deadline, you will be required to choose one of the default characters to represent you.

You must also send us the details of your band including band name, and logo. As stated above, we will attempt to recreate your logo as well as we can, but the more detailed the logo, the greater the chance we will be unable to perfect your vision. Keep the name and logo clean as well, please.

Okay! Now that that's out of the way, please feel free to use the forums to discuss the tournament, ask questions, or hook up with potential band mates! As noted above however, if you want to sign up for the tournament, please email Matt Holman at bgluggins@gmail.com Re: SugoiCon Battle of the Bands signup. Only those who send the emails will be considered to have applied.

Have fun, and see you at the con!