Sharing the podium for Grand Prize, the four winning bands of the Showcase competition are: Dr. Manhattan of Crystal Lake, IL; Know Lyfe of Lansing, MI; Nothing More of San Antonio (pictured below), TX; and Victim Effect of Provo, UT (pictured right). Chosen from the 200 bands selected to play live on their hometown stop on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour, the Grand Prize winners receive a $10,000 Guitar center shopping spree and will also perform live before multiple labels, agents, and managers at Ernie Ball's prominent Hollywood showcase finale taking place Thursday, November 29 at the Key Club on the sunset strip. (Ticket pricing and additional event info will be disclosed at a later time.)

"We are so excited and honored to be playing with the talented bands at the upcoming showcase," said Brandon Bowthorpe of Victim Effect. "Our new friends at Ernie Ball have quite literally changed our lives and the way we view the industry. As a fairly new and unsigned act, it is comforting to know that there really are people in the industry who are rooting for you, who want to help you and are actually looking out for you. We are more excited about this showcase than just about anything we have been involved with this far in our musical careers!"

Added Josh Kercheville of Nothing More, "I speak for myself, and the rest of my band, when I say that this is by far the coolest thing that's ever happened to us. From the online stages of the competition to rocking Warped Tour, we're incredibly thankful to everyone involved! The Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands is such a blessing to independent bands across the nation."

Not to be forgotten, winners of the Online Battle will also be taking home thousands of dollars in music loot courtesy of Battle sponsors. This year’s four winning Online Battle bands – as determined by fans who voted for their favorite groups via the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 11 website – are: Dashney of Bartlett, IL; Evoke of Willimantic, CT; Lacerda of Toronto, ON, Canada; and Tonight the Prom of Schiller park, IL.

"We have been absolutely floored by how amazing our experience with Ernie Ball has been," said Milenko Vujosevic of Lacerda. "I think it’s amazing that Ernie Ball has used the internet to make the seemingly unreachable world of the music industry seem smaller and more manageable for an unsigned band like us."

"We had a great time doing this competition," added Jeff Buchbinder of Evoke. "Winning such incredible products is certainly going to help us better our recordings and performances."

Echoed the drummer for Dashney, "We were all pretty excited to hear that we won and we can’t wait to try out all our new stuff."

Prizes for Showcase winners include: a Music Man Guitar and Bass, Ernie Ball Guitar Strings, a Guitar Center Shopping Spree, an ElectroVoice RE-2 UHF Wireless Mic, a CXR Kit from DW Drums, a Mark Bass R500 Amp and CL 106 Cabinet; a Krank Rev Jr. Mini Stack Guitar Amplifier, an ND-1 Nova Delay and NR-1 Nova Reverb from TC Electronics, Coffin Case Gig Bags and an Auralex Project 2 acoustics sound control kit.

Prizes for Online winners include: Ernie Ball Guitar Strings, a selection of ElectroVoice microphones, an M-Audio Guitar Box Pro, a Krankshaft Overdrive Pedal from Krank, a Taylor 210 Acoustic Guitar, a Zildjian Assorted Cymbal Pack, Assorted Remo drum heads, a Boss ME-50 and an Auralex ISO Producers Pack.

The world’s largest battle of the bands competition, the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands debuted 11 years, giving the best local bands from North America the opportunity to showcase their talents in the world’s longest running and largest live music promotion in the music industry. The online contest allows winners to be chosen by the fans themselves.

For more information on the Battle visit www.battleofthebands.com

The Ernie Ball Company was the first to offer rock strings with the creation of Slinkys, and further revolutionized the market by offering guitarists Custom-Gauge single strings. Ernie Ball also produces Music Man guitars and basses, volume pedals and accessories.