Sam Goody Opens Door for Twin Cities Bands to Compete on National Stage at Bandemonium!; Bands Were Selected from More than 800 Entries Around the Country.

Business Editors &Entertainment Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2000

They came from all over the country - more than 800 strong - with the dream of making it big in the music industry. Now, after years of playing in garages, basements and small clubs, two Twin Cities bands are closer to achieving their dreams.

Johnny Clueless and bobby llama have moved to the quarterfinals of Sam Goody's Ultimate Band Search, Bandemonium. They will now compete head-to-head on February 3 at the Cabooze in Minneapolis. They'll be serving as the warm-up act for Island Def Jam recording artists, Jimmie's Chicken Shack. The winner will be one step closer to the finals in Panama City, Florida.

&uot;Johnny Clueless and bobby llama are getting the push to make it to the top, which is Sam Goody's goal with Bandemonium - to help local, unsigned bands get exposure and introduce their music to fans, producers and promoters,&uot; said Marcia Appel, Musicland's senior vice president of advertising, brand management and communications. &uot;These bands have proven themselves to industry experts, and now they will get to show their stuff live. It's a great event for the bands and for local music fans.&uot;

SFX, the world's leading promoter, producer and presenter of live entertainment, chose two quarterfinalists in each of eight markets across the country from more than 800 entries. These bands are all unsigned, and now they have the unusual opportunity to gain visibility, introduce their music to a wider audience and compete for a chance to perform in the finals in Panama City, Florida, at one of the hottest Spring Break concerts of the year.

The judges said there were a lot of great bands with a lot of talent in this region, but Johnny Clueless and bobby llama stood out. The Bandemonium judges called bobby llama a pop folk band for the 21st century, using witty lyrics and strong vocals to create &uot;music of the soul and the heart.&uot; They said Johnny Clueless is an alternative pop group with impeccable hooks that &uot;definitely deserves more attention.&uot;

The quarterfinalists will be judged by a panel, including a record label representative, providing extremely valuable exposure to the participants. Videotapes of the performances will be judged by SFX to choose the finalists.

The grand-prize winner will receive a prize package worth more than $20,000. The package includes $2,500 cash and an array of Gibson musical equipment, including an SG Standard guitar, an SG-Z bass guitar, amplifiers, and a five-piece Slingerland Spitfire drum kit. The winning band will also receive studio time at Pachyderm Studios, one of the top recording studios in North America. Albums recorded at Pachyderm include Nirvana's In Utero, Live's Throwing Copper and Soul Asylum's Grave Dancers Union. The band will work with Grammy-winning producer Brent Sigmeth to create a top-quality demo tape.

Sam Goody is a division of Musicland Stores Corporation (NYSE: MLG). Based in Minneapolis, Musicland Stores Corporation is the leading specialty retailer of home-entertainment software products in the United States. As of December 31, 1999, the company operated 1,345 retail stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the names Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Media Play and On Cue. In addition to its four store formats, Musicland also operates five commercial Web sites including: SamGoody.com (http://www.samgoody.com), Suncoast.com, Mediaplay.com, OnCue.com and Requestline.com. For additional information on Musicland Stores Corporation, visit the company's Web site at http://www.musicland.com.