IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Taco Bell® today named 100 artists to its 2008 Feed the Beat lineup as it once again hooks up America’s up-and-coming rock acts as they hit the road. Bands from across the nation, hailing from music hotbeds like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Seattle will receive $500 in free Fourthmeal, the late night meal between dinner and breakfast, and vie for an important next career-building step: marketing support for their music.

Feed the Beat bands each have a dedicated page on Taco Bell’s recently launched Virtual Music Festival Web site (www.feedthebeat.com) which showcases their music, photos, bios and tour schedules. Music fans can listen to bands they know or discover new tunes as they stream music via the Feed the Beat Music Player. If they discover a band they like and want to purchase music, they are directed to the band’s iTunes page, where they can purchase the song.

All 100 bands including 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, Hit The Lights, Senses Fail, The Academy Is…, The Gaslight Anthem and Thursday will also have the opportunity to compete in Feed the Beat’s “Best of the Beat” contest for the chance to be one of three winning bands to have a single produced and promoted by Taco Bell. Bands will need support from their fans, and build loyal new followers who can discover their music, as the public can vote and have the ultimate say in which three bands will be crowned “Best of the Beat.”

These three winning bands will work with Taco Bell to identify and hire a well-known producer to record a single for them. The singles will then be promoted on www.feedthebeat.com and through online advertising and in-store efforts in the Spring of 2009, as the Web site address will be featured on Taco Bell’s iconic Sauce Packet, which reaches more than 208 million people in about a month. More than 36.8 million customers come through Taco Bell’s 5,600 restaurants every week.

“We’re blown away by the response, feedback and connection that bands have with Feed the Beat,” said David Ovens, Chief Marketing Officer, Taco Bell Corp. “The outset of this program three years ago was to reward bands that love our brand with free Fourthmeals. Today, we’re expanding that appreciation to include marketing support via online and in-store to help expose Feed the Beat bands and their music to an even larger fan base. Simply put, we are music fans here at Taco Bell and we want to see these artists succeed.”

Taco Bell is proud to congratulate all of the 2008 Feed the Beat bands:

Northeast:	Â	A Place to Bury Strangers (Brooklyn, NY), Charlotte Sometimes (New York City),
		Cobra Starship (New York City), Crime in Stereo (Levittown, NY), Damiera (New York City),
		Four Year Strong (Worchester, Mass.), I Am the Dream (Long Island, NY),
		Laura Warshauer (New Jersey), Let Me Run (New Brunswick, NJ), Patent Pending (Mt. Sinai, NY),
		Person L (Eastern PA), Polar Bear Club (Rochester, NY), Racing Kites (Brick, NJ),
		Senses Fail (Ridgewood, NJ), Shadows Fall (Springfield, Mass.), Soul Control (Providence, RI),
		Street Dogs (Boston), The Gaslight Anthem (New Brunswick, NJ), The Hymns (New York City)
		The King Left (New York City), The Morning Of (Newburgh, NY), The Parlor Mob (Red Bank, NJ),
		The Shackeltons (Chambersburgh, PA), The Urgency (Brooklyn, NY)
		These Green Eyes (New Haven, Conn.), Thursday (New Brunswick, NJ), Verse (Providence, RI)
Â
Midwest:		Boston Spaceships (Dayton, OH), Every Avenue (Marysville, Mich.), Greenwood (Decatur, Ill.),
		Hit the Lights (Lima, OH), I:Scintilla (Chicago), Inhale Exhale (Canton, OH), Kill Hannah (Chicago),
		Lovedrug (Cleveland), Ludo (St. Louis), Madina Lake (Chicago),
		Murder by Death (Bloomington, Ind.), NeverShoutNever! (Joplin, Mo.),
		One for the Team (Minneapolis), Quietdrive (Minneapolis),
		Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band (Indianapolis), The Academy Is... (Chicago),
		The Devil Wears Prada (Dayton, OH), The Envy Corps (Ames, IA), The Hush Sound (Lisle, Ill.),
		The Republic Tigers (Kansas City), The Swellers (Flint, Mich.), The White Tie Affair (Chicago)
Â
Southeast:		Alesana (Raleigh, NC), Between the Trees (Orlando), Colour Revolt (Oxford, Miss.),
		Fireflight (Eustis, Fla.), Maylene and the Sons of Disaster (Birmingham, Ala.),
		Mercy Mercedes (Greensboro, NC), My Favorite Highway (Fairfax, Va.),
		Poison the Well (West Palm Beach, Fla.), School Boy Humor (Little Rock, Ark.),
		Telescreen (Winston-Salem, NC), The Bigger Lights (Virginia City, Va.),
		The Mile After (Charlotte), Thousand Foot Crutch (Nashville), Turbo Fruits (Nashville),
		Underoath (Tampa, Fla.), Wild Sweet Orange (Birmingham, Ala.)
Â
Southwest:		Dear and the Headlights (Phoenix), Lydia (Phoenix), Oh, Sleeper (Ft. Worth, TX),
		PlayRadioPlay! (Aledo, TX), Smile Smile (Dallas), The Frontier Brothers (Austin, TX),
		The Maine (Tempe, Ariz.), The Riverboat Gamblers (Denton, TX)
Â
West:		3OH!3 (Boulder, Colo.), A Skylit Drive (Lodi, Calif.), A Static Lullaby (Chino Hills, Calif.),
		Bleeding Through (Orange County, Calif.), City and Colour (St. Catharines, Calif.),
		Danger Radio (Seattle), Delta Spirit (San Diego), Demon Hunter (Seattle),
		Fear Before (Aurora, Colo.), HelloGoodbye (Long Beach, Calif.),
		Karate High School (San Francisco), Middle Class Rut (Sacramento, Calif.),
		Monte Negro (Los Angeles), My American Heart (San Diego), On the Last Day (Seattle),
		Pierce the Veil (San Diego), Say Anything (Los Angeles), Silverstein (Los Angeles),
		The Bronx (Los Angeles), The Cab (Las Vegas), The Little Ones (Los Angeles),
		The Lives of Famous Men (Anchorage, AK), The Mae Shi (Los Angeles),
		The Photo Atlas (Denver), This Providence (Seattle), This Time Next Year (Walnut Creek, Calif.),
		Tiger Army (Los Angeles)
		Â

Feed the Beat bands were chosen by a panel of judges based on performance and musicianship, originality and material selection and overall appeal and personality. Bands also had the opportunity to express their passion for Taco Bell and share stories about eating Fourthmeal while touring.

“Well, simply put, certain members of our band enjoy, no, LOVE tracking down a nearby Taco Bell right after a show. The time and money we've invested in finding and eating Taco Bell directly after a show on the road is astounding. We've always been huge supporters and would LOVE for Taco Bell to give the same back to us,” said St. Louis-based, Ludo. New York City-based Cobra Starship said, “Because we bring the dance party to every Taco Bell we go to! (Which is very frequently),” and Chicago’s The Academy Is… said, “We thrive on tasty meals from Taco Bell, and that gives us the energy to rock people's faces every night!”

Fans can nominate a band by visiting www.feedthebeat.com and clicking on the “Nominate” button located on each band’s profile page. Voters can vote for as many bands as they like, but can only vote for each individual band once-per-day. Voting for bands in the nomination phase is from October 9 through October 23, 2008.

After Round One, the 24 bands with the most votes will continue on to the next round. In Round Two, participating bands will be seeded based on the total number of votes received in Round One and will compete in a head-to-head format from October 24 through October 30, 2008. The 12 bands that win their individual battles will move on to Round Three. The same format will be used in Round Three, public voting from October 31 through November 6, 2008 and Round Four, public voting occurs from November 7 through November 13, narrowing the finalists down to 6 and 3, respectively. The final three bands will be deemed the winners of the contest and be announced by November 18, 2008.

The three winning bands will work with Taco Bell to identify and hire a well-known producer to record a single for them. The singles will then be promoted on www.feedthebeat.com and through online advertising and in-store efforts in the Spring of 2009, as the Web site address will be featured on Taco Bell’s iconic Sauce Packet, which reaches more than 208 million people in about a month.

About Fourthmeal

Fourthmeal is the late night meal between dinner and breakfast that includes four signature tastes and textures found only at Taco Bell. Consumers seeking “outside the bun” late night choices will find crunchy, spicy, melty and grilled taste experiences during Fourthmeal at participating Taco Bell locations.

About Taco Bell Corp.

Taco Bell Corp. (“Taco Bell”), a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, signature quesadillas, Grilled Stuft Burritos, nachos, and other specialty items such as Crunchwrap Supreme®, in addition to the 79-89-99 Why Pay More™ Value Menu. Taco Bell serves more than 36.8 million consumers each week in nearly 5,600 restaurants in the U.S.

Taco Bell Corp.
Rob Poetsch, 949-863-3915
rob.poetsch@tacobell.com
or
Will Bortz, 949-863-3915
will.bortz@tacobell.com
or
Cohn & Wolfe
Rob Novickas, 310-967-2959
rob_novickas@cohnwolfe.com