Hey Fan-Dells!

Who needs someone to tell them they are The Next Great American Band
when they are already The Nation's #1 Rock and Roll Review?

For those of you that saw The Next Great American Band premier on
Friday, October 19, you already know what happened. For those of you
that didn't get to watch, this is what was seen on TV…….

In the last 20 minutes of the show before going to commercial there
was a brief clip showing what was coming up. The Van-Dells were seen
in this clip as an upcoming band. When it was time for The Van-Dells
to perform there was a very short clip of the performance
(approximately 3-5 seconds). Then the camera cut to the judges. Ian
Dickson made a comment like, "If you have just tuned in, this is
Happy Days the viagra years." (during this time you could hear "Morse
Code of Love" playing softly in the background) The camera cut to the
guys on stage laughing a bit at the comment. Ian Dickson then
said, "Well, I thought that was what the "V" stood for." The camera
then cut to the judges again and they did a mock "DooWop" song
of "Next, next next….." and that was it. Approximately 20 seconds of
air time.

Here's what REALLY happened….because what happens in Vegas should NOT
stay in Vegas……

Yes, The Van-Dells submitted a video to The Next Great American Band.
Yes, they were invited to audition. During the communication with the
producers of this show, it was stated repeatedly that they were very
well liked by everyone who had seen The Van-Dells material. The guys
made the trip to Vegas and it was exciting for them and a wonderful
opportunity. We, as fans, can all be very proud of our guys for
making it that far! They were chosen out of literally THOUSANDS of
band that were narrowed down to only 63 invited to audition.

Now, for the audition. The REAL audition. The Van-Dells performed 2 ½
songs for the judges. "Dicko" did make the Happy Days & Viagra
comments. After all, it is TV and he is the "Simon Cowell" of TNGAB.
So, no one was too upset by the tongue in cheek comments. After the
performance and the snide remarks, Ian Dickson had some positive
things to say about The Van-Dells, even inviting them back for
another audition next year. But he felt they weren't right for this
particular show. Fair enough. Sheila E. also had very positive things
to say, including telling our Fabulous Van-Dells that they truly ARE
one of America's greatest bands. (I think we all agree with that!)
But she also felt The Van-Dells were not right for The Next Great
American Band show. John Rzeznik agreed with Ian & Sheila and had
positive things to say. Ian Dickson even made a point to come over to
them, off stage, after their audition to let them know how much he
enjoyed their performance.

By the way, they were not dismissed by the "Next, next, next" DooWop
song, that was apparently recorded at a later time.

Even though The Van-Dells were not chosen to move onto the next
round, they felt good about the positive comments and were hoping for
a little national television exposure. Of course, that did not happen
and the show was a disappointment.

That's show biz!

But we all know that they have been around for 34 years for a reason!
The Van-Dells have been performing longer than any other band who
made it out there. I would be willing to bet they have sold more
albums and have more fans than all the bands combined!

They truly are The Nation's #1 Rock and Roll Review!