It was just during the previous month that Guitar Center announced the King of The Blues competition for guitarists. While being a hot topic among blues enthusiasts and guitarists, Guitar Center has remembered the much respected timekeeper called drummers. The month of August bears witness to the announcement of Guitar Center Drum-Off 2009. If you're a drummer who wishes ascendancy to drumming royalty, now is the time.

Guitar Center Drum-Off has become the launch pad for numerous professional drummers including Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta) and Eric Moore II (Suicidal Tendencies) for the past 20 years. Like all of Guitar Center's music programs, Drum-Off provides drummers support-based opportunities to push their musical aspirations further to new levels as well as encourage the local music community to provide a platform for musicians to network and be discovered.

To get started, you need to sign up with the drum department of a Guitar Center branch in your locality (see Guitar Center's website for list of participating stores). There are no internet or phone signups so it's a must that you go directly to the store. Once you've signed up, get your chops and other skills ready on a five-piece drum set complete with hardware, cymbals, and cowbell. You will only be permitted to bring your own sticks, drum throne, bass pedal, and snare drum. During competition proper, you are given only five minutes to set up and three minutes to try and make people's jaws drop.

Competition dates are as follows:

• Store Prelims: September 24, October 1, October 8
• Store Finals: October 15
• District Finals: November 5
• Regional Finals: December 3
• Grand Finals: January 2010

A hefty prize package is at stake which would contain the following:

• $25,000 CASH
• A High-End Roland TD series drum kit and PM-30
• Feature in Modern Drummer Magazine
• Custom drum kit by DW, Tama, Pearl or Orange County Drums & Percussion
• Complete Set of Sabian AAX cymbals or Zildjian Z3 cymbals
• Drum, stick, cymbal and drumhead endorsement deals
• Monster Energy Drink Endorsement Deal
• VIP Experience at NAMM 2010

If that isn't enough motivation to stop reading this and get your chops ready, I don't know what will. Registration just started August 01, 2009 and competition starts September 24, 2009 so there's not a time to waste to work on those drum tricks you have up your sleeve and go for glory during the Guitar Center Drum-Off 2009.