Do you have the chops, the attitude, the skill, style, and substance to become the next blues great? Does The Blues inspire you in any way as a reflection of your playing? Are you at least 16 years of age and a lawful permanent resident of any of the 48 contiguous states of the USA? If you said yes to all of the above, then you might get a crack out of turning that dream into reality by joining Guitar Center The King Of The Blues contest.

Unlike all contests you have encountered so far, this is no piece of pie. The sign up period for King Of The Blues has already started. Even though you're reading this online, there is no hope for you if you try to sign up for the contest via phone or internet as none of these avenues are available. Instead, similar to how American Idol operates, you have to go to any of the participating Guitar Center stores across the nation.

I know for certain that your next question will be, "How do I sign up for this?" Go to any of the participating Guitar Center stores nearest to your area and look for a guitar department sales associate to sign up. Once you've signed up, it's time for you to refine your arsenal of guitar techniques as well as start fretboard work on any of the 25 original backing tracks developed by Grammy Award winning producer Pete Anderson. All of these backing tracks can be downloaded via the Guitar Center's website. You can use any 6-, 7-, or 12-string acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or pedal steel guitar plus any audio effect pedal that can be set up in 5 minutes tops which will be plugged into a selection of amplifiers provided by Guitar Center during the contest.

Once you're ready, make sure that you have your gear ready. The only permissible gear in the contest are your guitar, pedal effects, slide, pick, and strap only. Forget bringing wireless systems, bass guitars, looping effects, as well as your own amp as these are NOT ALLOWED in the contest. Three independent and credible judges will for the panel and will judge you according to AUTHENTICITY, ORIGINALITY, SKILLS/TECHNIQUE, STYLE, STAGE, PRESENCE, and OVERALL PERFORMANCE. Any ties result in a 2 minute play-off in which you will have to outsolo each other without a backing track. Just like the 1986 movie "Crossroads" eh?

Up for grabs is $25,000, a Gibson '59 Reissue Les Paul Guitar, $2,500 shopping spree at Levi's, and a Marshall 50W Half Stack. Lots of cash, nice gear and outfit right? Visit Guitar Center's site for more details to get a shot at that once-in-a-lifetime break.