Now in its 21st year, Guitar Center's Drum-Off has been a launching pad for numerous professional drummers, including Cora "CC" Dunham (Prince), Eric Moore II (Suicidal Tendencies), Tony Royster Jr. (Jay Z) and Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta). Last year's Drum-Off Champion, 22-year-old Jerome Flood II, made his television debut when he was invited to perform on Last Call with Carson Daly following his dramatic win

Guitar Center's Drum-Off '09 champion will win an impressive package of prizes, including $25,000 cash, a Roland TD-25 electronic kit, a custom designed drum kit by DW, Pearl, Gretsch, Tama, or Orange Country Drums, a drum, stick, cymbal, and drum head endorsement deals as well as a feature in Modern Drummer magazine, along with a VIP appearance @ NAMM 2010 and a Monster Energy Drink endorsement deal, making the total prize package worth over $40,000. Additionally, Monster Energy, Pro-Mark, Latin Percussion, DW, Remo, Vic Firth, Orange County Drum and Percussion, Zildjian, Gretsch, Roland, Tama, Pearl, Evans and Modern Drummer are all proud sponsors of Guitar Center's Drum-Off 09.

How Drum-Off Works:

Sign-ups for the preliminary rounds of the Drum-Off competition begin August 1, and run on a "first-come, first-serve" basis, with a maximum of 30 registrants per store. Contestants must sign up with a Guitar Center drum department associate at their local store -- no phone or Internet sign-ups are available.

Local competitions start September 24 in all 214 Guitar Center locations from nationwide. One winner from each store will be chosen to move up to district competitions (24 locations), followed by regionally hosted semi-finals (6 locations) and culminating at Guitar Center's Drum-Off grand finals in Los Angeles in January of 2010 (exact date and venue TBD).