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Bradenton Country Band One Night Rodeo Wins TV Competition

The Judy Nelson Group

One Night Rodeo appears during the live finale of "Next GAC Star" on Great American Country network Wednesday. The Bradenton band won the competition.

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

TAMPA - One Night Rodeo, a country music band from Bradenton, won the "Next GAC Star" reality competition Wednesday night.

"I can't even describe the joy we have; it's incredible," said band member Cory Hildreth shortly after One Night Rodeo was picked as the winner during a live telecast on the Great American Country cable channel.

Thousands of musicians had entered the network's music competition, which involved viewers voting for favorite performances.

The band - Sarasota and Bradenton residents Duane Alluson, Mike Elrod, Jack Tamburin and Hildreth - was one of six finalists in GAC's first nationwide talent competition. They won a performance showdown Wednesday night.

Along with the title of Next GAC Star, One Night Rodeo receives a Gibson Hummingbird guitar, the opportunity to film a music video and a record deal with Original Signal Recordings (a division of the online music video service Music Nation).

For One Night Rodeo it was a second chance at fame.

The band has been together for more than seven years and once played at the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville.

They also have performed at the Dallas Bull in Tampa and at Gunslingers in Largo.

They've opened for Rascal Flatts four times, Keith Urban twice, and other country acts such as Montgomery Gentry.

The band members, who harmonize on vocals, are in their 30s, have families and haven't given up their day jobs. Tamburin is a mail carrier, Hildreth owns a flooring business, Alluson runs an irrigation business, Elrod is a truck driver.

They call their music style "contemporary and a little country," and Tamburin says they were influenced by the Eagles and Rascal Flatts.

Cory joked that to prepare for the competition, they all bought "thousand-dollar outfits."

In online voting during the past few months, fans were impressed by the band's original song and video "Touch Me," filmed at the Manasota home of singer Bobby Vinton.

On the finale Wednesday night, they performed a song written for the competition, "Alive and Living."

Hildreth told GAC that the band put its unique "vocal" stamp on it. "We're a harmony band, so we focused everything on our vocals," he said.

The group was in a studio Thursday recording "Alive and Living." The song will debut on iTunes next week.

In the coming months, GAC and Original Signal Recordings will develop and promote the band and their upcoming album release.

One Night Rodeo's victory can be seen on GAC's "Top 20 Country Countdown" at 8 tonight. For more "Next GAC Star" information, including One Night Rodeo videos, go to www.gactv.com/star.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at wbelcher@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7654.

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