Rockin' at the Hard Rock Hotel with Aeroroot

Steve Krusie, Director of Public Relations for Frontier Natural Products Co-op in Norway, Iowa, and a member of our fave homegrown band, Aeroroot, sent the following about Aeroroot's competition at the Hard Rock Hotel last weekend.

 Aeroroot was one of 16 semi-finalists for the Tenth Annual Battle of the Corporate Bands. Formed at Frontier Natural Products Co-op five years ago, the band  traveled to the Western Regional competition at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, on Saturday, May 22. Other regional competitors included corporate bands from companies such as Deloitte Consulting, Chesapeake Energy, and Northwestern Mutual.

 The band didn't go on to the finals as they did last year, but it sounds like they had a great experience. Here's what Steve sent:

 The competition was stacked in the Western semi-finals this year. I'm glad I didn't have to be a judge, because in my opinion, there were six bands that easily could've been selected to make the finals in Cleveland.

 We had a great time at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. There were many rock memorabilia exhibits and our favorite was the Pete Townshend smashed Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar from The Who's performance on Dave Letterman's show on June 17, 1993.

 Other memorable moments include:

   Tracy getting her picture with Tommy Shaw, guitarist with Styx (who just

   happened to be walking around at the HRH looking at the exhibits, too);

   Finding the hotel room (#658) that John Entwistle, bassist with The Who,

   passed away in on June 27, 2002;

   The white tigers at the Mirage Hotel & Casino;

   Hoover Dam tour;

   The Titanic artifacts exhibit at Luxor Hotel & Casino;

   Cirque du Soleil Beatles' Love Show at Mirage;

   Frank Caliendo at Monte Carlo; and

   Playing rock and roll at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

 While it's disappointing we won't be making a repeat to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finals this year, we had fun, played hard, got a little sun-burned, and quite likely, we can probably say that we're the only band from Iowa that has ever played at the Key Club in Los Angeles, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Now that's a hoot!