An opportunity of a lifetime is only two weeks away for San Antonio teen metal musicians The Next Day. They are taking their act to Hollywood -- and there are several chances for fellow Texans to lend a hand.

The Next Day, the quintet of 14-18-year-olds who opened for Dokken before roughly 5,000 fans on April 15 during Fiesta Week at HemisFair Park (see review link at bottom), is slated to perform June 23 at the L.A. Music Awards Showcase on Hollywood's famed Sunset Strip. They are also scheduled to play June 25 at the world renowned Whisky A Go Go.

The Next Day is holding six fundraisers over the next 10 days to help with travel expenses. Five of them are in San Antonio and one in San Marcos:

• Friday, June 10 @Bond's 007 Rock Bar: $5, all ages. Doors at 8 p.m.; Citizen Dick (Pearl Jam tribute band) 9 p.m.; Maneaters of Tsavo, 10:15 p.m.; The Next Day, 11:30 p.m.

• Saturday, June 11 @Wake the Dead Coffee House, San Marcos: $5, all ages. Show begins at 10 p.m.

• Wednesday, June 15 @Nice Rack Billiards and Sports Bar: $5, free food, 21+. Doors at 5 p.m.; Suzy Bravo and The Soul Revue, 9 p.m.; The Next Day, 10:30 p.m.

• Thursday, June 16 @Zombie's Rock Bar: $5, all ages. Doors at 7 p.m.; bands start at 9 p.m.

• Friday, June 17 @D Spot Sports Bar: $5, 21+. The Next Day, 10 p.m.

Artists from all over in search of exposure and interested in learning about the ins and outs of the music industry submitted electronic press kits via ReverbNation to the L.A. Music Awards. In other words, any band could make a submission.

The Next Day (vocalist Ben Foster, lead guitarist Danny Davila, rhythm guitarist Ryan Morales, bassist Jordan Gutierrez and drummer and original member Steven Rodriguez) was not only chosen as one of nine artists performing at the showcase in front of industry folks, but they are nominated in two of the 30 categories that span various genres. The Next Day is among four bands nominated for Best Rock Artist. Gutierrez is one of three up for Bassist of the Year. Should they win, The Next Day will return to Los Angeles for the 21st annual awards show on Nov. 10.

"The Whisky and Sunset Strip are built on the type of music these kids play," Al Bowman, the Founder and Executive Vice President of the L.A. Music Awards, told the SAMME by phone on Tuesday. "Iron Maiden? I mean, these kids are good. And they have a charisma. We gave them the Rock nomination and nominated their bassist for best in that category as well. For someone her age (18), she’s a smokin’ hot bass player. Not just good lookin’ but a really good player. The music business is a youth-driven business."

Bowman said that in years past, bands had to pay a fee while submitting their kits. Not anymore. Not surprisingly, that made a huge difference. A bigger difference than he anticipated.

"We eliminated the fee for submissions and instantly got 1,000 over three days," Bowman said. "We’re up to 10,000. I wasn’t expecting that. I only expected three or four hundred. I reached back to a total of 326 out of 10,000 and nominated 20 of them. That's called the music business (laughs)."

Another performer at the awards showcase will be Nik Kai, a guitarist Bowman said is being hailed as "the next Eddie Van Halen." He's 10 years old.

"Gene Simmons and all of the rockers who live in L.A. love to come watch this kid," Bowman said.

Judge for yourself here. For more info on the awards showcase participants and nominees, click here.

The Next Day are following in the footsteps of San Antonio's The Heroine, at least in terms of Sunset Strip exposure. In 2008, The Heroine was one of approximately 9,000 bands that entered a contest sponsored by Guitar Center in search of an opening act for Motley Crue. The Heroine ended up in the final six, performing one song in Hollywood in front of the Crue's Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee. Although The Heroine fell short, they gained a world of exposure and played a couple of shows on the following year's Vans Warped Tour. Motley Crue, arguably the Sunset Strip's most notorious band (chronicled in part in a couple of books and on their 2008 album Saints of Los Angeles, including the song Down At The Whisky) -- headlines the AT&T Center tonight.

So even if they don't win, The Next Day is in for a bevy of exposure, opportunities and experiences they're not likely to forget. Anyone in San Antonio or San Marcos who makes a donation will play a part in helping one of their own bands take the first steps to possibly making it big.

"They had all the ingredients in place in terms of what we look for in nomination potential," Bowman said. "And now they get to showcase for our panel, and they’ll have a full house to play for. They’re gonna tear it up. I hope they can find some sort of sponsor. I hope they do well and impress our voters, and if they do, they’ll be on our red carpet on Nov. 10."

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