The Huntsville Times

Holly Pond band in national contest
By Dean Smallwood
Times Entertainment Writer

The members of a North Alabama rock band have some advice for anyone who has ever considered entering a talent contest: Do it.
Earlier this year, Third Door - a modern-rock trio whose members hail from the Holly Pond area - entered a magazine contest to find the nation's best unsigned bands.
More than 6,000 hopefuls entered the competition, sponsored by Teen People magazine and Warner Brothers Records. Third Door recently found out it had been picked as one of the contest's five finalists.
"We're all still a little blown away by it," said Jarrod Oliver, Third Door's publicist and brother of the band's 21-year-old drummer, Justin. "We're still trying to come down."
The five finalists will be featured in the September issue of Teen People, set to hit news stands Aug 6. Readers will be able to dial an 800 number, listen to a brief musical sample by each of the finalists, and vote for their favorite band.
The finalist receiving the most votes will have their winning song included on an upcoming Warner Brothers compilation album "Top 10 Hottest Bands of the Day,"
" I still can't believe it." Said guitarist Shane Scott, 22, "We've been together for about a year, and we could go nationwide on a big label."
The Third Door song that Teen People callers will hear is "Little Crazy," the track the group entered in the contest. Sample lyric: "I might be a little crazy/To think of you as my baby."
"That's the song people tell us they like the most," Scott said. "We figured it'd be the best one to send in."
The entry deadline for the contest was Jan. 29 and the three members of Third Door had nearly forgotten all about it until getting a phone call from Teen People in early July.
"I didn't know what they were talking about, "Scott said. "Then I was like 'Oh, Yeah, now I remember.'"
Third Door - which also includes Jason McBrayer, 20, lead singer and bass player - frequently plays clubs and parties around the Holly Pond area.
The trio, which Jarrod Oliver said is best described as "loud," recently made a trip to Florence to play at the University of North Alabama's cheerleading camp.
"Now that was a pretty cool gig," Scott said.
For more information on Third Door, visit the group's World Wide Web page, www.playroomrecords.com. To order the band's first self-titled album, call Playroom Records at (256) 352-9839.