Hello Nashville Rock loyalists! I apologize for having been M.I.A. I have moved and changed jobs since I last posted. Eventhough I am now closer to Nashville (my last homestead was in Columbia), I still cannot visit as much as I want. My truck's transmission will not go into overdrive, so it really sounds BAD when pressed above 60 mph. Life goes on.

So, here at home on my day off, I decided to do a little online research to see who are the "popular kids" of MySpace inclusive of Nashville's rock royalty. Since MySpace's birth, it has been highly regarded as a way to (1) find and keep up with friends, (2) explore music and (3) provide a new avenue for perverts. I think the second usage is its best quality. Seeing as how friends have found Friendster, Facebook, etc. and parents have worried about the minors, almost every band in the known universe has a profile and WANTS to be in your network of friends. The "my top friends" area is prime real estate. Despite a temporary ploy by MySpace to own all its content, Rolling Stone, Spin and Blender have sung its praises.

Well, I began by logging in to my (not a groupie) profile, then to Nashville Rock's profile. As I expected, The Pink Spiders have the most friends (146, 705).  Second to them is Knoxville-based 10 Years with 111,725 friends. The Spiders also top with profile views, followed by 10 Years.

RESULTS:

BAND                    FRIENDS      PROFILE VIEWS

10 Years (Knox)      111, 725       1,188,832

100 Watt Opera       861               11,258

Atomic Blonde         55, 720           424,742

AutoVaughn            24,130            128,973

Bang Bang Bang      4014               43,666

B. S.  Dropouts (2)   11,724           63,659

Copper (Knox)          74,160           282,300

Deadsun                    19,138           50,495 

Destroy By Design     1,648            10,818

Disarray                     1,213             3,594

Former                       12,522         31,340

Ligion                          6,228           41,514

Luna Halo                    8,200           81,261

Pink Spiders                146,705         1,566,304

Project Jones               5,187            24,494

Return To Self            10,475            48,420

Valhalla                        546               3818

INTERESTING?!

* Ligion has only 2 songs playing. There's room for more, guys!

* The Beauty School Dropouts have 2 profiles to offer more music. How industrious!

Touring MySpace bands is well worth the trip. Locals that I shall investigate further (upon hearing their profile songs) include AutoVaughn, Luna Halo, Bang Bang Bang and 100 Watt Opera. You, too, can support Nashville rock by posting the banners and vids that many offer.

DISCLAIMER: This is only a small sample. Bands are busy folks, so they could have millions of pending friend requests, and they could've reset their profile views to zero. The results are dated 11-08-06. This was done with no cruel intentions of exclusion, competition or prizes ... it was done to satisfy my own curiosity.