Artist description We are a 4 piece Rock band from Philadelphia, playing original, hooky, tight, grooving music. Its dirty, its clean and its mean.

Music Style Hard Rock

Musical Influences Led Zep, Jeff Buckley, James Brown, Metallica, STP, Alice in Chains

Similar Artists STP, CREED, FAITH NO MORE, G N R, TANTRIC

Artist History Meaningless Tag (a 4 piece rock band) has been together, playing the Philadelphia area since 1993. We have played oner 400 live shows, released 2 independent full length Cds, been on leading area radio stations and television programs, we have sold close to 3000 Cds through live performances and local retail consignment and most recently we were voted "Best Unsigned Band 2001" by Sam Goddy's--BANDEMONIUM--that is Sam Goody's annual nation wide search for the best in unsigned music. We won a $20.000.00 prize package of cash, merchandise and studio time at Pachyderm Studios MN.

Group Members Frank Daguanno--Vocals Phil Straka--Guitars Joe Potts--Bass Chris Amato--Drums

Instruments Washburn, Gibson, and Modulus Guitars and Basses, Sennheiser Mics, Tama Drums, EV and Marshall cabs, Hartke and Marshall heads, MTAG uses Dean Markley Strings and Clayton picks exclusively

Albums 1997-- Aint That Strange, 2000--The Wait Of The World

Press Reviews March 22, 2001-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information: Dawn Bryant 952.931.8367 dbryant@musicland.com PHILADELPHIA BAND GAINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION BY WINNING SAM GOODY'S BANDEMONIUM CONTEST Meaningless Tag Beats Out More than 500 Bands to Claim Title of Å’Best Unsigned Band of 2001' MINNEAPOLIS ­ March 22, 2001 ­ With a performance that left thousands of Spring Breakers in Panama City, Florida, screaming for more, Philadelphia band Meaningless Tag won "Bandemonium 2001" and has staked its claim as the best unsigned band of 2001. Bandemonium is Sam Goody's annual search for the best unsigned band in the nation. More than 500 bands from across the country entered this year¹s Bandemonium contest. Ten semi-finalists were given national exposure on SamGoody.com and viewers had the opportunity to stream their music and vote for their favorite unsigned band. Three of the four finalists were selected from a pool of 10 semifinalists by representatives from SFX, the world¹s leading promoter, producer and presenter of live entertainment. With more than 400,000 online votes cast, the fourth band was elected with 54.9 percent of votes to compete at the final event. The other bands competing as contest finalists were: Lift (Atlanta), Mark Needs a Chick (Houston) and SpaZjack (Hartford, Conn.). The competing bands served as the opening acts for national recording artists Blessid Union of Souls and alternative rockers Eve 6. As the Bandemonium winner, Meaningless Tag performs again tonight, opening for the world-famous girl-band icons, The Go-Go's. "This year¹s final competition is the strongest we¹ve seen in the history of Bandemonium," said Stephanie Maki, director of partnership marketing and national promotions for Sam Goody® stores. "Sam Goody is committed to supporting new music, and Bandemonium is one of the ways we try to help musicians succeed in this very difficult business. We are excited that we have the opportunity to support Meaningless Tag and serve as a stepping stone for the members¹ music careers." For winning Bandemonium Meaningless Tag receives a prize package worth more than $20,000. This includes cash, studio time to work on a professional demo tape, a producer to help channel their talents into a more marketable product and new music equipment including guitars, basses, drums, amps and more. In addition, they will receive national exposure through Sam Goody, SamGoody.com and national advertising. -------------------------------------------------- After eight years together something big finally broke their way. Northeast Philadelphia's Meaningless Tag was among four out of more than 500 bands chosen as finalists in a national band competition. They would fly to Panama City, Fla., to perform before thousands of screaming spring-breakers and the national media, and be in the running for $20,000 in cash, prizes and studio time with a producer experienced with major acts. The members got the good news one month before the competition was scheduled; the only problem being it was three months after Meaningless Tag broke up. "At that point the band was done," said guitar player Phil Straka. Drummer Chris Amato said eight years of practicing and playing original music, self-managing, and putting out their own recordings in hopes of being signed by a label, all while juggling regular jobs and other commitments, took its tool on him and his bandmates. "You get to that frustrated point," said Amato, a Huntingdon Valley resident and Lower Moreland High School grad. It was at that point that bassist Joe Potts quit the group. Lead singer Frank D'Aguanno of Bucks County, said none of the members were playing at all, together or not. "We all just had our own things to do," he said. And then the call came, they were in the finals, and there was only one thing to do. "After not playing for nine months we went down to Panama, kicked ass and won the contest," said D'Aguanno. "Now we're full steam ahead," added Potts. Delivering its straight ahead hard rock with a typical high-energy performance, Meaningless Tag won retail chain Sam Goody's annual Bandemonium contest in late March, beating out more than 500 entries to be named "Best Unsigned Band of 2001." As winners the band will receive $20,000 in cash and new music equipment. They will be flown to Minnesota to record a demo album with a producer who previously worked with Nirvana and Incubus, and perform at a festival while there. They also got to open for the Go-Go's the night after winning, although the consensus was Bleinda Carlisle was "not a pleasant person." Not all the Go-Go's were so bad, however. "Jane Wiedlin was really cool. We shared a glass of wine and I gave her a signed CD," said D'Aguanno, laughing. Going into the contest, Straka said the band was just hoping to finish second or third so as to win some money, and had only practice four times in two weeks before the performance as D'Aguanno and Amato left for a two-week vacation right after learning they were in the finals. While his bandmates were relaxed before going on, D'Aguanno said he was a little nervous, having "screaming" responsibility as well as singing, but they played well and the crowd went crazy. "The judges actually said it was no contest," said Potts, as Straka added, "and the other bands were really good." But it was Meaningless Tag walking away with the big fake $20,000 check, D'Aguanno's teeth marks in it and all. "I always see these things on TV. I never thought I'd be holding one," said Straka. While happy to have won the big check, the members agreed the contest was most beneficial for just getting the band back together. "Even if we didn't win the competition we won because we got our band back, and a friend," said Straka, referring to fellow Northeast Philadelphian Potts. While broken up, Straka said he "felt like I lost a half of me." "I lost three halves," added Potts. Even before the Bandemonium win, Meaningless Tag experienced success, having won a number of Philadelphia area band contests, performed on radio and television stations, and putting out two CDs - 1997's "Ain't That Strange" and 2000's "Wait of the World." They also developed a strong local following, stronger than even they knew. "We didn't realize while broken up how much of a fan base we had," said Straka. Amato said the band's songs were being increasingly downloaded from Napster, and D'Aguanno said their fans surprised the band upon their return from Florida. "People were waiting at the airport when we got back - it was nuts," he said. Meaningless Tag hopes to use the upcoming recording session to garner more label interest, but signed or not will use the session toward a new full-length album and play as many shows as possible. "We have to ride this wave while we're on it, and have some fun at the same time,"said D'Aguanno. For more information on the band check their Web site www.meaninglesstag.com. ©Montgomery Newspapers 2001 After eight years together something big finally broke their way. Northeast Philadelphia's Meaningless Tag was among four out of more than 500 bands chosen as finalists in a national band competition. They would fly to Panama City, Fla., to perform before thousands of screaming spring-breakers and the national media, and be in the running for $20,000 in cash, prizes and studio time with a producer experienced with major acts. The members got the good news one month before the competition was scheduled; the only problem being it was three months after Meaningless Tag broke up. "At that point the band was done," said guitar player Phil Straka. Drummer Chris Amato said eight years of practicing and playing original music, self-managing, and putting out their own recordings in hopes of being signed by a label, all while juggling regular jobs and other commitments, took its tool on him and his bandmates. "You get to that frustrated point," said Amato, a Huntingdon Valley resident and Lower Moreland High School grad. It was at that point that bassist Joe Potts quit the group. Lead singer Frank D'Aguanno of Bucks County, said none of the members were playing at all, together or not. "We all just had our own things to do," he said. And then the call came, they were in the finals, and there was only one thing to do. "After not playing for nine months we went down to Panama, kicked ass and won the contest," said D'Aguanno. "Now we're full steam ahead," added Potts. Delivering its straight ahead hard rock with a typical high-energy performance, Meaningless Tag won retail chain Sam Goody's annual Bandemonium contest in late March, beating out more than 500 entries to be named "Best Unsigned Band of 2001." As winners the band will receive $20,000 in cash and new music equipment. They will be flown to Minnesota to record a demo album with a producer who previously worked with Nirvana and Incubus, and perform at a festival while there. They also got to open for the Go-Go's the night after winning, although the consensus was Bleinda Carlisle was "not a pleasant person." Not all the Go-Go's were so bad, however. "Jane Wiedlin was really cool. We shared a glass of wine and I gave her a signed CD," said D'Aguanno, laughing. Going into the contest, Straka said the band was just hoping to finish second or third so as to win some money, and had only practice four times in two weeks before the performance as D'Aguanno and Amato left for a two-week vacation right after learning they were in the finals. While his bandmates were relaxed before going on, D'Aguanno said he was a little nervous, having "screaming" responsibility as well as singing, but they played well and the crowd went crazy. "The judges actually said it was no contest," said Potts, as Straka added, "and the other bands were really good." But it was Meaningless Tag walking away with the big fake $20,000 check, D'Aguanno's teeth marks in it and all. "I always see these things on TV. I never thought I'd be holding one," said Straka. While happy to have won the big check, the members agreed the contest was most beneficial for just getting the band back together. "Even if we didn't win the competition we won because we got our band back, and a friend," said Straka, referring to fellow Northeast Philadelphian Potts. While broken up, Straka said he "felt like I lost a half of me." "I lost three halves," added Potts. Even before the Bandemonium win, Meaningless Tag experienced success, having won a number of Philadelphia area band contests, performed on radio and television stations, and putting out two CDs - 1997's "Ain't That Strange" and 2000's "Wait of the World." They also developed a strong local following, stronger than even they knew. "We didn't realize while broken up how much of a fan base we had," said Straka. Amato said the band's songs were being increasingly downloaded from Napster, and D'Aguanno said their fans surprised the band upon their return from Florida. "People were waiting at the airport when we got back - it was nuts," he said. Meaningless Tag hopes to use the upcoming recording session to garner more label interest, but signed or not will use the session toward a new full-length album and play as many shows as possible. "We have to ride this wave while we're on it, and have some fun at the same time,"said D'Aguanno. For more information on the band check their Web site www.meaninglesstag.com. ©Montgomery Newspapers 2001 ------------------------------------------------- Rockpile - February 1998 Meaningless Tag's rehearsal space in Northeast Philadelphia is a former plumbing shop where drummer Chris Amato's father used to run his business. "the sink leaks and the toilet is crooked and it's a plumbing shop," laughs Amato. Ah, but the place is furnished it's a good size and there's a coffee maker - not to mention the back room is big enough to house Amato's gorgeous white Tama Grand Star drum kit. Christmas gifts from fans, including a pair of alien-head candles (the band has a thing for extra-terrestrials), two cases of Frapuccino, as well as lots of fan mail litter the space. A recent three-page letter from two 13 year old girls is particularly amusing . It starts out with, "Like, hi guys, what's up?" and continues on to say they think singer Frank D'Aguanno should be voted "Hunk Of The Month." It's amidst this atmosphere Meaningless Tag's hospitality manifests itself with tea, brownies and sugar cookies. It seems everything Meaningless Tag touches has turned to gold. The band's first notable success was winning first place in the "Heavy" category of a local bar's 1995 CD compilation contest. This awarded the at Sonic Recording Studios. Initially, the foursome planned to record a four-song demo, but since the band had more songs written, a CD seed more feasible. Ain't That Strange... was released in June, and to date,1,200 copies have been sold mostly at shows and in-store appearances. "Sam Goody, they've been very, very good to us. They got rid of like 200 CDs," states Amato "So we made our money back plus a profit to go back in and record a second record. Not bad, not bad at all.After a holiday in-store performance at Sam Goody, the band was besieged by about 40 autograph seekers. "We didn't even have a pen, so we borrowed pens from Sam Goody," recalls the shocked drummer. Shortly thereafter, the band was asked to perform a benefit concert for Huntington Valley Youth Center. Currently, Meaningless Tag is back at Sonic recording another CD. Guitarist Phil Straka and Amato acknowledge "inside support" of friends at Sonic as instrumental to the band's success Meaningless Tag was one of the first bands to receive support from WYSP's "Loud & Local" radio show, and the band has received healthy airplay from other area stations. "It seems that we're just really plugging it away and just hanging in there. I mean, we've been friends with bands that have broken up. I think it's important that we're all real close. We're all real different, but we're real close We communicate what we put into our songs. We have a lot of fun with it. You might not like the music, but you'll definitely dig us playing live on stage," says Straka. —Lorraine Gennaro --------------------------------------------------

Additional Info We recorded 3 new songs at Pachyderm Studios in July 2001, we are in the process of shopping to labels.

Location Philadelphia, PA - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).