Four NIU students received the chance of a lifetime recently.

Jason Beetstra, freshman geography major, Ken McDevitt, senior general studies major, Nathan McKnight, freshman industrial engineering major and Carrie Souchek, senior physiology major, competed for the national title of best “Rock Band” on MTV’s Total Request Live.

“This was the experience of a lifetime,” Beetstra said.

MTV held a nationwide search to find the best “Rock Band” performers and players; one of the search stops was NIU.

“When Nathan found out about the contest, he called all of us up and told us about it,” Souchek said. “He knew I sang, Ken played the drums and that Jason was a ‘Guitar Hero’ pro.”

All of them rushed down to King Memorial Commons, where they played the game in front of judges. A 30-second snippet was recorded for MTV producers and sent to New York.

The foursome, who call themselves Carrie Me Home, received a phone call the next day.

“The producers called us and told us they were impressed with our performance and we were in the top five,” Souchek said. “I thought, ‘Are they serious?’”

Carrie Me Home flew to New York where they received VIP treatment.

“We walked on a red carpet. We rode in limousines. We got approached by paparazzi and there were tons of fans screaming for us,” McDevitt said.

They performed at the Hard Rock Café in New York.

“Although we are not a real band, we went through all the emotions that a real band does,” Souchek said. “We were excited, nervous and ready to rock it out and go nuts.”

Carrie Me Home competed against another band called Hellanor Brozevelt. The band featured “Guitar Hero II” world champion Freddie Wong on guitar.

After both groups rocked out, it was up to the judges to choose a winner.

Hellanor Brozevelt was declared the winner.

Members of Carrie Me Home said they walked away with the complete “Rock Band” game system and a memory that will last forever.

“I’ve always had the dream of being on MTV when I was little, but I never thought it would happen,” McDevitt said. “It’s hard to take in the fact that half a million viewers saw me perform.”

“Rock Band” is a new video game by Harmonix and MTV. It is inspired by games such as “Guitar Hero” and “Karaoke Revolution.”

The game allows four people to play as if they were in a real rock band. There is a vocalist, guitarist, bassist and drummer.

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