Taco Bell®’s inaugural “Best of the Beat” winners were announced today as part of the leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant’s Feed the Beat program. Tooth & Nail Records’ Thousand Foot Krutch was one of the three winners announced today along with the bands Hit the Lights and Fireflight. Already privy to $500 in Taco Bell® Bucks for free Fourthmeal, the late night meal between dinner and breakfast, these bands will work with Taco Bell® to identify and hire a well-known producer to record a single for them and then receive help in promotion by Taco Bell® in the Spring of 2009.

Firelfight

Other notable bands in the competition included in the competition include The Devil Wears Prada, Inhale Exhale, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Oh, Sleeper and Underøath.

“When we entered this contest we never thought we’d wind up being one of the winning bands,” said TFK lead singerTrevor McNevan. “A huge THANK YOU to the fans who voted and voted and voted, we’re humbled by your show of support. We want to thank Taco Bell for doing something like this to raise awareness of the great bands out there hitting the road to share their music with people.”

The “Best of the Beat” winners can thank the legions of devoted fans who voted this October and November on Taco Bell’s Virtual Music Festival web site. One hundred Feed the Beat bands showcased their music, photos, bios and tour schedules on the site, vying for the chance to become “Best of the Beat.” More than 180,000 votes were cast over the past six weeks and Fireflight and Thousand Foot Krutch were two of the three bands that outlasted the competition to win the bracket-style contest. In its third year, Feed the Beat provided $500 in Taco Bell® Bucks to all participating bands. The singles will then be promoted on www.feedthebeat.com and through in-store efforts in the Spring of 2009, as the web site address will be featured on Taco Bell’s iconic Sauce Packet, which reaches more than 208 million people each month.

Both Fireflight and TFK are currently on tour travelling state to state on Creation Festival: The Tour, which is named as a “festival on wheels”. For tour dates, visit www.CreationFestTour.com.