Gillan Offers Fans a Smoke

Ask any guitarist the first song they learned to play, and there’s a good chance you’ll hear “Smoke on the Water.” Now Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan‘s “Smoke This” contest is offering a few lucky fans the chance to play the classic on stage during his upcoming tour.

Gillan and his label, Immergent, are inviting fans to upload their version of the song to his Web site, www.gillansinn.com.

Gillan will pick one winner from each of three categories, with the winners of the Best Vocal and Best Guitar categories competing for a trip to Las Vegas to perform with him at the House of Blues on September 17th. The winners of the third category, Best Band, will receive music gear worth $2,500.

Gillan’s six-week North American Tour kicks off August 16th in Buffalo, N.Y., in support of his CD, Gillan’s Inn, which features new versions of Deep Purple songs as well as his solo work.

In another fan-friendly move, Gillan and the label are also encouraging folks to tape, photograph and film selected shows and upload them to the Web site.