Otherwise may become the other band from LV

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

After winning $10,000 in the first round of a national battle of the bands contest May 21 at the Empire Ballroom on the Strip, the local hard rock band Otherwise may be on the verge of national stardom.

The next step is the finals competition slated for the fall. The winner of that battle will pocket $100,000 and a recording contract.

On Friday, Otherwise will open at the Ballroom, 3765 Las Vegas Blvd. South, for W.A.S.P., the seminal heavy metal group founded in Los Angeles in 1982.

"Otherwise has been plugging along for five years," spokesman Mark Hornsby said. "It's the most popular band

in Vegas right now, and they've finally got to the point where they're getting some recognition."

He described the group as "basically hard rock with good song-writing, good melodies - the whole package."

Hornsby said after the group's victory at the "Indie Show" (sponsored by the Independent Radio Network), representatives of the Las Vegas-based band The Killers - one of the hottest groups in the nation - introduced themselves.

"We were bombarded with these guys in suits - and it turned out they were The Killers' managers," he said. "We'll see what happens."

Hornsby, manager of the Cheyenne Saloon, 3103 N. Rancho Drive, became acquainted with Otherwise soon after the group formed.

They haven't performed at the Saloon much lately, but they will return for an engagement in July.

Hornsby became the band's manager about a month ago. One of his first decisions was to enter them in the contest.

Meanwhile, he is helping them finish their first album and lining up more gigs for the group, some of which will be in Los Angeles.

"All they need to do is get the exposure, and they will be as big as The Killers," Hornsby said. "They're right on the edge, ready to take off."