It's every unsigned band member's dream: to be wanted by the biggest record label, to become the baddest rockstar around and to make money doing what he or she loves most.

Not many musical groups have this opportunity, but there's one local band who sure is reaching for it.

Audio Imagery, a State College hip-hop group, is putting itself out there by taking part in the national Bodog Music Battle of the Bands competition.

The winning group receives a record contract with Bodog worth $1 million, as well as national recognition on television.

"It has a lot of steps to it, just like any other competition. It's kind of like American Idol for bands," Jason Browne, Audio Imagery's frontman, said. "You battle, you battle, you battle, you get to the last few rounds and then you're thrown into a reality-show type of competition with other musicians."

The beginning of the competition is composed of a series of battles where unsigned bands from around the country compete against each other on stage.

Half of the bands from each round move on until the final 10 bands make it onto the reality TV show Bodog Music Battle of the Bands on Fuse Television.

These 10 bands then tour the country, vying for ultimate fandom so they can receive the prized $1 million record deal.

Along the way, the bands will have to undergo challenges to prove that they have what it takes, and one band is eliminated at the end of each episode.

Finally, the last three bands compete at a concert in Los Angeles, where fans vote for the winner.

Audio Imagery battled for the first time in October in West Philadelphia.

"We decimated everyone else," Browne said. "This competition embraces all kinds of music -- basically, if you have a following, you can perform and you have some sort of a personality, [Bodog] wants you."

Audio Imagery's next battle is 6 p.m. Monday at the Fillmore in Philadelphia.

Browne promised that every audience member will enjoy the band's live performance.

"We really thrive in front of a crowd. Our live performance is one of the best live performances that I have personally been a part of, or even seen for that matter," Browne said. "Every show is crazy and special."

Audio Imagery has opened for several national hip-hop and rock artists, including Clipse, Fall Out Boy, Blackalicious and Bowling For Soup.

The band has also made its way up and down the East Coast, having recently played shows in Boston and Cleveland.

"We put on a show, we don't just play our little instruments and run off stage. We don't just sing to the crowd, we get them involved. We make sure that the crowd is not only enjoying the music, but they're enjoying us," Browne said. "Any hip-hop group that's come into this town, we've probably opened for."

The issue now, however, is that Audio Imagery no longer wants to be the opener.

With an extensive musical resume to back up its sound, the band began its search to get signed and eventually stumbled across the Bodog competition.

"Performing is great, but it won't last long unless we make it our life," Browne said. "If things don't pan out, if we don't have a deal in hand, then some of us will probably move on. This is the last year of lots of big things for us, so we're just trying to make it so we don't have to work from 9 to 5 for the rest of our life."

Browne said that while several record companies have looked at Audio Imagery, including Sony Records, Atlantic Records and J Records, the band has yet to be signed because getting into the music business is "always about being at the right place at the right time with the right piece of material."

"Unfortunately," Browne said, "we don't really have a lot of time left."

Audio Imagery has recently been touring its latest album, Fresh, which was released in April.

Although there are plans to re-release it in the future, the band's immediate focus will be on winning the current competition.

Browne said it took nearly two years to complete the album because the band recorded, edited and mixed the album independently.

There's even talk of the record soon becoming available at local stores, such as City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., and Best Buy, 1650 N. Atherton St.

"We wanted to put out a professional quality album. It sounds like anything you would purchase at a normal record store," said Browne, explaining how the recording process took so long because the band members are very meticulous with their sound.

Although the new album is mostly centralized around hip-hop, the band members believed they could perform in any genre -- so they did.

"We have rock on there, along with Top 40, jazz, funk and some good old school," said Browne. "It's a mix of a wide variety of things, just to give everyone out there a good example of what we can do. There's something on that album for everyone."

Michael Milillo, Class of 2005, said that one of the things he really likes about Audio Imagery is how the music branches out across many different genres.

"They integrate a lot more than other hip-hop groups. A lot of other groups do lyrics, but with these guys, they have musical quality. They appreciate the music and the lyrics instead of just one or another," said Milillo.

Milillo said he thinks the band is well deserving of the grand prize in the Bodog competition, especially because the members have been playing together for almost four years.

"They've been really working at this," Milillo said. "They keep their nose at the grindstone."

Browne said he is depending on the State College and Penn State community to garner support for Audio Imagery's effort and success in the nationally televised competition.

"Become a fan. You don't have to buy an album, you don't have to come and see us at every performance, just tell your friends to come listen to us. Tell your friends' friends to tell their friends. Let people know about us," Browne said.

The reason Audio Imagery wants to win the competition, Browne said, is because of the band's love for making music.

If the band doesn't get the proper backing and support, the members will not be able to afford what they love doing.

"If we won, we would put out a bunch of really hot albums," Browne said. "As long as we get to do the music, that's all we really need. Once we're there, we'll perform every chance we got, make as much music as we can, help people along the way and give back to the people who supported us."