The producers of American Idol may have another hit on their hands with Idol spin-off American Band, premiering this Friday at 8 pm on Fox.  If you want an idea of what American Band will be like, just think of American Idol -- except the goal is to find a hot new music group instead of a solo superstar.  American Band will feature three judges : Goo Dolls singer/songwriter John Rzeznik , percussionist and performer Sheila E., and Australian Idol personality Ian Dickson.   The show will be hosted by the Ryan Seacrest of New Zealand Idol, Dominic Bowden.  

During the American Band audition rounds,  the judges will narrow down the hopefuls to 12 bands from various music genres.   The final 12 will perform live each week with the hopes of getting the most viewer votes.  Bands will be eliminated at the beginning of each weekly episode (Yay! No drawn-out results show!) until only one band remains.  The top music group will win a recording contract with 19 Records.

Even if American Band doesn't turn out to be must see Reality-TV, the Fox competition might hold us over until the premiere of American Idol 7. Bring on the bands!