We are the MTV generation, and in keeping with tradition, we watch the station religiously. That means you must have seen this awesome band on the Ultimate Cover Band Contest. Only then, the band called Lifer was playing under the name "Strangers with Candy."

"Other labels wanted us because of MTV, but they wanted to change us around. They didn't care about our music; they [cared] about how we looked," says Nick Coyle, the band's 25-year-old lead singer. Last February, however, Lifer inked a record contract with Universal Records, a deal they're very cool with. With the exception of Ian, the newly acquired bassist, the band has been together since 1999, hailing from the small hometown of Wilkes-Barre, PA.

"It's a small town," Nick explains. "So everyone who's a musician knows each other." And because everyone knew each other, Lifer picked up a very big fan base quickly. "We played around as a cover band at places like the Wreck Room, a bar in Wallington, NJ," Nick says. When MTV happened to be doing a segment on tribute bands, Lifer's fame came to life -- literally!

ERROR MSG"We were playing as a Metallica cover band. [Thomas Boeker from] MTV was looking for cover bands. The owner of the bar taped our segment. MTV really liked us, so they called up the bar asking for our number." Within a couple of days, an MTV official contacted Nick with an invitation to compete on air. The band was shocked and overjoyed to participate.

"I guess it was fate," says Nick. The fans helped out too, so it seemed. In addition to MTV pursuing the band, local fans bombarded MTV to tell them about Strangers with Candy [Lifer] for the series. Lifer won the contest and scored a record deal (totally independent of their victory!)

That's when it all came together. Lifer's self-titled nu-metal CD soon became one of the top 50 metal records of 2001. And the small town boys began touring big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. "Most of my bandmates had never been further west than Pittsburg. We were all like "wow, we're in Chicago," says Nick of their U.S. tour with Cold and Dope. "It's like a real new big vibe for me."

One thing Nick stresses is that success is not all fun and games. It takes much sacrifice, too. "I've been playing since I was 13, and a lot of people I was playing with stopped. I was always the person who wasn't making a lot of money because I played in a band," Nick explains. "You really have to be dedicated. It's like anything else."

And Lifer also supports college! Nick didn't finish school because they were in the middle of cutting a record, but drummer, Chris Lightcap, graduated from Susquehanna University, where guitarist, Aaron Fink's father is an English professor. (Yes, it's a small world, but one that does make room for college!)

hotels MunchenCheck out more about Lifer at liferonline.com or lifermusic.com.