By day Russ Stacey is an operations manager at NBC Universal, coordinating satellite feeds from around the world for news, sports and entertainment programs.

But by night, he’s a budding rock star. On a recent Saturday night, for example, Stacey played bass guitar along with some of his colleagues in their band, High Definition, as they rocked a packed house at the Key Club on Sunset Boulevard with covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Foo Fighters.

The occasion was the regional semifinals of Fortune Magazine’s Battle of the Corporate Bands. The event brought bands from across the state to compete for a shot at getting their names in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

High Definition won the night’s competition and will now go to the national finals in Cleveland, where they will compete with seven other bands for the national title. The winning corporate group gets to perform at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim later this year.

“It’s really a kick, man,” Stacey said.

Besides being the featured band at the NAMM trade show, the winning band gets its name and photo displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for one year as part of a permanent exhibit honoring the event. Each band member receives a varsity jacket embroidered with the band’s name and the contest logo.

It’s the second year that High Definition has made it to the finals.

“I’m hoping that our past experience at the finals will give us an edge this time,” Stacey said. “Winning is definitely our goal. But we really get together to play for the fun of it.”

Fun or not, the competition was intense.

“You’ve got 20 minutes to perform and there’s this giant clock facing you on stage, so you’ve got to have your routine down pat,” he said. “This time we finished with about 30 seconds to spare.”

The Battle of the Corporate Bands was developed as a joint effort between Fortune Magazine and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a fundraiser for the Museum’s Educational Fund.

Money is raised through an entry fee of $250 from each band. The eight finalists are required to donate $8,000 each. Most bands raise the money through their companies, said Scott Robertson, marketing and communication director at NAMM.