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Last year, the Provo rock band Fictionist was performing at a Texarkana shelter in the dead of winter. Only homeless people were in attendance.

Today, the band is one step closer to being on the cover of Rolling Stone.

On Tuesday afternoon, the rock magazine announced that Fictionist is one of four bands remaining in its inaugural "Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star?" competition. The winner of the six-month online competition will be the first band or artist not signed with a major label to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. The victor, who receives the highest ranking from online users, will also receive a recording deal with Atlantic Records.

"It's the biggest thing that's ever happened to this band, and bigger than I ever imagined," said Brandon Kitterman, guitarist for Fictionist.

Added frontman Stuart Maxfield: "We've been pleased with the amount of support we've gotten locally."

The band, whose sound might be described as progressive experimental rock, has traveled a long way from its start, when Maxfield, Kitterman and Robbie Connolly first met in high school. After years in other bands, Maxfield created the band with those two longtime friends, as well as Jacob Jones, a friend of his from Brigham Young University. Jones recommended the band enlist Aaron Anderson, and the band was born.

Since then, the band has lost its original bassist and embarked on an inauspicious North American tour, landing gigs in dives and even the now-infamous performance at the homeless shelter, which Maxfield called a "miserable" experience.

"We went through fire during that tour," Maxfield said. "We played some crappy gigs. Everyone got sick. We lost money. We've hit more low spots than I can count, but we've always come back."

The band was gaining notice, though, through an endless touring schedule that still sees the band playing about two shows locally every week. "There's always a progression," Kitterman said. "You just have to work towards your goal. The more difficult it gets, the better it gets."

Things started to turn around for the band when they caught the attention of Atlantic Records talent scouts. Late last year, the label flew the quintet to New York City to play for Atlantic representatives.

Head of A & R at Atlantic Records, Pete Ganbarg, remembered seeing Fictionist at that New York City showcase. "They were all over the place, searching for their own identity," he said. "They hadn't really gelled yet."

But Ganbarg saw potential. "It would be fun to revisit them in six to nine months and see how they would evolve," he thought at the time.

Atlantic executives asked Fictionist to enter the Rolling Stone contest. Ganbarg said he has been impressed at watching the band's progress from unexperienced ensemble to a self-assured band. "They are starting to click," he said. "Stuart's got more confidence as a frontman, He really believes in what he's singing, and you can see that passion."

Andy Greene, associate editor of RollingStone.com, agreed with Ganbarg's assessment. "They are highly skilled, and they are very serious," he said.

Greene said the first-ever national competition has caught fire, as well, attracting hundreds of thousands of online votes — so many votes that editors are considering a similar competition in 2012.

So, at this point, if Fictionist doesn't win this year, it could conceivably enter the contest next year in its quest to secure a major-label contract.

But that might not be necessary. "We've got an eye on all of them," Ganbarg said of the four bands left. "We're definitely taking a long hard look at a few of them."

dburger@sltrib.com

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—> Myspace Band Player Generator

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Rank the band until May 11

P To vote for Fictionist, visit rollingstone.com and find the "Choose The Cover Contest" link. Rank the band from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. The third round of the competition began Tuesday, and votes will be counted until 9:59 p.m. MDT on May 11. After the fan vote count, the final two bands will battle it out in the online competition.

The three other finalists are: Empires, of Chicago, Ill.; Lelia Broussard, of Los Angeles, Calif.; and The Sheepdogs, of Saskatoon, Canada. —

Hear Fictionist

P Listen to the band's music > myspace.com/fictionistband.