No more.

CityLife was just contacted by the folks from Austin, Tex.-based web business BetterThanTheVan.com, and we now have a solid frontrunner for the 2009 Forehead-Smack-”Why-Didn’t-I-Think-Of-That” Award.

If you’re familiar with the concept of touring musical artists and bands needing an inexpensive place to crash while stopping over in Strangerville, U.S.A., you already understand the need for — and genius of — this site. Like other, more narrowly purposed social networking sites such as world traveler cyber-ally CouchSurfing.org, all they’ve done is create a free, membership-based network where one can register as an artist, a host, or both and connect with a growing undergound of other artists and hosts in need of/possession of something with four friendly walls and a roof, rather than a horrible, bloodstained motel room on the outskirts of civilization or, of course, the touring van that’s cramped and reeks of feet.

Co-founder Scott Miller tells CityBlog BTTV membership has grown to about 1,500 registered users over its single year of existence, most living and touring in the U.S., but plenty in Canada, the U.K. and miscellaneous other locales like India and Australia. He says the business hasn’t heard a single complaint so far (although the first to eventually trickle in will certainly be of the “You didn’t tell me the guitarist would fire my dad’s hunting rifles” and “She was hotter in the picture” variety), but it has heard plenty of thanks.

“Most of the feedback we get is about how much money people saved,” says Miller. “Stuff like, ‘I coulda spent three grand on this tour, but ended up staying every night somewhere for free … and they cooked me a meal, I had fresh towels, got to take a shower and cruise the internet.’ That’s the vein most of our emails are in.”

Naturally, one the the site’s FAQ page questions reads, “Is this some kind of weird groupie site?”

“That’s not really our intent,” is the short answer, though Miller admits users’ motivations are varied.

“We have some girl in Charlotte [N.C.] who says, ‘I’m 17 and my parents said its okay if bands stay here … we have a house out back … but I have to clear it with them first. I love music!’  So there’s a little bit of a groupie aspect to it, but most people aren’t like that. Maybe the groupie mentality is about saying, ‘I heard about them first,’” Miller laughs. “‘I made out with the drummer!’”

Incidentally, both Miller and BTTV founder Todd Hansen are both drummers.