Looking For A New Metal! Amp

Hey GMC im looking to buy a new amp that can give me some SWEET distortion. To be honest I like to play all kinds of music literally, blues, rock, classical, anything but my amp needs good distortion because I'm in a metal band. Unfortunately, like an idiot I bought a Marshall halfstack MG100HDFX and its terrible. I bought it because the marshall name and that I didn't really play it much before I bought it.

Anyways, I'm looking for a new amp for around $900. Any suggestions?

Lesson Request

I'm sure many of you have already heard of these amazing guitarists, particularly Rodrigo and I really want to learn how to play some upbeat spanish acoustic music but its pretty tricky to self teach

If you haven't heard them here is their live cover of Stairway to Heaven AMAZING!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNc5o9TU0t0

I would be so grateful if someone would make more lessons in this kind of style, thanks and rock on!

by the way, can anyone also recommend some powerful spanish sounding scales, chords, or techniques that work well together? just so i have something to work on in the mean time

Finding Gigs

I'm in a band and we're pretty good but we can't find any places to play at because almost everywhere we check is a restaurant (which wouldn't fit the music, we play rock/metal), or it's a bar and we have to be 21. I'm sure lots of people have this problem on the site and I'm wondering if anyone figured out a way to find non-bar non-restaurant gigs.

Stuck...

Well, lately I haven't been getting very much better anymore, and I'm wondering why. I'm working on new things, but I'm progressing reaallly slow, especially to how I was a couple months ago. I've been playing for a few years and I'm wondering what happened. If anyone else feels like this or knows what to do, please help because my goal is to be the next Malmsteen

Playing Standing Up

ive been trying to stand up while playing more often now and i'm having a LOT of trouble trying to solo while standing, particularly in solos when im shredding at all on the low E string because my fingers don't reach it quite enough. Also, trying to palm mute is difficult when standing and I was wondering if there are any tricks to soloing standing up, other than tightening my strap, because it's already as high as it goes (which isn't very high )

thanks