Smokefreerockquest 2011- who will take the top prize?

Smokefreerockquest 2011- who will take the top prize?

Judges hope to uncover the next Evermore, Kimbra or Kids of 88 when New Zealand’s top young bands line up for the Smokefreerockquest final in Hamilton at 4pm on Saturday 17 September.

More than 800 bands and soloists have played off at regional events from Invercargill to Whangarei and the top six are now going for the country’s biggest youth music prize in the national final.

High-energy chart topper Dane Rumble leads the guest list along with last year’s winners, The Good Fun from the small Waikato town of Pirongia. At 7pm that same night Kiwi Cream delivers New Zealand greats Shihad, Supergroove, OpShop and the Kids of 88.

Smokefreerockquest founder and director Glenn Common predicts a tough job for the judging panel, which includes Matt Barthow from channel Four, Tania Deans from New Zealand on Air, Joel Little from Dryden Street and Kids of 88 co-writer and Sam Collins from Kiwi FM.

“It’s always a hard job with so much talent across a diverse range of genres, ranging from the pop-funk sound of A Bit Nigel from Taupo to the indie-alt Velvet Regime from Hutt Valley,” he says.

“There’s so much at stake – the winning band has an open door to the music industry with recording time and a video grant as part of the $20k plus prize package.”

The top six bands to play off at the national final in Hamilton on September 17 are:

Get off the Grass, Rangitoto College North Shore, Auckland: Big fans of bands from the Beach Boys to Radiohead, the boys put their own ideas on these influences to make something new and genre defying. The band members are Alex Estrin (drums), Flynn Roser (electric guitar and vocals), Julius Hattingh (electric guitar and vocals) and Matt Neale (bass). They were all competing for their second year in Smokefreerockquest.

Massad, Sacred Heart College Auckland: Massad Barakat-Devine is a polished singer-songwriter and performer on acoustic guitar and keyboard. He classifies his catchy tunes as alternative experimental pop. Massad won the Lowdown Best Song award at last year’s Smokefreerockquest national final.

Attic Sky’s, Whakatane High School, Bay of Plenty: This year was Attic Sky's fourth time in the contest. They have a high-energy stage presence and a punk-melodic sound interlaid with strong harmonies. The band members are Riley Brightwell (bass player and vocalist), Miles Sutton (guitar) and Ollie Butler (drums).

A Bit Nigel, Taupo-nui-a-Tia College, Taupo, Rotorua region: A pop-funk band competing for their second year in Smokefreerockquest. Their name is ‘the only one they could agree on’ but harmonies play a big part in their melodic songs and they like to just have fun on stage. The band members are Hamish Nixon (lead guitarist and vocalist), Sam Marshall (bass and synthesizer) and Manawa Veitayaki (drums and backing vocals).

The Velvet Regime, Naenae College and Hutt Valley High School, Wellington region: A four piece indie-alt band, with two members whose past Smokefreerockquest experience taught them the importance of stage presence, style and image. Dressed in black, their focus is on guitar and bass rather than vocals. The members of The Velvet Regime are Nigel Martinez (lead vocals and guitar), Stefan Poad (vocals and guitar), Joel Averes (bass) and Jason Reder (drums).

The Peasants, Garin College, Nelson: Formerly known as The Peasants of Eden, the seven-piece came second in the Smokefreerockquest national final last year, an experience that really enhanced their performance skills and catchy thoughtful songs. The band members are Georgia Nott (vocals and percussion), Abbey Phillips (vocals and keyboard), Chris Phillips (drums), Joseph Corban-Banks (bass), Rupert Wockner (rhythm guitar), Holly Tippler (vocals and keyboard) and Clark Hinton (guitar).

The prize package includes a NZ On Air new recording and music video grant worth $10,000, a place on the NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc, musical gear to the value of $10,000 from NZ Rockshops, recording time and radio promotional support for a single. There is also the MAINZ Scholarship for outstanding musicianship, the APRA Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award and the Smokefree Women’s Musicianship Award.

The Smokefreerockquest finals will run from 4-6pm at Claudelands Arena, tickets $10 from Ticketek or at the door. Ticket holders to Kiwi Cream will get free entry to the Smokefreerockquest final. Kiwi Cream tickets from Ticketek.

Visit www.sfrq.co.nz to see a video of the top bands.

Smokefreerockquest – 23 years of musical success
Smokefreerockquest is New Zealand’s only nationwide, live, original music, youth event. Now well into its third decade, the series of 28 events reaches audiences from Whangarei to Invercargill. This year the Smokefreerockquest Circus, an expo with hands-on displays, workshops and careers info was held as part of Smokefreerockquest in main centres.
Founded in 1988 by music teachers Glenn Common and Pete Rainey, who now run Rockquest Promotions full time out of Nelson, Smokefreerockquest has become a New Zealand institution. Musical successes from Smokefreerockquest over its 23-year history include Opshop, Ladyhawke, Kids Of 88, Midnight Youth, Brooke Fraser, Cut Off Your Hands, Evermore, Minuit, Die!Die!Die!, Pistol Youth, Bang!Bang!Eche!, Ivy Lies, Cairo Knife Fight, Luke Thompson, the Datsuns, Anika Moa, Anna Coddington, Kora, Steriogram, Aaradhna, Spacifix, Phoenix Foundation, The Feelers, The Black Seeds, Nesian Mystik, Bic Runga, The Checks, Julia Deans, Pine, King Kapisi, Kingston, The Naked and Famous, Autozamm and Elemeno P.

Smokefreerockquest aims to motivate young musicians to prove their ability and realise the heights they can reach in their music careers, and to encourage their peers to support 100% original New Zealand music. For more information visit www.sfrq.co.nz

Smokefree’s Smoking Not Our Future Campaign
The latest research from HSC shows that 94 percent of all young people have seen the Smoking Not Our Future initiative and that Smokefreerockquest plays a large part in getting its key messages and its celebrities in front of young people. Where possible, guest bands, judges, mentors and emcees at the events are part of Smoking Not Our Future. Smokefree has been the naming rights sponsor of Smokefreerockquest for 22 of its 24 years and this longstanding partnership between the two agencies has been mutually beneficial. Smokefree is able to deliver its messages to 25 percent of all secondary school students every year, while fostering connections to school and positive role models, as well as enhancing their musical abilities and aspirations. For more information visit notourfuture.co.nz

Hamilton – Home of the national final
Hamilton is the now the home of the Smokefreerockquest national final. And it is easy to see why when you consider that the city is charged with one of the country’s most youthful demographics (15-24 yrs) and that it is the location of New Zealand’s newest, 5000-seat purpose-built music arena, Claudelands.

Each year Hamilton adds to its already impressive portfolio of major events, including the now international Parachute Music Festival, the 2010 World Rowing Champs, the Fuel Festivals of NZ Music and Theatre, 2011 Rugby World Cup matches and V8 Supercars Australia. Building on that platform and bringing events of this calibre to Hamilton is what the city is all about.

Smokefreerockquest has spent the past 23 years making kiwi music legends; it is a national institution that has gone from strength to strength. With a Vector-style arena set to open and over two million people on the city’s doorstep, Hamilton is the perfect venue to grow Smokefreerockquest even more. www.hamilton.co.nz for more info.

ENDS

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