Nelson Smokefreerockquest Crowns Winner

Nelson Smokefreerockquest Crowns Winner

A quirky three-piece band with a folk jazz sound won the Nelson Smokefreerockquest regional final at the Theatre Royal on Saturday night.
 
New Vinyl from Nelson College has been busking and doing gigs for over a year, and guitarist Alex Farrell-Davey says he believes the unusual combination of guitar, double bass and piano accordion made them stand out.
 
“We want to do our own thing,” he said, “and I think that genuine originality came through.”

Ed Palmer, plays the double bass in the band and he says being true to themselves is important when it comes to their music. The other band member, Allister Meffan is able to play a variety of musical instruments but says it was a last minute decision to add the piano accordion to their line up.
 
The standard of the bands in the regional final was particularly strong with Smokefreerockquest director, Glenn Common, saying it was one of the strongest Nelson finals he can remember in 24 years.  The twelve finalists performed to a capacity crowd at the theatre, with seats removed for a packed mosh pit. 
 
Second place went to Midnight’s Sun, a seven piece band from Nelson College, Garin College and Nelson College for Girls made up of Robbie  Day, Bo Ade-Simpon, Keeli Ferris, Sam Butler, Bex, Nott, Ella James and Kahu Tumai.
 
These top two bands win musical gear from NZ Rockshops and go on to compete for one of eight national finalist spots in this year’s Smokefreerockquest national final at Claudelands in Hamilton on 22 September.
 
Rockquest Promotions Founders and Directors Glenn Common and Pete Rainey said from here on the Nelson finalists would have to work hard and draw on their creativity to make the most of the opportunity Smokefreerockquest offered.
 
“In August judges will be selecting the eight finalists from DVDs of their own original music,” Common said. “There are a range of skills they’ll need to pull this together – creativity and musical ability are important, but they also learn to work together as a group be well organized to produce the video footage that could be their next step towards Kiwi music success.”
 
The eight national finalists will be selected from a pool made up of first and second place-getters fromeach of the 24 regional finals, plus bands from Rockshop Second Chance, an opportunity for established bands who feel they didn’t play at their best on the night.
 
At stake is a prize package that includes a NZ On Air new recording and music video grant worth over $10,000, a place on the NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc, musical gear to the value of $10,000 from NZ Rockshops, radio promotional support for a single, and video play on youth music channel FOUR. There is also the MAINZ Scholarship for outstanding musicianship, the APRA Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award, the Smokefree Women’s Musicianship Award and the Skinny People’s Choice, voted by text, with the opportunity to open at the SFRQ National final.
 
Other regional awards made on Saturday night:
 
Third place:  Paper City from Nayland College and Garin College
 
APRA Lyric Award: Hey, August from Nelson College For Girls
 
Lowdown Best Song: Speaking in Silence from Garin College (first song).
 
The Mainz Musicianship Award with the opportunity to be selected for the $4500 Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand Scholarship, announced at the national final: singer songwriterMarley Richards from Nayland College
 
Smokefree Award For Women’s Musicianship: Alex Hargreaves from Nayland College (guitarist with Paper City)
 
Skinny People’s Choice voted by text: Fire Without Permit from Nelson College and Waimea College
 
Nelson and Tasman Youth Council crowd participation award: Speaking in Silence from Garin College
 
To find out more about Smokefreerockquest 2012, visit the official website sfrq.co.nz.
 
ENDS

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