Auckland Central and Manukau Rockshop Bandquest 2014 results

Media Release: Auckland Central and Manukau Rockshop Bandquest 2014 results

They may be young but they know how to rock – this year’s Auckland contestants took the stage over the weekend in this year’s regional final of Rockshop Bandquest, the nationwide music contest for intermediate and primary students.

Bandquest is in its fourth year as the younger sibling of Smokefreerockquest, and in the Auckland region attracted close to 50 keen entrants who competed at the Dorothy Winstone Centre AGGS on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Event organizer Matt Ealand says the performances from this age group mix sophistication with a lack of self-consciousness.

“They’ve been watching TV and YouTube, they’re aware of what established musicians are doing and they want to emulate them,” he said. “But they are not worried about being mocked – they just get up there and give it heaps.”

Rockshop Bandquest is for bands of two or more members, from intermediate or primary schools, who play a short set of covers or original songs, with a focus on performance skills.

The results list below gives North Shore awards from Thursday night, followed by Auckland Central (Friday) and Manukau (Saturday).

First place winning $400 credit with The Rockshop for their school: Old Greg’s Love Shack Northcross Intermediate; Waify, Waikowhai Intermediate; Just Kedgley 2, Kedgely Intermediate.

Second place winning $200 credit with The Rockshop for their school: The Electric, Huapai District School; Seven Souls, Blockhouse Bay Intermediate; Input Funk, Clayton Park School.

Third place winning $100 credit with The Rockshop: Lights Out, Takapuna Normal Intermediate; Child’s Play, Remuera Intermediate; MI Identity, Manurewa Intermediate.

Best Original Song: Lights Out, Takapuna Normal Intermediate; G.M.E Ponsonby Intermediate; MI Fusion, Manurewa Intermediate:

Best original lyrics winning $50 cash for their school: Lights Out, Takapuna Normal Intermediate; Hash Tag, Te Tatatu Intermediate; Road to Wreckage, Bucklands Beach Intermediate;

Rockshop spokesman, Hamish Jackson, says for many of the kids Rockshop Bandquest is the biggest musical moment of their lives.

“It’s great for us to be part of that, “ he says. “Bandquest provides a unique opportunity to intermediate kids, it’s all about participation and giving it a go. The kids definitely throw themselves into it and the results have been amazing.”

This year over 160 bands have entered Rockshop Bandquest, competing in Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Tauranga, Napier, Hamilton and Auckland, with mentoring sessions from successful Smokefreerockquest bands in the afternoon of each regional event, and on-line entries for bands in outlying areas. There will be an online national final announcement on Wednesday 24 September, via bandquest.co.nz.

Ends

© Scoop Media