Christchurch Musicians On Song At Rockquest
22nd October 2007 - c/o John Hartevelt,The Press



Members of two Christchurch rock bands got a taste of fame at the Rockquest national finals this weekend. Ollie Sewell, lead singer of Burnside High School band Frankly Mauve, won the Smokefree Best Vocals Award and Bang! Bang! Eche!, a group made up of Hagley Community College and St Andrew's College students, finished third at the finals in Auckland on Saturday night.

Christchurch Music Industry Trust music manager Jeff Fulton said the strong performance of the Christchurch bands was no surprise. "An incredibly high proportion of Christchurch bands make it through to the Rockquest finals," he said. Fulton described Frankly Mauve's sound as "sort of quirky guitar pop". Lead singer Sewell had "a really strong voice", so it was no surprise he had won the best vocalist.

In an interview before the final, Frankly Mauve band members said their success was about "band tightness, great vocals, individuality, and style". "Each band in the top six possesses these qualities and we are proud to say we do too. Our music is not a forced thing, it sort of just occurs and then we are able to craft around that to create our original, tight sound." The four boys said they were "all awesome mates" to boot.

Frankly Mauve won the Canterbury regional final held in Christchurch in May. This month Bang! Bang! Eche! won the Dux-de-Lux Roundup 2007 competition. The success follows Christchurch band Neil Robinson, led by Chris Young, winning the Rockquest finals last year, which will play at this year's Southern Amp festival on November 10.

The Smokefree Rockquest has been the launchpad for several successful artists including Evermore, Anika Moa and Die! Die! Die!.  This year, 650 bands competed in 40 heats and finals around the country, culminating in Saturday night's final at Auckland's Bruce Mason Theatre.

North Shore band Solomon, from Rangitoto College, won the competition, improving on its second placing at last year's event. Another Auckland band, Malford, was runner-up this year. Dunedin's Anna MacDonald, from St Hilda's Collegiate, won the Smokefree Award for women's musicianship.

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