Smokefreerockquest NZ Final

Town Hall Auditorium, Kilmore St, Christchurch
Final - Friday 5 Sept, Anniversary Show - Sat 6 Sept 08.
Tickets from Ticketek

The twentieth anniversary Smokefreerockquest finals promise a varied celebration of young Kiwi music talent, with the six national finalists announced today covering the field from hardcore to harmonies.

Over 700 bands played off in 40 heats and finals around the country over winter, with the final selection made from DVDs of the bands' original music, judged by independent music producer Clint Murphy and Tania Dean from NZ on Air.

The 6 Finalists
Six bands will play off at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday September 5, followed on Saturday night with a retro concert featuring some of the country's top bands who started their careers in Smokefreerockquest.

In north to south order the finalists are:

Jicky Chan - a six piece band with a funky reggae dub sound from Kawarau College, made up of five Year 13 musicians and 'their baby', Year 11 vocalist Jordan Whakaruru. They have been playing together for three years, and won the national final of Pacifica Beats in 2006 under the name The Jick.
Contact: Wi Ana 07 323 6030 or 021 026 98506

Jayme Fitzgerald - singer-songwriter from Tauhara College, Taupo. Jayme has been playing guitar for some time and picked up piano last year. She is putting out her first CD of music - with a strong Jack Johnson influence.
Contact: Jayme, 07 377 1200 027 379 9660

The Stray Dogs - a three piece from Wellington with a rockabilly sound. Band members are drummer Benjamin Wattie and guitarist Jess Sheehan both from Wellington College, and bass player Patrick Stewart from Wellington High School.
Contact: Benjamin Wattie, 027 349 4335 or 04 565 0757

Beneath the Silence - Canterbury hardcore fivepiece with four guys and one girl. The line up is Brook Williamson, vocals, Kaiapoi High School; Mark Woodcock, guitar, Rangiora High School; Hamish McIntosh, drums, Sophia Di, guitar and Nic Rollinson, bass, all from Cashmere High School.
www.myspace.com/beneaththesilencenz
Contact: Brook Williamson, 027 334 8528 or 03 327 6835 or Nic Rollinson 03 337 4995

New York Minutes - Timaru four piece indie-rock band with members James Gibb, guitar; Peter Scott, vocals/guitar; Kieran Ormandy, drums; Isaac McFarlane, bass; all from Timaru Boys' High School.
Contact: James Gibb, 027 333 4835 or 03 686 6906

The Slur Tones - an indie three piece from Wanaka, in Smokefreerockquest for the fourth time. Made up of guitarist Fabian Shaw and bass player Yannick Weastell, plus their new drummer, Alistair Mawhinney, a hosteller (boarder) from Auckland - all from Mount Aspiring College.
Contact: Fabian Shaw, 027 459 7071

Rockquest Promotions Founders and Directors Glenn Common and Pete Rainey said the professionalism of the young bands was more evident than ever.

"These young musicians are using technology in ways that were just not possible when we started out 20 years ago," they said. "They have sophisticated recording gear, they are using the internet to promote their bands and they are far more articulate - in their song writing and when they talk about their sound."

The judges were impressed with the standard of the music and its presentation on DVD. Tania Dean said there was a greater diversity than in previous years, with a move away from 'emo' into more interesting sounds and fresher ideas. Clint Brown said the song-writing stood out, with the bands concentrating on the song as a whole and working together as a unit, rather than as individual musicians.

The Smokefreerockquest National Finals are at the Christchurch Town Hall, starting at 8pm on September 5. Tickets are $20 at the venue pre-sales and door-sales. At stake is the first prize of $10,000 worth of music gear and recording time, plus almost guaranteed recognition by the music industry. The other awards made at the finals reinforce the key Smokefreerockquest aim of encouraging students to write and perform their own music. Individual prizes are awarded for best lyrics, best vocals, women's musicianship and the best song. A scholarship to the Tai Poutini contemporary music course is also awarded.

Retro Concert
On the Saturday night (September 6) a retro concert marking 20 years of Smokefreerockquest is scheduled for the same venue (Christchurch Town Hall), celebrating the successful New Zealand bands that started out in Smokefreerockquest. The Retro event will feature some of NZ's biggest music successes, all of whom started their careers by participating in Smokefreerockquest. Performing on Saturday night will be Opshop, Elemeno P, Anika Moa, Goodnight Nurse, Minuit and Autozamm amongst others.

Anniversary CD
The anniversary is also being marked with the release of a double CD: Melodies, Moshpits and Mullets - 20 Years of Smokefreerockquest. This collection of the best bands and musicians to come through Smokefreerockquest includes The Checks, Anika Moa, Evermore, The Datsuns, Weta, Steriogram, Fur Patrol, Sommerset, Brooke Fraser, Die Die Die, The Rabble and many more. The CD goes on sale on August 25, $24.95 at all music stores.

C4 coverage
Smokefreerockquest regional finals from this year begin to screen on C4 this week, featuring Christchurch, Manawatu and Auckland East. The programmes screen at 5pm, during Vodafone Select live, starting on Friday August 22. (full details on episode breakdown follow at end of this media release)

Visit www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz for more information.

Two other Christchurch bands made the finals shortlist...

3rd Inertia - www.myspace.com/3rdinertia
The overall winner, all-girl group 3rd Inertia, of Burnside High
School, also winners of the CHART High School Band Competition in May,
impressed with their tight musicianship and energetic stage presence.
3rd Inertia are Rosanne Burdett, Alice Foote, Lucy Foote and Gabby
Kerdenelidis. Their beautiful song Grass showed their
songwriting prowess. The talented drummer for 3rd Inertia, Burdett,
also won the Best Women's Musicianship Award, which the group won
collectively last year.

Warble - www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz/warble
The second-placed group in the Canterbury regional final, Warble (Shirley Boys' High/Unlimited
Paenga Tawhiti), who won many new fans with their memorable instrumental
journey into a space odyssey via a violin, glockenspiel and two
keyboards.

More information is available from the official Smokefreerockquest website

www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz

LINKS

Christchurch Band Beneath The Silence Win Rockquest 08!

6th September 2008 - Press Release
Hard rock act Beneath The Silence have won the 20th annual
national Smokefreerockquest finals. The Canterbury locals made
a stand out home performance last night at the Christchurch Town Hall
with a sound reminiscent of Kiwi metal heroes Blindspott and Los
Angeles rap metal legends Rage Against The Machine...

• Read more

Smokefree Rockquest still going strong after 20 years (video / TV3)
Beneath the Silence wins Rockquest (video / TV3)