3rd Inertia Win Smokefreerockquest Canterbury Regional Final 2008

3rd inertia 30th June 2008 c/o Vicki Anderson - The Press

Smokefreerockquest regional final at the Christchurch Town Hall, Saturday, June 28.

Sitting shivering with squelchy feet (having just swum up Colombo Street) in the Christchurch Town Hall, I looked around, mindful that the next generation of Kiwi musical superstars might just be up next on stage. After all, Rockquest is where Flight of the Conchords, Anika Moa, The Black Seeds, Liam Finn, The Phoenix Foundation and many more household names first stepped up to the mic as enthusiastic high school students.

The high standard of this year's entrants was a pleasant surprise, and the 15 finalists, drawn from a record semi-final pool of 82, covered a wide range of genres from metal to country.

Winners
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.

Hugging each other, resplendent in their matching tops, after the announcements, Lucy said: "I don't believe it. That's amazing." And much excited screaming followed.

The second-placed group, Warble (Shirley Boys' High/Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti), won many new fans with their memorable instrumental journey into a space odyssey via a violin, glockenspiel and two keyboards.

Third was Sand Fly Bay (Cashmere High School), which was told to "watch out for those bites" by one of the MCs for the night before they let rip with a little number featuring a wailing surf guitar.

I had my money on Trigger Happy (Lincoln High School/Hagley Community College) winning best song for Institutionalised (complete with cowbell), but country band The Unfaithful Ways won best song. To my ears, Custard Bear (Christchurch Boys' High School), Morti Humani (Papanui High School) and The Producers (Middleton Grange School) were also strong contenders.

Best musicianship went to Billy Mills, of Galaxy Stampede; best lyricist was awarded to David Haslett (Burnside High School).
Obvious crowd favourite Beneath the Silence (Kaiapoi High School/Cashmere High School) unsurprisingly won the People's Choice Award with their energetic, high-octane brand of metal.

Next Step
3rd Inertia and Warble now go through to the national final at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday, September 5, with a 20-year commemorative concert featuring past Smokefreerockquest successes to be held on September 6.

Rockquest Promotions founders and directors Glenn Common and Pete Rainey said it was now up to the two Canterbury finalists to make the most of the opportunity Smokefreerockquest offered. "From here on, a degree of professionalism is required, and today's young bands can rise to this challenge," Common said. "To be selected for the national finals, they have to make a 15-minute video of their own music. That's going to take commitment. They'll need to work together as a group and develop other skills that will help turn their creative talent into success."

c/o The Press

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Smokefreerockquest Canterbury Finals Results
Press Release - 28th June 2008

An all-girl band from Burnside High School won this year's Canterbury
Smokefreerockquest regional title on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 600 at
the Christchurch Town Hall.

First place went to 3rd Inertia, made up of cousins Alice and Lucy Foote on guitar
and vocals, bassist Gabby Kerdemelidis and drummer Rosanne Burdett, who also won the
Smokefree award for women's musicianship.

Lucy says the band formed last year and has developed a range of musical styles that
helped to impress the judges.

"We put in a lot of effort and practice and we had a good contrast between our two
songs, with one of them acoustic and the other more a rock song," she said.

Second place went to Warble from Shirley Boys' High School and Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti

These two bands go on to compete for the six national finalist spots in this year's
Smokefreerockquest, and take home regional prizes of vouchers for musical gear from
NZ Rockshops and their suppliers. (List of other awards at end of release.)

Rockquest Promotions Founders and Directors Glenn Common and Pete Rainey said it was
now up to the two Canterbury finalists to make the most of the opportunity
Smokefreerockquest offered.

"From here on a degree of professionalism is required, and today's young bands can
rise to this challenge - many already have their own web presence and are even
selling their songs online," Common said. "To be selected for the national finals
they have to make a 15 minute video of their own music. That's going to take
commitment, they'll need to work together as a group and develop other skills that
will help turn their creative talent into success."

Smokefreerockquest and the NZ Music Commission, with funding from the Ministry of
Education, help the regional finalists by partnering them with mentor bands - bands
that are a couple of years ahead and have first hand knowledge of the industry from
the inside.

There are other opportunities to go in the finalists' pool by entering the 'NZ
Rockshop Second Chance' for established bands who feel they missed out due to
'things going wrong' on the night. Bands that have done five or more public gigs and
have demo recordings of two or more songs, or have won 'The Smokefree People's
Choice Award', can also submit a video of 15 minutes of music, to be considered for
selection as national finalists.

This means the six national finalists will be selected from a pool of more than 50
videos - made up of first and second place-getters from each of 24 regional finals,
plus those from Second Chance or People's Choice.

The national final will be held this year at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday
September 5, with a 20 year commemorative concert featuring past Smokefreerockquest
successes to be held the following night. Prizes at the national final include
musical equipment from NZ Rockshop to the value of $10,000, and The Edge Airplay
Award with NZ On Air where the winning band's music and video are recorded at York
Street Studios with guaranteed airplay. Other awards reinforce the key
Smokefreerockquest aim of encouraging students to write and perform their own music.
Individual prizes are awarded for best lyrics, women's musicianship and the best
song. A scholarship to the Tai Poutini contemporary music course is awarded for
musicianship, along with selected bands being matched with past successes in a
mentoring programme supported by the Music Industry Commission and the Ministry of
Education.

The other Canterbury awards on Saturday night were:

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 finals:
Billy Mills, singer-guitarist, Galaxy Stampede, Burnside High School

The APRA Lyric Writer's Award judged from lyrics submitted at the heats:
David Haslett, Burnside High School

The Smokefree People's Choice Award voted by text message:
Beneath the Silence, Kaiapoi High School, Cashmere High School and Rangioria High School

Third place, winning vouchers from the NZ Rockshops and their suppliers:
Sand Fly Bay, Cashmere High School

The Rockquest Promotions Best Song Award, winning $100 cash:
The Unfaithful Ways, Christchurch Boys' High School

Check out www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz for more band info and pix

And also Fraew's Flickr page.