Victory leaves metal group dumbstruck (Live Review)

6th September 2008 - c/o The Press
How refreshing is it that Beneath the Silence, a bunch of head-banging Cantabrian metallers, won the Smokefreerockquest national final?

The win was particularly fitting, considering that Smokefreerockquest was celebrating its 20th anniversary back in Christchurch, where it all began for former music teachers and dedicated organisers Pete Rainey and Glenn Common.

(Pictured: Headbanger extraordinaire: guitar player Sophia Di, 15, performs with metalcore band Beneath the Silence, which won this year's Smokefreerockquest. Photo Kirk Hargreaves).

The six finalists had been whittled down from about 700 high-school rock groups and I felt stunned by both the entrants' musicianship and their support for each other.

The peer-to-peer support and encouragement was a pleasure to witness.

Beneath the Silence, which won the People's Choice Award at the regional final, includes human pogo of a frontman Brook Williamson (vocals), of Kaiapoi High School; Mark Woodcock (guitar), of Rangiora High School); Hamish McIntosh (drums); headbanger extraordinaire boy, does this girl rock Sophia Di (guitar), and Nic Rollinson (bass), all from Cashmere High School.

Shortly after the announcement, Williamson could not believe the group had won, and neither could a few snooty parents in front of me, who had donned massive fluffy earmuffs for their performance.

"We're a bunch of friends just having fun. We didn't expect to win, especially not with our genre," Williamson said.

"It's a pretty big deal. We're all still processing it now. I feel like I'm in la-la land. I fell on the floor when they said our name. I thought we had no show of getting anything, let alone winning."

Beneath the Silence win musical equipment from NZ Rockshop to the value of $10,000 and guaranteed radio airplay, and will have a single and video recorded at York Street Studios under the guidance of industry kingpin Lorraine Barry.

I can see each finalist having a long and prosperous career in music they were each that good.

Scoring second place and winning the Best Song award for their catchy tune Crazy Lady were The Slur Tones, from Wanaka. They have performed at Rippon as The Struts. They are a tight unit with great tunes. Imagine if Franz Ferdinand merged with The Strokes and the Mint Chicks, and you're there.

The yellow-jacketed guitarist/vocalist, Fabian Shaw, is simply gifted. Each song The Slur Tones performed at the final could stand up on any radio station in the land. I look forward to hearing more from them.

With the honour of being the first band from Timaru to make the national final, third-placed New York Minutes were also compelling. They have natural charisma and presence that cannot be bought or taught.

Wellington's The Stray Dogs have a unique sound and approach that, with development, could see them go far.

Taupo's Jayme Fitzgerald, the brave lone singer/songwriter for the evening, could easily be another Anika Moa, given time. Kawerau's Jicky Chan reminded me of a young Kora, with similarly effective use of spaces in the music and an energetic, cleverly choreographed stage performance. The song Jicky Chan v Goku was gobsmackingly good.

When other awards were read out, Rosanne Burdett, drummer of all-girl group 3rd Inertia, of Burnside High (winner of the Christchurch regional final), got a huge cheer for winning the National Award for Women's Musicianship.

The final also featured crowd-pleasing performances from Elemeno P and Goodnight Nurse.

Beneath the Silence opened the Retro Concert on Saturday night, which featured past Rockquest success stories including Anika Moa, Opshop and Elemeno P.

It is safe to say New Zealand's musical future is in excellent, unwrinkled, hands and perfectly timed banging heads.

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LINKS
Christchurch Band Beneath The Silence Win Rockquest 08!
Smokefree Rockquest still going strong after 20 years (video / TV3)
Beneath the Silence wins Rockquest (video / TV3)