SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST 2015 - East Coast final results

SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST 2015 - East Coast final results

Adding a female vocalist and enrolling for music at Gisborne Girls High are the extras that veteran Smokefreerockquest winners, formerly The Crayz, now 5XL, are hoping will get them to the national final this year.

The five piece reggae band took out the East Coast final at the War Memorial Theatre in Gisborne on Friday, and spokesman, lead guitarist Liushaan Ngaira, said being in front of a sell out crowd at the new theatre made for a great night.

“It was awesome, I didn’t think they’d let us (young reggae band) play there, but they did and the new theatre really put the crowd in a good mood.”

The four guys in the band have won Smokefreerockquest twice as The Crayz. Renamed 5XL, they added Shaela Leach (guitar and vocals) to their line up. Liushaan says they play reggae ‘with their own twist’, and their songs are about politics and what they’d do to change the world.

Last year the band made it to the top 20 and this time they’re determined to get into the top six to play off at the national final in Auckland in September: “That’s our dream – we want to make it our reality,” Liushaan said.

Gisborne Girls’ High School Head of Faculty Arts, Jane Egan, said the five band members are all studying music at Girls’ High and are really committed to their band. “They practise all the time – they totally deserve this will and we’ll be giving it our best shot to get to the finals.”

The other members of 5XL are Logan O'Keefe, drummer; Cassidy Hohepa, bass; and Guy Aupouri, synthesizer and backing vocals. Guy took out the Mainz musicianship award with the opportunity to win a $4000 nationwide scholarship to Mainz.

Second place in the band category was four piece rock outfit, The Search, from Gisborne Boys' High School and Lindisfarne College. The band members are Kyle Hannah, drums; his brother Ethan Hannah, lead vocals and keyboard; Kees Albers-Connolly, lead guitar, and Ben Allan, bass. They also won the Lowdown best song award.

Lara Ajello from Campion College was placed first in the solo/duo section. She describes her songs as very emotional.

“I hope to really touch people and show them how I was feeling when I wrote the song,” she said. “They’re not the sort of songs you can throw yourself around to, but I got a good response from the audience.”

Lara has plans to study popular music at Auckland University.

One and a Half Men, made up of brothers Liam and Ronan Wallace from Campion College, placed second in the solo/duo section.

These four acts win musical gear from associate sponsors NZ Rockshops, and the opportunity to gain selection for the national final at Auckland’s Raye Freedman Centre on Friday 11 September.

Smokefreerockquest Founder and director Glenn Common says there are more bands than ever before reaching the high standard required from national finalists.

“This means that real dedication is required to achieve the ‘stand out quality’ that the judges will be looking for,” he said. “They have to capture 15 minutes of their original material on video in a process that demands creativity and musical ability, being able to work together as a group and having good organisational skills. What separates them out is perseverance – industry success seldom happens overnight.”

The full list of awards made on Friday night was:

Band 1st place: 5XL, Gisborne Boys' High School, Gisborne Girls High School

Band 2nd place: The Search, Gisborne Boys' High School, Lindisfarne College

Solo/Duo 1st place: Lara Ajello, Campion College

Solo/Duo 2nd place: One and a Half Men, Campion College

Band 3rd place: Shadows In The Darkness, Campion College

APRA Lyric Award: Iroquois, Gisborne Girls' High School, for Lady in the Sky

Lowdown Best Song: The Search
Smokefree Award For Women’s Musicianship: Roma Mann, the drummer from Impact, Gisborne Girls' High School
People’s Choice voted by text: Hello Vancouver, Gisborne Girls' High School

MAINZ musicianship award with the opportunity to win a $4000 MAINZ scholarship: Guy Aupouri, synthesizer, 5XL.

Smokefreerockquest, powered by Rockshop, has national winners’ prize packages for bands and the solo/duo winners that include $22,000 in Rockshop vouchers, a $20,000 NZ On Air recording, video and promo package’ a ‘Decent Exposure’ campaign on FOUR, a photo shoot with Thievery Studio, a branding package from Imaginary Friends and the Unleashed Travel ambassador award – a seven day trip to Fiji.
There is also the MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand) Scholarship for Outstanding Musicianship, the APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award and the Smokefree Women’s Musicianship Award. The People’s Choice award is voted by text with the opportunity to open the Smokefreerockquest national final.

Finalist judging process: Two bands from each of the 24 regional finals submit video footage for selection as one of the six bands to play off in the national final. Judging is done from a pool of 50-60 bands that also includes Rockshop Second Chance, an opening for established bands (playing regular gigs) who don’t feel they played their best on the night. The top two solo/duos from each region go through the same process, and three of them will go ahead to the national final.

More info at sfrq.co.nz or facebook.com/thesfrq

ENDS

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