Waikato solo duo & Pacifica Beats winners

Smokefreerockquest & Pacifica Beats 2017 – Waikato solo duo & Pacifica Beats winners and band heats results

Putting all her emotion into a song inspired by her Nana took 17 year old Hauraki Plains College student Samantha Marriner to first place in at the Waikato Smokefreerockquest regional heats at the Clarence Street Theatre on Sunday.

Samantha got her first guitar when she was at primary school and says she fell in love with music as she taught herself to play.

“I love what I do wholeheartedly – I love taking a message to people and letting them interpret it in their own way,” she says. “With the song I wrote for Nana it’s about older people facing the end of their lives peacefully.”

George Woolston & Arjun Duggal from Hamilton Boys' High School placed second, and Genoveva Reverte Neal from Thames High School was third. These three solo-duos now put 15 mins of their best material together to submit for selection as national finalists.

The winners of Smokefree Pacifica Beats for Waikato were Rural Delivery from Hauraki Plains College; with band members Naamah Cheiban (lead guitar and vocals), Ella McLennan (bass and vocals) and Letitia Mackenzie (vocals).

Ella says they have competed in Smokefreerockquest for three years, but this was their first try at Smokefree Pacifica Beats.

“We have Te Reo in our chorus and the song is about the settlers taking heritage land from Maori,” she said. “We’re quite passionate about the song and what it means and the audience could feel that vibe.”

Rural Delivery competed in Smokefreerockquest with a different line up. They now submit 15 mins of their best material for selection as Smokefree Pacifica Beats national finalists.

The 12 top bands selected at the heats will go on the play off for the top two places and other awards at the Waikato final at Clarence Street Theatre Saturday 27 May at 7pm.Tickets are available from Ticketek, adults $20 and students $10.

The 12 bands selected to go on to the final are:

MR. MCMURPHY Cambridge High School

Be Major Raglan Area School

Tyler's Release Cambridge High School

Half Eaten Pie Te Awamutu College

American Boyfriend St Peter's School

Rural Delivery Hauraki Plains College

Pink Tea Morrinsville College

Legal Issues Mercury Bay Area School

Static Hillcrest High School

Midnight in May St Peter's School

Sonder Morrinsville College

Mirrors Hamilton Girls' High School

Founder and director Glenn Common said the level of performance at the heats seems to keep going up every year as entrants get more support for contemporary music from their schools, make use of on line resources and have role models who have used Smokefreerockquest as a springboard to success.

“Between now and the regional final their preparation work is part of the process that makes Smokefreerockquest and Pacifica Beats such valuable learning experiences for young people,” he said. “The 12 bands going on to the finals need to practise hard, craft their set, get their supporters rallied and make good use of networking opportunties and social media to promote themselves and their achievements. For a lot of students these steps can be part of their NCEA assessments.”

The regional events for both Smokefreerockquest and Smokefree Pacifica Beats run from May 12 until July 7, with the top regional bands and solo/duos submitting video footage for selection to play off at the Smokefree Pacifica Beats national final on Friday September 1 at the Dorothy Winstone Centre in Auckland, followed by the Smokefreerockquest national final on Saturday September 2.

Smokefreerockquest, powered by Rockshop, has national winners’ prize packages for bands and solo/duo winners that include $22,000 in Rockshop vouchers, a $16,000 NZ On Air recording, video and promo package a ‘Decent Exposure’ campaign on The Edge TV, and a photo shoot and branding package from Imaginary Friends. There is also the MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand) Scholarship for Outstanding Musicianship, the APRA Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award, Smokefree Vocals Award, and the People’s Choice voted by text with the opportunity to open the Smokefreerockquest national final.

Musical successes from Smokefreerockquest over its 28-year history include Broods, Leroy Clampitt, Kimbra, Aaradhna, Opshop, Evermore, Ladyhawke, Kids of 88, Die!Die!Die!, Joel Little, Tiny Ruins, Marlon Williams, Brooke Fraser, Anika Moa, Kora, Thomston, Midnight Youth, Steriogram, Phoenix Foundation, Devilskin, The Black Seeds, Bic Runga, and The Naked and Famous; Smokefree Pacifica Beats standout successes include Nesian Mystik, the only New Zealand band to ever have ten singles all certified gold or platinum.

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