North Shore, Auckland Central and Manukau Rockshop Bandquest

Media Release: North Shore, Auckland Central and Manukau Rockshop Bandquest 2014

They’re tuning up and practicing their songs in towns from North Shore to Stewart Island, as over 160 young school bands line up for this year’s Rockshop Bandquest, the nationwide music contest for intermediate and primary students.

Bandquest is in its fourth year as the younger sibling of Smokefreerockquest, and for kids of intermediate age there are plenty of role models to follow including international success story Broods and the Christchurch trip-hop duo Doprah.

Founder and director Glenn Common says the level of talent at intermediate schools has caught the attention of the music industry.

“Rockshop Bandquest is a vehicle to spotlight this talent - it certainly provides a platform for young bands to shine in a stage setting with professional sound mix and lighting,” he said. “But really what we’re about is giving the kids an experience that extends them, that puts them under the pressure that comes with live performance and the exhilaration that is its reward.”

Rockshop Bandquest for North Shore is on Thursday 28 August, with Auckland Central the following night Friday 29 August and Manukau on Saturday 30 August. All three events are at 7pm at the Dorothy Winstone Centre AGGS. Tickets are $10 at the door.

The bands entered for Rockshop Bandquest in North Shore on Thursday are:

Anon: Murray’s Bay Intermediate
Breaking Glass: Murray’s Bay Intermediate
Static Attraction: Murray’s Bay Intermediate
Distro Charge: Murray’s Bay Intermediate
Unwritten: Murray’s Bay Intermediate
45 Degrees: Northcross Intermediate
The Electric: Huapai District School
Old Greg’s Love Shack: Northcross Intermediate
Ricochet: Northcross Intermediate
Holla: Te Atatu Intermediate
The Elements: Avondale Intermediate
Riot: Belmont Intermediate
Amplified Elements: Northcote Intermediate

A band from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Hoani Waititi and one from Takapuna Normal Intermediate have yet to confirm their names.

The bands entered for Rockshop Bandquest in Central Auckland on Friday are:

The Paua Station: Royal Oak Intermediate
Miniscule We Are Not: Somerville Intermediate
G.M.G: Ponsonby Intermediate
Generalised: Ponsonby Intermediate
Y8 Band: Ponsonby Intermediate
Zombies Under Pressure: Ponsonby Intermediate
Dynamite: Ponsonby Intermediate
Waify: Waikowhai Intermediate
Child’s Play: Remuera Intermediate
Almost Famous: Remuera Intermediate
Purple Remix: Pt England School
The Unexpected: Wesley Intermediate

A band from Churchill Park School and one from Blockhouse Bay Intermediate have yet to confirm their names.

The bands entered for Rockshop Bandquest in Manukau on Saturday are:

Animals: St Kentigern College
Headrush: St Kentigern College
The Road to Wreckage: Bucklands Beach Intermediate
Cosmetallic: Bucklands Beach Intermediate
Clearvoyant: Farm Cove Intermediate
MI Fusion: Manurewa Intermediate
MI Identity: Manurewa Intermediate
MI Request: Manurewa Intermediate
Cockle Rock: Cockle Bay Primary
Randwick Rebels: Randwick Park School

Clayton Park School, Howick Intermediate, Randwick Park School, Farm Cove Intermediate and Kedgley Intermediate have also entered bands but they have yet to confirm their names.

Rockshop Bandquest is for bands of two or more members, from intermediate or primary schools, who will play a short set of covers or original songs. There is an award for the best original song to encourage bands to write their own material, but the focus is on performance skills.

Rockshop donates prize vouchers to the winners’ schools, and spokesman, Hamish Jackson, says Bandquest is a great event for the nationwide chain to support.

“At a time where many countries are seeing a drop in kids learning instruments Bandquest is bucking the international trends,” he says. “The more we can get kids playing music through events like Bandquest, the better it is for the artistic health of New Zealand music.”

This year Rockshop Bandquest will be held in Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Tauranga, Napier, Hamilton and Auckland, with online entries for bands in outlying areas.
There will be mentoring sessions from successful Smokefreerockquest bands in the afternoon of the regional events and an online national final announcement on Wednesday 24 September, via http://bandquest.co.nz./

Rockshop Bandquest events to come 2014

Thur 28 Aug North Shore AGGS Dorothy Winstone Centre
Fri 29 Aug AK Central AGGS Dorothy Winstone Centre
Sat 30 Aug Manukau AGGS Dorothy Winstone Centre
Fri 29 Aug Canterbury 1 Aurora Centre
Sat 30 Aug Canterbury 2 Aurora Centre
Wed 3 Sept Otago King's & Queen's PAC
Wed 3 Sept Wellington & Hutt Little Theatre
Thur 4 Sept Hawkes Bay Municipal Theatre

ENDS

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