WHS girl band win Smokefreerockquest regional finals
All girl four piece Straight Lace from Whanganui High School took out the Whanganui regional final of Smokefreerockquest in front of a crowd of over 200 at Whanganui Opera House on Saturday night.
Vocalist Sasha Matthews said the win for the Year 11 band may have been down to their confidence on stage.
“We had a strong energy on stage,” she said. “We were really put together and clean and we put in a lot of effort. We were nervous at the start but got really excited as we got into it. We were confident in what we did and we gave our all.”
The other members of Straight Lace are Imogen Eastgate (drums), Sophie Brooke (keys), Tane Venter (bass) and Nanea Schurhammer (guitar).
Brimstone from Whanganui High School placed second; the band members are Maia Falkner (guitar and vocals), Victoria Whibley (bass) Jonathan Stolk (drums).
17 year old Madie (Madison Eades) from Whanganui High School took out the solo duo category with her “jazzy soul” sound.
“I decided to do something different on stage this year,” she said. “I was really nervous as I was using a looping pedal and I have never performed with one before. I was relieved when I came off stage that it all went well and I didn’t muck up. It was a huge adrenaline rush and I was literally shaking.”
Xavia (Xavia Steedman-Wills) from Ruapehu College was placed second in the solo duo category.
These two bands and two solo duo winners win musical gear from associate sponsor NZ Rockshops and their suppliers. They now submit 15 minutes of their best material for selection as national finalists.
The full list of awards made on Saturday was:
Band
1st: Straight Lace, Whanganui High School Band
2nd: Brimstone, Whanganui High School Band
3rd: Space Cactus, Whanganui High School
Smokefree Pacifica Beats Award: Tia (Tia Wright), Rangitikei College
Solo/Duo 1st: Madie (Madison Eades), Whanganui City College
Solo/Duo 2nd: Xavia, Ruapehu College APRA Lyric
Lyric Award: Chanpertional, Whanganui High School for “The Thyme”
Lowdown Best Song: etc, etc… , Ruapehu College
The Mainz Musicianship Award: Victoria Whibley (bass) from Brimstone, Whanganui High School
Smokefree Vocals Award: Madie (Madison Eades), Wanganui City College
People’s Choice voted by text: S!x, Whanganui High School
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 includes $22,000 in Rockshop vouchers, a $16,000 NZ On Air recording, video and promo package’ a ‘Decent Exposure’ campaign on The Edge TV, 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 (Australasian Performing Right Association) 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.
River City Press 1/6/17