Amplifier

A third Auckland act will appear at the Founders Theatre in Hamilton on Saturday night (September 22) as the opening guest band in the national final of Smokefreerockquest 2012.

The blues rock two piece (drums and guitar) Heroes for Sale from Green Bay High School won the Skinny People's Choice award, in very closely contested text voting with over 6000 votes cast nationwide. Oddity from Mt Aspiring College, Wanaka, placed second and Midnight Revelation from Napier Girls' High School in third place. (Note Heroes for Sale are not in the finals, just the opening guest act).

The Skinny People's Choice award was open to all bands who had won the text voting at their own regional final. Heroes for Sale will be playing on the back of the Skinny promotional fire engine at the Te Rapa Warehouse from 11am on Friday in the lead up to Saturday night's final, where the top eight bands from around the country play off for a major prize package and a kick start to Kiwi music industry success.

EIGHT NATIONAL FINALISTS:

Luke and Amberly, Kamo High School, Whangarei an acoustic duo who play pop, with their own twist.

Indi, ACG Senior College, Auckland, a singer-songwriter with music and lyrics that have already won an award.

Intone, Glendowie College, Auckland an alternative duo with a fresh and different sound.

Sunday Best, St. Peter's School, Cambridge, a quirky indie band that enjoys creating music that's infectious and makes you want to groove.

Noriac, Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth, a four piece progressive metal instrumental band.

A Bit Nigel, Taupo-Nui-A-Tia College, Taupo have built on the harmonies and melodic songs that got them into the top six bands last year with a more rocky sound.

Culture Kids, Wanganui High School & Wanganui City College play new age funk pop with a few jazzy chords in the mix to create their tight sound.

New Vinyl, Nelson College, a quirky three-piece band with a folk jazz sound and an unusual combination of instruments including double bass and piano accordion.

Go to http://www.sfrq.co.nz and be impressed at the creativity and skill of the national finalists.

GUEST ACTS

Guest acts are electro popband Zowie (MTV Iggy Best New Band of 2011) and Auckland punk three-piece The Jury & The Saints.

Zowie is a self professed pop music mega fan and makes some of the catchiest tunes this side of anywhere.  From Auckland, but now often in Sydney, Zowie (aka Zoe Fleury) delivers a bubbling mix of synth-pop and electro chants that has penetrated international borders and garnered attention and support the world over.

International accolades continue, with Zowie performing for APRA at their Song Summit Showcase, winning best NZ Video for Broken Machine at the Juice TV Awards, and shortlisted out of 700 bands by MTV for their MTV Iggy Best New Band of 2011. MTV says: "With just a handful of singles under her belt and a Bettie-Page-as-a-sexy-robot look, she's poised to challenge the Ke$has and Gagas of this world for total pop music dominance."

Auckland punk three-piece The Jury & The Saints were originally a two-piece, but when the drummer moved on Jesse Smith (vocals, guitar) asked Ivan Beets (bass) and Martin Kroon (drums) to join the ranks. This gave the band more focus and forged their well-respected live show. In the studio again the band  independently recorded and produced a new batch of songs. As soon as this EP titled Revival was finished they hit the road on a nationwide tour of NZ. Their captivating live shows propelled the new EP to debut at No.4 on the New Zealand top 40 charts, and No.1 on the New Zealand singles chart, and peaked at the No.2 spot in the NZ top 40.

The national final is at Founders Theatre in Hamilton on September 22 Tickets are $10, doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

Smokefreerockquest powered by Rockshop, has a prize package that includes musical gear to the value of $10,000 from NZ Rockshops and their suppliers, a NZ On Air new recording and music video grant worth over $10,000, a place on the NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc, a radio promotional support for a single, and video play on youth music channel FOUR. There is also the MAINZ Scholarship for outstanding musicianship, the APRA Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award, the Smokefree Women's Musicianship Award and the Skinny People's Choice, voted by text.

To find out more about Smokefreerockquest 2012, visit the official website http://www.sfrq.co.nz