Sauce

North Heats - High School
ALBERT HALL – 27/08/07

It was a night for the teenagers as hundreds of high school kids – and their parents – packed into the Albert Hall for the High School Rock Challenge ‘07.

To kick off the night came Riverside High’s band, Mother Trumpet. Next was Exeter’s As I Fall Through, and Prospect’s Chaotic Dilemma.
Then it was time for Lilydale’s Harlequin closely followed by Brook High’s Waking Gamora. And last before the break was Launceston Christian School’s Oh My Goodness Mary, which took us all to the interval in style.

After half an hour or so, Scotch Oakburn’s Finest Hour graced the stage. Then it was King’s Meadow’s Your Damn Neighbours. After this, was the band who didn’t quite match their name – they were all fairly skinny – St. Mary’s 5 Fat Guys Who Rock. And to finish off the night were St Helen’s The Endza Mystery and Deloraine’s Vulgar.

With so much enthusiasm and cheering when each school’s band walked onto stage, each band seemed to feel welcomed, and the nervous look on their faces seemed to fade away after the first song. With each band only having several minutes to fit a couple of songs in, the night was fast paced, but not giving much time for each band to settle in to life on stage.

There were several noticeably talented bands for the age group, but there could only be one winner on the night. Coming out victorious were King’s Meadows band Your Damn Neighbours. They displayed quite a fine talent with their punk-ish rock, and the lead singer looked and acted quite the part of a real rock star.

All in all, the crowd seemed to love the night, and it was a good healthy way for them to get some entertainment.

North Heats - College
ALBERT HALL – 28/08/07

There was a broad selection of different genres at this College Rock Challenge this year, making for an interesting night. The first category was “Off the Rock,” for those not quite “rock.” First to step on stage was the L.C. band, Libre. With bongos as a main instrument used, it was certainly something different. Second up came the Scotch Oakburn duo, Zwei. They presented beautifully sung vocals combining with violin and keys. And last up for the same category was Younger Dryas, which brought their roots-type tunes into the mix, and did it with style.

After a short interval, it was time for some rock. And it came in fast, with The Jerimiahs bringing along some very Jebediah-sounding vocals, and some very interesting dress sense. Next was Newstead’s Noumena, which brought to the stage well-structured alt. rock, and a great stage performance. Scotch’s End of Silence was up next, with their energetic display of metal. Then it was Launceston College’s A Call to Arms. Heavy rock and screamy vocals burst through the speakers and pummeled the audience’s ears. St Patrick’s College’s Fatal Fetish jumped onto stage. Their musical style was very much their own – throwing glowsticks out of their socks and into the crowd while playing. Then there was Newstead’s Shock Corridor, who I believe shocked the tiny MC lady with what could have been a little over-friendliness, and continued on to thrill the crowd with a lot of dancing and fun lyrics. Launceston College’s Projection of Aggression was a leather-clad, long-haired heavy metal band, which certainly got the crowd jumping. Last but not least was Scotch’s The Milkman of Human Kindness, which wrapped up the night with a gorgeous song dedicated to “someone special in the crowd.”

After some time the winners were announced. Taking out the Off the Rock section was Younger Dryas, and in the rock section, Shock Corridor took out top spot.

All in all, it was a great night out, and wonderful to see some up-and-coming talent.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

North-West Heats
SIROCCO’S - 21/8/07 – 22/8/07

With over two hundred bands and artists from over eighty high schools and colleges all competing for fifteen spots in the final at the Albert Hall in Launceston, this year’s TasMusic Rock Challenge has been the biggest ever.

The regional heats for this year kicked off in Burnie and Hobart, with high schools on Tuesday the 21st and the Off The Rocks and College sections on Wednesday the 22nd of August, the Northern Heats at the Albert Hall on the 27th and 28th, and the winners progressing through to the final at the Albert Hall in Launceston on Thursday the 30th.

This year’s north-west heats were held at Sirocco’s for the first time. Metal, emo, power-pop and punk were all on show from the ten bands showing their flavors in the high school heat. Over four hundred bouncing moshers were treated to what can only be described as an awesome display from Tassie’s next crop of budding wannabes, as they strutted their stuff on the big stage. As per usual, the quality of the new original music, and the artists performing it, seems to have improved again from last year’s event, with all giving 110%. With five of the ten bands achieving higher scores than last year’s winners, the judges definitely had the toughest gig in the house.

After over three hours of an intense audio assault, the two winners were announced. Runners-up were Rebellious Itch from Devonport High, who happen to have one of their creations, We’re Only Human, sitting pretty in the Top 10 of the JJJ Unearthed National charts. The winners, in what could be described as a major event in their hometown, were Faded Effekt from Mountain Heights School in Queenstown. I believe they had breakfast with the mayor on Wednesday morning!

Wednesday saw the arrival of the older set from the Black Fingernails & Red Bull crew. First up on the night, five “soft-cores” graced the stage for the Off The Rocks section, with the winners being Get Funked from Don College. This trio delivered their own brand of acoustic rap, managing to generate a frenzy via the obligatory half-strip and amazingly hooky lyrics.

Following a short break, the eight college bands took the stage by force. Emo and screamo were prime-o, with a dash of hardcore metal and a splash of punk-power-pop – it was all present. With around five hundred music lovers moshing madly, you could be forgiven for thinking you were at a major concert event. And make no mistake – you were. If this is the future of our Tassie music scene, hang on tight, ‘cause you’re in for one hell of a ride. Eight awesome bands gave us everything they had in their fifteen minutes of fame.

Again the judges had their work cut out. In the end, there could only be two. Runners-up were Henry Horsefall & The Sporto Elite from Don College, and the winners were Death Of A Martyr from Hellyer college. It must be said that any of the bands or artists who performed on the night would have all been worthy of a spot in Launceston.

So, onto the final in Launnie they went – with the winners from both the high school and college sections going on to grace the main stage at next year’s MS Fest in Launceston.

DAVE SYKES

Finals
ALBERT HALL - 30/08/07

The Off the Rock section started first again on the night. With four competitors, it was a tough competition. But there was only to be one winner, and one runner-up. In second place was the band that everyone seemed to love, with their funky bongos/drums, guitar and bass mix – Younger Dryas from Newstead. And the top spot went to the talented young lady who caught the crowd, with well-written original songs coupled with her amazing voice – Rosny College’s Nell Cook.

Next came the six rock bands from high schools all across the state. Taking the second place was Devonport High’s Rebellious Itch, who have been getting a fair bit of radio airplay, and it’s easy to see why. Great vocals, and perfectly played instruments – the whole show was a hit.
And the sought-after first place went to the wonderful Your Damn Neighbours from Kings Meadows High. The lead singer’s performance was once again that of a true rock star, getting the crowd pumped and singing along to their awesome rock songs.

After a break came the six bands in the college rock category. It seemed to be a fairly close contest, but, again, there could only be one number one. Second place went to Newstead College’s Noumena. The crowd went crazy for their Butterfly Effect-style rock. They were something aside from the usual, with flawless vocals. A superb set all-round. But the college number-one for the evening was a fairly quirky band, also from Newstead – Shock Corridoor. The dancing was great, the lyrics were all very original (if slightly abstract), and their sound and the manner with which they made it was excellent. The whole performance was fun, and well deserving of the win.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD