Smokefree Rockquest 2008 Winner

Beneath the Silence have won the 2008 Smokefree Rockquest

Hard rock act Beneath The Silence have won the 20th annual national Smokefreerockquest finals. With band members hailing from Cashmere, Rangiora and Kaiapoi High Schools, the Canterbury locals made a stand out home performance last night at the Christchurch Town Hall with a sound reminiscent of Kiwi metal heroes Blindspott and Los Angeles rap metal legends Rage Against The Machine.

Beneath The Silence beat out five other high school bands to receive the coveted prize pack that includes musical equipment from NZ Rock Shops to the value of $10,000, the recording of a single at York Street Studios in Auckland, NZ On Air funding to the value of $10,000, and guaranteed support from the Edge music network for the band's first single.

Second place went to The Slur Tones from Mt. Aspiring College in Wanaka, who also picked up the prize for best song for the psychedelic rock track 'Crazy Lady', and third place getters were New York Minutes from Timaru Boys High School.

Beneath The Silence vocalist Brooke Williamson expressed the band's delighted shock in winning "Words can't describe the feeling. I have so many thoughts. This genre deserves to be here now. We've worked hard this year and tonight we did what we do and did it well."

Event co-founder Glenn Common said : "It's a great result that a metal band has risen to the top just doing what they do as well as they possibly can. And having a female performing in the national winning band is representative of what is happening across the country this year."

The event was judged by an esteemed judging panel include representatives from NZ On Air, C4 Music TV, The Edge Radio Network, IMNZ, local music producers and Elemeno P frontman Dave Gibson: "Ït's the youth, it's the youngness, it's the freshness, it's the future. Yeah!" said Gibson, who's band also performed as halftime entertainment while pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse rounded out the night while the judges made their final decisions.

Co-founder Pete Rainey said: "Tonight was a great way to celebrate 20 years of the competition which continues to give young kids the chance to create their own unique sounds."

The Christchurch Town Hall will hold host tonight to a retro concert to celebrate Smokefreerockquest's 20th anniversary with performances from Evermore, Anika Moa, Elemeno P, Goodnight Nurse, Opshop, Autozamm, Minuit, and Anna Coddington. Tickets are available from the venue and ticketek for $49.

SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST GRAND FINAL WINNERS: Beneath The Silence (Cashmere, Rangiora, Kaiapoi High Schools)

SECOND PLACE: The Slur Tones (Mt. Aspiring College, Wanaka)

THIRD PLACE:New York Minutes (TImaru Boys High School)

ROCKQUEST PROMOTION BEST SONG AWARD: Crazy Lady - The Slur Tones (Mt. Aspiring College, Wanaka)

MAINZ SCHOLARSHIP FOR OUTSTANDING MUSICIANSHIP: Shellita Goldsmith (Gisborne Girls High School)

APRA LYRIC AWARD: Alice Williams (Nelson College For Girls)

SMOKEFREE AWARD FOR WOMAN'S MUSCIANSHIP: Rosanne Burdett (Burnside High School)