Performers battle with stars in eyes

They survived the heats, rocked their way through the semifinals and regional finals and now it's the final countdown.

The annual Lion Red Raw Battle of the Bands draws dozens of bands and their loyal followers from 10 regions and has helped to launch the careers of Tadpole, Mama Said, Mary Staple, Blindspott and the Stoods.

The 10 bands in tonight's final at the Oracle (formerly the Powerstation) on Mt Eden Rd, Auckland, are competing for studio time to record a single in Auckland to be mastered in Sydney's 301 Studios by producer Don Bartley. There is also musical equipment up for grabs.

It's not just a winner-takes-all scenario as there are awards for individual performers in the categories of best songwriter, most passionate performer, and for best vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer and instrumentalist.

Organiser Andrew Featherstone says the standard of entries this year has been especially high "and the 10 that will be at the national final will be of superior standard. It's definitely going to be a night where there will be a few bands who will go on to greater things."

And the bands competing? Velez from West Auckland, Mystery Liquid (North Auckland/Auckland), Killt (central Auckland), Milk (East Auckland), Six Pack Happy (South Auckland), Stardrunk (Bay of Plenty), Stadium (Hamilton/Waikato/Taranaki), Odessa (Wellington/Hawkes Bay), F. U. S. A. (Christchurch/Canterbury) and Evolver (Dunedin/Otago/Southland).