Otium aim for right note with judges

Toban Taylor, left, on bass, James Ross on drums, Jesse Samu on vocals and Austyn Mills on guitar, far right, will be performing at the Northland regional final of Smokefreerockquest this weekend. Photo / Alex Hargreaves

A band gearing up for the Northland regional final of Smokefreerockquest say the competition gives young musicians the opportunity to try their hand at live performance.

Ten bands and two soloists will be tuning up for tomorrow's Smokefreerockquest Northland regional final, while 21 Far North acts are preparing for the Far North regional final on Sunday.

Whangarei band Otium will be one of the 10 bands performing tomorrow at Forum North.

Guitarist and vocalist Austyn Mills said the competition gave young musicians exposure to live performance.

"For me, it was a doorway. Before, I didn't know how to get involved with live performances, it gave me exposure to that kind of environment. It acts as stepping stones for young bands," he said.

The reggae/rock/punk dub-fusion band is comprised of three Year 13 students and one Year 11 student from Whangarei Boys' High School.

The group have been Otium for six months but said it felt like they had performed as a band for years.

Austyn and fellow Otium bass player and chief songwriter Toban Taylor were previously part of Co-Lab, who made it through the bootcamp round of XFactor NZ.

Austyn said that, though Otium had not been together long, attending the same school helped. "We have an advantage because we all go to the same school, so we are always in the same place," he said.

The band will be performing two songs at the regional final. One will be a new song, while the other will be a song they performed during the heats round in May.

"I think on the morning of the regional final, we're heading into a studio to record our new song, so we can iron out any problems before we perform it that night," Austyn said.

The top two bands in each regional final are selected to go into the national finalists judging poll, and the top two solos/duos play off for first and second place, with both also going into the national finalists judging poll.

Also competing tomorrow are: Mindless, from Rodney College; The Hire Society, Bream Bay College; The Monkey Assassins, Rodney College; Mochaccino, Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa; Sail Rock; Bream Bay College; Twokay, Whangarei Boys' High School; The Kids, Bream Bay College; Take 2, Huanui College; Alien Weaponry, Bream Bay College/Otamatea High School; Mollie Harvey, Rodney College and Izaiah Tilialo, Te Kapehu Whetu Charter School.

•The Northland Smokefreerockquest regional final will be held tomorrow, 7pm, at Forum North. Tickets are $10 for school students and $20 for adults, from Ticketek or at the door.

•The Far North Smokefreerockquest regional final will be held Sunday, 7pm, at the Turner Centre Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for school students and $15 for adults, from the venue.