No Parkin - The Courier Mail 28/05/2006

Looking for the next big thing in rock
by Noel Mengel
The Courier Mail, May 27-28 2006

Sometimes you wonder where the next great band is coming from. Hasn’t it all been said before? Will a generation that grows up with downloading and texting really care about something that’s as much hard work as playing in a band?

The something comes along to remind you that there will always be people making music, there will always be someone out there who is excited as I was when I first heard my heroes, and as excited as I was when I first played in a band.

Of course, I’m still excited by music and its possibilities, otherwise why would I be writing about it, telling other people what excites me. And why else would I still have the guitar out of its case and leaning against the wall of my bedroom, and why would I still be lugging my amp off to band practice, just as I’ve done for most of my life?

But will people really want to do this, given that original bands around Brisbane often still get paid what my first band did when we started playing shows? And that was a while ago now.

Of course they will. And I heard all the proof I needed when judging a high school competition at Nudgee College on Saturday. Nudgee, like many high schools, has a vigorous contemporary music program, and hopefully the competition on Saturday, as part of their Allegria Arts Festival, will be the first of many.

Judging by the response to this event it’s a winner, attracting 17 bands and their supporters from around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, all getting 15 minutes to play on a big stage with a good PA and in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

For that opportunity alone it’s a wonderful initiative, but what impressed me and my fellow judges the most was how much good music we heard. You might think we would hear a couple of bands with potential with the rest finding their feet.

And after hearing the first band, The Invain, from the Sunshine Coast, we thought, who is going to top this? Front man who sings with a great raspy voice (think Nic Cester), strong harmonies, solid original tunes, rocking like crazy at 10 o’ clock in the morning.

But that was just the start. Next up were Beat, from St Margaret’s in Brisbane. Powerful singer, quality original songs with a touch of Tori Amos and Kate Bush, interesting line-up with piano, cello, violin and drums.

And so it went for most of the day, many of the bands with original material. Another all female band from All Hallows, Sunny June, were full of energy and absolutely effervescent. (And what is there not to like about a song called Eugiena Poolcleaner?) Then a smoking metal act with attitude, Feed the Ego, from St Peter’s College and Kenmore High.

But when the last band of the day, No Parkin, took the stage, the jaws at the judging table – and everywhere else – dropped. Four Year 10 boys from Good Shepherd Lutheran College at Noosa with a big sound, original songs that sounded as if you had just heard them on the radio, and in Dominic Everett, a fine singer and powerful drummer.

Good for a high school band? Good for anywhere! They took first prize from sponsor Music Junction, with runners-up Sunny June and The Invain, who featured Dominic’s brother Daniel, the singer who so impressed first up.

Will you be hearing more from these three, and a number of these other bands? Hard to imagine you won’t!