JUSTIN HOOK When an interview runs way over time due to a rambling discussion about Gregg Allman’s little-heard 1973 solo album Laid Back, you know you’re talking to someone who lives and loves music. Brian Nankervis is the Allman fan in question and when not passing on stories to eager ears about the Jerry Garcia shows he caught over three decades ago, he hosts the wildly popular Saturday night rock quiz show ROCKWIZ on SBS. Or entertains a room full of kindie teachers. As he explains, “I was sandwiched between the local minister and someone presenting a paper on safety issues in early childhood classrooms and they were desperate to laugh. Let me tell you – if all audiences were like that…well.”
It’s amazing how much people know! It’s like they have spent years preparing for that moment
Nankervis, along with Julia Zemiro and human scoreboard Dugald McAndrew, form the nucleus of Australia’s most beloved televised pub quiz night. Right? “Well I don’t know that I’ve ever actually been to a pub quiz night.” They are currently filming the show’s tenth season, which is a lifetime in television language. The host is somewhat surprised himself. “When we started we all just thought, ‘Well, let’s just see what happens’. We were so grateful to be given the opportunity to even do a series. But once we started doing a few we thought, ‘You know, this works’… It’s a good structure and people loved it – those who saw it and those who like music loved it. So we knew there was a passion for it. So it was down to a network like SBS that isn’t so hell bent on figures.” And it’s true, RocKwiz has secured a loyal fan base. The willingness of SBS to let the show find its feet and settle into a comfortable groove not so reliant on ratings has been a godsend for music nerds and snobs who like to yell answers at inanimate objects. Which brings us to the issue of that other music-themed quiz show that ran parallel to RocKwiz for the last eight years. “Yeah, it was a bit weird. We made the pilot in 2003 and always felt the ABC would be the natural home. They saw it and liked it but said no and we took it to SBS and they said yes. Then ironically after two weeks at SBS, the ABC came back and said they wanted to do it. But it was too late – we had already signed [to SBS]. And then suddenly six months later they’ve got another show. I’m certainly not saying it was our idea, but it was sort of slightly frustrating.” If anything the existence of two vaguely similar shows at the same time proves there’s an audience for anything, Nankervis continues, “But they were so different. And look, you can’t deny that Spicks and Specks was incredibly popular and successful. It was amazing
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that a small market like Australia could cope with two music quiz shows. It was great.” Ultimately though there was a crucial difference: “Theirs was a comedy show that happened to be about music – whereas ours was a music show that happened to be funny. “Without wanting to sound too wanky, we had a very strong vision. We wanted to have a show focused primarily on music and then we would approach it via the structure of a quiz and it’d be funny along the way. So when we write the scripts we try and have a few jokes in there and Julia is a very naturally funny woman. But it wasn’t the main focus. Music has always been the most important factor in the show.” Which is why it makes perfect sense that RocKwiz has another life outside the studio – on the road, touring. The forthcoming Some Kind Of Genius Tour is the sequel to 2010’s enormously successful 35-show national tour. And it’s far more than pub trivia in a bigger room, as Nankervis lays out the tech specs of the shows. “It’s very expensive show because of, again, the musical snob in us. These guys [the surprise and as-of-yet unannounced musical guests who tour with the show] have done so many shows so we don’t want to go out with a crappy sound system – so we take deluxe equipment and lighting. We want to put on a big night. Having spent years in the cramped Gershwin Room [at St Kilda’s infamous Esplanade Hotel] to actually get on a big stage is really exciting for us. This is the business of show after all.” Free of the constraints of cameras, the live version is a more freewheeling affair where every night is a once-off, never to be repeated event. But like its small screen partner there will be a mix of karaoke performed with the RocKwiz Orkestra, an audiencesourced panel quiz and lashings of music nerdism. “That’s why we’re using the Some Kind Of Genius name. It’s Julia’s catchphrase when she’s amazed at the knowledge of a contestant, but that happens every night. It’s amazing how much people know! It’s like they have spent years preparing for that moment and it means these people who aren’t familiar with being on stage and are very unpredictable are comfortable because it’s in their comfort zone.” Nankervis adds with a hint of danger, “But we don’t know how they’re going to act.” So there you have it folks. Whether you’ve been reading this humble magazine for months or years, and whether you love Enuff Z’Nuff, Lady GaGa, John Fahey or Duane Allman, make yourself known to the RocKwiz wranglers as they pass through town. Win or lose, someone is going to dazzle Canberra with their knowledge of obscure musical curios – it could be you. The RocKwiz Some Kind Of Genius Tour comes to the Canberra Royal Theatre Friday September 7 and tickets are $84.90 + bf through Ticketek, on sale Thursday June 14.