STILL ROCKING
JUPITER MENACE
YOUTHROCK HAS DEVELOPED INTO ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED BAND COMPETITIONS. DAVE DRAYTON TALKS TO FOUNDER ALAN SMITH AND BEN CRAWFORD, DRUMMER FOR LAST YEAR’S WINNERS JUPITER MENACE (THEN POWERAGE). Unlike many two-bit band competitions, YouthRock has consistently focused on providing young bands with a professional environment in which to gain exposure and experience. Alan Smith, a teacher at Belmore Boys High and the founder of the event, says this has aided YouthRock to gain its revered status. “There was one period where you didn’t have much – and it’s still not that great – for live performances for any bands, let alone young underage bands. So we’re looking at providing them with something that excites them, motivates them from year to year to write the songs, hone their craft. Because they do. I talk to the parents, I talk to the kids,” says Smith. “It’s enough to provide them with passion. They come along and they see some of the quality bands perform live and some have no idea. They walk in probably expecting some small band comp and they get struck by an entertainment centre size production and maybe some bands that have been in the comp three years and they are looking at how they perform and the quality of their live performance, the quality of their songs and their jaw drops to the floor – they can’t believe what they have walked in on. So that sort of impact they then go, ‘Well hey, maybe I’d like to be at that level too. Maybe
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very article was part of the prize package. “So far we got five days recording at Origami Studios – which is in Sutherland – and we’ve got one day left there. We’ve actually been recording a seven track EP/album and we’re going to release that at the end of this year, or release a couple of singles throughout the year. So we’ve got one more day left there, plus there’s two other studios which we’ve got five hours recording time at each one, so we’re going to do some demos there. We got an interview on FBi radio, a free photo shoot, a bunch of music gear,” he says. The networking opportunities have also paid off for Jupiter Menace, with an ongoing relationship with Smith meaning they were invited to return this year to perform as special guests on the night of the final. “Alan asked us to come back and do a guest spot. It’s really cool to come back. When we go down to the guest spot we’re going to get there when it starts at the final, so we’ll be checking out all the bands, all the finalists,” says Crawford. “Even amongst their peers, they get to meet all these other guys. Particularly regional guys, because I’ll see, all of a sudden, there’s a three band bill and it’s three bands that have met at YouthRock – and that’s great. Nothing else for kids that age provides that opportunity and that forum,” says Smith.
it’s worth putting the effort in to refine what I’m doing’. It’s the motivation, it’s the thing that will excite them and push them to maybe realise their potential.” Ben Crawford’s experience is testament to this. “It was a good little journey. The first year, going out, we didn’t know much about it or what to expect and we ended up getting fourth place in the first year we were in it. Then the next year we went again cause we wanted to try and get the first place and we ended up coming second that year and then we came first the next year. It was just a great experience overall.” Smith says the extensive prize package and networking opportunities also contribute to YouthRock’s status. “It’s very grass roots, things didn’t get pushed on anybody from the top down; it sort of grew from kids running the thing themselves. It was something they had a bit of ownership of. The other dimension is we do get some really high calibre judges. It’s a list a mile long about who’s judged, we’ve had managing directors of record
companies, we’ve had musicians from major groups we get, people from Sony Music, we’ve had people from Sony publishing, EMI Music. The Harbour Agency, they always send along two or three people every year – there’s your number one booking agency in the country – they offer support. “The prize package is in the vicinity – if you combine all the bands – you’re talking about $20,00 worth of prizes, easy. Every band that gets through to the grand final gets minimum one day recording studio time. The first place gets a week recording studio time, plus rehearsal studio time, plus legal advice from Silverchair’s lawyers, plus a video clip plus a couple of thousand dollars worth of music equipment, plus support gigs. There’s probably about ten components to the prize. So you’ve got that, you’ve got the fact that maybe they get to play in front of ten music industry people.” Crawford can attest to the benefits of the competition; the photograph of Jupiter Menace running with this
www.youthweek.nsw.gov.au
“These kids are playing and if they’ve actually got it together – they’ve got decent songs happening, their performance shows that they’re headed in the right direction, they’ve got the look, etcetera, etcetera – that stays in people’s minds.” An impressive slew of now big name bands and acts that have flourished since their involvement in the comp proves his point, including Silverchair, Alex Lloyd and Short Stack. Crawford was humbled to be joining these ranks last year. He modestly explains: “They’re all really renowned artists and to be compared to them, that’s pretty cool. But yeah, it was just another stepping stone, just another competition and we’d see what we could get out of it and to come first, that was really cool.” WHAT Youthrock WHEN & WHERE Wednesday 6 – Saturday 10 April, Sutherland Entertainment Centre