Rocking a win
27 Jun 2017
The pause before the winning band was announced seemed to last forever ... but then it was out: Run77 had taken first place in the Canterbury regional final of Smokefree Rockquest 2017.
“We went mental!” says guitarist and lead singer, Year 12 student Angus Mossman.
Despite, according to Angus, some “questionable dance moves and fist pumps”, their many hours of practice meant they were well prepared, brimming with enthusiasm, and ready to rock. The band worked tirelessly in the lead up to the event, at school at 7am every morning to rehearse, focusing on musicianship as well as stage presence.
Rock band tutor Nolan Hungerford says they played incredibly well. “The judges said they were looking for the whole package and, from start to finish, they played with consistent quality, their songs were well structured, well edited and commercially viable.”
For the next stage of the competition, Run77 have to add a couple more songs to their repertoire and prepare and submit a 15-minute performance video. The top eight bands will be announced at the end of July and the national final will be held in September.
The band says “massive ups” to crew Liam Allan and Erik McBride, and to College for supporting the rock band programme.
Run 77 are:
Angus Mossman – guitar and vocals
Angus Murray – drums
George Murray – keyboard
Henry Phelps – guitar and trombone
Robbie Rolleston – bass guitar