The nine are A-Ron & J.Jay (Craigieburn), The Bean Project (Upway), Ember Rain (Melton), The Evercold (Narre Warren), The Flats (Wellington), Horris Green (Ballarat), The Quick and The Dead (Wangaratta), Requiem (Horsham) and Revolution (Golden Plains).
The winner also gets the APRA AMCOS Songwriting Award prize pack of $150 worth of career-assisting books.
The Grand Prize also includes a day of engineering, recording and mixing from Hothouse Studios, $2,000 publicity campaign from Remedy Music PR, a mastering session with Jack The Bear Deluxe Mastering, a Mapex snare from Electric Factory, $1,000 clothing/accessory voucher from Dangerfield, $1,000 poster and marketing distro campaigns from Plakkit and Shout Out Loud, an interview feature article in Beat, pressing of 500 copies of a recording and a graphic design layout session from DEX Audio, a t-shirt run of 50 x 1 colour prints from Love Police (valued $500) and a feature on The Push’s website.
Plus all nine grand finalists receive a $200 prize voucher and complementary styling session from Dangerfield in the lead up to the event.
The FReeZA Push Start competition was launched by The Push in 1997 to assist in the professional and creative development of young Victorian bands.
The Push’s artistic director Shane Wickens says: “For many young emerging artists the FReeZA Push Start Band Comp is an opportunity to showcase their music, develop an audience and for some it provides a platform for their bands’ first shows making it an integral professional development program.
“We’ve watched over 300 talented artists participate in the competition via their local FReeZA group over the past 12 months and it’s really encouraging to see such impressive song writing and performances from the nine artists who have progressed to the final. We look forward to revealing which artists our industry panel selects for the prizes on the day.”
Following the FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands competition, The Push stage will host sets by Japanese Wallpaper, Yeo, Tully on Tully, and Stax Osset from 6.30pm to 10.30pm with the Moomba fireworks show at 9.30pm.
The FReeZA Push Start Battle Of The Bands is funded through the FReeZA Program, a Victorian Government Initiative.
