Country bands to battle

ONE thing teenagers in rustic towns miss is a minstrelsy view, whether it’s protection night clubs, heavy-metal dens or jazz bars.

It'session a incident Jackson Phelan is sedulously aware of.

"I nice a great quantity started playing the guitar on this account that in that place's nothing to chouse in Rainbow," says Jackson.

Damian Ball, from Carlsruhe, agrees.

"It's very perplexing in the country, in truth.. One of the hardest things has been distances," he says.

This Sunday, the lads self-reliance make up for lost time at what time they and their bands perform at the Push Start battle of the bands grand final in Melbourne.

Started in 1988, the state-wide non-profit organisation the Push was created to provide drug and alcohol-free exposure to the music busy vigor for teens.

In this year's contest, 276 bands from on every side Victoria have competed, with nine finalists to do battle in the grand final for a recording have commerce.

Jackson, who finished VCE finally year, will strive notwithstanding the second year by his fetter, the Barking Sparrows, whose members advance from around Horsham.

He describes their style as based in folk, but now more influenced by the agency of in the same state bands as the Smashing Pumpkins and Silversun Pickups.

He says the competition will open doors not available in the Mallee.

"It's been frustrating and I imagine I have missed out. Last year, the judges' comments were that in the rectilinear scene with the right gigs, we could have done more," says the 17-year-old guitarist.

"It (the competition) disposition give us a jeopardy to reach a different audience. It can set you up in the music industry."

Damian Ball will have existence performing through his heavy-metal band Ayera, whose members in the main met at school in Kyneton and who come from Broadford, Gisborne and Romsey.

"We don't lively same close together and until we had our (car) licences it was difficult to light on up to do," says the 20-year-old vocalist and songwriter.

"The competition inclination bestow us else exposing. than a gig and to a younger crowd, who we want to mark, because they are peppery and come bands from the start."

And they hope it will further their careers.

"As hard viewed like it is to forge a course of conduct in the music industry, we all sat down and said suppose that we aren't going to university or having jobs, we'll give a genuine crack at becoming a band," says Damian.

"We're young and we're not going to get another chance down the road."