The aftermath of the Hong Kong final GBOB

The result of the HK GBOB

1. Qui Hong

2. F.B.I.

3. Tai Tai Alibi

Well done to Qui Hong for winning the Hong Kong final of the Global Battle of the Bands. We are proud to say that we came second, followed closely by Tai Tai Alibi. Truly a great night for Hong Kong music, all 15 bands did an awesome job. The crowd was amazing... just wish we had a crowd like that for every band event here.

Thanks again to all of our fans and friends... especially all of those people who sang along with me to the 'save me's' and the 'fuck yous'... haha! Really great!

I didn't even realise it, but we were in the paper last Thursday. So, I thought I would put the article in this post so people could read it.

South China Morning Post Article

Let's Get Ready to Rumble:indie warriors take on the world

Adam Wright Oct 22, 2009

The name conjures up images of hairy metal groups in leather gear engaged in a fight to the death with axe-shaped guitars, but the reality of the Global Battle of the Bands is far more prosaic.

At a time when the quest for rock stardom has been reduced to video games such as Guitar Hero, the musicians taking part in this year's competition are mostly ordinary people with dreams of hitting the big time, with fame, fortune and a few groupies thrown in for good measure.

Those taking part in the Hong Kong leg of this year's contest come from all walks of life, from white-collar workers to a professional body-piercer. And now, after several months of heats, 15 of the city's best up-and-coming bands will be fighting this weekend for the chance to represent Hong Kong at the China final and, if successful there, the world final in London later this year.

The Global Battle of the Bands now involves 44 countries, including unlikely contenders from countries such as Kazakhstan, the Faroe Islands and the Dominican Republic. The competition was launched in 2004 with the aim of uncovering the world's best unsigned bands and has just two rules: no cover songs and no pre-recorded music.

Chris Bowers, a familiar figure on the local indie music scene, has been a vocal and visible face of the Global Battle since she was named the competition's China director last year, and brings to the job not only years of experience as a musician but also as the organiser of the Underground, a successful series of live music events.

"In the past six years of organising shows in Hong Kong, I have to say the quality of local bands is getting better," Bowers says. "One of the Hong Kong finalist bands has already been earmarked for a festival overseas and another band has an indie label interested in signing them. So although these two bands may not [win], by allowing themselves the opportunity to be seen by music industry people they improve their chances of overall success."

Although fairly modest spoils are up for grabs in the Hong Kong final - including HK$5,000 in vouchers for a local music store and a Gibson Les Paul guitar - a guaranteed shot at stardom awaits the overall winner of the global competition. Apart from US$10,000 in cash, the band will be offered studio time with a renowned producer and the opportunity to tour with an established act.

But at least one of those competing at the Hong Kong final has a far less romantic reason for entering. "The thought of winning a cash prize gets me salivating. It's been a while since I could afford to eat properly," says Li Xu, vocalist for the heavy-hitting finalists Gong Wu. "But it has been fun. Being in a competition makes you push yourself that little bit harder than a regular show. The best thing is only having to play two songs. In a high-energy band like ours, you get to give your two songs everything without worrying about surviving the rest of the set."

However, Li acknowledges the subjective nature of band competitions and says he believes music should not always be seen as a contest. "Some of the biggest bands in the world - without their name behind them - would be voted out of these kinds of competitions. What defines a great artist? Is it songs? Musicianship? Performance? It's hard to judge," he says. "But that being said, although we're definitely not interested in trying to prove that we're the best band here, it doesn't mean we won't try to win."

Other notable local bands competing this weekend include Qiu Hong - who won the world final of the much smaller World Battle of the Bands in 2005 - socially aware punks Live Fast Die, led by Ross Seizure of piercing/body art parlour Star-Crossed Tattoo, and pop-punk-rap outfit FBI.

FBI also entered the event last year and vocalist Cain McInerney says the experience has been positive in the sense it has made the band work harder on their music. "Plus, we get an opportunity to play our music to an audience who may have never heard us before, and hopefully get more fans," he says.

"This year we have worked on existing songs which were already up to standard, but have pushed the envelope to make sure that we get the most out of everyone in the band and make the songs sound fuller.

"Everyone wants to win, and a free trip to London would be nice. But the main thing is to promote our music to a world audience who wouldn't normally hear us."

The event won't help solve one of the main problems for Hong Kong's indie music scene - the lack of suitable venues - but it's a positive development, Li and McInerney say. "The only way we can improve the indie scene here is if we can get more people to support it, and move away from the more popular Canto-pop culture and embrace rock," McInerney says. "The competition is a good way to get international support for our local scene and get more local people interested in what's happening here."

Li says: "There are barely enough venues in Hong Kong that offer a place to help indie bands grow and that are also affordable for the local scene. But the competitionhas helped simply because it has given local bands another desperately needed platform on which to perform."

As Hong Kong is considered a part of China under the Global Battle's rules, once a local champion has been selected, they will go on to compete against the winners from the competition's other finals in mainland cities on November 7 at the Cavern in Lan Kwai Fong.

The winner of the greater China final will then be flown to compete at the global final at La Scala in London on December 13.

The bands competing at the local final this weekend were selected by a range of music industry insiders, media figures and scenesters and represent a cross-section of the state of our city's indie music scene.

For music fans, "these kind of shows are great because they're not so expensive and you're guaranteed to hear something special", Li says. "And if we suck, it's only 10 minutes of your time."

The final 15

FBI: punk-pop-rock with rap influences

Gong Wu: hard rock with force

Gun You: muscular hard rock

Live Fast Die: punk rock with social commentary

Nocturnal Rose: symphonic metal

OTO: reggae-influenced pop from Macau

Of Moths & Stars: energetic acoustic duo

Peri M: female-fronted power rock

Qiu Hong: catchy power metal

Senseless: Canto-pop meets punk/rockabilly

Shotgun Politics: high-energy pop rock

Tai Tai Alibi: solid rockers and Hong Kong finalists last year

The Corners: pop

Tie Shu Lan: hard rock with a message

Trash21: rock with attitude

Global Battle of the Bands Hong Kong Final, tomorrow, 9.30pm, Rock School, 2/F, 21-25 Jaffe Rd, Wan Chai, HK$100 (advance), HK$130. Tel: 9486 4648