Local acts in Battle of Bands final

Two Tauranga acts will be representing the Bay of Plenty at the 2014 Battle of the Bands national finals in Auckland this weekend.

Solo act Owen Cox, going under the name Ground, and acoustic duo Airs & Disgraces will take on 31 other bands from around the country in the final which is being split over two nights.


Kim Cori and Jason Curtis of Airs & Disgraces. Photo: Airs & Disgraces/Facebook

Starting in 1993, Battle of the Bands is New Zealand's longest running R18 band competition and has helped to launch a number of well-known Kiwi acts like Opshop, Tadpole and Blindspott.

Ground and Airs & Disgraces will go up against 14 other acts at Parnell's Juice Bar in Auckland on the Saturday night, from 6pm.

After three months of eliminations held across the country it all comes down to this weekend and Airs & Disgraces' Kim Cori says it'll be great to get their music out to a wider audience.

'We're stoked to being going up to Auckland for the final,” says Kim. 'We've received great feedback from Battle of the Bands organiser Andrew Featherstone about our songs and their quality.”

Kim says she and musical partner Jason Curtis struggle to define their sound, other than that it is 'quite eclectic and our influences are poles apart from one song to the next”.

They formed their partnership last year and started off with by 'jamming covers for fun” before turning their attention to Kim's original music.

'We formed Airs & Disgraces one month before the first heat of the 2013 Battle of the Bands. I wrote and we structured almost all our material in that time.

'Jason and I have played a few local gigs and have been encouraged by the response we've received to keep going.”


Ground's Owen Cox. Photo: Richard Voss/Facebook

Competing alongside Airs & Disgraces this Saturday will be fellow act Ground, the stage name Tauranga musician Owen Cox is going under for the competition.

You may recognise Owen from an earlier incarnation; the Tauranga three-piece hard rock band Uneven Ground.

Owen says Uneven Ground has entered the Battle of the Bands in the past but this year he decided to go it alone with an acoustic guitar.

'It is interesting being on my own, I'm used to having a band with me but that's okay, I'm feeling fine and the final it should be good.

'When it's just you and an acoustic guitar everyone can hear everything you do, it's really different to playing along with a bass and drums, everything is really clear. You're almost naked in a sense.”

Owen adds that during the heats and semis he received a good reaction from the audience's which he found a little surprising considering he was a solo act.

He confess to being a bit quiet on the local scene as of late as he's been 'taking care of business” but is looking forward to launching Ground as a full band in the near future.

'I've got some new songs being recorded at the moment, so I just want to get them done and dusted first.

'We'll get this Saturday out of the way first and then we'll see what happens.”

The 2014 Battle of the Bands national final takes place in Auckland this weekend on December 19-20.

Airs & Disgrace and Ground will compete at the Juice Bar, 144 Parnell Rd, Auckland, on Saturday, December 20, from 6pm.

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