The National Campus Band Comp, NCBC, is the largest live band competition in the southern hemisphere. NCBC has been running on Australian university and TAFE campuses across the country for 21 years providing audiences with some truly memorable moments and memorable bands. Each year up to 400 bands from more than 40 institutions compete live, looking to be crowned national winners of this prestigious and highly-respected competition.
The competition’s local campus heats run from May to August; Southern Cross University have been running theirs throughout August with some amazing talent gracing the stage of The Deck at the campus Unibar.
The state finals, with prize money of $1,000, will be held on September at the Hard Rock Cafe and the national finals, with $10,000 for the taking, will take place in Canberra on October 11.
The Deck will showcase the four finalists next Thursday; the winners will head south for a chance for the thousand spondoolas next month.
Winners Heat 1: Monday, August 12 – Clocks and Dice
Clocks and Dice are a brand new band bringing a strong jazz and blues influence to the pop music scene on the NSW north coast. In their short time together as a band, they have already landed a spot at Bluesfest and won the North Coast Entertainment Industry’s Dolphin Award for New Emerging Talent. Clocks And Dice was brought into the world in 2012 through the lyrical wizardry of lead vocalist Ben Jenkins, and the musical mastery of Mikel Johnson. Both Ben and Mikel began their musical journey in the back streets of Grafton, NSW armed with nothing more than a Casio keyboard and a double bass. Trumpeter Garrett Salter joined up with the two groove gurus in early 2012 after playing the jazz circuit on the north coast for two years in a number of bands. Shaun Alexander joined the band on bass after playing in the Vanessa Lea band for nearly 18 months. Shortly after, Jake Dominey brought the entire group together on the drums midway through 2012.
Band Members
Garrett Salter – Trumpet/Vox
Shaun Alexander – Bass /Vox
Mikel Johnson – Electric guitar/Vox
Jake Dominey – Drums/Vox
Ben Jenkins– Keyboard/Vox
Winners Heat 2: Monday, August 19 – Swamp Stompers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsiFgVXQF4M&feature=c4-overview&list=UUtVzZj9MSpIBSujguWK7U_w
The Swamp Stompers play dirty slide guitar blues with heavy grooves; they’ll make you shake, they’ll make you move. Formed mid-2012, the band, which is fronted by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Corey Legge, has already made waves in the Australian music scene, having played at Australia’s biggest blues festival, the Byron Bay Bluesfest, while also having played support for big-name artists such as Marshall O’Kell and Chase the Sun. The Swamp Stompers released their debut EP in 2012 and finished runner-up in the prestigious Byron Bay Bluesfest Busking Competition in 2013.
Band Members
Corey Legge – Lapsteel guitar and lead vocals
Mitch Broadhead – Drums
Luke Ligtenberg – Bass guitar, didgeridoo and backing vocals
Winners Heat 3: Monday, August 26 – The Button Collective
The Button Collective is a ruckus seven-piece folk band of Gypsies and scoundrels from the northern rivers of New South Wales. Their music is reminiscent of folk-dance bush bands of Ireland and central Europe, incorporating accordion, mandolin, fiddle, mouth harp, double bass and drums. With hopes of releasing their debut EP before the end of 2013, the band is setting off on a busking tour in promotion of the crowdfunder they hope will fund the creation of the EP.
Band Members
Brodie Nossiter – Vocals, mandolin and guitar
Quinton Trembath – Accordion, guitar, backing vocals
Chrissy Langham –Drums, backing vocals
Jake – Double bass, BVs
Ben – Harmonica BVs
Gene –Keyboard, BVs & Bob
The Outlanders
The Outlanders are the wildcat in this event. They have only been together a very short time and will be a box of surprises on the night – they are five men with one mission: save rock and roll from Fall out Boy and the emasculated masses!
Band Members
Thomas Lemaire Neal – Vocals
Ben Hussell – Guitar
Matt Day – Guitar
Luke Rosten – Keyboard
Jack Ridge – Bass guitar
Carl George – Drums
The finals will begin at 8.30pm at The Deck, SCU Lismore on Thursday September 5.
Final: Thursday, September 5
