By TANIA PHILLIPS
WE’VE been hearing about it for months (particularly if you listen to ABC radio) but finally we are about to see Exhumed!
So what is Exhumed? It’ a nation-wide search to find the “Best Bands You’ve Never Head Of”.
Hosted by the witty and acerbic James Valentine, Exhumed will feature the 44 finalists from around Australia – discovered during a search by ABC radio stations all around including Northern Rivers and Coast FM.
The Far North Coast will be represented by Victims Of Geography while the Gold Coast’s representative is the Palm Beach-based duo Old Man Friday.
The 44 bands from around the country will battle it out for the chance to perform live and impress three celebrity judges – Julia Zemiro, Tim Rogers and Clare Bowditch, who have the difficult task of selecting the winner from six finalists at a live grand final on 12 December.
EXHUMED is a band competition with a difference. It’s not for has-beens, it’s not for wannabes, it’s for the never-weres. It’s for people who play music for the sheer love of it.
Only one band will win the title ‘Exhumed Winner 2013’.
Old Man Friday member Blair Johnstone and his partner in music Marcus Bancroft will play at the Kirra Kite Festival tomorrow night and are regulars at the Palm Beach Markets.
“We get together and practice on a Monday night – we’ve been doing that about a year, although we’ve been playing together for seven or eight years,” he said.
“We actually started out playing at church together.”
The name, Blair explains, comes from the group’s Friday morning surfing sessions – something that influences their sound too. Their surf inspired instrumentals saw them triumph in the local Gold Coast competition which started with 40 bands from around the Coast. The final six played at the Basement and while it was a final Blair said it wasn’t a dog-eat-dog affair.
“Everyone was just having fun,” he said.
“It was all about supporting each other.”
And now they are into the final 44 – can they make the final six and maybe even when the award? Only time will tell!
What: Exhumed
When: Thursday, 14 November 8pm
Channel: ABC1
