Melbourne Punk Band Win Over $20,000 On Quiz Show

Joe Hansen, guitarist of Melbourne hardcore outfit Clowns, took home $26,500 for his band after winning Wednesday night's edition of Channel 7's Million Dollar Minute.

Winning quick cash on a game show may not be about to replace crowd-funding or applying for grants as a band's best bet for raising money to record and tour, but Hansen sure made it look kinda easy. He even earnt the nickname Cool Hand Joe by the time the credits rolled.

Host Simon Reeve introduced Hansen as "“a young punk rock guitarist who is just back from touring the country with his band" — one of three new contestants battling it out for the night's final round (the minute of questions that could snaffle a player one million dollars if they win consecutive nights' rounds — hence the show's name).

An entertainment question got Hansen got off to a flying start, correctly identifying that a person who excels at singing, dancing and acting is known as a ‘triple threat’. [Ah yeah... that's the calibre of questions on this show — no offence to Hansen, of course, he seemed to find it as easy as it sounds.]

Hansen managed to keep his cool when Reeve asked if he was a triple threat himself — the guitarist admitted to not being able to dance.

But he took the lead early (he confessed to being a Wikipedia nerd), won cash prizes along the way ($6,500 worth) and then smashed the final round which was littered with entertainment questions — although Hansen admitted he only guessed that it was Kim Kardashian who Seth Rogen portrayed in the Bound spoof clip.

And for that minute's work, he won a cool $20,000. Hansen said that he would put the money straight back into the band, "We’d love to get overseas - go to Europe, America maybe.”

And, rather than risk losing the twenty grand, Hansen decided not to come back to play for the $50,000 prize the following night.

Besides the cash, the appearance may have even helped heighten the band's profile with Mainstream Aiustralia, Million Dollar Minute — despite often running third in its timeslot — is watched by over half a million viewers nightly.

Can we expect to see Dune Rats on Family Feud soon?