Have You Been To: Gozzy Rock

Entry is now open for Gozzy Rock, the annual City Of Gosnells music competition. Now in it’s 28th year, Gozzy Rock is a recognised and respected platform for emerging WA music talent, exposing young artists to a wide audience. We spoke to Chris Woods, City Of Gosnells Youth Services Cordinator. 

Tell us a bit about the legacy of Gozzy Rock - it’s certainly a venerable brand at this stage of the game.

Where do I start… It all began way back in 1986. That was the year when Metallica’s Master Of Puppets was first released. Gosnells was pretty bogan back then (desert boots, black jeans and mullets) so you can imagine the bands were not as diverse as they are today. At the time there were few all-ages gigs, so Gozzy Rock was popular and had a huge following. 

Who initially proposed a band competition to the City of Gosnells?

Gozzy Rock was WA’s first band competition. The City of Gosnells has always been very progressive in supporting the arts and young people. The City of Gosnells had the first urban art project in Australia back around the same time and as I said, Gozzy Rock was one of the only all-ages gigs in Perth.

How has Gozzy Rock evolved since its inception?

It hasn’t changed that much. Probably the most noticeable difference is that we are now delivering a music forum for aspiring bands alongside the competition which provides musicians the opportunity to learn skills and hear direct from industry leaders. This year we have Joel Quartermain from Eskimo Joe, Broderick Madden-Scott from SpaceManAntics, David Chitty the  managing director from Sunset Events and Harris Water from Pilerats Records each delivering a forum session.

Who are some of the notable acts who have played Gozzy Rock over the years?

We have had some great headline acts over the years. Probably the biggest event we had was in 2006, when I Killed The Prom Queen played. Since then we have had many other great headline acts including Drapht and Abbe May amongst many other great bands.

What are the requirements for entry?

Entries are open to Western Australian bands of any style, at least one band member must be aged 25 or unde, all your music must be original, band must be currently unsigned and mo    

For more info or to enter, go to thehive.com.au.

Originally published in X-Press Magazine