The volume has been cranking up in teenage bedrooms throughout Otago over the past few weeks.
Young musicians have been enthusiastically jamming away as they prepare for the 2012 Smokefreerockquest.
More than 800 bands have entered the national original music competition, which is marking its 24th year.
The key to the success of the rock quest was the opportunity it gave young people to play music and explore emotions with their peers, Smokefreerockquest founder Pete Rainey said.
"Kids' biggest role models are their musical heroes. They emulate them by mastering musical instruments and performing to their peers," he said yesterday.
"They also want to explore their emotions and concerns in songs. Smokefreerockquest gives them a framework to do all this and provides support, education, motivation and rewards."
The Otago heats start at 1pm next Saturday at the King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre.
The top 12 bands will get to the Otago regional final on June 1.
The national final will be held in Hamilton, on September 22, when prizes including a $10,000 NZ On Air recording grant and $10,000 of music equipment will be up for grabs.
The Otago bands playing off for a place in the regional final are: Outright (Otago Boys' High School), Conspiracy Theory (Balmacewen Intermediate), Logan Anderson (Kaikorai Valley College), Two Awesome Randoms (Taieri College), Ryely (Columba College), Albion Place (John McGlashan College), Perpetual Button (Kavanagh College), Crisis (Kaikorai Valley College), HC (South Otago High School), Toby Hartigan (Taieri College), Revenge (Kaikorai Valley College), the Cunning Stunt (Logan Park High School), Skinny and the Doo-Rays (Bayfield High School), Seaton (Taieri College), Isabelle (Kaikorai Valley College), Kiss of Death (John McGlashan College), Lucky Jeremy (Bayfield High School and John McGlashan College), RockWell (Taieri College and King's High School), Nick Henderson (John McGlashan College), Thoughtful and The Mighty Heart (Otago Boys' High School), the Dictators (Blue Mountain College) and Isolation (Taieri College).
