Virgin Festival

Road to V finalists announced!

Friday night Carfax rocked with a top line-up of South Africa’s favourite bands, including the Dirty Skirts, 340ml, Zebra & Giraffe and the Road to V top 5 unsigned bands. From the top 5 bands, 3 had to be chosen to go into the next level of the competition.

The top 5 rocked Carfax in downtown Jo’burg where fans were asked to vote for their favourites. The Road to V judges had a hard time picking the top 3 out of the 5, but at the end of it, the top 3 to make it to the next musical stage are:

• 3rd World Spectator
• Captain Stu
• Gonzo Republic

All 3 bands will go on to be the support acts for One Republic, Maroon 5, Goldfish and The Parlotones at the Dome on the 13th of December, the 14th of December at the ICC in Durban and in Cape Town on the 17th at the Grand Arena at Grand West.

Then at the end of all that it’ll be known which Number 1 unsigned band will get to be on stage at next year’s Virgin Festival!

BAND PROFILES

Captain Stu – Cape Town
Captain Stu are a 6 piece band based in Cape Town. Their sound is described as a mix of African, ska, funk, and reggae with pop influences. Captain Stu began in 2002 with founding members Nick and Ryan. While forming they went through various members and sounds and it wasn’t until 2004 they started to gig as a 7 piece ensemble. At the time most of the members were just 17. They played throughout Cape Town and as gig offers increased their reputation amplified.

Members are:

• Nick Key - Vocals
• James Klopper - Guitar/Backing Vocals
• Ryan McArthur - Bass/ Double Bass
• Clement Carr - Saxophone/ Keyboard
• Jon Shaban - Saxophone
• Devin Jones - Drums

3rd World Spectator
The idea of 3rd World Spectator has been lying dormant for the past several years; the music has been around for a while, only coming to true fruition at the beginning of 2008 with the correct line-up of musicians being assembled.

Band members are:

• Peter Crafford - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano
• Justin Versfeld - Lead Guitar, Keyboard, Backing Vocals
• Geran Steyn - Bass and Programming
• André Wentzel - Drums

Gonzo Republic
Coming to you from the small island known as Durban, South Africa, Gonzo is doing things their way! Their EP is available for download from Myspace and at shows. Updates from the Facebook fans page will keep you in the loop of current news and gig dates. ‘Alternate’ because the guitaring and vocals swing the groove deep and dirty. According to their website, “the Gonzo Republic is a hybrid version of all the dirty rocking groove bands you can think of.”

Band members:

• Clayton Human- vocals
• Jonothan Cumming - bass
• Steven Du Plessis - drums
• Joshua Beechey - guitar