‘Helensburgh grunge’ on Triple J

A band featuring three local teens is making a name for itself on the music scene, not only here in the Illawarra but also further afield, after recently winning a Battle of the Bands competition, hosted by Petersham Bowling Club.

Vocalist/lead guitarist Oscar, drummer Daniel and bass guitarist Hamish live in Helensburgh and Stanwell Park, and formed Zion almost two years ago when they were students at Bulli High School.

The band competed against others from throughout NSW, performing a set of original songs to win a recording package which includes recording, mixing and mastering for a single, distribution and radio support, and more.

“We’re stoked – we didn’t expect to win! We thought we had come dead last!” they said.

The boys describe their style of music as “Helensburgh grunge” in reference to the location of the band room where their music originates. They released their first single, Mongoose, on all streaming platforms a couple of months ago, and immediately uploaded it to Triple J Unearthed.

Just three days later they achieved every aspiring band’s dream when they were given national airplay by Triple J’s Home and Hosed host Ash McGregor, who described the track as “punchy, aggressive and absolutely rips!” Unfortunately, they were playing at the Helensburgh Hotel at the time and missed the whole thing!

“We were packing up all our stuff, and my mate rang me and said ‘Dude, you’re on Triple J – you were playing on my car radio!’ … and I said ‘That’s not true’ … but we actually were!”

Zion has just finished production of their second single, Saturation, which is due for release on October 31. Then it’s back into the studio in November to claim their prize and record their next track.

The band has supported a number of local community groups over the past year, including performing at fundraisers for the Stanwell Park Surf Club and Stanwell Park Public School.

They played at the Get Together Festival in Wombarra in March, and will be playing at the Thirroul Music Festival in December.

Last month they were looking forward to their next gig supporting local band The Vandastruts at Ryans Hotel Thirroul at the end of September.

“We can’t wait!”, they said. “We’ve wanted to play at Ryans for ages, and are pumped that we finally get to play there with our mates.”

Visit linktr.ee/zionband