Although they failed to make the national final of the Smokefreerockquest in Auckland at the weekend with their band Cheery Moon, the lyrics from their song Fish Tank won the prestigious Apra Lyric Award.
The Wakatipu High School pupils were "amazed" to receive the national award because when they started preparing for the competition, they were not even expecting to get into the regional finals.
Zak said the trio won the Central Otago Lyric Award but when the band failed to be selected for the national finals, they stopped holding their breath.
Unbeknown to them, their lyrics left a lasting impression on the judges, and when their song was measured against all the other regional lyric award winners, it came up tops.
"We had this idea of a fish tank being society, and the girl inside is trying to break out of it — to escape societal pressures and be who she wants to be."
The group were delighted with the award and said they would continue to work together.
"I hope the public will see more of us in the future," Zak said.
Punk rock trio Minimal Silence (Logan Anderson, Sabastian Munro and Mark Tohovaka, of Howick College) won the national final of the Smokefreerockquest band competition.
One of the judges described the band as the complete package and said they were "ready for radio airplay right now".
Indie-rock four-piece Daffodils, from Western Springs College and Kristin School, was second for the second year in a row, but it also won the Lowdown Best Song Award for Staring at the Sun, which it will get professionally recorded.
Oh Boy!, from Kaipara College, was third.
The winner of the solo/duo category was Sonatane Kaufusi, from Manurewa High School, and New Plymouth Boys’ High School pupil Sam Egli was second.
Havelock North High School pupil Arran Cargill-Brown won the Mainz Scholarship for outstanding musicianship, and Shirley Boys’ High School pupil Gideon Valavala Fuzhun won the Smokefree Best Vocals Award.
The National People’s Choice Award went to Haze (St Kentigern College).
