But Liam Fairbairn is an exception.
He was one of those teens, and is now the lead guitarist of a three-piece alt-rock band called The Dense, which won the Southland regional final of Smokefreerockquest recently.
The James Hargest College pupil said the band got its name from a time when a few friends came round and wound up on his roof.
``They left a few dents, but there's already a band with that name on Spotify, so we spelt it without the t.''
Liam said it was the fifth time in Smokefreerockquest for him and drummer Jack Straw, and the line-up was completed last year when bass player Nepia Ruwhiu joined.
The band had to play two songs in the final.
Liam said their first song was about Southland pride, and their second song was about enjoying the weekends out with mates.
``I think it was our energy on stage and passion for the songs that helped us win,'' he said.
Runner-up in the final was Beyond Society, made up of South Otago High School pupils Grace Schuurman (keyboard), DeReece Pickering (vocals), Peter Roger (vocals), Josh Hansen (guitar), Mason Armstrong (drums), Joey Wang (guitar), Jorja Mineur (violin) and Samuel Hutton (bass).
Central Southland College pupil Alex Dykes won the solo/duo section and Gore High School pupil Brianna Hedley was second.
The two top bands and solo/duos won music gear, and will now record 15 minutes of their best material, to be sent to the Smokefreerockquest judging panel in a bid to be selected for the national finals in Auckland on September 2.
Southland Finals awards: Bands The Dense (James Hargest College) 1, Beyond Society (South Otago High School) 2, Suave Vibes (Central Southland College) 3. Solo/duo: Alex Dykes (Central Southland College) 1, Brianna Hedley (Gore High School) 2. Lyric award: Rhys Blaas (James Hargest College). Lowdown Best song: oh1oh2 (Menzies College). Musicianship award: Joey Wang (Beyond Society). Vocals award: Hamish Thomson (Suave Vibes). People's choice award: The Babes (Menzies College).
