Teenage trio The Shenatics have become a familiar sight at events across the city while developing a distinctive sound.
They are now on the cusp of releasing their debut single All Hail Me, on streaming services, marking a major milestone from school friends to a polished act.
The band, comprising Colbie Hill, 18, on bass and vocals, Lana Clark, 18, on guitar and vocals and Jack Hobbs, 17, on drums, formed in 2023.
Clark said she met Hill when they were both at Taieri College.
"I had just moved here from Australia and Colbie was like the girl that I first met at the new school," she said.
Hill’s mother suggested the two girls combine their musical talents, then recruit drummer Hobbs, a student at Bayfield High School.
"I knew Colbie from holiday programmes," Hobbs said.
The trio soon found their rhythm playing at events across the city, first playing covers but gradually adding their own songs.
Now they have about 45 minutes of original material which they described as "angry woman" rock influenced by bands like Veruca Salt.
Clark and Hill share songwriting duties with Hobbs adding musical and percussion suggestions.
"A lot of our writing is real-life experiences," Hill said.
"We wrote a song called The Cat Pissed on Our Amp.
"You kind of have to pick and choose where we play that one."
Now university students, the trio have spent two years refining songs for a debut EP at the "backyard studio" of Mosgiel engineer Anthony Breese, aiming to capture live energy without over-processing.
"We don’t use Auto-Tune. We feel like that is cheating," Hill said.
Hill’s father, Dale Brewster, has been a key figure, acting as manager.
"We would not have made it out of Colbie’s basement if it wasn’t for Dale," Clark said.
The band hopes their journey from a basement to broadcast will encourage others to pick up instruments.
"You don’t have to be perfect, you can let loose, go a little bit crazy.
"You don’t have to write little like high-pitch songs on an acoustic guitar, you can get angry with some distortion.
"You can be a rock star too," Hill said.
The band’s first single All Hail Me had a pre-release on Radio One 91 FM last week and will be released on Monday on streaming services including Spotify.
