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Friendly fire on RocKwiz

Who needs big prizes? RocKwiz just wants a friendly game with contestants who play nice.

2013-05-23_2316It’s not about winning on RocKwiz, it’s how you play the game.

While other shows are offering big bucks, mortgages paid and singing careers, the SBS show is outliving them all on a no-frills budget. Tomorrow it kicks off its 11th season with music stars and fans together again in TV’s ultimate pub trivia night at St. Kilda’s Esplanade Hotel.

As co-creator Brian Nankervis (pictured, far right) explains, sometimes the punters get a little too enthusiastic.

“I’ll never forget 2 or 3 seasons ago we had a guy who was so good, but he didn’t realise that within about 5 minutes the whole room had turned against him. He was so excited to be on his favourite show that he was overcome,” he explains.

“But everytime he would answer the audience would groan and Julia (Zemiro) had to say ‘Look, I think someone else needs to be involved.’

“So we always tell them, get 3 or 4 in a row sure, but don’t dominate!”

Fairness is so important with RocKwiz that a new approach in selecting the team members was ditched because it let go 2 people at the top of the show.

“Viewers who watch the show carefully will realise that 6 of the episodes will have a slightly different structure. We thought what if we do the initial round of questions and we pick 6, who all come on at the start of the show and we have a sudden death round?” says Nankervis.

“So we did it, but it just felt like the show would start and you’d have to reset.

“And there was a sense that you’d start with 6 and 2 of them miss out.

“There was just a real sense of ‘Ohh, sadness.’”

There’s no cruelty here, folks.

Each week Nankervis selects audience members before the show begins.

“Essentially I’ve got to find 24 people who come up on stage and I run 4 rounds of questions and we pick the best 4,” he says.

“Over the years that’s developed into my time and as a stand-up comedian I get to do my schtick so it’s very satisfying for me and the audience seems to like it. There’s a few moments where I get to do a little dance and the Nutbush with a lucky contestant!

“Then we have a 15 minute break, take the 4 contestants backstage, prepare them, and tell them to let everyone have a go.”

This season there are 15 episodes beginning with a Byron Bay music festival show. Episodes have been extended by an extra 8 minutes with 2 new segments, and an additional song.

“There’s that classic thing of ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’ But when it’s 8 years down the line and it’s the same structure, then we’re very aware that we didn’t want the show to become predictable, even though there’s an element of unpredictability because the artists are always different, and the punters from the audience are anything but predictable.”

Guests this season include Joe Cammileri, Ronnie Burns, Deborah Conway, John Paul Young, Russell Morris, J Mascis from Dinosaur Junior, Adalita, Nkechi from Saskwatch, Passenger, Sarah Lee Guthrie granddaughter of Woodie Guthrie and whose husband, accompanying her, is the grand-nephew of John Steinbeck.

The show produced by Renegade frequently combines new, rising performers with seasoned, industry musos -and occasionally international names.

“We try to have at least 1 household name,” says Nankervis.

“People say ‘You should get so and so!’ But their schedules mightn’t work and even if they’re here they have to sing a song with a band they’ve never met, sing a duet with someone they’ve never met, on a song they may not have ever sung, and answer questions in front of a mad audience with 2 people on either side who have come up from the crowd in a pub. Are you insane?

“And they may only have 1 day off in Melbourne.”

RocKwiz has also undertaken 3 tours, performing in theatres around the country. Nankervis loves performing in big venues, a contrast to the limitations of the Esplanade Hotel.

“I love The Gershwin Room and the way it looks but it’s not an easy room to work. It’s narrow, it’s hot, you can’t move, there’s no backstage,” he says.

“So the tours are great and they always throw up new ideas.

“The stakes are high so you take new risks and as a performer when you do that you discover new things.”

RocKwiz airs 8:30pm Saturdays on SBS ONE.

One Response

  1. Love this show! Great feature, thanks David! And even though I say this every season, I promise one day I’ll be a contestant (probably one of those who’d be over-excited to be on his favourite show).

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