MTV NZ has announced the shortlist of five up-and-coming local bands who will fight it out for a chance to 'kick start' their rock-star careers: Dukes, Happy Palace, Nytmare & Band, The Hot Grits and The Midnight Youth.

Image: Christchurch band Dukes - "rockabilly on speed".MTV NZ has announced the shortlist of five up-and-coming local bands who will fight it out for a chance to 'kick start' their rock-star careers: Dukes, Happy Palace, Nytmare & Band, The Hot Grits and The Midnight Youth.

Image: Christchurch band Dukes - "rockabilly on speed".The winning band will literally get a 'kick start' in the music industry, including a professionally shot film clip produced by MTV, introduction to A&R executives and an all expenses paid trip to the Australia Video Music Awards.

The five finalists were selected by judges Damian Alexander (Blindspott); Mikey Havoc (95BFM Breakfast Show Host); Stephen O'Hoy (Amplifier.co.nz); Kerryanne Brett (Groove Guide) and Stefan Chapman (MTV).

The judges will select the winning band at a free, all ages event featuring all five bands on Friday 9 March at The Studio, 340 Karangahape Rd, Auckland. To be on the guest list, the public simply need to register on-line/.

The New Zealand winner will then go head-to-head in a Trans-Tasman showdown, against five Australian Kickstart winners from Victoria, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney. They'll be competing to win the Grand Prize of NZ$20,000, a performance on MTV Networks Australia's newest TV show The Lair, attend the 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards and have their film clip played during the Awards' pre-show on 29 April in front of hundreds of industry executives, not to mention through all MTV territories with a potential audience of 1.8 billion people.

Each finalist will be posted on the MTV website where Kiwis can get behind their artist by voting online at www.mtvkickstart.com. The Kickstart grand champion will be announced on 29 March 2007.

To listen to the top five entries go to www.mtv.co.nz/kickstart.

1/3/07