Since 1999, Hong Kong's indie bands had scored reasonably well in Yamaha Asian Beat Band Competition's history. In 2001, LamKee was the first band to bring victory home from the Asia Grand Finals. Soon in 2003, Ever's vocalist, Kuboyama Yuki won the Individual Best Performance Award. Two years later, instrumental band Infinity won a bagful of awards, including Special Jury Prize, Best Guitarist and Best Bass Guitarist prizes.

On 11th December 2006, 16 local band entries selected from the Heat had just fought their final battle in Ko Shan Theatre, a venue that witnesses the growth of local indie music. This year, the judge panel was formed by four of the most distinguished musicians and producers in town, namely Gary Chan, Joey Tang, Jimmy Mak and Jason Lee.

Champion: Pick Pak Zhai

Pick Pak Zhai is a 5-piece funk/rock band, which sounded like the product of Maroon 5 and Tokyo Incident plus some R&B twist. Their winning Cantonese title (Better Without Him) portrays their Zen attitude towards love affairs. And in the same evening, Pick Pak Zhai had experienced "Double-happiness" – since Nick Wong, who's the band's key-master, was awarded the Best Keyboard Player too. The outgoing orientation found in his playing, had given more body as well as crisp and crunchy-ness to the song.

With their mature and confident performance on stage, the majority may think they must have been jamming and playing live in front of the public for at least a couple of years, but the truth is, this is Pick Pak Zhai's very first contest attempt. And believe it or not, Angel, the band's vocalist, has just started her indie band life not long ago before this competition. Her voice belongs to the range that, the guitars, basses and drums won't drown the lyrics, and best of all, there wasn't any evidence of strain. "We've never expected that our songs would be accepted and appreciated by the audience. We've always thought that it'd be satisfying enough to come second or third in the competition", says guitar player Flowing Cloud. They would like to thank their friend who wrote the lyrics, as well as another friend who helped them sign up for the competition.

1st Runner up: 1st of Trecember

1st of Trecember is a gothic/hard-rock bands that yielded high satisfaction quotient. They don't simply play a song – the best way to describe is they're playing a scene from a drama. The tuxedo and mask, much resembling the dress code of Phantom of the Opera, were tailor-made to match their original work called "Dual Face". This song is all about hypocrites in the society today. In the introduction, their drummer mimics the Chinese Da Gu (big drum), adding some Chinese twist to this gothic/hard-rock number. Everything you expect from a gothic band ─ string quartet, church organ and medieval choral chants were there. As lead guitarist Kelvin Lee glided his fingers smoothly on the fingerboard, their keyboard player followed suit, creating a smoking hot double lead passage. With such power and co-ordination, no wonder Lee took this year's Best Guitarist prize home.

2nd Runner Up: ToNick

If you like something less dramatic than gothic, and you simply like to chill, 4-man-band ToNick's "What a Sunny Day" would be your Strawberry Daiquiri on the beach. Their not-too-loud, yet energy-boosted distorted guitar chords resembled Japanese rock band B'z sound. Lyrics were sung in Cantonese, and it was all the pleasure of watching beach girls passing by on a holiday. Just like tonic water, this rock/pop tune's arrangement is sparkling, fresh and relaxing.

And more!

Rock used to be Hong Kong indie scene's 'mainstream' genre. Yet, as the scene grows, we are beginning to see a diversified array of styles. In the finals, we had bands that were influenced by punk, gothic, j-rock and metal music.

In gigs and live performances, very often the vocalists would be come the center of audience's attention. But wait, for Trio Reality, a 3-piece instrumental group, every musician is a star, winning an applause that seemed to last forever. In "Odd Man Out", a precise fusion/rock number, the three musicians had frequent musical interactions. The three musicians played hide and seek with several musical vehicles, such as idea, rhythm and pitch, building brilliant climaxes that were interesting to hear and see. Bassist Kinane Tam is a skilled yet musical player, with influences of bass greats like Victor Wooten. His excellent control and tone, funky dead-notes and slaps made him the Best Bassist in the competition.

People often say that the best compliment to a musician is "You really sound like you." We're here not to testify this saying, yet many finalists made great efforts in personalizing their one-and-only shot on stage, leaving unforgettable impressions to the audience.

And this year's Best Vocalist Award went to Killer Soap's Rocky Chan. These days, almost every guitarist would use effect processors, but then this is rare for vocalists in Hong Kong. Chan's creative application of reverb and delays made his stand out from the rest of the vocalists, and spiced up the band's rock number into a psychedelic listening experience. At the mean time, Best Drummer Award winner Wu Kwok Pan, was a sturdy drummer that had provided a strong, and reliable foundation for his fellow band-mates from Eccentric to work on.

Little Fat Pig, who came with a song, expressing how they felt about the large number of wedding invitations that they receive, is a vivid and lively band. Together with as well as Beauty Party, they are two typical specimens of 'happy, jolly and fun' band sound.

Dr. Eggs, a five-piece French-Sino band, was masterful at delivering excitement and illusions. Their French vocalist utilized the enter stage floor, with moonwalks steps that resembles the charismatic Michael Jackson. We also had an all-girl-band in the house, and they are The Amber, with strength and distorted guitar that sounded a bit like the cranberries. Meanwhile, Buddy Five had done a brilliant job in their one-of-a-kind, fresh introduction sung in a-cappella style.

While the finalists were waiting anxiously in the backstage for the results, Zarahn, our guest performers went on stage and covered four rock-pop tunes, which could be found in their album.

Yamaha Asian Beat Band Competition, which has been held successfully for years, had become an icon that symbolizes the growth of band-music in Asia. Asian Beat is more than merely a music competition – it provides an excellent opportunity for musicians to build friendship and learn from each other, and to see the unseen, hear the unheard. In March 2007, Pick Pak Zhai will represent Hong Kong to compete with regional champions from six regions, including Mongolia, Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Let's cheer, and give our best wishes to Pick Pak Zhai, and we look forward to their good news from Kuala Lumpur!

- Francis