Winning the local battle of the bands competition opened plenty of doors for Warrnambool four-piece group Kozar Blip. Since winning the competition in April this year, Kozar Blip — which consists of Sam Grayson, Nathan Porter, Liam Sullivan and Mark Reeves — have made the most of their opportunities. A win in the competition set Kozar Blip up for a berth in the regional final and apotential gig at the Push On festival in Melbourne later this year. Guitarist Nathan Porter said the win had also given the band much needed exposure and helped them secure support spots when headliners came to town. "Pretty much because we won the Battle of the Bands they are sort of looking to us to be the support," Nathan said. He said supporting Boyjar and Nokturnl at a ‘Freeza’ all-ages-show earlier this month had been a great experience and the band was looking forward to supporting Shihad and Motorace in August. "That was good playing with those guys. We were surprised how much the crowd got into it. We thought they’d just stand back and wait for Nokturnl but they all got into it." Kozar Blip also recently entered a single in the Push By Record competition, finishing in the top eight of 160 entries, this won them a spot on a nationally distributed CD and a gig at Melbourne’s Fringe Festival in Brunswick Street in October. Mark Reeves said the Push On and Fringe Festival gigs would be great experiences for the band, which has had little exposure out of Warrnambool and is finding it increasingly harder to pick up live music gigs in town. "We’re looking to play out of Warrnambool as much as we can. Warrnambool is a bit difficult to get gigs, considering the Bay’s shut down." Kozar Blip has written 12 original tracks and plans to head into the studio within the next month to record an EP, an experience vocalist Sam Grayson said they were looking forward to. Nathan said the EP was all about getting exposure and getting the band’s name around. "We want to send it off to record companies and see how we go — it’s sort of just a self promotion CD, we’re not really looking forward to making money out of it," he said. He paused, then added: " not yet."
"More than just a blip" -- Warrnambool Standard 28th Sept. 2000 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2000 All rights reserved
A festival performance and a string of upcoming gigs has local band Kozar Blip buzzing. Kozar Blip will play at Sunday’s Melbourne Fringe Festival after winning a statewide competition earlier this year. While the list of bands it has played alongside is very impressive — Bodyjar, Shihad, Motorace, Nokturnl, Weta and Dogbuoy, as well as upcoming support for US band Unwritten Law and Superjesus — Kozar Blip is yet to test its music audiences outside the Warrnambool area. The four-piece group believes the festival spot, playing to an expected crowd of about 100,000, as well as upcoming gigs in Melbourne and Geelong will give it much needed exposure. Kozar Blip is also eagerly anticipating playing support to Bodyjar and US band Unwritten Law at Warrnambool’s Deakin University. Group member Mark Reeves said despite supporting a big name overseas act, Kozar Blip wouldn’t feel too nervous before the gig. "You just go and play your own thing, as long as you know what you are playing, you’re right," he said. Having recently recorded a demo CD, Kozar Blip is focusing its attention on securing a recording deal. Reeves said the band’s record of supporting big name bands was coming in handy as it looked to get signed to a record label. "You need a good bio when you send your CD into the record labels. They have to see that you have supported good bands," Reeves said. Another big test for Kozar Blip will come next Friday night when it contests The Push Battle of the Bands regional final. Kozar Blip plays the Melbourne Fringe Festival on Sunday and supports BodyJar and Unwritten Law on October 18, before embarking on a list of Melbourne and Geelong dates — Melbourne’s Arthouse October 19, Geelong’s Barwon Club October 20 and Joey’s at St Kilda October 21.
"Kozar Blip blitz the battle field" -- Warrnambool Standard 12th Oct 2000 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2000 All rights reserved
Warrnambool's Kozar Blip have blitzed the field in the regional final of the Push Battle of the Bands competition. The four-piece rockers have once again shown the extent of their popularity by taking out the first prize. Second placegetters were 21st Century Ox followed by Cause and Effect in third. As part of the first prize, Kozar Blip will also play at an upcoming music festival in Queenscliff next month, as well as securing a position to play at Push On in March next year at Luna Park. Warrnambool City Council youth development officer Adrian Hunter said that more than 200 young people attended the Freeza event and added that there would be another youth-organised event on November 4 at the Temperance Hall.
"Kozar Blip is up with the ‘guns’" -- Warrnambool Standard 19th Oct 2000 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2000 All rights reserved
Warrnambool four-piece band Kozar Blip will play alongside some of Australia’s best known bands following its recent Battle of the Bands win. Winner of the Barwon South-West regional final, the band will go on to play at the state final at Luna Park later this year. Guitarist and vocalist Sam Grayson said the competition at the regional final was tough, with the band up against the best bands from Geelong, Colac, Warrnambool and surrounding areas. "We were as confident as we could be but the competition was pretty tough," he said. With bands such as Killing Heidi and Something for Kate playing at last year’s state final, bass player Mark Reeves said it would be a great experience to play alongside big-name Australian acts later this year. "We’re damn excited about it," he said. Established just 10 months ago, the band has gathered momentum and built up a strong fan base with gigs set for Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne and an appearance supporting popular pop /rock band Superjesus next month. "We’ve got 11 gigs in 20 days this month, so we’ve been pretty busy," Mark said.
"Ordeal in the studio" -- Warrnambool Standard 11th Jan. 2001 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2001 All rights reserved
WARRNAMBOOL’S Kozar Blip has gone back into the studio to record a series of tracks for an EP to be released in the next few months. After playing at the Spirit of the Sea festival last weekend, the band, featuring Sam Grayson (vocals/guitar), Mark Reeves (bass), Liam Sullivan (drums) and Nathan Porter (guitar), put in a 20-hour recording stint at Melbourne’s Metropolis Studios. Formed just over a year ago, Kozar Blip has already established itself in the south-west music scene after winning the regional finals of Battle of the Bands and playing at several festivals including the Queenscliff Music Festival.The band has secured a place at the state finals of Battle of the Bands at Push On at Luna Park in March, playing alongside Australian bands such as Frenzal Rhomb and Grinspoon. Reeves said the band had already recorded some original tracks in Warrnambool about three months ago but made the decision to record an extra three in Melbourne several weeks back. "We’ve done some recording around here before but we thought we’d go to Melbourne and try out one of the studios there, because we were connected with one of the guys up there," he said. Reeves said while the band members had made no firm decision on what they were going to do with the finished CD he said they would probably form an EP to sell at gigs. "The first one we did was to send to pubs so they could hear us play, but this one we wanted to do something that was 100 per cent," he said. Reeves said the three recently recorded tracks, Stay, Fly and Poo Nuggets, had taken 20 hours to produce. He said the band had booked the studio for a 24-hour block and had worked solidly to finish the tracks. "It was a bit tiring but it was a good experience and it was good fun," he said.
"Final battle ahead for our Kozar Blip" -- Warrnambool Standard 8th Mar 2001 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2001 All rights reserved
WARRNAMBOOL band Kozar Blip is pushing one step closer to success this week-end. The dedicated group has started making waves the music world by winning the regional final the Push On 200 Battle of the Bands competition. Now moving into the state final, Kozar Blip will play alongside top Australian bands such as Grinspoon, Frenzal Rhomb, Area-7, Body Jar, Magic Dirt, Motorace and Sunk Loto in their quest for the title. However, playing with such bands should not concern the group which has already secured places as support for Superjesus, Shihad, Motorace Body Jar and heaps more. The all-ages Push On 2000 event will be held on Monday at Luna Park in St Kilda and will also feature free rides, a food fair, a skate demo, sideshows, a flea market and fun house. In addition to the gig at Push On 2000, Kozar Blip will officially release its self-titled debut album on Saturday at the Sunk Loto all-ages gig the Warrnambool Civic Hall. The band’s CD will also contain its latest single Stay, which is expected to gain national radio airplay by the end of the month. As part of the release of the album, Kozar Blip will be performing at a host of gigs around the state including: March 10 — Civic Hall, Warrnambool Freeza; March 11 — Armadale Hotel, Melbourne; March 12 — Push On 2001, Luna Park, St Kilda; March 14 — 9th Ward, Melbourne; March 15 — Bridge Mall Inn, Ballarat.
"No blip in debut" -- Warrnambool Standard 15th Mar 2001 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 2001 All rights reserved
The long-awaited debut EP from Warrnambool band Kozar Blip is now available. The talented quartet will continue to build its fan base with the release. Featuring original tracks Stay, Helpless, Fly and Find A Way, the band has produced professional and well-rounded first attempt. The lyrics were written by Sam Grayson (vocals/guitar) and the original music highlights the band’s growing maturity as performers. Kozar Blip also comprises Mark Reeves (bass), Liam Sullivan (drums) and Nathan Porter (guitar). Stay — the first single off the album — will be heard on national radio by the end of the month and is probably catchy enough to draw in most listeners. Grayson said the band had recorded the tracks in a marathon 20-hour session at Melbourne’s Metropolis Studios. "We were in there from about 9am to 6am and then drove home to Warrnambool," he said. Grayson said the process had been a learning curve. He said the band chose its best four tracks for the album, but Grayson admitted to writing the band’s best song after the CD was recorded. "We were disappointed we didn’t get that track on ... maybe next time," he said.
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