Astro battle to win live gig on the ABC

Baldivis band Astro will take to the stage tonight to battle it out against the best amateur bands in the country in the Exhumed contest.

The competition gives mature bands their second chance at stardom.

Lead vocalist and keyboardist Brad Gandy said the band was ready to make their mark in the music world.

“It’s rewarding and a pat on the back for all our rehearsals, all the times we’ve sat together to write songs and for all the gigs we have done, big and small,” he said.

“We love playing music. To be able to write, record and play is essentially what any musician wants to do.”

Astro is up against eight bands competing for a private recording session and live gig to be broadcast on the ABC.

“The opportunity to play on live TV and that exposure for our songs is the ultimate prize,” Gandy said.

“And the opportunity to meet supermodels,” he joked.

“Of course, I’d leave the wife and kids for one.”

Gandy said Astro, which formed in 2006, is a six-piece indi-pop band playing tunes influenced by Cold Play and Crowded House and was melodic in its nature.