Howl - Australia's top high school band

BALLARAT indie rockers Howl have won the coveted triple j Unearthed best high school band competition.The six-piece band from Ballarat High School, made up of Daniel Marie, Galen Strachan, Michael Belsar, Jonathon Crawford, Tim Street and Lachlan Morrish, found out about their win this morning."I was listening to triple j this morning and they said they were going to call the winners,'' lead singer Belsar said."I was sitting by my phone and they started dialling on the radio and my phone didn't ring so I walked out of the room."Then all of a sudden I head Gaylen's voice on the radio.''It was the last thing they were expecting, with Belsar admitting he didn't think their song was good enough to win."We were pretty much positive we were going to lose,'' he said."I didn't think our recording was that amazing, it was sort of a half-finished song.''The band will be flown to Sydney in early September to re-record a track with the producer who worked with You Am I.There is a chance the boys will be featured in J Mag and then there is the main prize that Belsar is most excited about."Art Vs Science will play at our school and we get to support them and triple j will come and film for J TV,'' he said."It's so surreal."I don't think we really realise what it means yet, it hasn't really hit us.''Just last month, the band won the Ballarat heats of the FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands.They describe their music as "ever changing'' and have evolved past their early years performing cover songs.The band is currently working on their debut EP, while completing their year 12 studies.