Category: Awards

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2018 – vol. 4

Hope you all got to watch the Grammy Awards last night.  That was an impressive show, especially the performance by Kesha, Cindy Lauper, et al. of her song “Praying.”  It really brought tears to my eyes with its sheer beauty and power.  Let’s all try to honor the message that came through loud and clear – no more harassment and discrimination – just work together in unity.  Here’s our column today.

INDIE ARTISTS WIN GRAMMY AWARDS

While most of these indie artists didn’t get credit, several of them were instrumental in helping someone else get a Grammy win.  Kyler England co-wrote five of the songs on Lisa Loeb’s winning Best Children’s Album, while Ross Hogarth was part of the production team that worked on Taj Mahal and Keb Mo’s winning Best Contemporary Blues album.  Great work indies!

In addition, LA Music Critic Award nominee The Jerry Douglas Band lost their Grammy bid for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album to Jeff Lorber, while fellow LA Music Critic Award nominee John McLaughlin won his Grammy bid for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Miles Beyond” from the album Live at Ronnie Scott’s, which we previously reviewed in December.

The winners for the LA Music Critic Awards will be announced at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 2, 2018.

LYNN CAREY SAYLOR WINS SONGWRITING COMPETITION

Congratulations to indie songwriter Lynn Carey Saylor, who recently won the Song Door International Songwriting Competition in the Hard Rock/Alt Rock category for her song, “Tidal Wave.”  Saylor has been a hit songwriter for many years,

NEW SINGLES

It’s been a busy week for indie artists, including several past and present nominees for the LA Music Critic Awards.  Here are a few of the latest singles to be released.

The first one is from former nominee Crimson Calamity, which released their latest single, “Fool’s Gold.”  We love their sound and think you will too.

Next up is past LA Music Critic Award and Grammy nominee and Blue Élan Records artist Janiva Magness with her new single, “Down Below.”  We expect this one will qualify her for additional nominations.

Next is the latest from Austin band Signy, featuring Delaney Gibson, with their single, “Human.”  We love how different this is from her solo material, and think you will too.

Multiple LA Music Critic Award winner and nominee Katie Costello has lent her voice to the new single “Bon Air” by Hardsoul.  This one is an amazing dance track that will have you on the floor in no time.

Last but not least this week is the latest single from another multiple winner of the LA Music Critic Awards, Keaton Simons.  His new EP 1-2-3 Go will be released on March 9, and he is whetting our appetite with “Crane City.”

MUSIC VIDEOS

Our first video this week comes from Italian rock goddesses Black Mamba, who we reviewed last week.  This video is for their single, “Loop.”  Get ready to rock out.

Next up is the latest from the songwriting guru, Kari Kimmel of her song, “Voices.”  Check out the amazing cinematography of this one.

Our third video this week is from former San Diego Music Award winner Gayle Skidmore for her song “Pale Ghosts.”  Once again, the cinematography is first-rate.

Our next video comes from first-time LA Music Critic Award nominee Ryan Sims, who we also reviewed earlier this month.  Here is his vision of his song, “Black and Blue.”

Last but not least is the new video from Lucy Levinsohn, former lead singer for Lily’s Siren and Waiting 4 Wyatt.  She has returned to a solo career and brings us “Dear God.”

Thanks for joining us today.  We’ll be back tomorrow with five more Get it or Forget it reviews.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Best of 2017 LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

Announcement of LA Music Critic Award nominations for second half of 2017

We think that 2017 will go down as one of the most prolific years in outstanding music being released by indie artists.  We received and reviewed so many that we had to change the review period.  Consequently, we considered more than 235 albums and EPs that were released between July 1 and November 30, 2017, in compiling our nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards.  Albums and EPs released from December 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018 will be considered for the first half awards of 2018.

Fans are encouraged to vote for the Fan Favorite Award.  To vote for your favorite,  simply leave a comment below in the following format:  “I vote for (name of artist) for Fan Favorite.”  No other comments will be counted toward the Fan Favorite Award, and each reader may only vote once.   Comments made on other social media sites will not count.

Fans are also encouraged to comment on other award nominations, and those comments will be reviewed by the Awards committee.  However, they will not count for the Fan Favorite Award unless the comment specifically says that the artist is being nominated for the Fan Favorite Award. 

The deadline for voting for the Fan Favorite Award is Wednesday, January 31, 2018, at midnight MST.  The full list of winners will be announced at 6 p.m. MST on Friday, February 2, 2018.

Without further delay, here are the nominations.

BEST EP (Male) – Ryan Sims, My Side of the Story; Sam Marine, Big Dark City; Ben Anderson, YouTopia; Matt Westerman, Life Out Loud; Vinnie Paolizzi, Kids

BEST EP (Female) – Jacquie, The Only One; Katie Costello, New World; Cara Frew, Dance; Helen Culver, Seven Year Glitch; Libbie Schrader, Red Thread

BEST EP (Group) – Mare Island, Eponymous; TYA, No Money, More Love; RVBY My Dear, Cycles; Social Repose, Empress; Surf Rock is Dead, We Have No Friends?

BEST EP (International) – House Hounds, Saturate; Wolf & Moon, Frames; HUNDREDS, Wilderness; The Raft; Orion; The Raft, A Lullaby

BEST CD (Male) – Canyon City, Constellation; Chuck McDermott, Gin & Rosewater; Case Garrett, Aurora; Rusty Young, Waitin’ for the Sun; Bryan Stephens, Village of Dreams

BEST CD (Female) – Monica Chapman, Small World; Chelsea Williams, Boomerang; Cindy Alexander, Deep Waters; Marina V, Born to the Stars; Katie Costello, Twice the Love; Amilia K. Spicer, Wow and Flutter

BEST CD (Group) – The Commotions, Vol 2; Great Willow, Find Yourself in Los Angeles; Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja, Something for the Pain; FreeWorld, What it Is; Chris Daniels and the Kings, Blues with Horns

BEST HOLIDAY ALBUM – Katie Garibaldi, Home Sweet Christmas; Balsam Range, It’s Christmas Time; Jennifer Hanson, Under the Tree; Beth Marie Anderson, Christmas with You; Bloodshot Records, 13 Days of Xmas; Blue Elan Records, A Blue Elan Christmas

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Matt Hawkins, Steel Ya Blues; Brandon Bonine, Remember my Name; Canyon City, Midnight Flight; Josh Johnstone, Just What it is; Rod Melancon, Dwayne & Me

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – Janey Street, Undone; Dree Mon, Rebel Soul; Lexie Rose, Wrong; Katie Costello, Hearts on Fire; Rachel Ariana, Imperfect; Suzanne Santo, Ghost in my Bed

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – FlecHaus, Tell me Something; Satellite Citi, Undead; Elizabeth and the Catapult, Ambrosia; Oh Geronomo, No More Stones; Pet Fangs, Gold Coast Dreaming; The Flatliners, Indoors

BEST VIDEO (LIVE) – Sierra Blanca, Paint the Road; Bernie Faulkner, Potbelly Stove; Calico the Band, The Leaving Kind; Rosi Golan, Underneath; Chelsea Williams, Anything Worth Saving

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – Mellott, Shooting Stars; Rachel Price, Love is War; The Rebel Light, Where did all the Love Go; Chris Chilton, Adonai; Jared Finck, New Kids

BEST VIDEO (HOLIDAY) – Redhead Express, Love is Christmas; Chelsea Williams, Peppermints and Mistletoe; Kate Steinway, White Christmas; Pam Taylor, Let’s Get it on for Christmas

BEST VIDEO (INTERNATIONAL) – Straw, Bang Bang; Straw, 1965; Captive (ft. Hannah Trigwell), I Could be the One

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Blue Elan Artists, Shine Down on Us; David Garfield and J. Paris, I Lied; Beckett and Claire Ridgely, Butterflies

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Mikey Wax, “Spaceman;” Zvchvivh, “Think of Me;” Tim Maiden, “So Far Gone;” Matt Zambon, “Blue and Yellow;” Jason Crosby, “Final Step”

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Hannah Lucia, “Your Love;” Heather Bond, “Keep it Quiet;” Ashleigh Watson, “Little Love;” Liz Kennedy (ft. Taj Mahal), “Everyone Knows how it Goes”

BEST SINGLE (Group) –   Featurette, “Upside Down;” Delsinki, “Wishing Upon a Star;” Echo City, “Burn Me;” Astral Queen, “Take it all the Way;” The Sound of Ghosts, “Train to Nowhere”

BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST/BAND – The Fisherman and the Sea, Belle Miners, The Raft, HUNDREDS, Wolf & Moon

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Case Garrett, Tim Bennett, Whitney Lusk, Kaylee Keller, Ryan Sims

BEST COUNTRY BAND – CALICO the Band, Steve Azar and the Kings Men, Honey County

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Pam Taylor, John Verity, Stacy Jones, Alastair Greene, R. D. Olson, Dave Hunt

BEST BLUES BAND – Paradise Kings, FreeWorld, Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja, BB and the Blues Shacks, Chris Daniels and the Kings, The McKee Brothers

BEST POP ARTIST (Female) – Marina V, Cindy Alexander, Katie Costello, Alex Mabey, Maggie McClure, Rosi Golan

BEST POP ARTIST (Male) – Curtis Peoples, Fernando Perdomo, Matt Westerman, Bryan Stephens, Ben Anderson, LeRiche

BEST POP BAND – Flood Coats, Seasonal Beast, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Warbly Jets, High Dive Heart, Laini and the Wildfire

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Billy Burnette, Rusty Young, Ben Lorentzen, Russ Carrick, Robert Francis, Peter Simpson

BEST ROCK BAND – The Khourys, Surf Rock is Dead, Social Repose, The Slants, Xs and Arrows, Dopapod

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Ray Goren, Leslie Clio, Zoey Clarke, Louise Lemon

BEST R&B/SOUL/RETRO BAND – The Marias, The Commotions, Burgess Meredith

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST (Female) – Lydia Loveless, Shannon McNally, Liz Kennedy, Chelsea Williams, Amilia K. Spicer, Suzanne Santo

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST (Male) – Rich McCulley, Marc Berger, Chuck McDermott, Jason Hawk Harris, Sam Marine, Vinnie Paolizzi

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – Great Willow, The County Liners, JD and the Straight Shot, The Empty Pockets, Dead Rock West

BEST BLUEGRASS ARTIST/BAND – The Jerry Douglas Band, The Grascals, My Girl My Whiskey and Me, Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman

BEST JAZZ/INSTRUMENTAL ARTIST/BAND – Tout, Noon, Monica Chapman, John McLaughlin, KRON, Dave Yaden

BEST DANCE ARTIST/BAND – The Innocent Bystanders, TYA, Elephant Stone, Niteshifters, Cara Frew

BEST REGGAE ARTIST/BAND – Never Ending Fall

BEST PUNK BAND – Franks and Deans, Emmer Effer, Hang Tight, The Paranoid Style

BEST HARD ROCK/METAL BAND – SBK, Vacant Home, Aviator, The Black Hand, Downfall 2012

BEST FOLK ARTIST – Ben Bostick, Canyon City, Garrison Starr, Fred Smith, Sierra Blanca, Brandon Luedtke

BEST FOLK BAND – Tony Lovato and MEST, Fire Chief Charlie, Amber Run, Nescora, FXRRVST

BEST TRADITIONAL FOLK BAND – Storywrens, The East Pointers

BEST PROG ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Orissa, Dave Kerzner

RISING STAR – Ray Goren, Kaylee Keller, Rachel Ariana, Gina Sicilia, Chelsea Williams

We encourage to subscribe so you can keep up with the Awards and with our blog year-round.  We’ll be back tomorrow with the first reviews for the next cycle.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Best of 2017 Get it or Forget it Women in Entertainment

Best international EPs of 2017

We have reviewed a total of 338 albums and EPs this year.  As you can imagine, there have been quite a lot of great ones along the way, and we plan to share some of them with you over the next four days.  We are breaking our “Best of 2017” lists down into four categories – Best American EPs, Best International EPs, Best American Albums and Best International albums.  Today we will share our Top 10 Best International EPs.  Individual reviews are available as part of our blog’s “Get it or Forget it” series.

10.  Elephant Stone, Remix of Fools.  This five-song EP contains remixes from the band’s Ship of Fools album,  The best of those songs is the Young Galaxy remix of “The Devil’s Shelter.”  Check out these lads from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

9.  Amber Run, Alaska.  This four-song EP contains two songs from the band’s sophomore album For a Moment, I was Lost, as well as two cover songs, including Maggie Rodgers’ “Alaska.”  This band hails from the UK.

8.  Strange Boy, Annunciation.  The band released their debut EP with four songs.  They are also from the UK.

7.  TYA, No Money, More Love.   Queensland, Australia is responsible for this amazing band, who has brought us five new songs.

6.  The Raft, Coming up for Air.  Phil Wilson aka The Raft is responsible for two of the best EPs of 2017.  This one was released back in August.  Wilson hails from the UK.

5.  The Fisherman & the Sea, The Beggar Princess.  This EP is part of a group of four scheduled to be released before their debut full-length album later this year.  We can hardly wait.  Our first band from Finland.

4.    The Raft, Orion.  Gift number two from Phil Wilson.  This one is the best of the three EPs he released in 2017.

3.  Hundreds, Wilderness (Akustik Edition).  German siblings Eva and Philipp Milner have brought us a true treasure with an acoustic version of some of their hits, along with an acoustic cover of Bon Iver’s “Plume.”

2.  Wolf & Moon, Frames.  Stefanie and Dennis met at a party in the Netherlands, and now travel the world sharing their dreampop material.

1.  Cara Frew, Dance.  Cara splits her time between her native South Africa and the US, bringing great electro pop dance music wherever she travels.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the Top 15 American EPs.  See ya then.

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2017: Vol. 46

It’s our final Monday Mashup of 2017, since next Monday is Christmas day.  We wanted to thank you for checking us out this year, and are looking forward to sharing much more indie music news in 2018.  Make sure you drop us a line and let us know when you win an award, have a CD release show or other important event, so that we can share it with the world.

BLUE ÉLAN RECORDS MAKES CHRISTMAS MUSIC VIDEO

As we posted on December 5, Blue Élan Records released an album of Christmas songs by its artists, and donated the proceeds to the Alliance for Children’s Rights.  On December 11, those artists gathered in the studio to make a music video of a song written by Gina Sicilia.  We hope you have a wonderful Christmas season and applaud Blue Élan Records and its artists for giving us this special treat.

FIRST CALIFORNIA COUNTRY AWARDS A SUCCESS

The first annual California Country Awards were handed out on December 16, and many of this blog’s favorites took home trophies.  LA Music Critic Award winner Alice Wallace took the award for Female Vocalist of the Year, and LA Music Critic Award winner Honey County took home awards for Band of the Year, Song of the Year for “Love Someone” and Video of the Year for “Love Someone,” while their producer John Spiker also took home Producer of the Year.  Other winners included Gethen Jenkins for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Where the Honkytonk Belongs,  Joe Devenney for Musician of the Year, Scotty Mac for Entertainer of the Year, Cowboy Country for Venue of the Year, and Brad Johnson for CCM Excellence.  Shawn Parr, former KZLA and Go Country 105 DJ and creator of “Nash Nights Live” was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

NEW SINGLES

Mikey Wax has been a huge supporter of indie music in Los Angeles.  He is also quite the creative powerhouse.  Check out his latest single, “Spaceman” with Stash Konig.  We think you’ll love it as much as we do.

Here’s “Your Love,” the latest from Hannah Lucia.  Loving the groove of the tune and her vocals.  This one is a keeper.

Our final single this week is from Featurette, and it lives up to its name.  “Upside Down” will turn your musical tastes around as this electronica duo show us how it’s done.  Let us know what you think.

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

First up today is the annual Christmas video from Redhead Express.  It is a cover of the Sara Bareilles song, “Love is Christmas.”  Enjoy our little gift to you.

Next is the music video for a song we introduced you to back on November 13, co-written by David Garfield and Smokey Robinson and featuring J. Paris.  We love this beautiful interpretation of the song, and are thrilled to feature “I Lied.”

LA Music Awards Icon winner Janey Street has created an amazing DIY music video for her song “Undone,” from her latest album “In my own Skin.”  Check out this amazing song.

Last but not least, here’s the latest from Dree Mon, with a truly stimulating video for her hit song, “Rebel Soul.”  If this one doesn’t get you pumped up, nothing will.  Thanks Dree!

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2017: Vol. 38

Happy Native American Day fka Columbus Day.  Just got back last night from an incredible three days in Denver for the Durango Songwriters Expo.  What a wonderful time of reconnecting with old friends like Warren Sellers, Steve Garvan, Bobby Rymer, Richard Harris, Jim Attebery, Vince West, Jill Sobule and Scott Krippayne and meeting wonderful new friends like Elise Wunder, hit songwriter Chris Lindsley, budding superstars and twins Carly and Martina, Chloe Tang and others.  Got to  be a part of Steve’s DIY panel, as well as attend some amazing showcases, listening sessions and panels.  Watch for my review this week.

TVMAs HANDED OUT

Congratulations to Tim Moyer and the Temecula Valley Music Awards for another successful year.  We also congratulate all the winners which were announced over the weekend.  Here is a list of the winners:

Best Blues Out of Town – Sarah Rogo
Best Country – America’s Kountry
Best Cover Band – Endeavor
Best Jazz – David Maldonado 
Best Pop OOT – Dree Mon
Best R&B/Soul – Shea
Best Rock – Midnight Satellites
Best Rock OOT – The Crooked Stones
Best Singer/Songwriter OOT – Savannah Philyaw
Best Singer/Songwriter- Dulaney and Company
Best Youth Cover – Makayla Phillips
Best Youth Original – Minor Strut
People’s Choice – Minor Strut
Artist of The Year – Ben Allen

NEW SINGLES

We wanted to spotlight some new singles from performers we saw at Durango this weekend.  First up is Marion, who has an amazing new EDM single, “Electric Gold.”  If this one doesn’t get you up and dancing, then you need to wake up.

Next up is Gracie Day, whose new single is already getting rave reviews.  Check out “I Don’t Want Whiskey.”  The song starts at about 1:35.

Our third single is “Home” from Rachel Price.  She is an amazing singer songwriter that definitely has a huge future in music.  Check out this live recording from her performance at The Mint in Los Angeles.

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

First up today is a favorite of this blog, and many of you in addition.  Katie Costello is becoming the queen of DIY and is an extremely gifted artist.  Check out her video for her latest “Hearts on Fire.”

Next up is a lyric video from amazing UK artist Hannah Trigwell.  She has joined up with Captive on her song, “I Could be the One.”  This is another one that will make you want to get up and dance.

Last but not least this week is a live video from another of this blog’s favorite acts, Calico the Band.  Check out “The Leaving Kind.”

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

Announcement of LA Music Critic Award winners for first half of 2017

Wow.  Color us impressed.  The article revealing the nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2017 has set records for Indie Voice Blog.  During the past two weeks, the article alone generated 3,706 views in 36 different countries, who left a staggering 526 comments.  Overall, our blog has seen 4,523 total views during the same two week period.  We thank you for your support of indie music.  Without further ado, here are the winners for the first half of 2017.  The winner’s name is indicated in bold type.

BEST EP (Male) – Joe Goodkin (Record of Loss); Ed Prosek (Flesh and Blood Part 1); Ian Mahan (Rockford); Ray Goren (Free)

BEST EP (Female) – Meresha (Enter the Dreamland); Carrie Lane (California Freaks); Kris Angeles (Heartbreak is Contagious)

BEST EP (Group) – Gold Casio (Fever Dreams); Stereo Off (EP III); Echo Underground (Vows); Rococode (Young Ones); The Wild Now (Afterglow)

BEST CD (Male) – Chris Shifflett (West Coast Tour); Rod Melancon (Southern Gothic); David Ryan Harrris (Songs for Other People); AJ Hobbs (Too Much is Never Enough); Jared Tyler (Dirt on Your Hands)

BEST CD (Female) – Janey Street (In my Own Skin); Wendy Sweetlove (Dirty Sunday); Sara Petite (The Road Less Traveled); Jennifer Vazquez (Rediscovering Me); Amilia K. Spicer (Wow and Flutter)

BEST CD (Group) – The American West (The Soot Will Bring us Back Again); Jeffrey Halford and the Healers (Lo-fi Dreams); King Washington (Potential); The Dream Eaters (We are a Curse); The Show Ponies (How it all Goes Down); Breaking Grass (Warning Signs)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Dario (“Good Morning World”); Jared Tyler (“Dirt on Your Hands”); Rod Melancon (“Different Man”); Chris Shiflett (“Sticks and Stones”); Michael Hornbuckle (“Angel”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – MILCK (“Quiet”); Alice Wallace (“The Same Old Song”); Shannon Hurley (“Someday”); See (“Green Line Killer”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”); Cindy Alexander (“Deep Waters”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – Backbone (“Supa Waz Guy”); The Wild Now (“Run for Your Life”); The Show Ponies (“Kalamazoo”); Halo Circus (“Band Aid”); King Washington (“My Reflection”)

BEST VIDEO (LIVE) – Jerad Finck (“Pieces of April”); The Spider Accomplice (“User”); Chelsea Williams (“Boomerang”); Gabe Dixon (Balcony TV) (“Holding Her Freedom”); Lucy and La Mer (Balcony TV) (“Honey, Put Your Weapons Down”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – The Spider Accomplice (“Atmosphere”); Gerry Beckley (“Serious”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Rocked”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Worst Enemy”); Gigi Rich (“All in my Head”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – Alexis Keegan (“When Doves Cry”/”Purple Rain”); The Daybreaks (“Nothing Compares 2 U”); Dave Yaden (“Humble”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”)

BEST VIDEO (COMEDY) – Scout Durwood (“All the Pretty Bottles”); Scout Durwood (“Take One Thing Off”); Un5Gettable (“Honest Singing Telegrams – part 2”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Curtis Peoples & Marie Digby (“Not Enough Drugs”); Frank and Lindsay Shiner (“When Something is Wrong With my Baby”); DJ Polique (ft. Snoop Dog, Follow Your Instinct and Jacob Luttrell) (“Dimes Only”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”), Jerad Finck (“New Kids”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Susan Calloway (“No Time for This”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”), Kanisha K (“Bet on Me”); DANI Le Rose (“I’ve Told Lies”); Wendy Sweetlove (“Delilah”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – Brit Royal (“Change”); Basement Revolver (“Tree Trunks”); FlecHaus (“What We’ve Got”); Breaking Grass (“Annie”); Birds and Arrows (“Stay Down”)

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Alice Wallace, Jennifer Vazquez, Rod Melancon, AJ Hobbs, Warren Sellers, Tara Dente

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Calico the Band, Honey County

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Janiva Magness, Gina Sicilia

BEST BLUES BAND – Polly O’Keary & the Rhythm Method, Papermoon Gypsys

BEST FUSION ARTIST/BAND – Mitre, Nancy Sanchez, San Miguel

BEST POP ARTIST – Shannon Hurley, David Ryan Harris, Wendy Sweetlove, Meresha, Ian Mahan

BEST POP BAND – Lovers and Poets, The Dream Eaters, The Wild Now, Rococode, Single by Sunday

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Janey Street, Lizard McGee, Jack Spann

BEST ROCK BAND – The Spider Accomplice, Desert Culture, Husky, Hayride Casualties, Banditos

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Ray Goren, Derek Davis

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Amilia K. Spicer, Sara Petite, Chris Shiflett, Jared Tyler, Pi Jacobs

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – The Show Ponies, The American West, Imaginary Friends, Jeffrey Halford and the Healers

BEST BLUEGRASS BAND – Breaking Grass

BEST JAZZ ARTIST – Dave Yaden, Irene Diaz

BEST REGGAE BAND – Roots of Creation, 9 Mile Roots

BEST COMEDY – Scout Durwood, Jeff Simmermon, Un5Gettable

RISING STAR – Meresha, Jamey Geston, Bess, Kaylee Keller, Ray Goren

MOST SUPPORTIVE INDIE LABEL – Blue Élan Records

MEGHAN TRAINOR AWARD (Indie Artist Most Likely to Become a Household Name) – Jerad Finck

FAN FAVORITE – What a flurry of opinions for this year’s Fan Favorite artist.  In all 38 artists were nominated, but the focus seemed to be on five of them.  Honorable mention goes to Rod Melancon, Sara Petite, Breaking Grass, Pi Jacobs, Warren Sellers, The Spider Accomplice, Roots of Creation and DJ Polique, each of which garnered at least 10 votes.  When the smoke cleared, however, FlecHaus squeaked out a victory over Dario by only two votes, with Polly O’Keary and Janey Street tied for third and just six votes behind.  Wendy Sweetlove rounds out the Top Five vote getters.

Thanks again for all of your support of indie music.  Now it’s time to get back to reviewing the CDs submitted for the second  half of the year, along with live performance reviews and our weekly Monday Mashup column.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

LA Music Critic Award nominations for first half of 2017

We are so proud to finally be able to present our nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2017.  This year we wrote reviews on every CD/EP submitted for consideration, and we had nearly 100 submissions.  You can find those reviews on this blog under the tag “Get it or Forget it.”  We look forward to your comments on our nominations.

Here are the rules.  The public may only vote for the Fan Favorite award, and must do so by commenting on this article only – comments on social media posts will not count.  Any indie artist may be nominated (with the exception of past winners Papermoon Gypsys, Diane Rein, Zach Linley and Annette Conlon) and the winner will be the artist with the most votes.

The voting period will expire on July 25, with the winners in all categories announced on July 27.

We also encourage readers to comment on the other nominations, which will be considered by the awards panel members.  However, only the votes of the panel will determine who wins the award in all categories except Fan Favorite.

Speaking of the awards panel, thank you so much for all of your suggestions and help in compiling the nominations for this cycle.  The members are Jennifer Lyneis (Ue3 Promotions), Laura Goldfarb (Red Boot PR), Jennifer Allison (Jennifer Allison Publicity), Melissa Dragich-Cordero (MAD Ink PR), Doug Deutsch (Doug Deutsch Publicity Services), Michelle King (Noisy Ghost PR), Steve Belkin (Open All Nite Entertainment), Michelle Crispin (Music Supervisor), Kim Grant (KG Music Press), Patrick O’hefffernan (Musica LA), Heather Jacks (Author) and Rosine Avedissian Correa.

And here are the nominations:

BEST EP (Male) – Joe Goodkin (Record of Loss); Ed Prosek (Flesh and Blood Part 1); Ian Mahan (Rockford); Ray Goren (Free)

BEST EP (Female) – Meresha (Enter the Dreamland); Carrie Lane (California Freaks); Kris Angeles (Heartbreak is Contagious)

BEST EP (Group) – Gold Casio (Fever Dreams); Stereo Off (EP III); Echo Underground (Vows); Rococode (Young Ones); The Wild Now (Afterglow)

BEST CD (Male) – Chris Shifflett (West Coast Tour); Rod Melancon (Southern Gothic); David Ryan Harrris (Songs for Other People); AJ Hobbs (Too Much is Never Enough); Jared Tyler (Dirt on Your Hands)

BEST CD (Female) – Janey Street (In my Own Skin); Wendy Sweetlove (Dirty Sunday); Sara Petite (The Road Less Traveled); Jennifer Vazquez (Rediscovering Me); Amilia K. Spicer (Wow and Flutter)

BEST CD (Group) – The American West (The Soot Will Bring us Back Again); Jeffrey Halford and the Healers (Lo-fi Dreams); King Washington (Potential); The Dream Eaters (We are a Curse); The Show Ponies (How it all Goes Down); Breaking Grass (Warning Signs)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Dario (“Good Morning World”); Jared Tyler (“Dirt on Your Hands”); Rod Melancon (“Different Man”); Chris Shiflett (“Sticks and Stones”); Michael Hornbuckle (“Angel”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – MILCK (“Quiet”); Alice Wallace (“The Same Old Song”); Shannon Hurley (“Someday”); See (“Green Line Killer”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”); Cindy Alexander (“Deep Waters”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – Backbone (“Supa Waz Guy”); The Wild Now (“Run for Your Life”); The Show Ponies (“Kalamazoo”); Halo Circus (“Band Aid”); King Washington (“My Reflection”)

BEST VIDEO (LIVE) – Jerad Finck (“Pieces of April”); The Spider Accomplice (“User”); Chelsea Williams (“Boomerang”); Gabe Dixon (Balcony TV) (“Holding Her Freedom”); Lucy and La Mer (Balcony TV) (“Honey, Put Your Weapons Down”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – The Spider Accomplice (“Atmosphere”); Gerry Beckley (“Serious”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Rocked”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Worst Enemy”); Gigi Rich (“All in my Head”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – Alexis Keegan (“When Doves Cry”/”Purple Rain”); The Daybreaks (“Nothing Compares 2 U”); Dave Yaden (“Humble”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”)

BEST VIDEO (COMEDY) – Scout Durwood (“All the Pretty Bottles”); Scout Durwood (“Take One Thing Off”); Un5Gettable (“Honest Singing Telegrams – part 2”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Curtis Peoples & Marie Digby (“Not Enough Drugs”); Frank and Lindsay Shiner (“When Something is Wrong With my Baby”); DJ Polique (ft. Snoop Dog, Follow Your Instinct and Jacob Luttrell) (“Dimes Only”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”), Jerad Finck (“New Kids”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Susan Calloway (“No Time for This”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”), Kanisha K (“Bet on Me”); DANI Le Rose (“I’ve Told Lies”); Wendy Sweetlove (“Delilah”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – Brit Royal (“Change”); Basement Revolver (“Tree Trunks”); FlecHaus (“What We’ve Got”), Breaking Grass (“Annie”), Birds and Arrows (“Stay Down”)

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Alice Wallace, Jennifer Vazquez, Rod Melancon, AJ Hobbs, Warren Sellers, Tara Dente

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Calico the Band, Honey County

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Janiva Magness, Gina Sicilia

BEST BLUES BAND – Polly O’Keary & the Rhythm Method, Papermoon Gypsys

BEST FUSION ARTIST/BAND – Mitre, Nancy Sanchez, San Miguel

BEST POP ARTIST – Shannon Hurley, David Ryan Harris, Wendy Sweetlove, Meresha, Ian Mahan

BEST POP BAND – Lovers and Poets, The Dream Eaters, The Wild Now, Rococode, Single by Sunday

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Janey Street, Lizard McGee, Jack Spann

BEST ROCK BAND – The Spider Accomplice, Desert Culture, Husky, Hayride Casualties, Banditos

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Ray Goren, Derek Davis

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Amilia K. Spicer, Sara Petite, Chris Shiflett, Jared Tyler, Pi Jacobs

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – The Show Ponies, The American West, Imaginary Friends, Jeffrey Halford and the Healers

BEST BLUEGRASS BAND – Breaking Grass

BEST JAZZ ARTIST – Dave Yaden, Irene Diaz

BEST REGGAE BAND – Roots of Creation, 9 Mile Roots

BEST COMEDY – Scout Durwood, Jeff Simmermon, Un5Gettable

RISING STAR – Meresha, Jamey Geston, Bess, Kaylee Keller, Ray Goren

FAN FAVORITE – open for nominations

Categories
Awards Hollywood Fringe Festival Theatre

HFF 17 ends with presentation of awards

The 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival ran June 8-25, and included 375 shows and more than 2,000 performances.  The eighth annual Festival concluded with more than 800 in attendance at the awards show held at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre, hosted by Festival Director Ben Hill and Communications Director Stacy Jones Hill.  The awards that were handed out came from two sources – the Fringe Freaks Community Awards, given by the Fringe staff and voted on by participants, industry and patrons, and the Sponsored Awards, given by various companies for a designated reason.  Here is the list of awards handed out.

Fringe Freaks (Community Awards):

Sponsored Awards:

ShoWorks Don’t Wait. Create! Award:  Chimpskin

The Screamiest:   A(partment 8)

The Spirit of the Fringe, Never in a Box Award: TOYS

The Duende Distinction:  Christina Evans – Choreography – TOYS

Tip Your 2Cents Award for Distinctive Voices:  Chimpskin

The Ripest Show:  Definition of Man

A Little New Music Award for Outstanding Songwriting: Turbulence!

Larry Cornwall Award:  Magic 8 Ball (My Life with Asperger’s)

Rogue Machine’s “Premiere” Award:  Urban Unrest – Urban Theatre Movement

Beyond Bechtel-Wallace Award: Thanksgiving

Diversity in American Theatre Award:  In the Valley of The Shadow

Soaring Solo Artist Award: Magic 8 Ball (My Life with Asperger’s)

The Inkwell Playwright’s Promise Award: In the Valley of The Shadow

Short and Sweet Award:  CHATTER

O-Face Award for Orgasmic Achievement (Most Orgasmic Performance):  Yozmit Walker – Do You: Migration of the Monarchs

Best Fringe Flyer:  An Evening With John Wilkes Booth

The Unleashed Award:  Thanksgiving

The LAFPI Most Wanted Award:  Actors Company, Art of Acting Studio,  Assistance League Playhouse, Epiphany Space, Complex Theatres, Hudson Theatres,  Los Angeles LGBT Center, Rogue Machine @ MET Theatre, studio/stage, The Loft, Theatre of NOTE, Three Clubs, Thymele Arts, Urban Social House, The New Collective

The Encore! Producers Award:

Complex Theatres – Video Games, Narcissus and Echo, Trixie: The Musical, Human Hothouse: The Aftershow, 13th Grade, Desert Warrior, Claim Jumper, Even If It’s Wrong, Toys, Confessions of an Arab Woman, Incantessimo, Mistero Buffo, Too Many Hitlers, Ripley’s Dystopia, Broke and Ugly, Mary’s Medicine, Under the Jello Mold, Slashed, An Evening with John Wilkes Booth, Do You. Migration of the Monarchs

Lounge Theatre – Bitch Brow, I’m Too Fat For This Show, Just Like Life, NICAEA, Sapo Cancionero: Live Your Heart Out, Thanksgiving, The Girl Who Jumped Off The Hollywood Sign, Transmission – A One Tran Show

Sacred Fools Theatre – Quantum Entanglement, Bono & the Edge Waiting for Godomino’s, Easy Targets, Definition of Man, Divorce: The Hip Hop Musical, The Joe & Joshua Show!, Why We Become Witches, Kinsherf’s Coat, A Harmony Boy’s Christmas, Charlie Moose Makes His Move, 12 Bars, Urban Theatre Movement presents: Urban Unrest, The King’s Language, High Rise, Orange Mango Cabaret

Three Clubs – Buffy Kills Edward, Shakespeare and Chill, Hot Dates, Legends of the Hidden Three Clubs, Psychosical, Nights at the Algonquin Round Table

Studio/Stage – Blamed: An Established Fiction, Nothing Bad: A Werewolf Rock Musical, Here Comes, Rutherford, Herpes: A Love Story, The Tempest: All Women Cast, So You Want to be a Vampire, The Spidey Project, Three Can Keep A Secret, MEXISTANI! Growing up Mexican and Pakistani in America, Gamers
 
The New Collective – Just Sayin, Got A Minute, I Do … Do You?, Life, Death and … Entertainment

Actors Company – A Void, Bravo 25, Dead Boys, Dying City, missmatch, Pagliaccis, Songs of the Fall, The Complete History of Drag in a Few Mo-mo, Trump in Space

Asylum – 6 Figures, 86’d, Andy: The Red Nosed Warhola, CHATTER, Cheek (and other stories), Chemo Barbie, CringeFest: An Uncomfortable Anthology, Devadasi, A Story of Sex, Power and Devotion, Hello Again! The Songs of Allan Sherman, Homebody/ The Anxiety Cure, Just Old Woman from Old Country, Save Me a Spot!, Scarlet Pimpernel, SECRET IDENTITY CRISIS, Secure Storage, SNATCHED…Stories From Down There, Solomon: King Poet &, Lover – A Tale of One Man & 700 Wives, Space Play or The Number of Nothing, Terror on The High Seas, The Amitycode, The Brick – A One Man Musical, The Motherfucker With The Hat, The Rise and Fall of Dracula, The Sacred Beasts, The Second Coming of Klaus Kinski, This Our Now, Two Motherfuckers on a Ledge, Willy’s Lil Virgin Queen

 

Categories
Awards Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival Reviews See it or Skip it Theatre Women in Entertainment

HFF 17 – see it or skip it (day 8) part 1

What a Fringe experience we have had.  We saw six  shows on Saturday and plan to see three more today, bringing our total to 37 shows in 9 days.  Quite a run.  Saturday was one of the most diverse days of Fringe we have ever experienced, and we are happy to share our reviews with you.

But before that, here are our nominees for the first Larry Cornwall Award for Musical Excellence, which will be handed out today at the Fringe Awards show at 6 p.m. at the Montalban Theatre:

Under the Jello Mold

Nosferatu

The Girl who Jumped off the Hollywood Sign

Lights Camera Lyla: The Second Act

Magic 8 Ball (My Life with Asperger’s)

TITLE OF SHOW:  Middleschoolandia

VENUE:  Sacred Fools Main Stage

REVIEW:  An interesting musical, written by a 12 year old girl and her mother, based on her journal about the trauma caused by attending middle school.  The entire cast, with the exception of the Dad, Teacher and Advisor, were children, and they taught the adults how to do a show.  It was cute, like Alanis Morissette on steroids, full of angst and satire, but not quite as tight as it could be.  Some of the songs were too basic, but the overall gist was that the three years of middle school were a rite of passage that every child must endure.  As Dad says in closing, “There are scarier things in life than Middleschoolandia, like Trumperica!”  It was a worthy effort and several of the kids were outstanding, both in the vocal deliveries and their characterizations.  Hats off to Carson Goring, who wrote the show and portrayed Ashley, Mia Ruhman, Cheyenne Rimando, Lilly Mae Stewart, Veronica McFarlane, Jacob Accardo, Kai Johnson, Jacob Smith and Lily Hightower who portrayed the children; Carlos Chavez, Amsara Holly, and Nikki Lewis, who portrayed the Wild Teens, and to Steven Bray for his portrayal of Dad.

RECOMMENDATION:  It was an interesting show that has the potential to become something even better.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Chemo Barbie:  My Lady Bits’ Journey Through Breast Cancer

VENUE:  Asylum @ Studio C

REVIEW:  If there were an award for the most tender, emotional and inspirational show at Fringe, then Chemo Barbie would win hands down.  I have personally never cried so much during a Fringe show as I did at this show, which tugged at my heart and connected with my past experiences with friends and family.  As a cancer survivor myself, this show hit me like a ton of bricks, giving me new found courage to live even stronger than before.  Heather Keller is a powerful actress with the emotional strength to make her journey relatable to her audience as well as inspire them to live.  The show was wonderfully directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, who squeezed out an amazing story of triumph and hope from the tragedy that could have been Keller’s life.  Believe me when I tell you that seeing Chemo Barbie is a life-changing experience I will cherish forever.

RECOMMENDATION:  This show is a MUST SEE and truly worthy of an extension.  Don’t miss your opportunity to be inspired.

TITLE OF SHOW:  An Evening with John Wilkes Booth

VENUE:  The Flight Theatre at the Complex

REVIEW:  History has always told us about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln from the victim’s side.  This show explored it from the view of the assassin, actor John Wilkes Booth, exploring his reasons and frame of mind in creating and carrying out his conspiracy to kill Lincoln, General Grant and Secretary of State Seward.  It was an insightful journey through the mind of a killer, and Stephen Spiegel was excellent in bringing the audience along.  The show was wonderfully written and directed by Lloyd J. Schwartz.  Although it did drag at times, the overall pacing was good and the acting was well done, resulting in an interesting show.

RECOMMENDATION:  This show is worthy of your attention, and we recommend that you See it if it returns for an extension.

 

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival LA Music Critic Awards Reviews See it or Skip it Theatre Women in Entertainment

HFF17 – see it or skip it (day 5) part 1

After two days of clearing out our storage unit, we hosted the LA Music Critic Awards winners showcase on the Second Stage at the world-famous Hotel Café on Tuesday night.  During that amazing night of indie music, we were treated to performances by Wendy Sweetlove, Elyse Haren, Jon Mullane, Janey Street, Jerad Finck, Lovers & Poets, Katie Costello, The Spider Accomplice and Papermoon Gypsys.   In addition, Janey Street was awarded the 2017 Icon Award.  Kudos to her team at Blue Élan Records, who showed up in force, led by label owner Kirk Pasich, label-mate Cindy Alexander and their publicist, Melissa Dragich-Cordero of MAD Ink PR.  Other notables in attendance included Alexis Keagan, Aleksey Zharinov of Sika, Kris Angelis, Alisha Zalkin and Dan Kalisher of Sleep Machine, Jennifer Lyneis of Ue3 Promotions and Patrick O’Hefferan of LA Musica Radio.  Thanks to everyone who attended.

Moving on to Wednesday, it was time to get fringing again, and we took in three plays which are reviewed below, and topped it off with the Cherry Poppins production of Shakeslesque, which we will review in part 2.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Magic 8 Ball (My Life with Asperger’s)

VENUE:  Sacred Fools Black Box

REVIEW:  We first learned about this show when he submitted for our Larry Cornwall Award, and we are so thankful he reached out.  This show has got to be one of the hidden gems of HFF 17.  Wonderfully directed by first time directorial team Penni and Crystal Wilson, the show was written and performed by George Steeves, who is also a singer-songwriter with songs available on iTunes.  Needless to say, this was one of the best shows we have seen at Fringe this year.  It is a very personal story of triumph over adversity that was also educational in understanding the struggles of people living on the autism spectrum.

RECOMMENDATION:  If you only have time for a few shows at Fringe, this is a MUST SEE!  We are proud to give Magic 8 Ball one of our highest recommendations.  He still has shows available on June 24 at 4:30 p.m. and June 25 at 2:30 p.m.

TITLE OF SHOW:  “Lovesick” The Misadventures of a Love-Crazed Maniac

VENUE:  Sacred Fools Black Box

REVIEW:  Lovesick is another show wonderfully directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, and amazingly written and performed by Gabriella DeMarco.  Told through a host of characters, including cats, the story was funny, uplifting and all too universal.    What made it all the more special was that DeMarco has had some personal losses while preparing for Fringe that would have driven most people into a deep state of inactivity and depression.  The fact that she was performing during this turmoil goes to the true professionalism she displayed in her acting, and in sharing her story with the Fringe.

RECOMMENDATION:  This was her final show, but hopefully Combined Artform will pick her up for an extension.  If they do, we highly recommend that you See her show.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Shattered

VENUE:  Sacred Fools Black Box

REVIEW:  Our final drama and one-person show of the day turned out to be Diana Varco‘s amazing production of Shattered, which was also wonderfully directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.  Not since 2010, when Kimleigh Smith rocked the Fringe with her dramatic tale in T-O-T-A-L-L-Y, has such a powerful piece about sexual abuse and its aftermath rocked my Fringe world.   Told through 35 characters, which included many of the emotions that haunt most of us, this show made its mark and earned the distinction of being among our favorite shows of HFF 17.  It was funny, sad, heart-wrenching and hopeful, and left us with a true sense of purpose to becoming the person we were meant to be.  Kudos to Ms. Varco for a true Fringe work of art.

RECOMMENDATION:  We strongly advise you to See the final performance of this show on June 24 at 9:30 p.m.