HAMILTON MUSIC AWARDS WRAP UP....
Wow....
As
much as I am spent, I am thrilled to say that this year's Hamilton
Music Awards were great. So much magic, so much validity, and so much
praise. I would have to say that this year's Awards weekend was
possibly the best thus far.
I missed the
Thursday night viewing of the Daniel Lanois movie....HERE IS WHAT IS,
plus the shindig at the West Town following the flick. However, the
attendees stated that the weekend was off to a great start.
Due
to my work obligations, I unfortunately missed all of the Friday night
events. Although, I was primed and ready for action by the time
Saturday came.
The day started off with
the Industry Awards. I was nominated for BEST RADIO SHOW, but my good
friend and solid scenester, Ric Taylor, walked away with the award.
Ric has been on the air at CFMU for 18 years, and his commitment,
determination, and support has definitely made a difference in
Hamilton.
When I moved into Hamilton in
the mid 90's, a local record store clerk told me about this Friday
afternoon show that focused on local music. I tuned in, and have been
listening since. I am sure that Ric has interviewed thousands of
people over the years, and his dedication to the 5pm - 8pm Friday time
slot is a local music institution.
When I hit the airwaves on C101.5 FM in 97,
I realized then how much of an impact Ric already had on the local music scene and radio.
Winning
the BEST RADIO SHOW in previous years made me feel honoured that I was
in fine company, but I must honestly say that Ric Taylor deserves to be
the figurehead for this award.
Congratulations Ric!!!!
After
the Industry Awards, We schmoozed with guests like Bob Mesereau, Nick
Blagona, and many other fine local gems that keep the music
infrastructure in this city on an up swing. Bob came into Hamilton on
the much deserved hype of his newest book listing the top 100 Canadian
Records. Bob spoke so proudly of Hamilton and tagged the term the
"Hamilton, The Home of Canadian Rock N Roll". Well stated Mr. Mesereau!
I
was excited to see SIMPLY SAUCER and TEENAGE HEAD share the stage on
Saturday night. The Studio Theatre was buzzing with ravid fans from
both camps. Apparently, both the Head and Saucer played together many
years ago, and it was great to see history once again repeat itself in
a very postive way. Simply Saucer were loud!
But I mean this in a
great way. Quite honestly, they might be one of the loudest rock n
roll bands out now. Ed Breau and company sent out the flights, and all
of us went on the trips, so to speak. Simply Saucer has achieved that
spot that makes it very hard for a band to follow them. They played
great, and the crowd was awwed by their performance. Steve Foster,
Daniel Winterman and local hero, Joe Csontos, are the best thing that
could ever happen to the Saucer. May they fly in our orbit forever.
But I mean this in a
great way. Quite honestly, they might be one of the loudest rock n
roll bands out now. Ed Breau and company sent out the flights, and all
of us went on the trips, so to speak. Simply Saucer has achieved that
spot that makes it very hard for a band to follow them. They played
great, and the crowd was awwed by their performance. Steve Foster,
Daniel Winterman and local hero, Joe Csontos, are the best thing that
could ever happen to the Saucer. May they fly in our orbit forever. Teenage
Head takes the stage, and the environment changes completely.
The
crowd puts away their silver machines and exchanges them for the Chuck
Taylors' and leather jackets. Teenage Head has always been my
favourite Canadian band, and everytime I see them, I am reminded as to
why. I was watching Gord Lewis play guitar and I was recalling the
many exciting Teenage Head shows from the past. They are constantly
name dropped, and deservedly so. My good friend, Glen The Hamilton Kid
should petition Hamilton City Council to add "HAMILTON, THE HOME OF
TEENAGE HEAD" on its municipal signs. Their show Saturday night was
like hearing the Head's greatest hits live. Frank Venom was in fine
form and he does what no other front person does. He electrifies the
crowd. He magnetizes you to the front, and he does not give you any
reason to look elsewhere other than the Stage.
The
crowd puts away their silver machines and exchanges them for the Chuck
Taylors' and leather jackets. Teenage Head has always been my
favourite Canadian band, and everytime I see them, I am reminded as to
why. I was watching Gord Lewis play guitar and I was recalling the
many exciting Teenage Head shows from the past. They are constantly
name dropped, and deservedly so. My good friend, Glen The Hamilton Kid
should petition Hamilton City Council to add "HAMILTON, THE HOME OF
TEENAGE HEAD" on its municipal signs. Their show Saturday night was
like hearing the Head's greatest hits live. Frank Venom was in fine
form and he does what no other front person does. He electrifies the
crowd. He magnetizes you to the front, and he does not give you any
reason to look elsewhere other than the Stage. After the Head and Saucer show, a bunch of us headed to the West Town for some more shindiggin' and priming for the Sunday Night Award Show.
The
Sunday Night Awards show took place in the Hamilton Place Great Hall.
A huge group of fans, musicians, industry types, and artists were in
the main foyer getting stoked and preparing themselves for what was to
be one of the best awards shows in Hamilton.
The
show featured live performances by acts like St. Alvia Cartel, Lori
Yates, Bob Lanois, High Voltage, Teenage Head and Garth Hudson with
Blackie & The Rodeo Kings.
This year, The
lifetime achievement awards went to Alan Cross from EDGE 102 for his
fine radio work, and for his Ongoing History of New Music. Alan Cross
is the epitome of radio journalism. His unique way of storytelling
mixed with the most amazing facts makes Alan outstanding in his field.
He received the Industry Achievement Award and warmly thanked everyone.
The
Band were also given a lifetime musical achievement award for their
music, and involvements in Hamilton. Garth and Maude Hudson played
some timeless Band classics with BARK, and they also performed a Bob
Dylan classic. Garth introduced I SHALL BE RELEASED, and told everyone
to listen closely to the lyrics.
So,
I must share a few award winning moments here because a few very close
friends took home some gold! I have written about Lori Yates here on
the blog often.
As much as I do not want to be redundant, I must
repeat that Lori Yates is the best singer in this country. No one
sings like Lori Yates. There are many great singers in Canada, but
Lori has that extra special god given magic that makes her
untouchable. Folks, Lori Yates won BEST ALT COUNTRY record, as well as
BEST SONGWRITER. The Hamilton Spectator tagged the songwriter of the
year award as the "coveted award". Absolutely true. Previous winners
included Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Ray Materick and Tim Gibbons.
The songwriting award now is so much more prestigious with Lori.
As much as I do not want to be redundant, I must
repeat that Lori Yates is the best singer in this country. No one
sings like Lori Yates. There are many great singers in Canada, but
Lori has that extra special god given magic that makes her
untouchable. Folks, Lori Yates won BEST ALT COUNTRY record, as well as
BEST SONGWRITER. The Hamilton Spectator tagged the songwriter of the
year award as the "coveted award". Absolutely true. Previous winners
included Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Ray Materick and Tim Gibbons.
The songwriting award now is so much more prestigious with Lori. I
have been so fortunate in working with Lori. I have promoted her shows,
interviewed her, and most importantly...hung out with her and chewed
gum. Congrats Lori!!!!!
PLEASE visit www.loriyates.com and buy her new record!!!
A
few years ago, I was booking the Legendary Corktown Tavern, and I had
the pleasure of meeting 5 young men who called their band, HIGH
VOLTAGE.
Again, I have written about this band in previous blogs, but
I must say that everytime that I see them, it seems like the first
time......(wow, I promise to not to slide into the Foreigner
song!!...hahahaha)
Again, I have written about this band in previous blogs, but
I must say that everytime that I see them, it seems like the first
time......(wow, I promise to not to slide into the Foreigner
song!!...hahahaha)Not too long ago, they
made a line up change and introduced a new bass player to the band.
Currently, they have become much more leaner and are now a 4 piece
Monster! Eric Martin, who was once their 2nd guitarist, is now the
drummer, and they sound and look terrific. These boys are going to be
huge. They are going to marvel the pants right off you!! I have said
this before and I will say it again......They are currently my
favourite Hamilton band. Their performance on Sunday night once again
confirmed the many reasons as to why they are just that.
High Voltage went home with BEST LOUD ROCK RECORDING. They certainly owned it this year! - Congrats HV!!!
So,
close to 10 years ago, Dan Quinlan was booking the Corktown Tavern. He
knew of my musical tastes, and he told me that I should check out this
rock n roll band called THE ORPHANS. Knowing that I am a huge
Dictators and MC5 fan, Quinlan recommended that I check them out. Dave
Elley, guitar player/singer/songwriter had a surprise bday party at the
Corktown, and that would be my first introduction to them.
At
that time, The Orphans were playing some very rare and tasty covers
from bands such as The Godfathers, Psyclone Rangers, The Nomads, The
Cramps, and Monomen.
These bands are certainly not your typical rock n
roll bands, and only those who really love underground garage rock
would appreciate the above mentioned names. The more that I saw the
Orphans, the more I wanted to know them. They seemed like cool dudes,
who were unpretentious, and they were also dedicated to what they were
doing musically. I asked them to be guests on my radio show, and since
then, a friendship started.
These bands are certainly not your typical rock n
roll bands, and only those who really love underground garage rock
would appreciate the above mentioned names. The more that I saw the
Orphans, the more I wanted to know them. They seemed like cool dudes,
who were unpretentious, and they were also dedicated to what they were
doing musically. I asked them to be guests on my radio show, and since
then, a friendship started. Slowly, The
Orphans were being added to bigger bills, sharing the stage with the
Dictators, Supersuckers, and The Ugly Duckings. People were paying
more attention them, and in return, they started including more
original music to their set.
This
hard working unit continued to work the bar circuit in and out of
Hamilton They became local favourites for rock n roll fans, as well as
fashion afficianados. The Orphans also play fabulous instrumental rock
n roll that has provided the tunes for various fashion shows in
Hamilton and Toronto.
In December of 2006,
The Orphans released their debut record called MONSTER. It gave guys
like me the pleasure of sharing their music with my listeners on my
radio show. Plus it also gave their friends and fans the opportunity
to take their music home.
Some of you may
be surprised that they won the BEST PUNK RECORDING. However, if we
define punk from its original roots, you can see how garage bands like
Sonics, Stooges, & MC5 are all linked to The Orphans. So, quite
honestly, the fact that they won the award for best punk recording
validates the origin of the work "punk".
I
am so proud that the Orphans won this award. They are the perfect
example of how hard work and dedication does pay off. The category was
a tough one. It included acts like Silverstein, St. Alvia Cartel, and
local heroes and good friends, The Vapids. Dave Elley, Scott Thacker,
Mark Bull and newest recruit Eric Felgner deserve the Big Rock Star
Heads for this year!!!!
The weekend ended
with a post awards party at Club Absinthe. Scheduled to play were The
Vapids, Ain't No Fun (an amazing RNR band from Welland Ontario......You
will be hearing more about these guys very soon!), and local super
group, The Evelyn Dicks. Buckshot Bebee, Cleave Anderson, Lori Yates,
Chris Houston, and Jimmy Vapid are the Dicks and they are HOT! They
are an instant crowd favourite. They have played less than 5 shows,
and already they are a cult status treasure!
In
closing, I just want to say that Hamilton is rich with talent and
support. Sometimes we are our worst critics because we never give
ourselves enough credit. We strive for success, and we aim for
improvements. In a very bizarre way, we tend to believe in ourselves
once an outsider throws us credit. For an example, Bob Mesereau's kind
words made many of us feel that all great things in Hamilton are
legit.
These award weekends are a
barometer of our talent, support, infrastructure, and sensability.
Sometimes its great to be reminded how much talent we have in this fine
city. Congratulations to all the winners, nominees, and to JP Gauthier
and his staff for putting on a great event.
Can`t wait till the next one.....You should
all be there too!
Sincerely...
Lou Molinaro
PS......Teenage Head photo by Scott Gardner
