2010 Sammie Winners + Recap

Goodness Gracious Me start off the night.

The 19th Annual Sammies were held over the weekend and I was able to catch some of the action.

It was quite the block party over at the R Street Corridor. They had a beer garden, courtesy of Coors Light, a huge stage set up between 14th and 15th Street, and even early on the place was packed!

In between performances by local favorites Goodness Gracious Me, The Nickel Slots, Storytellers, and The New Humans, awards were announced.

The Audio Man, Ira Skinner,
announces of the night's
winners!

(*Just A Few*) 2010 Sammies Winners

Outstanding Experimental
Tera Melos

Outstanding Emcee
Random Abiladeze

Outstanding Indie
Sister Crayon

Outstanding Indie/Electro/Progressive
The New Humans (Their THIRD Sammie in a ROW!)

Outstanding Teen Band
Dog Party

>>Check out the rest of the winners at this week's Sac News & Review's "SOUND ADVICE" <<

Some of the businesses along the R Street Corridor offered specials for the block party goers. Muse Hair Boutique raffled off gift cards. Top This! Yogurt sold fro-yo for only $1! And Space 07 Salon gave haircuts with a nice view of the Sammies stage.


There were some awesome and not-so-awesome things about the awards show Saturday night. To start with a positive, I thought the hosts had a ton of energy (one being Adam Saake - organizer of the Sac Electronica Fest). And I loved the carnivalesque theme of the whole affair - the hosts dressed as ring leaders, the Sizzling Sirens Burlesque Experience had their sirens help present the awards, and there were a couple of stilt walkers milling about the crowd.

What was disappointing was the fact that many of the presenters did not know the nominees of their category forcing them to either look them up in a copy of SN&R or to skip listing the nominees (who I think at least deserved to be mentioned) all together.

Then, when winners were announced, because all the nominees weren't congregated in one location, their names were repeated multiple times and many didn't even go up to accept their award.

So aside from the obvious disorganization of the awards process, I thought the performances were excellent, and that getting local businesses involved was a great idea. And, I'm really interested to see what the organizers will do for the 20th Anniversary of the Sammies next year.

Wanna see more photos? Take a look at our 2010 Sammies Album.

2010 Sammie Nommies!

DJ Blackheart Photo by David Jayne

Yesterday Sacramento News & Review posted this year's list of Sammie Award Nominees!

Quite a few folks had something to say about some of the choices, and moreover those who were NOT chosen. But, like any list of nominations, somebody gets left out. And quite frankly, the public had a chance to vote their favorites in. So if some band/DJ/dance night got missed  you can't really blame the folks who put on the Sammies.

I'd have to say that this is actually a pretty solid year: DOOMbird, Sea of Bees, Random Abiladeze, The New Humans, G. Green, Tribe of Levi, Lite Brite, Sister Crayon and DJ Mike Colossal. 

And not one but TWO punk bands made it into the Hall of Fame: 7Seconds and The Secretions.

Voting Begins September 2nd

Winners will be announced October 9th 

More Info @ Sammies.Com

Help a Sister Crayon Out!

Sister Crayon is a local electro/trip hop/"manic" band who have been making quite the splash lately. Recently signed to Manimal Vinyl, their future projects include Concerts 4 Charity's Ballet + Live Local Music event AND they will be recording a track for Manimal's Tribute to David Bowie (other artists include Duran Duran, Chairlift, Vivian Girls and more).

>> Hear their interview on Capital Public Radio's "Insight" with Jeffrey Callison <<

Music blogs have been featuring their tracks, LA Weekly has covered them, and this year they will be embarking on an exciting West Coast tour to promote their debut album Bellow which will be rounded off with performances at this year's CMJ awards in New York City and Brooklyn.

There's only one BIG problem:
They need a touring van!


Let's let them explain it to you:

After working relentlessly for a year on recording our debut album, we have finally finished it. We are incredibly proud of our record but we are eager to travel and play our music live all over the country. We are here on Kickstarter because we need your help. For over 2 years, we have toured in very uncomfortable situations (in several different vehicles ranging from barely functioning to out of our budget rentals). After a solid year of recording our debut album, "Bellow", we are finally ready to tour nationally upon it's release. We have worked extremely hard and are ready to work even harder to spread our music to those outside of California.

So, here we are. We have joined Kickstarter in the hopes that we can find support in order to reach our goal in attaining a touring van. We want to travel the ends of the earth and play music for you! We want to travel to big cities, little cities, towns, villages, communities and meet you, sing to you, hang out with you! We want to experience all that music will allow us to. In order to accomplish this, we must have a touring van.

That is why we are asking for your help. If you can afford to make a pledge today it will not only help us reach our goal on Kickstarter but it will continue to help us for years to come. Your pledge will enable us to keep touring, to keep pushing, to keep keepin' on. With your help, we will be able to spread our music all over the world.

We are offering a variety of reward items and prizes for anyone that can pledge. We will also be posting exclusive updates throughout the fundraiser-so please keep checking back for more updates.

We want to thank you for reading this and for all of you who have attended a show, listened to our music or given us a hug or high-five. Thank you for your support. It means so much to us. We want to give back to you. We want to come to your city and town and play for you and meet you.

Love,
Terra, Dani, Nicholas, and Jeff.
Sister Crayon

Prizes range from limited edition EPs and personalized autographed posters, to guitar lessons, to having the band cook dinner for you! 

So go check out their videos, prizes and the status of their Kickstarter fundraiser and while your at it, watch the video for their single "(in) Reverse" directed by Robert Ascroft. Maybe you'll even donate $1 to the cause . . . maybe? You could say you supported Sister Crayon in their early years, and I'm sure they would super appreciate it!

Sister Crayon's Fall Tour Dates:


10/8 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
10/9 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
10/11 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
10/12 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
10/13 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bootleg Theater
10/14 - Pomona, CA - Pitzer College 

Clay Nutting: Reaching Out through Music

In 2002, Clay Nutting began the Sacramento chapter of Concerts 4 Charity, a non profit organization whose mission is to raise money for music and arts education.

Since then Clay Nutting, with a highly dedicated staff, collaborative partners (like Adam Saake who helped organize the Sac Electronica Festival) and local like-minded musicians, has put together some amazingly eclectic shows, donated guitars to 450 kids and taught them how to play, and today they continue to expand their outreach.

As an audiophile who attended concerts since adolescence (his first being Huey Lewis and the News), Clay is constantly driven to put on the next great show. And according to him in order to beat a bad economy and a societal ethos that he says is too easily "captivated by Thursday night television" it is important to make every show special.


What's the first step: put together a diverse line up that draws a crowd.

CN: There are some people who aren’t that interested in the indie music scene in Sacramento but they’ll come out for John Vanderslice, [and] once they’re there they see DOOMbird open and that knocks their socks off and then Sea of Bees – how can you not like them. All of a sudden you’ve bread or cultivated this group of people who may have come out to support John Vanderslice but are now supporting the local music scene that they may not have been connected to before.

TNHZ @ the Townhouse | Aug 21st
>>Buy Tickets<<

Take for example C4C's Ballet + Live Local Music event coming up September 17th at the Crest Theater. After the success of their first show in 2007, this year's contemporary ballet will be performed with music by local acts like DOOMbird, Sister Crayon, Drifting Shapes, and Exquisite Corps.

Or one of the newest projects in the works: an adaptation of the classic Peter and the Wolf featuring Harley White Jr. Utilizing famous jazz performers as representations of instruments the goal is to encourage and invigorate jazz education.

This is what Clay is talking about by making the show "special." Create an event that brings people of different interests and tastes together to get them exposed to music or arts they wouldn't regularly be exposed to.

However special the show, C4C also puts together a cohesive marketing strategy to help spread the word. The trick is, it is a delicate balance according to Clay. You have to "tell the story of the show without overwhelming and turning people off by over promoting." 

It would appear in the age of social networking that online promotion is the best way to get people interested in your band, show, etc. It's quick and easy. Using your phone you can post on your Facebook wall, update your MySpace status and Twitpic your show photos on your lunch break. From Clay's experience, however, this is still not enough.

DOOMbird @ Harlow's | Aug 29th
>>Buy Tickets<<

CN: Social media has become a crutch for a lot of people. They think they can put it on Facebook and MySpace and people will “know” about it [the show]. But I think the opposite is true. I think it compliments a whole promotion strategy, have something that someone might see out at a coffee shop, then they see it online and then you shake their hand at Concerts in the Park, for example and say "hey I’m doing this thing" and then all of a sudden it all comes together and they are more likely to come out. 

A key promotional tool, outside of social networking, that Clay uses to catch the eye and interest of people around Sacramento are posters with original art.

CN: I have really cool people doing poster design like Asbestos Press and Melissa Arendt. They bring a whole other element to it because there are people who like music and there are people who are visually turned on by the design and check out the music later. And many of the artists develop an identity by doing it [designing poster art].

By infusing art with music, concerts with fundraising, Clay Nutting and the rest of the C4C's staff and supporters have truly created an important support system for local music and arts education. And despite the frustrations of running a non profit in a recession, of drawing people to events and inspiring them to buy tickets, Clay is positive and driven.

ChkChkChk @ Harlow's | Sept. 13th
>>Buy Tickets<<

CN: I think the music in our community is very strong. You just have to sometimes look harder. [But] If you’re not happy with the amount of people who are aware of the music and arts community find ways to bring them into it. I take it upon myself and my friends to bring other people in.

As a promoter you focus on the scene as a whole. [The plan is to] throw out this net and hope people come but really you have to pay attention to the people who influence – ask them to help you, even if it's not your show, to bring people out. Support the Verge Gallery, support a show at Old Ironsides, at Press Club, at Townhouse. Wherever there’s music going on, bring someone out and hopefully increase the number of people that are excited about the community.

So for a guy who loves music and knows how to put on a great show, I was curious: if he could put together a music festival here in Sacramento, who would he book?

I should point out, when I asked him this question he agonized over his answer. He became quiet and intensely pensive.

CN: It's painful for me because in my mind I need to put together the perfect bill.

After a few moments, he threw out some names, suggested that he would take over a few city blocks in the Midtown/Downtown area and then stopped - stumped and looking a little defeated.

Later that day, I went through my Facebook Inbox and found a message simply headed "I thought about it..." sent ten minutes after I left our interview. Here's what he came up with (with a little added flare on my part):

Be sure to check out Concerts 4 Charity and one (or ALL) of their upcoming shows!