2009 San Diego Music Awards Winners
Artist of the Year
Nominees: Anya Marina, Crocodiles, Delta Spirit, Jason Mraz, Scarlet Symphony, Slightly Stoopid, Switchfoot, Wavves
Winner: Slightly Stoopid
Song of the Year
Nominees: Anya Marina – “Move You”; Crocodiles – “I Wanna Kill”; Delta Spirit – “People C’mon”; Jack Tempchin – “It Could Have been You and Me”; Jason Mraz (with Colbie Caillat) – “Lucky”; MC Flow – “Created Equal”; Scarlet Symphony-”Your Blood is Mine”; Slightly Stoopid – “Thinkin Bout Cops”
Winner: Anya Marina
Album of the Year
Nominees: Anya Marina – Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II; Crocodiles – Summer of Hate; Drew Andrews – Only Mirrors; Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things; Scarlet Symphony – Foundation; Slightly Stoopid – Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid; The Donkeys – Living on the Other Side; Wavves – Wavvves
Winner: Jason Mraz
Best New Artist
Nominees: Bad Science Fiction, Beaters, Black Mamba, Maren Parusel, Sunday Times, The Bloodflowers, The New Archaic, The Styletones
Winner: The New Archaic
Best Local Recording
Nominees: Chad Farran – On Surfari Sessions; Chris Leyva – 27; Goddamn Electric Bill – Topics For Gossip; Happy Ron – Terribly Happy; Josh Damigo – Raw; Pocket – Pocket; Rafter – Sweaty Magic; Shark Attack – Shooting JudasWinner: Josh Damigo
Best Rock
Nominees: A Scribe Amidst the Lions, Burning of Rome, Dirty Sweet, The Creepy Creeps, The Dabbers, The Night Marchers, The Pheromones, Transfer
Winner: Transfer
Best Rock Album
Nominees: Astra – The Weirding; Buckfast Superbee – Turn of the Radio Age ; Citizen Band – Breaker Breaker My Heart; Irradio – I am the Horn; The Morning Riot – Carmenita; The Donkeys – Living on the Other Side; The Shamey Jays - Your Pretty Packages; Thin Man – Flush With The Moon
Winner: Irradio
Best Alternative
Nominees: Apes Of Wrath, Hotel St. George, Monsters From Mars, Republic of Letters, Swim Party, Tape Deck Mountain, The Drowning Men, Vision of a Dying World
Winner: Apes of Wrath
Best Alternative Album
Nominees: The Powerchords – Think I’m Gonna; Crocodiles – Summer of Hate; Drew Andrews – Only Mirrors; Endoxi – New Blood Old Soul; Flight to Athena – City Under Fire; New Day Mile – Damn Straight; Scarlet Symphony – Foundation; The Fascination-We Can Take Care of Our Own
Winner: Scarlet Symphony
Best Hip Hop
Nominees: afterschoolspecial, Deep Rooted, Jimmy Powers, Lil Uno, MC Flow, The Concrete Project, The Kneehighs, Vokab Kompany
Winner: MC Flow
Best Hip Hop Album
Nominees: afterschoolspecial – Not One for Words; Bloodstone and the Princess – Vintage Raw; Deep Rooted-D.E.E.P. R.O.O.T.E.D.; M-Double-A-L - Think and Grow Rich; Microphone Mike-Teen Idol; R.C.K. – Confidence of a King; The Breaux – Restocked; Young Mass – Best of Daygo City
Winner: Deep Rooted
Best Pop
Nominees: Dynamite Walls, Echo Revolution, Gray Ghosts, Lights On, Team Abraham, The Paddle Boat, The Silent Comedy, Wendy Bailey
Winner: The Silent Comedy
Best Pop Album
Nominees: Anna Troy – Wait Another Day; Fiction Family – Fiction Family; Gayle Skidmore – Cowley Road; Get Back Loretta -Where Did You Go?; Joey Harris & the Mentals – Joey Harris & the Mentals; Silverleaf – Silverleaf; The Modlins – Where Does it End?; The Predicates – Let Me Carry Your Books
Winner: Get Back Loretta
Best Hard Rock
Nominees: All Leather, Archons, Benedictum, Children of Nova, Earthless, Mower Superunloader, The Long and Short Of It
Winner:Children of Nova
Best Hard Rock Album
Nominees: All Leather – Hung Like A Horse; Cage – Science of Annihilation; Cattle Decapitation – The Harvest Floor; Children of Nova – The Complexity of Light; Goblin Cock – Come With Me If You Want To Live; Modern Rifles – I was Young, it was Dark; Unset – Remains of a Dream; The Long and Short Of It – CAW!
Winner: Long and Short of It
Best Americana or Country
Nominees: Bill Cardinal & The Canyon Band, Billy Midnight, Cathryn Beeks Ordeal, John Meek,s Mark Jackson Band, River City, Sara Petite, Tornado Magnet
Winner: Sara Petite
Best Americana or Country Album
Nominees: Berkley Hart – Las Vegas; Charlie Imes – On an Island; Eve Selis - Angels and Eagles; Folding Mr. Lincoln – Within My Reach; Gregory Page – Bird in a Cage; Joel P. West – Dust Jacket; Sara Watkins – Sara Watkins; The Farmers – Fulmination
Winner: Gregory Page
Best Acoustic
Nominees: Astra Kelly, Erica Davies, Jordan Reimer, Marie Haddad, Smart Brothers, Steven Ybarra, Sven-Erik Seaholm, Veronica May
Winner: Steven Ybarra
Best Electronic
Nominees: Illuminauts, Jamuel Saxon, Marcelo Radulovich, MutantSpaceboy, Q’uest Que C’est, Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, The Album Leaf, UBUV
Winner: Album Leaf
Best Club DJ
Nominees: DJ Artistic, DJ Edgartronic, DJ Gabe Vega, DJ Lord Nelson, Dub Traffik Control, Ikah Love, Mario Orduno, Tribe of Kings
Winner: Gabe Vega
Best World Music
Nominees: Danyavaad & The Shimmy Sisters, Elijah Emanuel, Skelpin, Split Finger Stranger, The Devastators, Tribal Seeds, Tribe of Judah
Winner: Stranger
Best World Album
Nominees: B-Side Players – Radio Afro Mexica; Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters – March of the Gypsies; Keltic Kharma – Ikharma; Peter Pupping – Sea Journey; Quinazo-La Ofrenda; Skelpin – Rua Rojo; Stranger-Some Kinda Show; Tribal Seeds- The Harvest
Winner: B-Side Players
Best Jazz
Nominees: Chris Klich Jazz Quintet, David Patrone, Gilbert Castellanos, Jaime Valle, Karin Carson, Mattson 2, Nena Anderson, Steph Johnson
Winner: David Patrone
Best Jazz Album
Nominees: Allison Adams Tucker-Come With Me; Bradley Leighton – Soul Collective; Chuck Perrin – Down 2 Bone; Danny Green – With You In Mind; Deejha Marie – Carpet Ride; Lori Bell – The Music of Djavan; Patrick Yandall – A New Day; Peter Sprague & Kevyn Lettau – What is Enough
Winner: Danny Green
Best Blues
Nominees: Chet Cannon & the Committee, Johnny Vernazza Band, Michele Lundeen, Nathan James, Robin Henkel, Steve White, Tomcat Courtney, West of Memphis
Winner: West of Memphis
Best Blues Album
Nominees: Bill Magee – Good Morning Mississippi; Candye Kane – SuperHero; Charles Burton – Everybodys Talkin’; Hugh Gaskins – Hughmanity; Lady Dottie & The Diamonds – Lady Dottie & The Diamonds; Mississippi Mudsharks – Train Rolls On; Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra – On Air; Missy Andersen – Missy Andersen
Winner: Lady Dottie & The Diamonds
Best Cover or Tribute Band
Nominees: 40 Oz. to Freedom, Cash’d Out, Cheap Leis, Dazed & Confused, Electric Waste Band, Rockola, Rolling the Stone, The Tighten Ups
Winner: Dazed and Confused
What in the world??!!!! Switchfoot and Fiction Family didn’t win???!!!!! I don’t get it! They are 5 billion gazillion trillion times better then those retarded bands! People obviously don’tknow what GOOD, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, FANTASTIC music is!!!
The comment above was brought to you by the master of the CAPS LOCK ADJECTIVES. Switchfoot will survive. Maybe it’s time to go back to riding regular. Spending your life going fakie can cause dizziness and non-winningness.
The bands that played were unbelievably awful and an embarrassment to the San Diego Music Scene. Who are the Guitar Center Wannabees that are running this music awards program? I have seen real bands and real acts and what I saw was mediocre at best. No wonder real talents stay away. Real people, with real talent, with real instrument playing need to take this music venue back, and take the San Diego Music scene back with it! Let me know if you are with me.
children of nova. bottom line. best band in san diego.
The SDMA’s have once again proven that a bunch of lame washed-up bastards run San Diego’s music scene… Giving out awards for who’s on top of a big stinking pile of shit? San Diego will never grow a pair of robust balls as long as you mentally challenged blow tarts are in charge. Pack it in… I’d like the head of Kevin Hellman, Eric Howarth, and Bryan Spevak.
@ cap. chaos: bitter much? how about some fair disclosure to go with your ignorance: at least tell us your crappy band’s name…
since you gave no reasoning or examples to back up your “comments”, suffice to rebut with one question: who told you howarth and spevak are “in charge” of “running” the awards? they are only academy members, neither of whom were even present at the show this year, let alone involved in its production.
@ Silent Vision: Really?! Really? Really…
how about an example or two of why the artists at this year’s show are not “real” as you call it (repeatedly without elaboration or explanation). And which San Diego artists ARE real, by comparison?
It’s kinda hard to get behind you in a big, grass roots movement for Real SDMAs!, when it’s completely vague and arbitrary what in the hell you’re talking about.
Just look at who played. Even the older guys who played the blues music were just mediocre. Get real, look around is all you need to do. Would Clapton, or Derek Trucks or Jeff Beck or Van Halen even stick around to hear any of those bands that played. THINK ABOUT IT!
this is soooo why i left san diego. you’re all retarded. seth combs, troy johnson and kevin hellman are each some sad bastards..
none of these bands on the list are comparable to anything that’s going on in the rest of the united states. san diego needs to act like it knows what’s going on when clearly, we don’t…
Combs, Johnson and Hellman aren’t musicians, and only Hellman is involved in the production of the SDMAs.
The bands on the list, however, are incomparable with much of the rest of the country’s music scenes, you got that one right. And a number of indie, underground, mainstream and otherwise respected music sources (Blender, Rolling Stone, NME, Mojo, Village Voice, Spin.com) have given specific props to the latest wave of quality, cutting edge acts coming from San Diego, like Wavves, Crocodiles, Transfer, Delta Spirit and others…
Too bad you left just when it was gettin’ retarded-good again.
does anyone post negative, unsubstatiated comments about the SDMAs who is NOT a lame, frustrated musician in a band no one cares about?
Of course nobody “who matters” has anything bad to say, why are they going to talk down those holding them up? The bands that “matter” in San Diego do a great job of flying underneath the radar and like it that way. The replies to the SDMA’s point out exactly why. Who wants to be part of all this pre-madonna b.s.? You people are arguing via a blog on something so subjective and opinion based as who should get a pat on the back for playing MUSIC. As long as I’ve been going to shows and as much as it is part of my life I cannot see how you people get so worked up over something like this.
However, I will say that there’s almost nothing more snobbish and will do as great of a job of making yourself sound like a d. bag than saying you left a city because of the music scene. Seriously? Why don’t you just come out and say that you couldn’t hack it and it was too hard for you to make it big aka “I’m not a musician. I just play for the sex and drugs.” It sounds like where ever you moved to greeted you with a great hummer and did a line of coke off your ass. At least that story would be easier to swallow than the load of “San Diego can’t appreciate talent like the rest of the country can” b.s. you’re trying to pull.
Forget about lame award shows period. Forget about getting your or your friend’s band a shiny trophy or whatever they give out at these b.s. award shows and just got play. If you can’t, in the very least go pick up your guitar and write a sad song about it. At least then the rest of us will be entertained.
All I have to say is that there are so many great bands here in San Diego and anyone bitching about why some band got props instead of another band should remember that the music scene is a family. When its more common for one guy to play in various bands and the “he used to play with so-and-so and now plays with my ex-band mate” artistic incest. Anyone from San Diego that gets any recognition is getting recognition for San Diego. Come on, remember the old days Union Street Soma, the scene was tight and you had straight edger’s hanging out and playing shows with punks and everyone was a huge family. Then you had L.A come in and everybody went the way of “Me First” and then the scene crapped out. Well now you have a bunch of really good bands hanging out connecting and building back the family. So let’s all say, “Congratulations brothers and sisters of San Diego Music” because when we do that we all win.
Congratulations to all the winners. Since I’m not going to say this on my own blog, I think it should be said that all of the artists deserve their win- particularly when you look at a band like Slightly Stoopid or an artist like Anya Marina. The fact is, not every band can win, and scanning down that list I don’t see anyone who didn’t deserve to win. Maybe the academy members don’t agree with your taste, commenter’s, but it’s their awards show. Don’t like it: Start your own award show, or maybe you should care less about this one if it angers you so. There are better ways to spend your time.
You guys are retarded!!!!! Switchfoot is the BEST BAND EVER AND SHOULD HAVE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thay aren’t blue grass they’re rock! THEY are San Diego’s BEST band and the WORLD’S best band! You people don’t know what reeeeal music is. I mean, what kind of a name is ‘ Slightly Stoopid”??!!! What TARDS!!!!! And all those other RETARDED bands. Ge with real music people! Listen to Switchfoot!
There is a lot of great rap in San Diego even though you folks seem to be having a difficult time finding it.
I invite interested parties to check out DagoSD.com, which features hundreds of tracks and interviews with San Diego rappers.
Get a clue. Just because you don’t know about San Diego Rap doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or isn’t important. As self-appointed music authorities, I challenge you to connect with a community that may lie outside your comfort zone. Otherwise, do us a favor and drop the Rap category and coverage.
the ‘challenge’ went out in 1986, ‘zilla.
@ Oh Gravity 101
You are my hero. I love you!!!
Thank you! I’m glad someone else on here agrees! I mean, it’s so true! People need to realize what REAL music is. And I don’t mean Slightly Stoopid, or and of those other RETARDED bands. I mean Switchfoot. If you are intrested in an AWESOME Switchfoot fansite, go to http://www.landofbrokenhearts.com It’s the largest Switchfoot fansite ever! It won a Dovr Award for best fansite this year. It’s pretty rad.
I forgot to put my name. That was me who posted the comment above ;P
gugugu gugu guguguu gu gugugu
i agree with gugu.
Yellow is a better color than blue.
Sorry. Just wanted to start another stupid arguement.
Mr. Hellman wrote an entire page in City Beat on how the mission of the San Diego Music Awards is to support and appreciate local music and musicians and then had his writers (Seth Combes and The Guitar-Center-Wannabe Posse) write a series of name-calling attack articles on San Diego’s Music Scene and local musicians, namely how Josh Damigo’s music is “cheesy” and The Styletones are “Kitschy.” I’m confused Mr. Hellman by Seth Combes ad hominem articles! Are they the “Supporting” or “Appreciating” part of the San Diego Music Awards mission statement?
Since actions are real and words are only illusions, the actions of Mr. Hellmans newspaper show quite strongly that the only viable mission of The San Diego Music Awards and City Beat is to slam local recording and performing artists, denigrate the local music scene and provide a forum for his talentless and insecure minions that criticize those with infinitely better instincts than his negatiove and vituperative staff.
The EGO Boys at City Beat better get up to speed
1. How can you ignore Switchfoot and instead give the awards to your unknown and less talented friends at City Beat & Guitar Center?
2. How can you ignore “Tomcat” Courtney in the blues category, when his number one selling blues album in Europe earned him a visit to this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival?
3. How can you recognize Josh Damigo for his smartly written songs and recorded album and then attack him for it?
The most positive thing anyone can do to support local music is to trow away every copy of City Beat that they see!
I just learned this.Dazed and Confused won for best cover band?Rolling The Stones should of won.Any reason for this?