Photos by: Ed Hannigan

The 9th Annual Orange County Music Awards, held on March 6 at the Grove of Anaheim, blended up and coming bands with established artists, celebrating the OC music community with a night of awards, performances, and a laid back good time.

Local bands, industry people, and fans mingled and partied on the red carpet before the ceremonies, as a feeling of kinship rippled through the Grove’s entry way. Bands congratulated each other and caught up, creating a vibe reminecent of a high school reunion that carried over into the awards show itself. Charming and unpretentious, the show provided a place for big name bands like Lit to hang out with the crowd. Lit lead singer A. Jay Popoff leisurely sipped a whiskey on the rocks and discussed the virtues of a show like the OCMA’s.

“This is my first time being a part of the awards. I think it’s always cool to bring a community of musicians together. We’re all OC natives for the most part, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t work together in some facet of the industry. It’s a good place to meet locals and talk with new bands. I’ve always been really proud of OC music and being a part of it.”

The night kicked off with host Psycho Mike from the World Famous KROQ greeting the audience, followed by a performance from Best New Album and Best Rock Nominees Melanoid.
Two awards given out prior to the show were Best Live Acoustic, taken by Billy Kernkamp, and Best Live Band, taken by Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, each garnering a performance slot at the ceremonies. These awards were part of a newly installed showcase series that featured 35 bands playing in various venues across Orange County, with the finalists determined last week.

Kernkamps full bodied sound filled the stage with his twangy, happy-go-lucky performance. Accepting his award onstage he thanked the band and said “This is an amazing thing.” Big winners Dusty Rhodes and The River Band not only grabbed Best Live Band, but Best Country/Americana and Best Rock as well. Catching up with a quirky and excited faux fur clad Dusty Apocada, he talked about being on stage. “We like messing around, we’re not too serious about anything we do. I can’t wait to take a stand on the stage and empower people to have a good time!”

Their live performance jubilated the audience with their revival style show. Lead singer Apodaca intermittently jammed on the keyboard, gleefully swaying side to side, as violinist Andrea Babinski and guitarist Edson Choi lead the band’s soul soothing performance. After accepting their Best Rock Award, Apacoda playfully remembered to thank his parents telling the audience “Thanks for letting me live in your garage Mom and Dad. (Pause) I’m 27 years old.”

The show took time to recognize the losses of George Fullerton, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan of Avenged Sevenfold, guitar making legend Leo Fender, and Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger. Lit gave a moving and very personal acoustic performance in remembrance and celebration of their late bandmate.
Sugar Ray accepted this year’s Impact Award for their contributions to the industry as well the tireless work they put into their non-profit charity Music For A Cure, which brings music and it’s healing effects to critically ill children through instruments, in addition to supporting music therapy at local children’s hospitals.

“We now play our songs to the sweet smell of funnel cake,” lead singer Mark McGrath jokingly told the audience. “We’ve written these songs together and all of the other stuff goes away but the music stays around. That’s what makes us proud. Orange County, we are proud to be from here.”
Three time nominee and winner of Best Hip Hop, BLOK kicked up the energy with their spastic and unrelenting performance. The trio of siblings gyrated onstage with lead man Damian B. showcasing solid MC skills as backing voices Jesse St. John (looking dashing in his dress and black facepaint), and Barbie-doll-on-crack Giannna Gianna released dance moves that brought the house down.
“Hopefully people can take away from our show that in any aspect of life, you don’t have to stand for the structures and institutions set in motion before you were born. It’s about communicating through concepts. Or if you don’t wanna think about it, you can just dance without judgement.” Damian B.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Orange County music guru and writer James Washburn. Credited with being able to jolt ticket sales simply by covering a band, Washburn has written for a variety of OC publications. “I don’t need your pity!” He told the applauding audience. Chatting with Washburn before the show he shared, “Music here has been it’s own little enclave. For years there was a thing they called the Orange Curtain separating Orange County from LA, where people thought we were crap up there. That’s obviously changed in the last decade. But I think now it’s shifting back, which is all for the good. I like the idea of people playing music for the people where they are. Before you get the grandeur of world conquest, play for your neighbors. If somethings good locally it’s stands a much better chance nationally.”

Winners also included The Steelwells with Best New Artist and Best Song, Translucent Ham Sandwich Band for Best Jazz, Roman Alexander and The Robbery for Best Blues, and Best World going to The Dirty Heads who closed the show with their new single Lay Me Down featuring Rome from Sublime with Rome.

Best Surf: The Growlers
Best Electronic: Electric Valentine
Best Punk: The Adolescents
Best Jazz: Translucent Ham Sandwich Band
Best Folk: Yellow Red Sparks
Best Live Acoustic: Billy Kernkamp
Best Hip Hop: BLOK
Best Blues: Roman Alexander and The Robbery
Best Country Americana: Dusty Rhodes and The River Band
Lifetime Achievement: Jim Washburn
Best Indie: The New Limb
Best Alternative: Sterofix
Best Club DJ: Free The Robots
Best Pop: Stacy Clark
Best Metal: Atreyu
Best Live Band: Dusty Rhodes and The River Band
Best Latin: Boogaloo Assassins
Best World: The Dirty Heads
Best Rock: Dusty Rhodes and The River Band
Best New Artist: The Steelwells
Peoples Choice: Duress
Impact Award: Sugar Ray
Best Song: The Steelwells
Best Album: Thrice/Beggars