Nick on the Town

2009 Sammies Voting Guide

June 5, 2009 at 10:54 am 1 comment

It’s time, once again, to vote for your favorite Sacramento bands for the News & Review’s annual Sammies awards. If you’re like me, you probably don’t even know most of the bands in the running, but that’s no reason why you shouldn’t vote. That’s why I’ve put together this handy voting guide. You can’t go wrong if you always vote the way I do. This is true for every election ever.

Vote here.

Winners will be announced at the SN&R Music Fest at Cesar Chavez Plaza on June 27th. Here we go:

Outstanding Emcee:

Nominees: ARAB, Blee, Chase Moore, Floe Montana, Illecism, Mahtie Bush, Mic Jordan, Random Abiladeze, TAIS

Vote for: Blee

Reason: I don’t even know for sure what this category is. Blee sounds funny though.

Outstanding Rock:

Nominees: Diciembre Gris, MC Rut, Tera Melos, Th’ Losin Streaks, the Ancient Sons, the Inversions

Vote for: Th’ Losin’ Streaks

Reason: MC Rut is going to win no matter how you vote, so why not throw some love The’ Losin’ Streaks way? 

Outstanding Punk/Hardcore:

Nominees: Another Damn Disappointment, A Single Second, Boats!, Consider the Thief, Dance Gavin Dance, Final Summation, Hoods, Lost Freedom, Pressure Point

Vote for: Boats!

Reason: How can you not vote for a band called Boats!? Again, I don’t know any of these bands. 

Outstanding Hard Rock/Metal:

Nominees: Ambrosia Caprice, Category 7, Claudia’s Ashes, Drop Seven, Man Automatic, Prieta, Red Wire Army, STD, the Stalking Distance, Times of Desperation

Vote for: none

Reason: These are some of the worst band names I’ve ever heard. Let’s not encourage them. They could learn a thing or to from “Boats!”.

Outstanding Hip-hop/Rap:

Nominees: Aquifer, Cawzlos, C-Dubb, Doey Rock, Flossalini, Izreal & DJ Kool Kutz, Live Manikins, Righteous Movement, the Other Poets

Vote for: Izreal & DJ Kool Kutz

Reason: Why not?

Outstanding Turntablist:

Nominees: DJ Epik, DJ Filth, DJ Kool Kutz, DJ Mad G, DJ Mr. Vibe, DJ Nocturnal, DJ Oasis, DJ Rated R, DJ Rock Bottom

Vote for: DJ Kool Kutz

Reason: How can I vote for Kutz in one category and not the other? I like to maintain some integrity while voting in categories I have absolutely no clue about.  

Outstanding Jazz/Blues/Latin:

Nominees: Aaron King Quartet, Harley White Jr. Orchestra, One Eyed Rhino, Ross Hammond, Sacramento Blues Revue, Sol Peligro

Vote for: Aaron King Quartet

Reason: Aaron King is the only one of these bands that I’ve seen and he was solid. 

Outstanding Indie:

Nominees: Buildings Breeding, David Houston & the Strings, Lynus, Sister Crayon, the English Singles, the New Humans, Two Sheds

Vote for: Two Sheds.

Reason: Because I like them okay. I like David Houston too, but you can’t vote for everyone now can ya?

Outstanding Country/Americana/Folk:

Nominees: Kate Gaffney, Light Rail, Missouri Mule, Richard March, Rowdy Kate, Silver Darling, the Devil Makes Three, the Tumbleweeds, Trainwreck Revival

Vote for: Light Rail

Reason: This category is really my wheelhouse and I enjoy most of these acts, however, Tyler from Light Rail is my friend, neighbor and drunkest player on my softball team (go Tahoe Park Rangers!). What better reason to vote for someone? 

Outstanding Experimental:

Nominees: Alak, Dead Western, Ganglians, Mom, Order of the Golden Mirror, Pregnant, Sholi

Vote for: Mom

Reason: Mom wins the “vote by best band name” contest by a nose over Pregnant. These bands could combine to form all of our worst nightmares.  

Outstanding Singer-Songwriter:

Nominees: Aaron Ross, Autumn Sky, Be Brave Bold Robot, Chelsea Wolfe, Christopher Fairman, Justin Farren, Kevin Seconds

Vote For:  Autumn Sky

Reason: I haven’t voted for a girl yet.

Outstanding Teen Band:

Nominees: Dead Scott, Dog Party, Josiah James, Red Wire Army, the Shreds

Vote for: none

Reason: This shouldn’t be a category. How long are we going to coddle these kids?

Outstanding Reggae/Ska/Funk/Jam:

Nominees: 2Me, Abandon Theory, Arden Park Roots, Cuesta Drive, Fair Game, Izabella, Smoke, Zuhg

Vote for: Close your eyes and pick one.

Reason: All reggae bands sound exactly the same.  Oh wait, this also includes ska, funk and jam. I changed my mind, vote for Arden Park Roots because I like Sacramento neighborhood references.

 
Outstanding Pop:

Nominees: 20000, Agent Ribbons, Jeepster, Melee Beats, Ricky Berger, the Generals, the Impotent Ninja

Vote for: Agent Ribbons

Reason: I haven’t heard Impotent Ninja yet. 

Outstanding Electronica:

Nominees: Citystate, Forms in Flux, Kiro, Resynthesize, Tha Fruitbat, Two Playa Game

Vote for: none

Reason: Outstanding Electronica is an oxymoron. If it were “Decent Electronica” I’d say vote for Citystate. Even though I don’t know who they are, I appreciate the shout out to ancient Greece. Yes, I know there are other city-states, but I am almost certain this is  a Thebes reference.

Outstanding Hip-hop Producer:

Nominees: Admant, DJ Filth, Goldfingaz, Jae Synth, JustLuv, Lee Bannon, Mahtie Bush, Runt Rock

Vote for: Lee Bannon

Reason: Nobody else spelled their name right. 

Outstanding Release/Album:

Nominees:
Death Star Album, Dance Gavin Dance
Flossalini Is My Homeboy, Flossalini
MC Rut, MC Rut
Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies, Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer, Jefferson Pitcher
Beans & Rice, Pete B.
Ricky Berger’s First Album, Ricky Berger
Room for Growth, Aquifer
Songs From Spare Rooms, Justin Farren
T.he O.ther P.oets, the Other Poets
Your Ghost Fits My Skin, Silver Darling

Vote for:  Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies

Reason: I feel like it.

 
Outstanding Sacramento Band:

Nominees: Agent Ribbons, MC Rut, Silver Darling, the Devil Makes Three, Th’ Losin Streaks

Vote for: The Devil Makes Three

Reason: I like old-timey music best.

Happy voting!

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