9th IMA Submission Spotlight: Tyrone Payne

ARTIST NAME: Tyrone Payne

HOMETOWN/CURRENTLY BASED IN: The Bay Area of California

WEB SITE: www.myspace.com/afterthepartyvol1 and soon to be www.afterthepartyworldwide.com

INFLUENCES: Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, R Kelly, Sly Stone, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Aaron Neville, Donnie Hathaway, Terrence Trent D'arby, Smoky Robinson, Bob Marley

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: I'm just starting out but the first time I heard my record on the radio was priceless.

I SUBMITTED TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS BECAUSE... The Awards are like the Grammy's for independent musicians, the seal of approval for hard work and preserverance. Thank you for this opportunity.

9TH ANNUAL IMA JUDGE YOU'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT: Bettye Lavette, because she's absolutely timeless, of course.

I'M PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST BECAUSE: First: Independence allows one to truly speak what you feel at the moment, without restrictions, to your audience. Second: it builds character knowing that without the support of a major label your determination, and ability to persevere are the keys to success. Third: the changing technology has made it possible to reach people directly in ways that never existed before and will forever change the way this business of music is conducted, hopefully allowing for more creativity and freedom for all artists involved in making music, and further democratizing the tools of both recording and distribution for everyone to utilize and share their unique gifts. This is an incredibly exciting time in the music industry and it's a blessing to live and work today!

WHAT'S NEXT (UPCOMING TOURS, ALBUMS. ETC): I'm releasing a limited edition double album, it should be available on-line in the next week and hopefully on the major net retailers, including iTunes before the end of July 09.

SUCCESS = It's two fold for me. I have a set of 12 albums that I want to finish in the next year and a half. Four are already in the can, and I'm beginning to work on another two next month. Obviously, there's a statement through this body of work that I'd like to make, and I guess that I'm compelled to make for myself and my community. Success also for me also comes down to is the audience listening. I mean, have I touched someone enough for them to take away something from the music? The performance? So that's it for now. I'm sure as I grow and the world changes, success will take on entirely different meanings, as well.

WHAT MAKES YOUR MUSIC STAND OUT: The music and the performance of it. I think also the messages laced within the music connect with people, as well.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE VENUE TO PLAY AND WHY? The quality of the venue's sound and the audience are what makes gigs stand out for me. I loved playing the DNA Lounge in San Francisco a few years back and also The Catalyst in Santa Cruz because of these two things. As a future venue to play, well I think it's been every Soul artists dream to play the Apollo Theater.

9th IMA Submission Spotlight: Lanny Sherwin

ARTIST NAME: Lanny Sherwin

HOMETOWN/CURRENTLY BASED: Santa Barbara, CA

WEB SITE: www.SandmanRecords.com

INFLUENCES: Beatles, Eagles, James Taylor, Chuck Berry, Carpenters, Manhattan Transfer, Hendrix, Motown.


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Receiving 35 music awards. Founding a hospital Concert Series at Santa Barbara's Cottage Hospital. Initiating a Songwriting Residency at regional public elementary school. Having my songs played at 35,000 feet on Continental Airline's inflight playlist for kids.


I SUBMITTED TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS BECAUSE... You have a Children's category. You provide great promotional opportunities.


9TH ANNUAL IMA JUDGE YOU'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT: Keith Urban - we shared the same trainer in Nashville and he has a baby - kids music is my specialty!!

I'M PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST BECAUSE: I banged my head against the establishment wall in Nashville for 10, pretty much going nowhere fast. When I started my indie label, Sandman Records for kids, doors started opening left & right: national distribution, retail & online sales, 35 music awards.

WHAT'S NEXT (UPCOMING TOURS, ALBUMS. ETC): Writing songs for new CD; partnering with non-music, Children's-related products to bundle my CDs; hosting a Lullaby Writing Contest; marketing, marketing, marketing!

SUCCESS = The ability to20be a creative person who writes great songs combined with the ability to have a business-like approach to publicity & marketing. Right brain/left brain taking turns being fabulous!


WHAT MAKES YOUR MUSIC STAND OUT: I don't perform all that much, but when I do, it's to 5-12 year olds (who think I'm a rock star because I have a guitar) and their parents (who like my humor and positive lyrics).

9th IMA Submission Spotlight: The Murder Mouse Blues Band

ARTIST NAME: The Murder Mouse Blues Band

HOMETOWN/CURRENTLY BASED: Perth Western Australia

WEB SITE: www.murdermousebluesband.com

INFLUENCES: Pogues, Johnny Cash, Ani Difranco, Son House, Mick Thomas, Joni Mitchell, Weddings Parties Anything, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Charted as the number one Roots act in Australia by Triple J Radio (Triple J is the national music station for independent and signed acts in Australia) http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Charts/Default.aspx?genre=Roots

WE SUBMITTED TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS BECAUSE: We are looking to expand our audience overseas and are interested in more touring.

9TH ANNUAL IMA JUDGE WE'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT: Anyone that gets mentioned in a deleted scene from Pulp Fiction has my vote, so it has to go to Suzanne Vega, a close second would be Celina Denkins (talent buyer, Whiskey a Go Go)

I'M PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST BECAUSE: Our music Our way.

WHAT'S NEXT (UPCOMING TOURS, ALBUMS. ETC): Debut album, Fill the Hole, will be released within the coming two weeks featuring the awesome track "Apocalypse Blues."

SUCCESS = Playing live shows to live people.

WHAT MAKES YOUR BAND STAND OUT: We're the kind of band Hemingway would have liked, and no-one else in the world does nuclear pirate blues.

WHERE DO YOU TOUR? We are looking to tour to Canada and North America in early 2010 followed by a short four week stint in France/Holland and Germany in the later part of the year. We will be traveling up through the interior of Western Australia on a desert tour at the end of this year. In short we tour anywhere we;re welcome, from Cambodia to Belfast and anywhere in between.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE VENUE TO PLAY AND WHY? The WA Blues Club here in Perth has to be a favourite of any band. Always a full house, a near 20 year history and everyone in the room is there for the music, so you can't beat that. Having said that, it was still hard to top playing in a country pub in Co Cork in Ireland in the tiny town of Grenagh.

9th IMA Submission Spotlight: Nive Nielsen

ARTIST NAME: Nive Nielsen & Deer Children

HOMETOWN/CURRENTLY BASED: Nuuk, Greenland

WEB SITE: www.myspace.com/nivenielsen

INFLUENCES: Giant Sand, Cat Power, Tom Waits, Arthur Russell, The Clean, dusty old 78s folk records, Cardinal, Neko Case, M. Ward, PJ Harvey...

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
*Just played for the Queen of Denmark - that was exciting (and very very weird, grin).
*National Independence Day in Greenland (we just became self-governing!) where I was the main act - totally thrilling!
*Recording with my heroes (almost all of 'em!! Howe Gelb, John Parish, Ralph Carney, people from Godspeed You!, Black Emperor, Cardinal, Black Keys, Tom Waits' band... so so wicked!)
*Selling out my debut record in my home town in exactly half a day.
*Having my songs featured in indie films and documentaries
*... hihi I *only* have career highlights :)

I SUBMITTED TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS BECAUSE:
...many reasons really. Greenland's really really far away from everything else, music wise - and I am pretty curious to see how what I 'm doing would be received. Also, I need input, feedback and what not. Since I'm totally new to all this music stuff (I tend to just sit and make songs, not to try and make people listen to them -haven't really figured that part out just yet), I wanted to see if through submitting some songs to the IMA I could maybe get in touch with people in the big wide world who might be interested in collaborating or something. Yup yup...

9TH ANNUAL IMA JUDGE YOU'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT:
Pretty much everybody, really. But especially:
* Zooey Deschannel and M. Ward (I love his work, and hers too!!)
* Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (they rock!!)
* Suzanne Vega (I listened to her a lot when I was little)


IM PROUD TO BE AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST BECAUSE:
It takes a lot of effort and determination. Being from such a remote place as Greenland doesn't help. (There's no roads between towns - you can take a plane or helicopter, which is crazy expensive so very few people can afford it. There's no CD stores, no underground scene, no musician or artist-run venues. Internet's so slow that up until recently, it took forever to download just 1 song. Very, very few foreign musicians ever come to play. Basically, Greenland's absolutely amazing and I love it so so so much but if you wanna be an independent musician it takes a lot) Anyways, I got to travel, learn, listen, meet awesome people - and got to make the record I wanted to, piece by piece, with a lot of help from people I look up to, with a lot of encouragement along the way. I'm doing precisely what I 've been dreaming of doing! I make the songs I want to make, make 'em sound the way I want them to sound, make the artwork, the videos, play when I want, do the promo myself... and I have fun along the way, too - so yup I'm pretty proud.

WHAT'S NEXT (UPCOMING TOURS, ALBUMS. ETC):
* Just finished mastering my debut, Nive Sings. I'm really excited about the result. There's a few songs on iTunes as preview and I released the record on my own label back home in Greenland. Now, I'm gonna have to look at how to get other people to hear it. There's going to be a limited 7" run, too, and I 'm recording some new songs for a soundtrack I'm scoring.
* I will play a couple of nice concerts in the UK this summer, some festivals, a short tour in Quebec & Ontario, and a bigger Scandinavian tour in late fall.

SUCCESS = Having fun!

WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT: Well, I guess there's not many little red ukulele-wielding Inuit girls singing about coffee and ghosts and bugs and ghost bugs out there, right? That, and the fact that I'm an indie musician from the north pole who just managed to make a real cool album with a lot of amazing musicians on it, with no financial help whatsoever. I'm real proud of that.

WHERE DO YOU TOUR?
Anywhere I 'm invited! I 've been playing in the US, Canada, and Europe, mainly solo or duo -until a couple months ago when my band was ready to go out there - so now we do that and it's just so much fun!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE VENUE TO PLAY AND WHY?
*Katuaq, in Greenland. I 've hosted TV shows there (I used to make culture programs for tv up here), saw a lot of gigs there, met my best friend there and then I got to play there, too!
*I also liked the series of living room concerts in Europe I did last summer - so many nice people in so many wonderful houses with so many excellent sofas.
*This summer, I'm gonna play in Union Chapel in London and that's a venue I'm in awe with, so that's gonna be fun, too I reckon.

These Artists Have Submitted to the 9th Annual IMAs... Have You?

The 9th Annual Independent Music Awards submission process is underway!

The awards program for independent artists & fans is being flooded with digital & snail mail submissions from around the globe. So tune in every day with ears wide open to discover some of the best independent music before it’s even bundled off to the judges! And if you haven’t submitted YOUR music/video/merch/photography then let this be your subtle reminder – don’t miss the opportunity to have your work be promoted to more than 20 million music fans – deadline is August 21, 2009.





ARTIST: Katy Roberts Quartet, Quintet or Sextet

HOMETOWN: Paris, France

CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Jazz

ABOUT: Roberts is a part-time professor at the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris. She has performed with such greats as Oliver Johnson, George Brown, John Betsch, Salim Washington, Kurtis Rivers, Rasul Siddik, Sonny Simmons, Ricky Ford, Pascale Quatela, Manda Djinn and Sylvia Howard.





BAND: Dirty Little Mouth

HOMETOWN: Texas

CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Pop/Rock

WATCH:






Artist: Arlette

HOMETOWN: Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Sing Out for Social Action

ABOUT: Arlette Is Metis is a descendant of the Blackfoot people (mother’s side) and the Little Black Bear Cree (father’s side). She has two years of Royal Conservatory Vocal training under her belt. She has performed at notable events including the Flatland Music Festival, Ness Creek Folk Festival, Regina’s Aboriginal Music Festival and Centre for the Arts, the 2005 National Aboriginal Day at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs AGA and the Ucluelet Healing and Wellness Music Festival.

9th Annual IMA Judge DJ Spooky Featured In The New York Times

Paul D. Miller's (DJ Spooky)film, Rebirth of a Nation, is running this week at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Read the full New York Times review here.

IMA Vox Populi Winner Aimee Allen To Tour With Sugar Ray

7th Annual IMA Vox Populi Punk Song ("Miss America," Scott & Aimee) Winner, Aimee Allen, is hitting the road with Sugar Ray and gearing up for the July 21st release of her new album, A LITTLE HAPPINESS.


Aimee's new album, A LITTLE HAPPINESS is the quintessential summer soundtrack. It is a big departure from her previous work, both as a solo artist, and as half of the punk rock duo, SCOTT & AIMEE. A new version of "Save Me" (the Top #5 hit she co-wrote with Linda Perry) is featured on A LITTLE HAPPINESS, along with the title track, co-written by Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen). Aimee can also be heard on the bulk of Repentance, by the legendary Lee Scratch Perry, which was nominated for a GRAMMY this year.

Check out the debut single "On Vacation" gaining adds each week at radio, and the video that was just added to VH1:



CATCH AIMEE ALLEN LIVE WITH SUGAR RAY

7/28 Detroit, MI Emerald Theatre
7/29 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
7/30 Dewey Beach, DE Bottle & Cork
7/31 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
8/3 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights
8/4 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
8/7 New York, NY The Fillmore
8/8 Atlantic City, NJ Tropicana Casino
8/10 Norfolk, VA The Norva
8/11 Charlotte, NC Amos' South End
8/12 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
8/14 Ft Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
8/16 St Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
8/18 Nashville, TN Wildhorse Saloon
8/19 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
8/21 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
8/23 Dallas, TX House of Blues
8/24 Tulsa, OK Cains Ballroom
9/11 Seattle, WA Showbox on Market
9/13 Arcata, CA Humbolt State University
9/14 Sacramento, CA Empire Events Center
9/15 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom
9/16 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
9/19 Santa Margarita, CA Pozo Saloon
9/20 Ventura, CA Ventura Theater
9/22 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theater
9/23 Phoenix, AZ The Marquee
9/24 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
9/25 San Diego, CA The Hard Rock
9/26 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues

Look Who Has Submitted to the 9th Annual IMAs:

And so it begins....

The 9th Annual Independent Music Awards submission process is underway!

The awards program for independent artists & fans is being flooded with digital & snail mail submissions from around the globe. So tune in every day with ears wide open to discover some of the best independent music before it’s even bundled off to the judges! And if you haven’t submitted YOUR music/video/merch/photography then let this be your subtle reminder – don’t miss the opportunity to have your work be promoted to more than 20 million music fans – deadline is August 21, 2009.




BAND: Firkin

HOMETOWN: Budapest, Hungry

CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Punk

ABOUT: Firkin's debut will be released through Universal Music Group.Listen if you like The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.

WATCH:






BAND: The Woodlands

HOMETOWN: Portland, Oregon

CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Love Song

ABOUT: The Woodlands is a wife and husband indie folk-pop duo, who craft songs of lyrical poetry, lush melody and intelligent simplicity.

PROPS: "I dig your music."- Chris Funk, The Decemberists

WATCH:






BAND: The Bees Knees

HOMETOWN: Toronto, Ontario

CATEGORY/GENRE SUBMITTED: Children's Music

ABOUT:

Andie Duncan(Actra, AFM)'s musical career began around 1986, when the the band she fronted- Everest- won the Q107 Homegrown Contest. It lead to the release of her first single on MCA records, mixed by Getty Lee of Rush. She has since performed as a solo artist at Lilith Fair and shared the stage with k.d. Lang, Holly Cole, Jann Arden, Paula Cole and Joe Cocker.

Cyndi Duncan-Lumsden, the co-writer and principal lyricist for Bees Knees has over 20 years experience as a primary school teacher in downtown Toronto. “Musical connections across the curriculum are essential to me as a teacher. Kids like songs with great rhythms, catchy melodies and fun lyrics and they need on-going opportunities to sing and move to music using imagination and creativity in their own way,” she says.

PROPS: The ladies' music has been called "Cheery, High-Octane Tunes!" by Today's Parent Magazine.

IMAs featured on PasteMagazine.com!

Excerpt:

"We all know that submitting work for review can be nerve-wracking. But when the people judging the work are some of the best in the field, well, that's a whole different story. Such is the case at the Independent Music Awards."


"Almost as intimidating as the judges is the prize that's at stake: a year of promotion and distribution..."

Check out Venus Zine this month!

We're pleased to announce Venus Zine as a sponsor for the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards and welcome back its Editor-in-Chief, K. Tighe, to our judging panel.




The latest issue of Venus Zine (on news stands now!)features an in depth report on the state of the music industry including interviews with insiders, music supervisors, party DIY, Q&A w/ Tori Amos, 10 bands you need to hear, and more!

FILTER Magazine Editor-in-Chief Joins IMA Judging Panel!

Pat McGuire is the Editor-in-Chief of Filter Magazine and the Filter Good Music Guide. A Kentucky native and resident of Los Angeles, he is also a "member" of the "poorly-categorized" L.A. "art gang" Bagavagabonds.

Bands--- submit for the 9th Annual IMAs now!

This Just In: Distinguished Talent Buyers Confirmed for 9th Annual IMA Judging Panel

We're pleased to announce the following talent buyers as judges for the 9th IMAs:

A. Celina Denkins - Whisky-A-Go-Go - West Hollywood, CA



Will Evans - Emo's - Austin, TX



Justin Moralez - The Rave/Eagles Club - Milwaukee, WI

In Memory: Koko Taylor, 7th Annual IMA Blues Album Winner

“QUEEN OF THE BLUES” KOKO TAYLOR 1928 - 2009
posted: 06/03/2009 on www.kokotaylor.com

Independent Music Award and Grammy Award-winning blues legend Koko Taylor, 80, died on June 3, 2009 in her hometown of Chicago, IL, as a result of complications following her May 19 surgery to correct a gastrointestinal bleed. On May 7, 2009, the critically acclaimed Taylor, known worldwide as the “Queen of the Blues,” won her 29th Blues Music Award (for Traditional Female Blues Artist Of The Year), making her the recipient of more Blues Music Awards than any other artist. In 2004 she received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, which is among the highest honors given to an American artist. Her most recent CD, 2007’s Old School, was nominated for a Grammy (eight of her nine Alligator albums were Grammy-nominated). She won a Grammy in 1984 for her guest appearance on the compilation album Blues Explosion on Atlantic.

Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song.

After Chess Records was sold, Taylor found a home with the Chicago’s Alligator Records in 1975 and released the Grammy-nominated I Got What It Takes. She recorded eight more albums for Alligator between 1978 and 2007, received seven more Grammy nominations and made numerous guest appearances on various albums and tribute recordings. Koko appeared in the films Wild At Heart, Mercury Rising and Blues Brothers 2000. She performed on Late Night With David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS-TV’s This Morning, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, CBS-TV’s Early Edition, and numerous regional television programs.

Over the course of her 40-plus-year career, Taylor received every award the blues world has to offer. On March 3, 1993, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year” Award and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1997, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame. A year later, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year” and, in 1999, Taylor received the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009 Taylor performed in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Morgan Freeman.

Koko Taylor was one of very few women who found success in the male-dominated blues world. She took her music from the tiny clubs of Chicago’s South Side to concert halls and major festivals all over the world. She shared stages with every major blues star, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as well as rock icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

Taylor’s final performance was on May 7, 2009 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards, where she sang “Wang Dang Doodle” after receiving her award for Traditional Blues Female Artist Of The Year.

Survivors include Taylor’s husband Hays Harris, daughter Joyce Threatt, son-in-law Lee Threatt, grandchildren Lee, Jr. and Wendy, and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements will be announced.