LOS ANGELES (JetSpeed Records/ www.jetspeedrecords.com) - What do folk, pop, rock, punk, jazz, electronic, roots, hip-hop, blues, hard-core and country artists have in common?
All have a musical voice as part of the Fourth Annual
Orange County
Music Awards, to be held April 2nd 2005 at the Grove of Anaheim – which holds twice as many people as the Galaxy Theatre, where the event was held last year!
"It was such a success in 2004; that is why we moved to a larger venue," said
Martin Brown, who is co-producing the music awards with Michelle Emard. The two are publishers of LIVE magazine and produced last year's event.
Wonderlove and Scarlet Crush were the big winners last year, with each band receiving honors in two categories. OCMA judges include music critics from local publications, as well as representatives from Warner/Elektra/ Atlantic, Virgin Records,JetSpeed Records, and Universal Entertainment.
"Several of last year's winners and nominees are now signed," Brown said. "Project 86 has since signed to Atlantic, Jay Buchanan is signed to Ultimatum, and Scarlet Crush is with 2K
Sounds (distributed by EMI Music)."
Those bands hope to soon join a long and well-known list of artists such as Jackson Browne, Social Distortion, Berlin, No Doubt, Lit and
Sugar Ray that got their starts in
Orange County before achieving international acclaim.
"With all of the relationships that have been built through our efforts, I think we have helped give the local music community a heart," Emard said.
The awards will be preceded by a series of eclectic concerts at local clubs that will determine the nominees in two categories. Best Live Artist/Band (acoustic) concerts are now held at the Gypsy Den in
Santa Ana 8-10 p.m. on Tuesdays, while the Gypsy Lounge in Lake Forest, DiPiazza's in Long Beach and Fitzgerald's in Huntington Beach are hosting the Best Live Artist/Band (electric) competition on most Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Among singer-songwriters performing at the most recent Best Live Artist (acoustic) showcase were Yvonne Perea, Sherman Fowler and Holly Light. All three artists have released strong independent CDs and are among the many wonderful musicians who will likely gain much-deserved attention as part of the Second Annual
Orange County
Music Awards.
In addition, the panel of judges from throughout the music industry is listening to tracks from all artists who submit; trophies in about 20 categories will be awarded at the ceremony. The entrance fee to participate is $25; proceeds from the event will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Orange County (
www.bigbrooc.org). Musicians may choose to be judged in as many categories as they wish. The
Orange County
Music Awards nominees will be announced by March 10. Complete details on categories and how to enter are available at
www.orangecountymusicawards.com.
Courtland Tyler, JetSpeed Records CEO is proud to announce our position as sponsor for the thrid year in a row!
"We found our Breakout Artist - Andy McCutcheon (currently recording with 3 time Grammy nominated Producer, Brad Gilderman) at these awards...who will we sign this year?"
"We can not wait for this years show! See you all on April 2nd 2005 at The Grove!"
Check out the latest from JetSpeed Records and RedGalaxy Records at
www.jetspeedrecords.com and
www.redgalaxyrecords.com Parts of this release are: 2001-2005
Orange County
Music Awards - All Rights Reserved.
