Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: A slam for Wammies Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 15:07:56 EST Message-ID: \SE E;LIFE;ABOUT TOWN \HD A slam for Wammies \BY Laura Outerbridge \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Anyone doubting the dynamic diversity of the local music community had only to stop by the Bayou Sunday night for the seventh annual Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies). There, in formal or funky black tie (or string tie), chunky guys in jeans and cowboy boots sucked on Budweisers opposite heavy metal kids with big hair; reggae singers with 'dreads down to there rubbed elbows with bespectacled jazz musicians; and record-industry types with graying beards and ponytails seemed to be everywhere. Unlike in past years, when the awards ceremony dragged on to well past midnight, this year's Wammies hummed along like a well-oiled machine, drawing to a close about 11:30 p.m. Local music luminaries announced blocks of awards between brief but generally pithy performances by six acts: the jazz-fusion Ron Holloway Group, cardiologist-turned-country-singer Cleve Francis, soul-metal band Lucy Brown, rapster DJ Kool and rhythm and blues master Bobby Parker. Even the normally grungy Bayou seemed unusually well appointed, with white paper tablecloths and balloons everywhere. Onstage, it was a night of recently deposed DJs, as Jim London and Mary Ball - until this year the morning team at WMZQ-FM - hosted the ceremonies, and Lee Michael Dempsey - who lost his daily folk music show on WAMU-FM this year - winning an award for Best DJ in the Most Supportive of Washington Music category. Where in past years a few artists walked away with the lion's share of Wammies (Mary-Chapin Carpenter and go-go band E.U. won nine each one year) this year's awards were spread around a bit more equitably. Boogie-woogie blues performer Deanna Bogart was the year's biggest winner, taking five Wammies in several categories: Best Recording in the Country/Roots Rock category for her aptly named CD, "Crossing Borders," Best Artist/Group and Best Female Vocalist in the Blues category and Best Female Vocalist and Best Instrumentalist in the R&B/Urban Contemporary category. Other big winners included Wrathchild America, which swept the Metal category, winning Best Vocalist (Brad Divens), Best Artist-Group and Best Instrumentalist (Shannon Larkin). Local underground sensation Fagazi picked up most of the Wammies in the Alternative Rock-Progressive category, including Best Artist-Group and Best Male Vocalist (Ian MacKaye). Fugazi's CD "Steady Diet of Nothing" tied with Basehead's "Play with Toys" for Best Recording. Miss Carpenter, who this year won her first Grammy award, still managed to snare a few Wammies, including Song of the Year and Video of the Year for "I Feel Lucky," and Album of the Year for "Come On, Come On." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM