After being very shocked by the bands that were nomintaed this year and a lengthy conversation with a large group of friends, I have to ask: What was the criteria to get nominated for this years awards? My curiousity stems from some of the best Dallas bands being left off of the ballot. Successful bands, bands like The Burning Hotels, Black Tie Dynasty, Red Monroe, St. Vincent, Smile Smile, I Love Math and Airline. I am fairly sure that I am not the only one feeling this way. Can someone please shed some light

After being very shocked by the bands that were nomintaed this year and a lengthy conversation with a large group of friends, I have to ask: What was the criteria to get nominated for this years awards? My curiousity stems from some of the best Dallas bands being left off of the ballot. Successful bands, bands like The Burning Hotels, Black Tie Dynasty, Red Monroe, St. Vincent, Smile Smile, I Love Math and Airline. I am fairly sure that I am not the only one feeling this way. Can someone please shed some light

Erykah Badu didn't even place in "Best Solo Act", "Best Album" or "Best Female Vocalist"?

That was the best record by a Dallas artist this year.

Rebekah:

The nominees were selected by a group of 55 members of the music community, who were asked participate (and nominate one band per category) because we respect their thoughts on the scene.

The acts that made the ballot were ones that earned a majority of those nominations. Some of the ones that made the cut were surprises, yes. I, too, was a bit miffed at the lack of inclusion for Red Monroe and Smile Smile. But, also, it makes a bit of sense: Smile Smile, for instance, issued a re-release of an older disc this year; Black Tie Dynasty, who basically cleaned house at our awards last year, hasn't released any new material since that time. As far as the others, well, I don't know what to tell you; this is just how things ended up.

Liles:

As far as Erykah, I think people feared voting for someone too established (except, apparently, in the R&B category). I think that's why, for instance, Old 97's didn't find themselves with a nod in any of the categories either.

But, to be honest, I'm just speculating here, guys. This isn't Pete's nominee list; it's a collection of selections from a large sampling of people with close ties to the scene (musicians, label owners, booking agents, journalists, bloggers, etc.), and, for the most part, aside from a few head scratchers, I think this crew ended up fairly spot on.

ghosthustler and mitra are over. and dept of concern does not do anything anymore. y gutterth is not a label. jetscreamer is blues now?

It seems the Observer doesn't get it, as usual.

good list!

Please tell us who voted (like the Quick did!)

Please tell us who voted (like the Quick did!)

jetscreamer as a blues act?

when it comes to covering music, the observer is pure rubbish. save some trees and 86 the music section.

m..

this is really nice to see. terrific list!

Being nominated for best band in 2008 is like being nominated for best Impressionist painter in 2008. Nice but totally irrelevant to anything new in music. Hey nominating committee, you DO know that we are in a new century don't you?

No disrespect to any of the artists nominated, because they are all talented, dedicated and unique in their own right. They all certainly deserve recognition and props.

That said, not one of the artists nominated for Best Band, Best Solo Artist, Best Album or Best Song can command more than a $500 guarantee for a show outside the D/Fdub. I would be very surprised to find that any of these performers generated over $25,000 in gross revenue over the last year.

On the other hand, artists like The Toadies, Erykah Badu, Old 97's, Rev. Horton Heat, Bowling For Soup, Polyphonic Spree, Drowning Pool, Forever The Sickest Kids, Centro-matic, Fair to Midland and The Rocket Summer tour all over the world and regularly pull in between $5,000 and $30,000 a show.

So let's call it what it is - the DOMA is a hometown popularity contest for local fans of indie niche artists, not an accurate representation of the overall success of our more established artists in the international marketplace.

And here's the basic problem with that: as soon as our artists become "too established" we start to disown them. In return, they don't feel as obligated to represent their roots here. Some of them even move away for good.

We need to recognize the fact that these more established artists are all working their asses off, negotiating brutal travel schedules, doing hundreds of interviews and pouring their hearts out on stage in a different city almost every single night. It's sort of an insult to act as if they don't even exist.

Again, no disrespect intended to the artists who were nominated, but most of them are musicians who all have day jobs and rarely ever play shows outside the state of Texas. The Dallas-based musicians who really deserve these awards are the ones who are out there living this shit 24/7, 365 days a year.

Bottom line - thousands of people who don't happen to live here still read the Dallas Observer online. When they look at our list of nominees and don't recognize any of the artists, especially in light of the fact we have so many other "established" artists who are out there touring and selling records, it doesn't help us to create a viable awareness of our collective music community. Prioritizing the younger artists over the ones who are actually making a living at it is kinda counterintuitive, don't ya think?

Just sayin'...

....and the Dallas Observer successful established artist in an international marketplace award goes to......

Aren't these almost the exact same nominees that the Quick awards have?

Also, when a chunk of your voting committee is made of booking agents nominating bands that THEY book for...c'mon!

Shoulda just let your own critics decide this year.

No wonder all the good ones move.

Yo Liles,
Some of us that were nominated do tour quite often and get national/international press. But, I hear what yr trying to say.

-Bobby Backslider

These nominations are a little disappointing. I agree with the majoirty of the other posters who are saying that SO MANY amazing bands have been left off this list. And many are categorized wrong. Have the people nominating these bands ever actually SEEN them play live? Ridiculous.

I happen to know the Inner City All-Stars pretty well. Jazz? - Maybe. FUNK is more their genre.

Why not have the public nominate the artists instead of a bunch of people who are being paid by these bands? C'mon.

Agree with Audrey - when you have people that book for / play in bands doing the nominating, you're going to end up with a skewed list.

Better to let the public nominate artists - at least that way they're involved from the start, and every little band in Dallas can solicit their fanbase to come over to the Observer website and spend a few minutes writing in names. Thats a win / win for the DO and bands, not to mention a more accurate portrayal of what people are really listening to and care about.

bands are paying for nominations now?

i love it! controversy!
no one's ever happy.

and liles
isn't this the first time in like a decade that guys like centromatic . the reverend and spree are not on the ballot?and who is to say being "established" is making 5g's a show?
some of those nominees are nationally underground and work hard because they don't know anything else.not driven by dollar or fame.maybe you should get out more or stop living in history.

Toldja!

Liles - I agree with you completely, but it's always been about a small collection of bands that the scenesters are into.

I rememeber when Slow Roosevelt won best metal act year after year while Pantera was not even nominated. And Pantera was already multi-platinum and selling out arenas at the time.
I always thought Slow Ro rocked balls BTW, but beating Pantera? Cmon.....

Personally, I can't bitch about this year's list as I didn't get my nominations done in time. (Sorry, Pete)

There is a lot of great talent on that list.

I like this list. I think The Observer has spent way to long writing about and hyping the established actsin town. It's good to see some of the equally talented, but smaller acts getting nominated. It seems like every year it's the same old shit (Mad Mexicans, The Feds, Faktion, Black Tie Dynasty, ect.) and it's good to see some new blood in the ranks this year.

Liles makes the comment that "The Toadies, Erykah Badu, Old 97's, Rev. Horton Heat, Bowling For Soup, Polyphonic Spree, Drowning Pool, Forever The Sickest Kids, Centro-matic, Fair to Midland and The Rocket Summer" are higher revenue acts and deserve credit, but that is the point exactly. They've already made there mark on the local scene and have moved on to bigger and better things. These awards and the Observer in general should be focusing on the new talent and not rehashing on the same bands over and over and over again. I think this year marks the first time in a very long time that the really deserving up and coming bands are getting their due.

Hell, maybe a Denton band might actually win an award this year. :o

Let's face it. For 20 years, no one has been happy with how nominees are cast. If it was an industry pool, readers wanted it public. When it went public, readers were angry because bands with more street team power flooded the boxes. It's a no-win when it comes to the way things are decided. It will continue to change and hopefully, one day, people will get that it's impossible to please everyone.

And frankly, I feel there's no shame in playing your ass off, touring whatever region you want and never making more than $5. It's not about money. Besides, if every single year deserving bands were pushed aside just so some nationally recognized bands could sweep the awards clean, that would suck. Like one of our anonymous friends said, some of these nominees do tour...some in hatchbacks packed full, through dirty club after dirty club till they're blue in the face. Are you really pissed because they got nominated over someone who can afford a tour bus? If it's an argument over who does more for Dallas I'd say artists who work day jobs and then go out and haul gear to shows every week are doing a damn fine job for Dallas. Having to pull a paycheck doesn't mean their life doesn't revolve around music. And that's not to discredit any of the city's more famous acts.

Lastly, I don't remember anyone ever saying a song/album was the best they'd heard all year because the artist commanded a $500+ guarantee. DOMA isn't the Grammys. It's about what people loved, felt passionate about, need to hear all the time. It's about music, not sales.

Is there going to be an online ballot?

Is there going to be an online ballot?

Yep. Should be up soon, I guess...

Thanks for allowing the fans to pick again. You should have had the fans vote to nominate, and THEN your 55 person committee place the ones with the most votes into the correct categories. What a fucking joke this years DOMAs are. Dallas, continues to be third best int he metroplex, way to go. Pete, I hope you havae your resume ready.

I hear what all of you are saying, and I know that the majority of our artists aren't in it for the money. I didn't mean to imply that money should be their primary motivation for making music. I merely used the live show guarantee number as a sort of barometer to show the measure of success for each artist. What other static applications do we have to do the same? CD sales? National press? Plays on their MySpace page?

I used money as an example because, unfortunately, it's the only language a lot of people understand. I assure you that if our local city government had any idea how much money our more successful artists have generated, they would view the music community in the same light as they do the local film and TV production community. Mayor Tom actually picked up the phone and made an unsolicited call to beg the LA- based producers of "Prison Break" to please come back to town. Why? Money. Besides the Granada Theatre, the only thriving 500+ capacity live music venues we have left are the ones that are owned by national corporations. Why? Money. The City is more than willing to accommodate revenue-generating businesses over smaller indie start-up venues. That much is obvious. Money is the only language they understand.

Truth is, where do most of the bands who were nominated actually play? The Cavern, AllGood Cafe, Club Dada, house parties, and yes, in Denton. They can't even get in the corporate venues unless they're buying a ticket to somebody else's show.

Again, as I said, I recognize that the artists nominated are very talented and we should certainly be proud of them. They make beautiful original music and put on interesting and entertaining shows. That wasn't the point.

The issue is that once an artist gets on the radio, goes on tour, appears on Conan or Jimmy Kimmel Live, gets on the Warped Tour/Lollapalooza/Ozzfest, or starts piling up national press, we ditch them and start acting like they're too big to be part of our local community. Should they really be disqualified for being too successful? Why? Do the awards exist so we can recognize real success, or are we just rewarding potential instead?

Merriitt and Mikey, both of you guys disagree with me and then totally make my point - this isn't about the bands who have actually earned some measure of success outside this area code, it's about recognizing the bands who stick around here and play in bars for five bucks. if that's what it is, so be it. But the result is that our successful bands end up distancing themselves from Dallas when the do interviews with the national press.

I've lived in Los Angeles and seen the effects of this from an outsider's perspective. People are entirely ignorant when it comes to recognizing our overall achievement. I stood on the sidewalk of the Roxy Theatre and listened to people tell me that Pantera was from New Orleans, Rev. Horton Heat is from Chicago, Norah Jones is from New York City, The DOC was from LA, The Toadies are from Florida, and the most offensive of all, that Stevie Ray Vaughan was from Austin. This kind of thing happens because our artists feel alienated from Dallas when they can't even get props in their own hometown.

I'm not at all angry, I'm just making a point. This has been going on for years. Now is a good time to change that trend. Back in the day, the only people who read the DO were people in Dallas. Now it's online and people everywhere read it. Should we still have an awards issue that only speaks to the 750 (or so) people here who hang out in bars and shop at indie record stores, or do we wanna recognize the artists from Dallas who sell hundreds of thousands of CDs/downloads, appear on national TV, tour all over the world, and, hopefully, act as ambassadors for our creative community?

And to ?, if you really wanna know who I think deserves the award for Best Dallas Artist who has established themselves in the international marketplace, I think Erykah Badu is an excellent choice. She made an amazing album, paid tons of local musicians to play on it, took her band on tour to the UK, Israel and Russia, played on every late night talk show, sold out the HOB here with a cheap ticket, insisted that her label sponsor her record release party at Bill's Records, and also headlined Radio City Music Hall in NYC with The Roots.

Most importantly, she still lives here and has put her own money back into our local community. You really think that any of the artists listed on the ballot above deserves an DO award more than she does? Or does she still need to do a five-dollar cover show at The Cavern to validate her commitment to the indie/hipster community?

2 Camps!

A. Those who constantly bitch and whine and criticize...

B. Those who do something with their lives/careers and provide fodder to camp A...

huzzah! ;)

Hey here is an idea, lets have voting only allowed at a show at the granada theatre. That way people can register ONE vote in each category. No more logging in from thirty different computers under thirty different email address es and padding the votes. Make it where you have to vote at an actual venue with a concert going on by one of the national bands from our berg such as a badu or toadies. Then its fair, each person gets one vote, and the only way they can vote is to come out to the venue and do it in person. So in essence you have to support the scene by ghoing to a show, then your one vote really counts. As for who gets nominated, there is simply no way to do that without the whole F-ing city getting pissed.

Liles, Just to be clear, I never said anything about ditching bands when they make it outside our area code. I don't agree with that either. We've had stories on Erykah Badu all over the place for the past year (and way before), a post and slideshow about Dallas greats returning to Booker T. and more about established Dallas artists.

That being said, I also don't think we should worship them because they got out and made it big. There's something to be said for nurturing. If an artist feels that an alt weekly in their hometown doesn't show them the same amount of attention once they go global they must remember those formative years. They have to remember that there are other fledgling artists struggling to get to their level. I don't think anyone should deny either effort fair attention, but when one directly affects the people in the city (those that can physically go experience a show) and possibly provides a new sound to discover out there, then yes, there would be a natural tendency to cover the local scene. Do these bands that distance themselves in national press still sell tickets when they play here or records when they release a new one in local shops? Then their city didn't abandon them when they left in search of new audiences.

I get your point about being online and such but our paper is still a paper distributed in Dallas and called the Dallas Observer. We owe it to readers to pay attention to what goes on here and if online/out-of-town readers really don't want to keep up with Dallas music as it happens here, they don't have to click the links. But I think many of them don't mind a new sound every now and again.

Lastly, I don't understand your reluctance to let bands that haven't won Grammys, traveled the world and received tons of national press, get a little recognition in the form of a DOMA. It's not a slight against the tried-and-true, if anything it shows our city can welcome and cultivate new talent. Which, um, rocks, if you ask me.

I don't understand why no one has pointed out that acts such as the Reverend Horton Heat and Erykah Badu were intentionally retired years ago because of their ability to sweep the awards. Each year as an act becomes disqualified this has been mentioned except this year. I'm pretty sure the Toadies and Brave Combo also fall into that category and don't understand why a Hard Nights Day haven't been retired as well - no offense intended.

I understand Liles reasoning as to why we should be proud of them, as we are, but to my knowledge this a local awards show. It consists of acts that have yet to break out and an achievement / possible stepping stone to becoming a national act and being disqualified as a nominee.

Just so everybody is clear, I'm at all not angry. It's hard not to dig this. I've always loved the month or so before the DOMA's because it never fails to stir up the ant pile. I really wish we had this much dialogue about Dallas music all the time.

Merritt, I never intimated that the DO was ignoring Erykah. You guys have done an amazing job of covering her all year. I guess that's why I don't understand why she wasn't nominated for Best Solo Artist, Best Song or Best Album. It just doesn't make much sense. This was her year. She earned it.

And Frank, I wasn't aware of a rule that disqualified certain artists after they had previously won. She's nominated for Best R'n'B Artist this year, so why not Best Album or Best Solo Act?

Look, I have a hard time imagining that anyone would actually be angry about an awards issue. More than anything, all of this discourse shows that people are still passionate about music. That's inspiring. Keep it up all year!

This is one hell of an interesting campaign you're running for Best Music Advocate, Liles...

VOTE FOR "WE SHOT JR."

I know I am.

So who does everyone like? I only really know of Whiskey Folk Ramblers. Who by the way should get new best act. They are amazing. Any suggestions?

I don't know...maybe I just think that if a band is capable of selling out House Of Blues, Granada, and especially venues in other markets then maybe they are above the DOMA's? I mean, if you are achieving national and international success shouldn't you be setting your sights on a Grammy? Maybe I'm wrong but I've always looked at the Dallas Observer as a launching point for bands to get some local attention and a way to get some more people to their shows.

C'mon, isn't it obvious that if The Toadies, Erykah Badu, or Reverend Horton Heat were put on the ballot they would easily win based soley on the power and popularity of their name alone? Seriously, these acts have been around for years....many many years...some for almost 20 years, and if winning a DOMA is still top on their list of priorities then they must not be doing anything right...which is of course not the case.

Whatever....everyone is right and wrong in their own opinions. I'm just happy for the bands that were nominated.

I say bravo to the list of nominees and congrats all around. You're right Merritt, these will never make anyone happy so why bother trying? Erykah's nom is a nice nod to the more famous artists community while Bobby Patterson's two noms act as a reminder that Dallas remembers its own.

Personally, I'd hate it if all the nominees were people out there making millions and what not. Borrring. They've made their mark here which is what I think the DOMA's and any other LOCAL awards shows are about. The new guys, the guys who are still trying and even the old guys not giving up - this gives them a chance to be recognized and gives us a chance to say, "hey, we dig what you're doing no matter what". Plus, I'd hate to waste my time giving awards to a bunch of people who probably wouldn't even be there to accept it. Although it would make the show go faster.

I never knew about the retiring nominees part but I always loved the idea of disqualifying the previous year's winners to make room for a new batch of bands/artists in the current year of nominees.

And the bigger picture here is celebrating homegrown talent. Popularity contest? Sure, people are voting. Irrelevant? That's up to you but I bet the winners feel good about themselves to continue doing what they do. And we as lovers of local music reap the benefits.

The Tejas Brothers kick major ace !!

The Austin Chronicle posts the winners of their Austin Music Awards in the issue that hits the streets the week of SXSW and under each category, "Best Female Vocalist, Best Male Vocalist, Best Electric Guitar, Best Folk, etc." the Chronicle will list the top 20 or so vote-getters. Someone may rank 10th in their category in a year they had no new release, and then be # 1 or #2 in a very successful and highly visible year. This spreads well-deserved recognition to many more acts, clubs and people, and gives them and the public the chance to watch themselves "climb the chart" or vice versa from year to year. Looking back at their lists in retrospective, it gives a much clearer picture of the Austin music scene and its evolution than you get when you have only 5 noms in each category. A lot of talent doesn't get any ink.

For what it's worth, I think Dallas acts that have "gone national" should be recognized in their own "Hall of Fame" category and leave the competition to acts still trying to "make it".

I've always loved that the Austin Chronicle ranks the top vote getters like that, Mike.

I agree with everything you said - I wish the DO would follow suit and give the award to one person per category each year, but recognize the Top 10 or Top 20.

I miss Carter (and Sorta).

Last year's showcase on Greenville was fun. This year? I wonder...

Go BAcksliders!

This is several days too late, but I'd like to respond to Tom Hendricks' comment about the "irrelevance" of being nominated for Best Band in 2008. I've just gotta say that your comment is about the silliest, most pretentious thing I've heard in a long time. Just because bands might seem irrelevant to you doesn't mean that they are irrelevant to the grand scheme of music. So it's a new century and there are "new" things to do be done with music, huh? Wow, great! So the hipster snobs can find something to be more stuck up about!

For more than fifty years, bands have been a huge part of music. Live bands will ALWAYS have a place in music because putting a few people in a room together and listening to the sound that comes out is fucking exciting. It might not be exciting to you, but it is exciting to a lot of people who love making music and a whole lotta people who love listening to music. And whether you realize it or not, there are still a shitload of great bands out there making great music, both in the studio and onstage. There are also a lot of terrible bands, and that sucks, but you know what? It's their right to try. And it's just plain silly when pretentious snobs come along and try to say that the idea of a band is irrelevent in this day and age. Okay, so classical and jazz and ragtime and reggae and rock and a million other styles have all been 'done'. So we should put them to bed forever and move on?? To what???

Music is a beautiful thing, and there are many, many ways to make it. Just because you have an elitist attitude about what's good (or relevant or groundbreaking) music doesn't mean you speak for every intelligent, critical music fan (or musician) out there.

Fucking get over yourself.

As far as the nominations go, there were dozens of great Dallas artists that got left off the ballot, just like every year. But the artists and players and advocates that did make the ballot are all talented and worthy in someone's eyes and ears. You just can't please everyone. Ever.

I miss Carter too. Personally, I think his absence from the ballot is an insult. He may have been the most gifted singer/songwriter/instrumentalist in all of Dallas, and he did a tremendous amount of significant work in the final year of his life.

My only complaint is that he was ignored by people who should've known better.

Is there a way to add Carter to the ballot?

I really feel he deserves to be mentioned, and his life and his gift to Dallas music celebrated.

Why does he deserved to be mentioned, because he played in a bunch of mediocre bar bands? No disrespect to him, but don't glorify someone who was basically your average Dallas musician in bands that were going nowhere.

Carter Albrecht was anything but an average Dallas musician.

You can ask Edie Brickell, Paul Simon, Charlie Sexton, Steve Gadd or any number of the musicians from out-of-town that he played and recorded with about that.

Tell you what, Anonymous. When you've sat in with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra we'll elevate you to "average Dallas Musician who plays in a bunch mediocre bar bands" status as well.

OK, idiot?

The Toadies, Erykah Badu, Rev. Horton Heat, etc. How many times have these acts played in the DFW area this year?

In my opinion, these awards are not just for the bands/artists that are from the Dallas area, but also the ones active in the Dallas music scene.

As mentioned, many of the people involved in choosing these nominations are booking agents. Sure, they are biased on nominating acts they book. But why do you think they continue to book these acts? Is it possibly because they actually like these artists and feel they are currently some of the best talent Dallas has to offer?

I'm not saying I feel this is the perfect ballot, but that's my own bias. I will, however, say that this ballot is a pretty solid lineup of the bands that are frequenting the stages of Dallas clubs/venues on a regular basis. These are the bands that deserve the credit.

Yeah, Scott. And while we're at it, why don't we give awards to all of the copy bands, "tribute" acts, open mic night contenders and "show bands" who play weddings and bar mitzvahs.

It's ridiculous to say that somebody like Erykah Badu should be disqualified because she's too popular. Not only did she sell out the House of Blues, she did it with a cheap ticket to show her appreciation for her hometown people. Erykah has performed numerous times in Dallas over the years, and brought in The Roots and other acts to play as well.

She put her own money into the Black Forest Theatre in South Dallas and into The Kitchen recording studio in East Dallas.

When he new record dropped back in Feb., her label wanted her to do a release party at a national chain store, and she insisted on doing at Bill's Records in South Dallas instead. Her new album "New Amerykah Part One" is a brilliant political statement that will stand the test of time 20 years from now, as we look back on the influence of Barack Obama's campaign for President.

How much more of a commitment to the Dallas music community does she need to show before she gains validation in your eyes?

As far as The Toadies and Rev. Horton Heat, we've got two artists who are constantly out on the road representing our music scene. The Toadies are currently selling out venues all over the East Coast. Do you really think that they should be disqualified just for being successful?

Where is the logic in that? Is it really that important to level the playing field on behalf of artists who can't even sell 1,000 copies of their CD in their own hometown?

Do this: go to a mall, sporting event or any place where a large group of people are gathered. Randomly ask 20 people if they've ever heard of any of the artists nominated for Best Artist, Best Solo Artist, or Best Female Artist. Then ask them if they've ever heard of Erykah Badu, Rev. Horton Heat or The Toadies.

Then ask youself this: is this awards ballot really representative of the entire Dallas community, or does it represent the small fraction of people who only listen to alternative music?

So because they are more popular that makes them better or more deserving ? Milli Vanilli won a Grammy. Remember that mister music history? I'm not saying I don't respect Erykah's homage and dedication to her hometown. If she is of the character you say she is she would probably prefer that it be some lesser known/struggling acts be put on the ballot.
Bands/performers who could probably use a little extra publicity and help. Lets just hope that if any of the other bands in this years ballot get to Erykah's level they follow the example she has set.