MAMA Rocks for the Future By: Chris Murphy
Modesto California’s State Theatre was the place to be on October 23! We celebrated musical talent, venues that host live music, dance club promoters, live music promoters, and tipped our hat to Dr. Ginger Colla, long time music teacher and conductor and opened the door to the future the our new Youth Band category. The MAMAs returned to their home at the State and the excitement was in the air. As Chris Murphy and Chris Ricci opened the show with welcomes from Vice Mayor Stephanie Burnside and rad beat poetry from Deputy County CEO Keith Boggs, we turned the show over to TVs Alan Sanchez and the evening was on!
Liveperformances from Lindsey Pavao, High Voltage, We The Same, Patty Davis, Blood Pig, Gotcha Covered, Purp Reynolds, Monkey Knife Fight, Eli Allsup and RyanRussell and an amazing performance by Shad Harris and the Groovenators. This is what it was all about. All genres, all the radio stations, metal, jazz, music videos all in 3.5 hours, plus the amazing announcement by John Sanders that George Lucas will be the Grand Marshall of the 2013 Cruise Parade. Wow.
The MAMA Awards are a volunteer effort and are presented by Chris Murphy, Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group, ModestoView, Chris Ricci and the Fat Cat. Thanks to Skip’s Music for the backline and to Elliot Gage and Carlos Rodriguez for the video and live webcast. The event was hosted by the State Theatre and the place was filled to capacity with just about everyone they could think of with the empty kegs to show for it. The event is free for all of the invited nominees and guests.
We need to celebrate our live music heritage. The City of Modesto needs to embrace live music and make it a civic priority. Live music is the core of creativity and culture and it says much about the people that live here. The Gallo Center took home honors for the Best Venue and P Wexford’s won for small venues showing the range of people that are voting for the awards and the wide cross section of our community that support live music.
We have an amazing history with Modesto arguably being the birthplace of Rockabilly music with the big slappin’ bass of Fred Maddox of Maddox Brothers and Rose back in 1937. Merle Haggard and Buck Owens played here with Chester Smith over the airwaves of KTRB which lead to early rock and roll of Kent Whitt and the Downbeats in 1958 which lead to the Chancellors with Michael Allsup of Three Dog Night, the Ratz, Collage, Lights, Flying Blind, Grandaddy and now with Not An Airplane and High Voltage for the future. This is something special and we all need to listen to local music and make sure that these bands can make acareer of creativity and make Modesto the new Athens GA or Austin TX.
We have the talent, we just need the will to make it a priority. www.modestoareamusic
2012 WINNERS
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Rock Hit & Run
2012 MAMA AWARDS Pop Rock Josh Rosenblum Band
2012 MAMA AWARDS Off The Air Award – Indie Lindsey Pavao
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Acoustic Mike & Eli Allsup
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Rockabilly/Psychobilly The Pendletons
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Metal Rock Zombie Death Stench
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Americana Marirose and the Gypsies
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Blue Collar “Cover” Gotcha Covered
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Jazz / Blues PoorHouse Millionaires
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Urban/Hip Hop Dev
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best House DJ DJ Nick G.
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Urban DJ DJ Tease
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Venue Gallo Center for the Arts
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Restaurant Café/ Music P. Wexford’s Pub
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Comedy Drew Monson
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Large Event – X Fest Award American Graffiti Car Show
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Small Event Thursday Night Ramble
2012 MAMA AWARDS Dance Club Promoter Random Nights
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Live Music Promoter Middagh Goodwin
2012 MAMA AWARDS Best Youth Bands High Voltage
2012 MAMA AWARDS Lifetime Award Ginger Colla
