Congratulations are in order to all the Washington Area Music Association winners and nominees. If you have never heard of WAMA, you might want to take a minute to watch the 25th anniversary video for a little back ground and some great footage of DC music history and what our music scene is all about. WAMA has been criticized for being too closed a group, and it's true that often the same people rotate around, but membership is open to everyone inclined towards things musical, and no one else has stepped up to create anything like it.
I watched the anniversary video this morning and realized some things haven't changed much. You can still see great talent often awkwardly stashed in a corner of a hotel bar or restaurant. On the other hand, good size venues are popping up like Gypsy Sally's in Georgetown and the renovated Lincoln and Howard Theaters. A lot of this year's winners like David Kitchen and Dave Chappell are featured here on DC ROCKS because we are lucky to see them play without paying a lot of overhead, but it would be good to see them in those slightly larger venues as well.
Since everything is all about me, this year I see my connection to the scene as both slim and stretchy- like a rubber band. Once upon a time I lived in a group house that had notorious all night keg-ers. When the beer ran out, we'd take up a collection for a late run to Tick Tock Liquor on University Boulevard which stayed open late and was also a bar. My boyfriend's little sister crashed the party a couple of times, and she always brought her best friend- this year's WAMA song writer of the year and roots rock vocalist: Patty Reese.
No comments:
Post a Comment