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Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, 01/26/14

1/27/2014

12 Comments

 
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I’ve always been curious about the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and with nothing better to do last night, I decided to check the event out for the first time. First off, let me be clear that I think it’s great that we have a publication like City Beat that is so zealous in its coverage of the local music scene. We have a great scene here in Cincinnati and the team of dedicated music journalists at City Beat appears to do a great job covering and promoting local artists. That being said, last night’s event at Covington's Madison Theater was kind of disappointing.

The entire show was a bit unorganized, with presenters and award recipients nowhere to be found when called to the stage. Presenters didn’t appear to have anything prepared and ended up rambling uncomfortably, like they had no previous notice that they would be presenting. On top of that, the live performances were plagued with sound issues, ranging from microphones not being turned on to uneven mixes to amateur-esque feedback squalls.  When the award recipients finally made their way to the stage, a handful of ladies in costumes tried to distract the audience with dancing and props. It’s not about you, ladies. You didn’t win anything.

The only performing band that really stood out to me was The Tillers, a band nominated in the Folk/Americana category. I would call it bluegrass, but this isn’t a bluegrass blog so we’re not going to debate that here. Anyway, they were really enjoyable and I would recommend checking them out if you get a chance. There was also some solid breakdancing during the evening’s hip hop performance.

The only live performance that I was interested in for the purposes of this blog was the 10 minute set from Moonbow. I hadn’t had a chance to check out a live Moonbow show prior to last night, and I don’t think I’ll be going back for more. Underwhelming is the only word I can think of here. Despite the presence of Valley of the Sun bass monster Ryan McAlister, I’ve always been a little wary that Moonbow was trading on frontman Matt Bischoff’s “celebrity” status from his appearance on Survivor, which is apparently still on the air. Pretty much every Moonbow promo features a mention of Survivor, and the CEAs didn’t disappoint, introducing Moonbow as being fronted by a former Survivor cast member. That’s great that the guy was on a show that no one with a paycheck watches, but can we please start promoting bands based on merit? Maybe it was the bad sound, but I just wasn’t impressed with Moonbow and their lack of energy on stage. I think with a better frontman they might be decent, but right now they’re kind of treading a thin line between run-of-the-mill stoner rock and gimmick band.

As far as the awards themselves, I was fully aware going in that the awards were based on internet voting. Despite some drowned-out rambling from the host last night, I still have no idea how bands are nominated, but that’s beside the point. I can’t judge the merit of the winning bands in most of the categories, as I was really only interested in the Rock and Metal awards. Electric Citizen took home the honors for best Rock band. That seems fair. Those kids are one of the hardest working bands in town and their mix of 70's psych, metal, and doom is extremely catchy. They’re a solid live band and I believe they’re going to have a big 2014.

In the Metal/Hard Rock category, our old friends Moonbow took home the honors, besting my personal choice, and superstars in the making, Valley of the Sun, doom titans Grey Host, a couple of bands I’m not familiar with and Siren, a strong up-and-coming unit who were oddly nominated despite the lack of any releases to their credit. This is where the internet voting becomes an issue. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with a fat guy on his couch in Nebraska voting for Moonbow in the CEAs because, “Hey, I remember that there guy from the Survivor!” Don’t we have enough qualified musicians and journalists right here in Cincinnati to vote on these awards in a sane, rational manner?

I’m glad we have a ceremony like the CEAs to celebrate local musicians, but I hope this year’s show was an aberration and that they usually have their shit together. I’m sure it’s a huge pain in the ass to put this together and to get a bunch of drunk musicians to cooperate, but the show last night came off as a bad high school drama club production. Let’s tighten the reins next year and make this more of a professional production. I am happy to volunteer. -JO

12 Comments
Andrew
1/26/2014 11:12:38 pm

Well, the cincinnati music "scene" is really just a large group of friends that keep themselves consistently elected for these types of things, excluding those who don't know the right people. this exclusivity is idealized and glamorized by people apparently thinking that this is the optimal solution, perhaps in the mindset that "this is how big cities handle it". in short, it's a popularity contest

Reply
Kane
1/27/2014 02:52:54 am

" the cincinnati music "scene" is really just a large group of friends that keep themselves consistently elected for these types of things,"

- This is a total assumption. You sound like a conspiracy theorist here. You are correct about it being a popularity contest, though. When most of the awards are based upon audience vote, of course it's a popularity contest. The winners will usually be "which band is going to bug the most people on facebook".

That being said, who is qualified to choose which bands are the "best" at what they do? Local music writers? Promoters? Music is subjective and what's best would mostly be considered an opinion, no?

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Kane
1/27/2014 02:54:18 am

Oh, and I thought the original blog post was a good critique. Completely fair throughout. Thanks for posting!

andrew
1/27/2014 03:22:10 am

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I am just playing the role of "cynical observer"- I love cincy and the bands here are great and all the venues and people I've worked with are super nice and I am definitely not complaining about that!

Kane
1/27/2014 03:55:34 am

No offense taken, Andrew. Was just creating a dialogue.

Andrew
1/27/2014 04:30:13 am

I just realized my tone was way more offensive that I intended. Sounded like an asshole. I really do love Cincinnati. I just want to us to truly remain unique, and thrive on that, as opposed to what strangely equates to some form of "business model". Free music in a lot of venues every weekend and an abundance of good bands is one of those "good problems". and with that, maybe comes the air of exclusivity. the friends/scene combo is a pointless observation, because that is just how these types of things get off the ground. group of similarly-interested people congregate and express that interest. i guess my true concern is a lot of shows i both attend and play have a result of: fans/members of other bands playing only stand around or pay attention when it is their friends' band. this is not everyone, of course, but it happens a lot.

Joe Owen, Editor
1/26/2014 11:29:23 pm

Fair points, Andrew. I'm not a fan of the word "scene", but I use it here to encompass the entirety of the Cincinnati music landscape, not just the trendy bands. My solution to not knowing the right people is to become one of the right people. It's more productive to effect change than to complain about the status quo. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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Andrew
1/27/2014 02:46:56 am

I just wish that people in Cincinnati were actually willing to be as interesting and diverse as they claim to be. it's a great city, with a ton of great bands...yet the mentality surrounding is that of High School, part 2

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Andrew
1/27/2014 02:49:24 am

I mean, come on...Dopamines won best punk band? Lol they still play pop punk. There are a buttload of other bands more deserving, but they don't know the right people. Luckily, this benefits fans of local music, because the best way to go out and find new bands is still to be open-minded and try new venues/types of music. The CEAs are a joke and everyone knows it at this point

Andrew
1/27/2014 04:36:53 am

^also, not trying to say those guys aren't good, i just am assuming (maybe incorrectly) that they are just perennial winners of this category. i dont even know why i care to mention this. i just stumbled upon this link via facebook and commented. have an excellent life, everyone

Lucifugus
1/27/2014 04:46:30 am

It's tough to break into any of the "scenes" here in town and they are VERY closed. Much has to do with the conservative nature of the mid-west but it's music....take a chance. Hard rock and metal are not the same thing and for the most part, rock is dead in this town. So at least break these into two categories City Beat. And how does one get nominated without a release?????????????? "Indie", "Americana", "Folk" are doing ok if you want to play the lounge at the SGHR. You can play "New Metal" in some of these establishments but again I think the scene is boring as well. Very good review and I will agree that to some extent you just have to do your thing, and keep your head up knocking down doors cause they are not gonna open for you!

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DAN link
1/27/2014 12:07:17 am

Excellent and on point review

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