Some insist that the Texas state capital doesn’t have a music industry infrastructure – just a lot of motley musicians wandering aimlessly from club to club. Dispelling that long-held notion, the Austin Music Industry Awards drew a mind-boggling local network to the Palm Door on Sixth Monday night.
Initially, the event was a way to streamline the Austin Music Awards – coming Wed., March 18, to the Austin Convention Center (see SXSW supplement) – by breaking off the technical categories into a separate night. That quickly morphed into an expansion of such categories in order to spotlight the key businesses and characters whose contributions make Austin’s music community globally singular.
The two-hour awards presentation, hosted by myself and Chase Hoffberger, teeter-tottered between sincerity and snark. Suzanne Estes, owner of Best Specialty Instrument Store winner Violins Etc., accepted her plaque with a tearful remembrance of her late husband, who founded the business. Meanwhile, South by Southwest director Roland Swenson turned his guest presenter slot into a roast, aiming ruthlessly hilarious barbs at friends and colleagues. Recently ousted Texas Music Office Director Casey Monahan, winner of the Music Business Hall of Fame, provided a full house with marching orders: Fight for the respect our work deserves.
Radio Station
1) KUTX
2) Sun Radio
3) KUT
4) 101X
5) KOOP
6) KLBJ
7) KGSR
8) KOKE
9) The Fringe
Radio Program
1) Twine Time, Paul Ray, KUTX
2) Jason & Deb, 101X
3) Eklektikos, John Aielli, KUTX
4) Dudley and Bob with Matt, KLBJ
5) Blue Monday, Mike Buck, Sun Radio
6) No Control, Chuck Loesch, 101X
7) Horizontes, Michael Crockett, KUTX
8) A Hill Country Saturday, Kevin Connor, Sun Radio
9) Next Big Thing, Andy Langer, KGSR
10) Texas Radio Live, David Arnsberger, Sun Radio
Radio Personality
1) Jason & Deb, 101X
2) John Aielli, KUTX
3) Dudley & Bob, KLBJ
4) Michael Crockett, KUTX
5) Laurie Gallardo, KUTX
6) Mike Buck, Sun Radio
7) Kevin Connor, Sun Radio
8) David Arnsberger, Sun Radio
9) Chuck Loesch, 101X
10) John E. Dee, KUTX
Record Store
1) Waterloo Records
2) End of an Ear
3) Antone’s Record Shop
4) Breakaway Records
5) Trailer Space Records
6) Encore Records
7) Friends of Sound
8) Piranha Records
9) Superfly’s Lone Star Music Emporium
10) Half Price Books
Music Store
1) Strait Music
2) South Austin Music
3) Austin Vintage Guitars
4) Guitar Center
5) Tommy’s Drum Shop
6) Switched On
7) Rock n Roll Rentals
8) Musical Exchange
9) Blackerby Violin Shop
10) Street-Legal Guitars
Instrument Repair
1) Strait Music
2) South Austin Music
3) Austin Vintage Guitars
4) Violins Etc.
5) Lauren Ellis
6) Musical Exchange
7) Switched On
8) Blackerby Violin Shop
9) Sam Bass Music
10) Tom Oatley
Specialty Instrument Store
1) Violins Etc.
2) Fiddler’s Green
3) Switched On
4) Tommy’s Drum Shop
5) Strait Music
6) Austin Vintage Guitars
7) South Austin Music
8) Blackerby Violin Shop
9) Guitar Resurrection
10) Westbank String Shop
Equipment Rental
1) Rock n Roll Rentals
2) Loudmouth Rentals
3) Strait Music
4) Music Lab
5) Soundcheck Austin
Recording Studio
1) Arlyn Studios
2) 512 Studios
3) Gerron Music
4) Cacophony Recorders
5) The Bubble
6) Ohm
7) Orb Recording Studios
8) Bismeaux
9) The Congress House Studio
10) Jackrabbit Soundshack
Producer
1) AJ Vallejo
2) Omar Vallejo
3) Ray Sr.
4) Tim Gerron
5) Chris “Frenchie” Smith
6) Erik Wofford
7) Adrian Quesada
8) Jim Eno
9) Michael Ramos
10) Cisco Ryder
Local Label
1) Raw Paw Records
2) VMG
3) Modern Outsider
4) Punctum
5) 12XU
6) Saustex
7) Capitol City
8) Chicken Ranch
9) Lounge Side
10) Playing in Traffic
Music Writer
1) Kevin Curtin
2) Neil Ferguson
3) Michael Corcoran
4) Peter Blackstock
5) Doug Freeman
6) Margaret Moser
7) Greg Beets
8) Jennifer Stark
9) Jim Caligiuri
10) Chase Hoffberger
Album Art
1) Billy Perkins, for Butcherwhite, White Widow
2) Unidentified Artist for Sam Pace & the Gilded Grit, Rapture
3) Mishka Westell, for Golden Dawn Arkestra EP
4) Grace Park for Grace Park & the Deer
5) Wim Delvoye for Churchwood, Trickgnosis
Poster
1) Billy Perkins: Widespread Panic
2) Chepo Peña
3) Guy Juke: Alejandro Escovedo, Moody Theater
4) Mishka Westell: Patty Griffin, Moody Theater
5) Billie K Buck: Of Montreal
6) Evan Bozarth: Airship
7) Jim Franklin
8) Gary Dorsey: All ATX Invasion, Moody Theater
9) Unidentified Artist: Bob Schneider & the Moonlight Orchestra, Valentine’s Day, ACL Live at the Moody Theater
10) Unidentified Artist: South Austin Moonlighters, Saxon Pub
Live Music Photographer
1) Merrick Ales
2) David Brendan Hall
3) Gabriella McSwain
4) Dave Pedley
5) Winker Withaneye
6) Roger Ho
7) Rodney Bursiel
8) Maurice Eagle
9) Todd V. Wolfson
10) Bob Zink
Live Music Booker
1) David Cotton, the Roost
2) Kacy Crowley, Strange Brew
3) Transmission Events
4) Graham Williams, Transmission Events
5) Marcus Lawyer, Transmission Events
6) Mike Boudreau, Red Eyed Fly
7) Anthony Stevenson, Come and Take It Productions
8) James Taylor, Holy Mountain
9) Travis Newman, Parish
10) Howdy Darrell, White Horse
New Club
1) TIE: C-Boy’s Heart & Soul/The Roost
3) Vulcan Gas Company
4) Dozen Street
5) Cheer Up Charlies
6) Indian Roller
7) Sweetwater
8) The Highball
9) Radio Coffee & Beer
10) Hard Luck Lounge
Best Music Venue
1) Strange Brew
2) Mohawk
3) ACL Live at the Moody Theater
4) Continental Club
5) Saxon Pub
6) Empire Control Room
7) Vulcan Gas Company
8) ABGB
9) Cheer Up Charlies
10) Stubb’s
Live Music Venue
1) Strange Brew
2) Mohawk
3) Continental Club
4) Saxon Pub
5) The Roost
6) ACL Live at the Moody Theater
7) Empire Control Room
8) Vulcan Gas Company
9) Stubb’s
10) White Horse
Club Lighting
1) Vulcan Gas Company
2) Empire Control Room
3) Parish
4) The Roost
5) ACL Live at the Moody Theater
6) Ilios
7) Strange Brew
8) Cheer Up Charlies
9) The Highball
10) Emo’s
Club Sound
1) Strange Brew
2) Vulcan Gas Company
3) The Roost
4) Parish
5) Saxon Pub
6) Mohawk
7) Cactus Cafe
8) ACL Live at the Moody Theater
9) Continental Club
10) Emo’s
Outside Austin City Limits Club
1) Gruene Hall, Gruene
2) The Roost
3) Poodie’s, Spicewood
4) Triple Crown, San Marcos
5) Luckenbach Dance Hall, Luckenbach
6) Nutty Brown Cafe
7) The Bugle Boy, La Grange
8) The Backyard
9) Hanover’s, Pflugerville
10) Giddy Ups
Ongoing Music Residency
1) Church on Monday, Continental Club Gallery
2) Motown Monday, the Highball
3) Durawa, Strange Brew
4) James McMurtry, Continental Club
5) Bob Schneider, Saxon Pub
6) Toni Price, Continental Club
7) David Grissom, Saxon Pub
8) Tameca Jones, Continental Club Gallery
9) Jon Dee Graham, Continental Club
10) The Resentments, Saxon Pub
Music Support Nonprofit
1) HAAM
2) Black Fret
3) SIMS
4) Austin Music Foundation
5) Anthropos Arts
Music Business Hall of Fame
1) Casey Monahan
2) Clifford Antone
3) Steve Wertheimer
4) David Cotton
5) Nancy Coplin
AMP “Unsung Hero” Award
Casey Monahan
AMP Esme Barrera Award for Music Activism & Education
Gina Chavez
This article appears in March 13 • 2015.