2008 ROCKWIRED AWARDS

CONTENTS HOME BEST MALE ARTIST BEST FEMALE ARTIST BEST BAND BEST ALBUM BEST SONG VOTE NOW!!! POLLS CLOSE FEBRUARY 22, 2008 THE WINNERS  WILL BE ANNOUNCED SATURDAY MARCH 1, 2008 ON ROCKWIREDLIVE WITH YOUR HOST BRIAN LUSH ON CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE

THE NOMINEES FOR BEST ALBUM ARE: 'HONEY AND SALT' DEAD ROCK WEST Few bands successfully walk that delicate line between loud, gritty four-to-the-floor rock n roll and the sweet, plaintive sounds of country as the Los Angeles-based DEAD ROCK WEST. Fronted by lead singers, FRANK LEE DRENNEN and CINDY WASSERMAN, the band is getting numerous comparisons to that other L.A. based band X, fronted by that legendary team of JOHN DOE and EXENE CERVENKA. "It's funny. We've been getting the EXENE CERVENKA/JOHN DOE comparison a lot and I find it kind of curious because when I started the band I was thinking more along the lines of EMMYLOU HARRIS and GRAM PARSONS." says singer/guitarist FRANK LEE DRENNEN. " I just find it curious how people relate to things. I know how I come at it but that doesn't mean that that is going to be a listeners experience." (READ MORE) CLICK HERE TO POST YOUR VOTE FOR DEAD ROCK WEST 'KING KARMA' KING KARMA Just when you thought that good old-fashioned balls-to-the-wall blues-based hard rock was no more, along comes KING KARMA to prove you wrong. They may be slightly under the radar but thats got nothing to do with the raw power of this hard rock foursome. Their self-titled debut( KING KARMA, CENTURION RECORDS), produced by the legendary JIMMY JOHNSON (LYNYRD SKYNYRD, BOB SEGER) is the perfect introduction. It's been a while since we've heard rock n roll served up with this much gusto and passion (vocals by SHAUN WILLIAMSON). Ax-man MARKUS WOLFE gives us one of the great guitar performances in recent years while TODD RONNING on bass and RICK FEDYK on drums provide us with that never failing, thunderous, LED ZEPPELIN-ESQUE rhythm section. KING KARMA are definitely one of the tightest rock n roll packages around (get it out of the gutter!!!). Just give the tracks BREATHE, DEVIL'S ROAD, and I'M LISTENING a spin. This stuff is addicting! (READ MORE) CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL YOUR VOTE FOR KING KARMA 'LOVE'S COME TO TOWN' OLAV LARSEN Speaking as a person who has never visited Norway, I can only assume that the Scandinavian country is a million miles away from where anyone would expect to find a strong concentration of roots-americana music. But then again, ROCKWIRED has been pleasantly surprised in the past ( namely through the rock band HANGFACE - a ROCKWIRED favorite). However, rock music has been global for fifty years now, and no one stateside expects  music as American as Americana to be served up by a man from Norway. Hell, you wouldn't expect a man from Norway making this kind of music to be black. Even folks in Norway don't expect it. "They don't say it but when I make a joke about it, everyone starts to laugh. They almost seem relieved." says OLAV LARSEN of THE ALABAMA RODEO ALL-STARS.  "When they laugh it ussually tells me that they're thinking that it's weird for a man of color to be making this music." (READ MORE) CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL YOUR VOTE FOR OLAV LARSEN 'COTTON POLY-BLEND' VANESSA VAN SPALL Singer-songwriter VANESSA VAN SPALL didn't simply happen upon music. It was something that was always with her. At the age of 16, VAN SPALL recorded a demo that actually ended up in the right hands. A deal was in the works, but life had otehr plans for VANESSA. You see, the deal was never signed. This was no mere oversight by an administrative assistant at some record company. VANESSA simply walked away. "I think was a lot of things; fear of success and fear of failure, and a fear of confronting your dream." says VAN SPALL. "It's like you set this goal for yourself and then suddenly, the possibility of failure is right in front of you. Maybe, I wasn't ready to face that yet at that age. I also kind of felt that my life was pulling me in other directions as well." (READ MORE) CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL YOUR VOTE FOR VANESSA VAN SPALL 'LOST IN AURORA' THE APPEARANCE It's a rock n roll fantasy that couldn't have been scripted better. God knows we've got the perfect scenery in Orange County for a story like this one. ALAN OAKES walked away from a band that he had been the guitarist for and took the time to write some songs. A few beats later, a friend of a friend has money to burn and gives ALAN the chance to demo some songs. Why? That was unclear when I spoke to ALAN OAKES. Besides, it's not important. What is important is that this benefactor liked the demos that results and gave ALAN what every musician needs; time and money to record a full length CD. With due haste, OAKES rounded up three other fellas (CHAD KULENGOSKY - guitars, JASON NELSON - bass, and JUSTIN McCARTHY - drums) and this project/band got nicked THE APPEARANCE. A year and some change later, THE APPEARANCE is nomiated for an OCMA award, and the release of their debut CD LOST IN AURORA is just around the corner (May 22, 2007 through ADRENALINE MUSIC GROUP). (READ MORE) CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL YOUR VOTE FOR THE APPEARANCE