WRITTEN BY BRIAN LUSH
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHELLE LANDSCHOOT

[REDONDO BEACH, CA ] ROCKWIRED attended the FOURTH ANNUAL SOUTH BAY MUSIC AWARDS on Saturday November 10, 2007 at the REDONDO BEACH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. I was invited to present two awards for the evening; BEST PUNK BAND and BEST ROCK BAND OR ARTIST. After weeks of not knowing what I would be presenting, it was a sweet relief to learn that I was given good categories to present.

In stepping out for this event, I got re-acquainted with many of the artists that I have showcased in the past year or the year previously. Blues artist and ROCKWIRED AWARD winner PEACH was the first person I ran into. "I just love the award (the ROCKWIRED AWARD) you gave me." she exclaimed, reaching up to embrace me. Awesome lady!!!

The second familiar face was publicist DOUG DEUTSCH of DOUG DEUTSCH PUBLICITY SERVICES. The evening seemed frantic and disorganized, with the will call box not knowing anything about a VIP list and the bartenders (models seemingly) asking the patrons to use exact change when purchasing drinks from a bar that looked like a last minute mad dash to ALBERTSON’S. A picture with DOUG and I would’ve been nice but the guy was busy. Maybe next time.

JAY GORDON of JAY GORDON AND THE PENETRATORS was the winner for BEST BLUES ARTIST. When I interviewed him this past summer, He invited me of his shows. Because of a lack of time and work being what it was, I was never able to make it. Later that evening, after recieving his award, GORDON and his band delivered a blistering performance.

NEVERWONDER walked away with BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND award. It ‘s always great seeing the brothers RAMOS (VINCENT and DRE). This night was special for me, personally. I got to meet NEVERWONDER’s new lead vocalist, MEGAN BOBO. MEGAN was there with the band to receive their award, already taking her place as a member of one of the coolest bands to come to ROCKWIRED. I can’t wait to actually hear what’s been cooking in the studio with these guys. A performance from the band would’ve been great.

That’s not to say that that evening didn’t have excellent performances. The performances where earnest, and heartfelt and varied from the roadhouse blues of JAY GORDON, to the intimate jazzy acoustic performance of AMBER RUBARTH (an artist that ROCKWIRED would love to get in touch with), the expected SoCal pluckiness of RODNEY, the pop princess theatrics of ELLEEVEN (whose name the hosts kept getting wrong –"It rhymes with ten" harped the young diva after receiving her award for BEST VIDEO) and the roaring sounds of THE FEISTY PIRANHAS.

The clear winner as far as live performances of the evening are concerned, was a band called SOLARCADE. This was the only performance of the evening that brought me on my feet with my fists pounding in the air. Their sound will definitely recall THE KILLERS (whom they were the supporting act for on a recent tour) and U2 (especially on the second song they performed).

SOLARCADE was the winner BEST ROCK BAND OR ARTIST; an award I presented. I wanted nothing more than to congratulate these guys however, I was too busy trying to figure out how I was going to exit the stage, once I announced the winner.

The event was hosted by LEE REHERMAN (HAWK of AMERICAN GLADIATORS) and SUMMER JAMES. If I was sweating bullets at the disorganization of the event, HAWK and SUMMER were dodging them. The banter amongst the audience proved to be a little more entertaining than these two sports trying navigate the event to it’s logical conclusion – a paycheck and good bye.

The performances made the evening and it was great seeing some familiar faces as well as being able to put faces to some of the names that have come through ROCKWIRED for the past few years.

A NIGHT OUT
HERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE FOURTH ANNUAL SOUTHBAY MUSIC AWARDS. CLICK A PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN BY MICHELLE LANDSCHOOT.