Saturday, May 9 was a day of firsts.  First MAMAs show at the Overture Center.  First time for capturing pre-show red carpet interviews.  It was also the first MAMAs awards show for yours truly.  The annual music awards show is in its 7th year running, and I wanted to blog a day-in-the-life of a MAMAs staffer shadowing Matt Jacoby to try to capture the energy of the day.  Here are some highlights:

7:58 I grab coffee at Espresso Royale Cafe while Matt calls the security staff at the Overture Center to let us in.  We’re early.

8:10 Matt and I enter the Capitol Theater through the load-in entrance.  We proceed to the stage to explore the space.

8:20 Load-in of drums, amps, and equipment begins as we greet members of the Overture Center security staff as well as Rick.

9:00 I take a quick breather in the smaller green room back stage while Matt and Rick move equipment vehicles.  We’re in the interesting position of having an extra 50″ TV.  Will we find a use for it?  Will we have time to plan for this?  It looks to be a very busy day.

9:09 Matt and I begin camera setup in lobby.  All parts are present and appear to be ready to go…  It seems as if we’re still ahead of schedule.  A solid start!

9:19 A pow-wow meeting with Matt and we head to the stage.  I hit my head on the low-hanging stage lights as I type this blog entry on my smart phone.

9:47 Walking around trying to navigate the backstage labyrinth.  The security guards here are friendly and helpful.  They smile as MAMAs folks stop to concentrate on directional signs and then scurry off to get where they need to go.

9:58 Bands begin sound-checking and more staff is begining to fill the house.

10:19 After working on the Local Sounds lobby table setup, we break to listen to Whitney Mann soundcheck and discuss our next moves.

10:51 Matt and I plug in camera in the entry way to the Capitol Theater and do a couple mock interviews to test our setup.  So far, so good!

11:03 Next we test the lighting units.

11:47 Milios subs run for food for crew…  Gotta eat.

12:20 Take a minute to eat some cheese curds from the fine Madison farmers market and enjoy sound check music.

1:03 Cheese curds and sound check music…

1:43 Sound check music and cheese curds…

4:32 I head to the lobby to coordinate with Overture Center technical director, house manager, and master carpenter… It’s getting close to showtime and we need pipes and signage and stantions (oh my…)

5:10 Pizza break while printing signs, show scripts, and line-uos.

6:03 Out in the entry way on red carpet camera.  Ready to roll as artists and attendees file into the Capitol Theater.

6:23 The band The No and Maybe Game enters with a cardboard dolphin.

7:00 Jimmy fires up the organ. Let the 7th annual MAMAs begin!

7:25 Crushin’ All Force fires into a energized dance number.

7:28 Greg Riss is both impressive and delicate in a light piece.

7:32 Good News First rocks the stage.  Their cool, confident stage presence has many in the crowd nodding in approval and tapping their toes.

7:38 Our host John Urban is introduced and offers a few quick quips and humor for all in attendance.

7:43 dumate passionately performs an original piece.

7:51 New performing artist of the year, Whitney Mann!   Very talented singer and band.

7:59 John Masino wins guitarist of the year.  Well done John!

8:02 The Mamas All Star Fusion Band fills the stage with an eclectic band and fills the house with a vibrant tune.

8:11 Teacher of the Year award.

8:20 Beth Kille takes home Folk/Americana song of the year.

8:29 Sunspot fires into the second half of a high-impact double set of songs.

8:58 V05 electrifies with 70s grooves.

9:12 Whitney Mann is as cool as ice as the crowd swoons in approval.  The singer and band silences the crowd with a calm, crooning set.

9:24 Jim Fleming takes home the Lifetime Achievement Award with a heartfelt acceptance speech.

9:32 Lucas Cates Band!  Last year’s big winner with more accolades this year.

9:43 After a well done tribute to Madison artists who have passed Aaron Williams thrills with a bluesy number.

9:58 Stereocolor brings a smile as a talented, young, and (now) award-winning WAM band.

10:12 Madison County performs and reminds all to “enjoy the ride…”.

10:26 MAMAs Chairman Roy Elkins announces Yamaha’s wonderful contribution.

10:38 We all “Drift Away” as musicians and staffers take the stage for a final, combined jam.

(This post was written by Local Sounds team member Eric from New York.  He was able to join us for this year’s Madison Area Music Awards.  Thanks for the contribution Eric!)

The 7th Annual Madison Area Music Awards promises to be the biggest and best yet.  The big news is, we’ve moved the show to the Capitol Theater in the Overture Center.

The date of the awards show is Saturday, May 8th, 2010. Reserve the date now as you won’t want to miss this signature Madison event.  Once again, the MAMAs will be hosted by John Urban.  This year’s special musical guest is Jimmy Voegeli, playing the Capitol Theater organ.

PERFORMING AT THIS YEAR’S MADISON AREA MUSIC AWARDS:

• Aaron Williams & the Hoodoo
• Whitney Mann and Band
• Sunspot
• The Lucas Cates Band
• dumate
• VO5
• MAMAs All-Star Fusion Band (featuring Hanah Jon Taylor, Clyde Stubblefield, Biff Blumfumgagnge, Gary Chin and Louka Patenaude)

More as information will be posted as it becomes available here: http://bit.ly/bQ7h6Q

Next Level Productions and Bellatoria Pizza are proud to present the return of ROCK THE SOUND. This years fundraising efforts go to the Madison Area Music Association, to help them continue to “put instruments in the hands of kids.” This event takes place at Scatz in Middleton WI. on April 3rd. It will feature the absolute best of Madison area all original rock. This line up will also feature the debut of new Faces For Radio drummer, Phill Buerstatte, and the debut of Shawn Brown’s new band The Viscous Circle. Along with the legendary Muzzy Luctin, Cudasigh, The Motherhive Syndicate, Don Bakken, and new comers Transient. This is a show that cannot be missed.

Guitar Center will be giving away a guitar and WJJO’s Kurt Baron will be there to introduce the bands and will be doing call backs to the station during the event. Kurt will also host a special WJJO Local Stage on March 28th, at 9:00pm, that will feature all the bands on this bill.

This is as local as it gets folks. If you’ve ever considered yourself a supporter of the local music scene, you need to be at this show. No more of downtown vs. suburbs, Madison Music scene UNITE, if only for one night.

This show is sponsored by: Bellatoria Pizza, Apparel 1, Capital Brewery, Nuclearview Design, Maximum Ink, Raintite Construction, Megatone Studios, and Guitar Center.

Event URL: http://themamas.org/madison-area-music-award-events/scatz-sports-bar-nightclub-fundraiser/

Event URL to Share: http://bit.ly/cOFFd7

Next Level Productions Interview http://magazine.localsounds.org/

The MAMA 2010 Nominee Announcement Party will be held Saturday, March 27th at the Brink Lounge.

The Nominee Announcement Party is more than just revealing, for the first time, who the nominees are for the final round of voting. It is an exciting evening of live music, television coverage, celebrity guests, plus a silent auction, door prizes and raffle items. This is the second largest event next to our annual awards show and is just about as much fun.

MAMA 2010 Nomination Party
Silent auction, raffle, appetizers, entertainment, 2010 MAMA Nominees announced

$10 at the door

7pm  Waunakee Fiddle Band – Waunakee High School students
8:15pm  Chick Songwriters – Beth Kille , Julia McConahay and Katelyn Adzima (accompanied by Jaye Barbeau)

9:30pm  Madison County

Registration for the Madison Area Music Awards 2010 is now open at www.themamas.org. The 7th Annual Madison Area Music Awards will be held May 8th at the Capitol Theater in the Overture Center.

All musicians who make music in the greater Madison area are encouraged to enter. Last year, over 50 awards were given to artists in Album, Song, Live Performance and Instrumentalist categories. This year the MAMAs have added a Hard Rock/Punk genre to the award roll. The finalists and winners are determined by peer and fan voting.

Broadjam.com, an international music website, will sponsor all Album entries submitted to the MAMAs. In addition, Good ‘n Loud Music, a local music instrument retailer, will sponsor all Instrumentalist and Youth award registrations. Eligible artists will receive one free entry in these categories. All other registration fees are $10 per entrant per category. The annual $5 membership in the MAMAs is required to submit and vote. Below are the key dates:

• October 5, 2009 – Open registration
• January 15, 2010 – Registration ends
• February 1, 2010 – First voting round begins
• March 18, 2010 – First voting round ends
• March 28, 2010 – Final round of voting starts
• April 28, 2010 – Final voting ends

May 8, 2010 – 7th Annual Madison Area Music Awards – Overture Center, Capitol Theater
Past winners of MAMAs include a virtual who’s who in the Madison music scene. To qualify artists need to live in or play more than half of their gigs in Dane County.

For more information or for interviews, contact:

Rick Tvedt
rick@themamas.org
608-250-2565

Roy Elkins
roy@broadjam.com
608-271-3633

MAMAs MISSION STATEMENT

MAMAs, Inc. is organized and operates exclusively for charitable or educational purposes, as defined in Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The mission of the MAMAs is to support the preservation and expansion of all forms of music education in the Madison area, and to encourage and promote the artistic advancement of our emerging musical youth.

MAMAs VISION STATEMENT

In furtherance of our charitable purpose, MAMA, Inc. has created and presents the annual Madison Area Music Awards ceremony, with the purpose of (1) raising public awareness of the need to preserve and support the existence of music education in our public schools and other community institutions, (2) encourage and promote the advancement of musicians and others in the Madison area by recognizing their musical achievements as well as the achievements of outstanding music students and music educators, and (3) provide promotional support for the Madison music economy as a whole. MAMA, Inc. seeks to establish three other annual events to further carry out its charitable mission and to keep the awareness of the need for music education in the public eye year-round.

MAMA, Inc. also seeks to carry out the following:

• Provide opportunities for professional, semi-professional and student musicians who are interested in pursuing careers in music to learn about the music industry
• Provide forums for young musicians and others in the Madison area to participate in live performances
• Become advocates for music education by working cooperatively through the Madison School Board and with others
• Establish a school instrument repair program
• Create, support and fund music education events presented in the schools in the form of assemblies
• Create an endowment fund to provide music education scholarships