11/20 Music Awards wrap up

I like a challenge and nothing could have been more challenging then the recent 2006 Central PA Music Awards Ceremony. I’ve put together many shows over the years, but this one was the cream of the crop. I guess the biggest challenge was the timeframe for the awards ceremony after the voting process. I didn’t want to do a show anytime after Thanksgiving because people are just thinking about the holidays and have other plans. So we picked the 16th , only sixteen days after the voting ending. Many thought it was to short of a timeframe and could never be pulled off. They were WRONG!!! Never doubt the abilities of the HBGOnline machine when it comes to putting together a quality show and the promotions needed to get the word out.

Another challenge was keeping everything hush. Only myself, the printer and the trophy place knew of the winners. I wanted it that way to keep the suspense factor built in leading up to the show. I really wanted to tell Summer, aka Single Girl, the results, since she did a great job helping me. Even she did not know until she came to the venue and saw the trophies to cover up the name plaques before sitting them on the table. In fact the people who won, didn’t even know until right before we handed out the award. The look on most of their faces was priceless when I told them to head up to the front of the stage.

I guess the biggest challenge of all was handing out 12 awards and having 8 musical acts play and keep everything running to schedule. Funny story about this. Since I don’t wear a watch, I use my cell phone to keep track of time when doing shows. I didn’t know it at the time, but my cell phone was an hour ahead of the actual time. So I’m going nuts thinking we are an hour behind the schedule I had made up and was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to speed things up to make up time. I wasn’t aware of this time difference until I was standing along side the stage and saw the stage clock. Long story short we finished the night 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Those that have ever done shows with me know that I do not like to fall behind schedule. All acts playing the event have worked with me in the past and I felt confident we could pull it off without many problems.

My main goal when starting the Music Awards was to have a credible recognition of the music related talent based here in Central PA. We never changed anything during the process to have the results questioned. It was straight and to the point. We opened up with nomination for two weeks and then a voting process on ALL nominations during the month of Oct. One vote per email address.

I was asked many times during the ceremony, why not call it the HBGOnline Music Awards. Simple answer was because I wanted a broad reaching name to capture what the awards meant. Yes I set it up and ran everything, but I had nothing to do with those that actually won. That was up to the people who voted and not HBGOnline. Plus in my opinion the name Central PA Music Awards sounds broader than a specific HBGOnline Music Awards. If I would have had something to do with determining the winners, then yes it would have been named after the website.

If you didn’t attend the awards ceremony, you missed the most positive vibe and energy I have ever seen at a show. That’s saying a lot since I’ve been to 100’s of shows over the years. It was great to see all the musicians talking and networking amongst themselves. I wanted this to be a who’s who of Central PA and it was. I can’t say thank you enough for those that attended the event. I do apologize for not being able to talk to those that wanted to talk to me. Some people I was very short with and meant no disrespect. I had a lot going on that night and my main focus was to keep everything running on time. Next year I’ll have more people helping out with the ceremony, so I can spend more time chatting with everyone that wants to talk.

I guess what really struck me and was totally unexpected, was the recognition given to the website and myself publicly on stage by the presenters, bands receiving awards and playing the show. I was really awe struck by Maria from the X at the end of the show saying what she did to the crowd about me. Everyone’s comments and remarks were greatly appreciated!!! I have said many times that I felt this was the most thankless jo,b but on Thursday Night I was deeply appreciative of the comments made and the applause and cheers of the crowd when made. Since the Awards Ceremony I’ve gotten over 100 emails from musicians and fans stated what an incredible night it was and they can’t wait for next year.

I guess equally flattering was the surprise of seeing The Gorgonites and members of Lotus Blue with a moustache to mock mine. Wish we could have got that group shot photo. Not sure if I should be flattered or take it as a sign to shave it off.

I would like to say thank you to all the bands that played the event. AWESOME JOB!!! Thank you to all the presenters of the awards. A BIG THANK YOU to all the people that attended the awards ceremony. Thanks to Summer for helping me put this all together. Thanks to JD Productions for an awesome light show. Thanks to Photo Guy and Ralph K for all the photos. Thanks to Jersey Mike and ABC for allowing us to have the show at their venue. Special thanks to Seventh Wave Studio for their sponsorship of the awards. Finally thank you to everyone that took the time to vote for your favorites.

Finally to wrap up my awards show comments, I overheard a conversation of some band members talking between themselves. They were sort of pissed off they didn’t take the awards seriously and made mention that next year they need to do more to hopefully win one. That made my night because my goal of having a credible recognition for the awards was just verified by these band members.

I’m sure just like our website, others will try to copy what we did with the awards. This is Central PA and not many people have the foresight to come up with their own ideas. That’s ok because there are leaders and followers. HBGOnline has always been and will always be the leader with new and innovated ways to promote Central PA’s local music scene. Next year the awards will be bigger and better, that is my promise to you!!!

If you did go to the Awards Ceremony I would appreciate your comments about the event. What did you like, dislike and your overall thoughts regarding the show. I will use the info to improve next year’s event. Send your comments to jimo@hbgonline.com

I’d like to mention quickly we have restocked our HBGOnline logo t-shirts and had two new designs recently printed. The “I may be ugly, but I’m in a band” and “Support Local Music – Sleep with a musician” t-shirts got a lot of comments at the show. Show your support of our website by getting a shirt and wearing it out to help spread the word. We’ll have an order page set up in the next few days for you to purchase online.

Since the awards process has taken so much of my time, I now will be focusing on the website to get the updates done and start some new features I’ve been wanting to do. So make sure you check the site everyday to see what has been updated.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and be sure if you go out, see a live band!!!

Lator Gators - BigJim