Jun 30, 2009

The 11th Annual Athens Flagpole Music Awards

Highlights, Results, Photos and Video!

The Flagpole Athens Music Awards are always entertaining and unpredictable, and this year's ceremony was no exception. Deaf Judges came decked out in beach attire, Brit Brit and Madge made a surprise guest appearance (yes, there was a kiss!) and the king of unpredictability himself, country rocker and YouTube legend Clay Leverett, made a few "too soon" jokes about the recently departed King of Pop. Sorry about that… such are the perils of improvisation.

As we recognized the talent's of today and tomorrow's rising stars, there was also time for reflection and fond remembrances. Jeff Fallis' opening poem, "The True Golden Era," set the tone perfectly with it's witty summation of Athens' music history and that great local myth—held by every generation of Athenians—that their time in town represented the pinnacle of our music scene. While the bitter loss of the Georgia Theatre was still fresh on everyone's mind, presenter Wilmot Greene was on hand to assure us of his dedication to rebuilding the burned down landmark. It was comforting and inspiring to see Greene in such great form as he shared candid stories about his time in Athens and his love for our music scene and the Theatre. The acts that he presented awards to—jam, tribute, country and world—were all eager to show their support for the Theatre's revival as well. Greene even had a chance to take a swing at our co-MC: "The only thing left from the Georgia Theatre fire," he quipped, "is Clay Leverett's tab."

Big thanks go out to our surprise guest presenter, Mr. Richard LaFleur, a longtime Athens music fan and Ciné regular who presenter Jeff Tobias pulled out of the audience to take his place as he rushed off stage to work the door at Farm 255. "I don't know who this man is," said bewildered co-presenter Joel Hatstat, "but we are going to have great chemistry."

Receiving special recognition this year was the UGA Music Business Program for their outstanding outreach and education efforts in the music community. We also introduced the the first Flagpole Award for Best Local Music video, which was won by acclaimed local directors Jason Miller and Ethan Payne. Even though we had some technical glitches while screening the films, the always impeccable pit band, Kenosha Kid, was quick to fill in the breaks by improvising the video songs.

Live performances were especially strong this year across the board, from the Hoopdancers introduction to Lazer/Wülf's blazing metal finale. AthFest got off to a great start, and that momentum was carried throughout the weekend.

Michelle Gilzenrat

Reading:

"The True Golden Era" by local poet Jeff Fallis
Performance:

Deaf Judges
Opening Remarks

with Flagpole Music Editor Michelle Gilzenrat and Publishers Alicia Nickles and Pete McCommons
Performance:

Athens Hoopdance
Presentation of Awards:
- Jazz
- Experimental
- Electronic/DJ
- Hip-Hop/Rap
presented by "Madonna" and "Britney"
Performance:

Art Rosenbaum
Presentation of Awards:
- Roots/Americana
- Solo Performer
- Album Cover Art
presented by Trent Allen of Dreams So Real
Performance:

Casper and the Cookies
Presentation of Special Award:

presented by Flagpole Writer/Blogger Jordan Stepp
Performance:

Creepy (part one)
Creepy (part two)
Just talkin' but still fun:

featuring Wilmot Greene, Georgia Theatre Owner
Presentation of Awards:
- Tribute Band
- Jam/Funk
- Country
- World
presented by Wilmot Greene, Georgia Theatre Owner
Performance:

Dead Confederate
Presentation of Awards:
- Pop
- Rock
- Punk/Hardcore
- Metal
presented by Pastor of Muppets
Performance:

Betsy Franck and Lefty Hathaway
Presentation of Awards:
- Best Live Band
- Best Album
- Upstart of the Year
- Band/Performer of the Year
presented by Joel Hatstat and Jeff Tobias of Pegasuses-XL with special appearance by Rick LaFleur
Performance:

Lazer/Wülf (part one)
Lazer/Wülf (part two)