[Dixielandjazz] Music awards of our own

[billsharp]

Take a look at this list of awards - -then read my comments afterwards:
V    Where is the music going?  Nowhere near OKOM.(Our Kind Of Music)
>     Here's the list of performers who won at the Austin Music Awards  
> (http://www.austin360.com/calendar/content/events/stories/2007/03/ 
> 15awardwinners.html). Note that the winner under Jazz was Blaze  
> (who/whatever that is) and that the closest any group came to OKOM is  
> under Novelty, with the White Ghost Shivers  
> (http://www.whiteghostshivers.com/ ) winning (actually, somewhat of an  
> achievement even in that category).
>     As a friend of mine explained, all of these bands and categories  
> carry the invisible label of "guitar-based".  Thus the answer is  
> clear: play an electric guitar (and maybe also for good measure, an  
> electric bass) in your OKOM band, even to get noticed by anyone in  
> this crowd.  Y'all also need to let your hair (if you have any left)  
> grow, or maybe comb your eyebrows up over your bald head . . .
>
> Band of the Year: Asleep at the Wheel
> Musician of the Year: Patrice Pike
> Best New Band: Band of Heathens
> Rock: Patrice Pike
> Punk: Riverboat Gamblers
> Metal: Powderburn
> Industrial/Goth: Lucid Dementia
> DJ: DJ Mel
> Indie: the Octopus Project
> Jazz: Blaze
> Blues: Gary Clark Jr.
> Hip Hop: Overlord
> Instrumental: the Octopus Project
> Experimental: the Octopus Project
> Country: Asleep at the Wheel
> Bluegrass: South Austin Jug Band
> Roots Rock: Mother Truckers
> Folk: the Hudsons
> Latin Traditional: Del Castillo
> Latin Contemporary: Grupo Fantasma
> World Music: Tea Merchants
> Cover Band: Skyrocket
> Kid Band: Sara Jarosz
> Novelty: White Ghost Shivers
> None of the Above: Brobdingnagian Bards
>
And now my take on this whole Awards thing, and I've thought this for  
years - - -An Hypothesis:  Perhaps this is one of the reasons that we  
have trouble surviving. WE HAVE NO AWARDS SHOW !  there is no reason  
that we couldn't have one, if even on a small scale.   We could pick a  
major festival, such as Sacramento , and make it a site for own own set  
of awards, picking bands and musicians from all over the country
  ( perhaps world)  to honor, and MAKE A BIG DEAL OF IT - -Also, perhaps  
contact a television studio,( PBS?), or convince someone making a  
documentary to record the proceedings and air the results.   What would  
we call our awards statue?  the "Louie" ?

WE could make it a real dress-up-walk-the-red carpet-affair, with the  
press and everything.

Sit back, close your eyes and just imagine this  announcement . . . ."  
Ladies and Gentlemen,  welcome to this, an annual awards ceremony where  
we honor those responsible for keeping early instrumental and  
traditional music alive . .  .Ladies and Gentlemen  - - - The OKOM  
AWARDS !"   (    . . .followed by  uproarious cheering, applauding, and  
the flashing of cameras).

O.K. those of you with an imagination  . . . start making it happen.   
Major Festival organizers (or anyone with a voice in these kinds of  
things),  - --Are you listening?  Make it happen at your festival  
before someone else with gumption decides to because, all prejudice  
aside, this is a terrific idea . . .. or so I've been told.

Hey - -at least start  with a plan - -start small and build!  What  
could we do, staring today?