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In revisiting the past nine years of the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, it's interesting to see how the awards adapted to the times.
The late '90s Ska boom necessitated a category to recognize the multitude of bands with bad Ska puns for names, and the even shorter-lived Swing craze made us couple "Swing" with the Jazz category for a brief moment in time. "Alternative" music's category has seen more name changes than a six-time divorcée.
But most interesting and satisfying has been recognizing the wealth of talent this city has and how it seems to keep growing. In those early years, it was sometimes difficult to find four nominees for each category. This year, we had no trouble coming up with at least five nominees for each genre, and that's even after expanding the number of categories.
Every year we've learned a little something about how to make the whole project go smoother, growing our nominating committee and working out the technical problems at the ceremonies that seem to happen every year. But the "show" is only one part of the CEA experience.
Ultimately, people seem to be drawn to the event's communal, party atmosphere. Proving that point, when we asked longtime CityBeat staffers to come up with some of their favorite memories from CEAs past, I received mostly foggy recollections that often referenced how drunk the person was or how they missed the show because they spent the whole time in the beer tent or out front smoking. There was a lot of "That one year when I passed out in my car" (ahem, CityBeat Arts & Entertainment Editor Jason Gargano) and "I think that was the year I got really drunk — or was that every year?"
(cough, cough, CityBeat Editor/co-founder John Fox), but few could even remember the actual year any of these things happened.
Despite our booze intake, here are our CEA memoirs as best we can remember. Sunday's ceremony at the Taft Theater looks to be another stellar celebration — I might just bring a video camera to document things, so in another 10 years we'll have concrete evidence that these shows are a hell of a lot fun.
1997
Date/Place: Nov. 24, Sycamore Gardens (most recently known as Red Cheetah) in Over-the-Rhine.
Host: Jared Doran (as "Mrs. Sorken")
Performers: Lee Harvey Skaswald, Uncle Daddy & the Family Secret, IsWhat?!, PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, The Tigerlilies, The Bears
Big Winners: The Fairmount Girls (New Artist of the Year), Space Age Love Songs by The Tigerlilies (Album of the Year), The Tigerlilies (Artist of the Year)
Notable Winners: Over the Rhine (Ambassador for Cincinnati, beating out 98 Degrees!), H-Bomb Ferguson (Blues), Big In Iowa (Rock, beating out The Greenhornes), SHAG (R&B/Funk, featuring future CEA winner Freekbass)
Where Are They Now?: Local female Hip Hop/R&B group Nadanuf signed with Reprise Records and promptly disappeared after being nominated at the first CEAs for best R&B/Funk act.
Hall of Fame inductee: The Bears
Memories: I remember the first CEA show fondly (I was still drinking hard at the time, so my memories are beer-flavored and fuzzy like the rest of my co-workers'). It seemed like a novel idea for our city and something that altweeklies around the country had been doing. The Enquirer cut in line and staged their similar event first (at the same venue!), something that pissed us off (we felt they moved faster on their concept once they heard we were doing it too) but also made us work harder to make it funkier, like we do with the actual paper.
My most thrilling moment happened before the doors even opened. I wandered in as The Bears, who hadn't played in front of people in nine years, were doing a late afternoon soundcheck. As a longtime Raisins/Bears fanatic, I got chills as they ran through "Superboy," looking like it was literally the first time they'd played it since their last concert. It was one of those moments when I felt lucky to have my job.
The Tigerlilies were the big winners, taking home three statues, and their performance was also eye-popping, featuring a pair of scantily clad exotic dancers (Gargano says of their performance: "My sister-in-law was so aghast she ran for the exit"). The theater crowd (the music and theater CEAs were awarded in the same ceremony during the event's first eight years) looked stunned as well, just as the musical folks seemed bemused by the soliloquy delivered by Bill Hartnett as Mark Twain. It was the first and last time the CEAs were held in a bar; as Fox says, "The theater/music marriage didn't get off to a good start — it was too hard to hear the theater performances in the bar atmosphere."
I remember how great it felt to have such an eclectic group of musicians (who even got all gussied up for the affair) together in one place. To me, having the theater audience there gave it an extra layer of cross-cultural goodness. The show ran relatively smoothly, but, being the first year, there were some bugs in the system, most notably during Jerry Springer's award presentation video, which was uglier than his daytime TV show thanks to some technical difficulties.
There were just 13 categories (no Country or Bluegrass ones) and four nominees in each one in this first year. Checking in on the ever-adaptable category names, the Alternative music category was called Modern/Underground.
1998
Date/Place: Nov. 23, Taft Theater, Downtown
Host: Jim Scott and Mojo Nixon
Performers: Rob Fetters, Big In Iowa, Janet Pressley, Watusi Tribe, Throneberry, The Afghan Whigs
Big Winners: Oval Opus (New Artist), Lefty Loose Righty Tight by Rob Fetters (Album), Rob Fetters (Artist)
Notable Winners: Over the Rhine (winning the first Adult Alternative/Adult Contemporary award), 20th Century Big Band (short-lived Swing house band at the 20th Century Theater), Brothers First (winning the first Country/Bluegrass award)
Where Are They Now?: Excellent Pop singer/songwriter John Kinney won the Singer/Songwriter category.
Hall of Fame inductee: The Afghan Whigs
Memories: Fourteen categories this year, some incredibly outdated (Jazz was coupled with Swing, and Reggae/Ska made its debut). The plan was to go big and move the show to the gigantic Taft Theater. Despite a closing set by Hall of Fame inductees The Afghan Whigs (who seemed thrilled to be on the big Taft stage and played songs from their just released 1965, plus a transcendent "Faded"), the turnout was disappointing, making the place look relatively empty by the end of the night. Before playing, The Whigs disappeared (dinner break, allegedly) and co-host Mojo Nixon and inducter Dan Reed had to stall an already overlong night (Reed did a great job though, with funny recollections about the band's early days, while a drunken Nixon played some off-the-cuff lewd songs on his acoustic).
Fox remembers talking to the Whigs' Greg Dulli backstage, explaining why the band was getting a Hall of Fame induction. But, Fox says, "during his acceptance remarks he says something like, 'I'm not sure why we're receiving this award and I don't know who's actually giving it to us, but we really appreciate it.' But he really did seem humbled and honored — he told me several times that he never thought he and the band were fully appreciated in Cincinnati."
Dulli also said he'd come back and give the induction speech if we ever put the Isley Brothers into the Hall of Fame, something that's become a running joke for the CEAs. We've approached the Isleys on an almost annual basis only to be hit back with outrageous demands (including flying in a full posse from California, first-class). At least we know where Ronald Isley is now (we briefly debated inducting the legendary group and having Isley accept via satellite from his prison cell, where he's serving time for tax-related indiscretions).
Mojo and WLW's Jim Scott were my favorite show hosts in the history of the event. The idea was to have an "odd couple" tandem, with Mojo (who was DJing on WEBN at the time) as the debauched wildman and Scott as the white-bread straight man. Both were amazing in their roles.
Some friends who came to the event razzed me for the constant shout-outs directed at me from the stage, particularly from the large Hip Hop collective Watusi Tribe. Thankfully, the shameless sucking up faded away quickly. Most artists now know the best way to get on my good side: cash and drugs.
1999
Date/Place: Nov. 22, Emery Theater, Over-the-Rhine
Hosts: Rob Williams and Sheila Gray from Fox19
Performers: Otis Williams, David Wolfenberger, The Greenhornes, Roger Klug
Big Winners: All Weather Girl (fronted by Graveblankets collaborator Bridget Otto, New Artist), Alivexchange by Ray's Music Exchange (Album), David Wolfenberger (Artist)
Notable Winners: OB1 (killer Ska band, nominated in the convoluted World/Ethnic/Ska/Reggae category; what were we thinking with that mouthful?), Mood (Hip Hop crew that brought DJ Hi-Tek to a national audience won the Hip Hop category), Kenny Poole (the late, beloved guitarist scored the Jazz award)
Where Are They Now?: Paging All Weather Girl...
Hall of Fame inductee: The King Records family
Memories: The third CEAs featured the event's first and only tie, as Chalk and Roundhead each earned statues in the Alternative/Underground category. Oddly enough, Roundhead's Dan McCabe would go on to become the organizer of the CEAs (the band's Bill Bullock is also a CityBeat employee). This year also featured the unusual category "Local Band With National Ties," which had nominees the Isley Brothers, 98 Degrees, The Afghan Whigs and Blessid Union of Souls. Blessid won.
Fox remembers the Emery being the best place to ever house the CEAs. "We were officially the final event held at the Emery before it shut down for 'repairs,' which haven't been done yet," he says. "The place was pretty messy and gritty. I don't think the heat worked, or maybe it just barely worked." The old-school feel of the ancient theater seemed to appease both the theater and music crowds.
Fox also remembers the old-school Otis Williams, whose band performed a finale tribute to storied local label King Records; Shake It Records' Darren Blase, who inducted the label into the CEA Hall of Fame, said one of King's legacies was that its artists got used to being ripped off. "They wanted to be paid in cash," Fox remembers, "so I walked around most of the night with a wad of money (maybe $500, I don't remember) in my pocket, which I finally handed off to Otis right before they went on."
The thing I remember most was walking home from the theater (I lived just around the corner at the time) and seeing David Wolfenberger heading to his car, clutching his Artist of the Year award. David had this bemused smirk on his face and looked totally out of it when a group of fans/friends drove by and honked their horn, shaking him out of his post-win haze. Musicians can be a jaded bunch, and David might today claim it was no big deal, but seeing him with a victory glow made me realize that, deep down, artists appreciate being recognized for their work, even if they put on an "art shouldn't be a contest!" face.
2000
Date/Place: Nov. 27, Aronoff Center's Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Downtown
Hosts: Rob Williams and Sheila Gray
Performers: The Simpletons, Greg Mahan, The Five Deez, Mike Wade, Tracy Walker, Steve Schmidt and The Fairmount Girls
Big Winners: The Stapletons (New Artist), Some Stupid With a Flare Gun by The Ass Ponys (Album), The Ass Ponys (Artist)
Notable Winners: Eric Diedrichs (won Singer/Songwriter of the year and his band at the time, The Simpletons, won the Rock statue), Animal Crackers (future DMC DJ team champions won the Hip Hop category), Ray's Music Exchange (without a Jam Band category, Ray's were put in Jazz — fitting at the time, with their strong Fusion leanings — and won)
Where Are They Now?: DJ Boom Bip was nominated in the Hip Hop category. He's now an accomplished and internationally heralded Indie artist living in California and working well beyond his Hip Hop roots.
Hall of Fame inductee: Oscar Treadwell
Memories: I have exactly zero memories from the 2000 CEAs, but it wasn't because I was blindingly drunk or dipping into an 8-ball in the bathroom all night (I think that was the following year). It was because I was in San Francisco (along with Fox) attending the wedding of a friend.
According to the post-show write-up, it was very cold, the afterparty rocked at Rock Bottom on Fountain Square and a cute moment happened when a young music student made her partner — who was along only to hold the sheet music — bow to the audience with her during the LINKS presentation (the instruments-for-needy-kids program was the main beneficiary of the CEAs for most years; it remains the charity of choice for the theater CEAs, while funds raised from the music program now go to the Michael Bany Scholarship Fund).
Oscar Treadwell's Hall of Fame induction was also much talked about. Leading up to the event, I remember many musicians talking about how Treadwell's legendary radio broadcasts introduced them to the world of Jazz and how he was a perfect addition to the Hall. Treadwell gave a heartfelt acceptance speech, joking that "longevity has its place." (Sadly, OT passed away this year.) Pianist Steve Schmidt led a quintet of local Jazz stars in a tribute that included two tunes written with OT in mind: Thelonious Monk's "Oska T" and Charlie Parker's "An Oscar for Treadwell."
Because the Emery Theater had closed and the Taft was deemed too cavernous, the CEAs were held at the Aronoff Center's sparkly Jarson-Kaplan Theater, which seemed a good fit for the theater lovers but was a little too glitzy for the musical types — no doubt a make-up for the first year's bar setting. It was also the smallest venue yet, seating a mere 440. The two-tier theater setup did help one segment of the audience, the hecklers. Several drunken music fans hid anonymously in the balcony and shouted insults throughout the night. Rock & Roll! Or something...
2001
Date/Place: Nov. 26, Old St. George, Corryville
Hosts: Sheila Gray and Rob Williams
Performers: Saturday Supercade, Len's Lounge, Bill Caffie, Ruby Vileos, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Chuck Cleaver, Rob Fetters
Big Winners: Ruby Vileos (New Artist), Car Caught Fire by The Bears (Album) and The Ass Ponys (Artist)
Notable Winners: The Scrubs (winners of the first Punk award, a category also lumped in with Ska this year), Cal Collins (also inducted into the Hall of Fame, the legendary guitarist won the Jazz statue despite passing away earlier in the year), Ryan Adcock (the Singer/Songwriter winner jokingly rubbed his win in fellow nominee Eric Diedrichs' face while accepting)
Where Are They Now?: Phammilly Impulze, a cool but short-lived Hip Hop band with live instrumentation, were nominated in the Hip Hop category alongside Mood, Hi-Tek and winners IsWhat?!
Hall of Fame inductee: Cal Collins
Memories: The CEAs don't just celebrate local bands — sometimes they help create them, too. Chuck Cleaver of The Ass Ponys couldn't get his full band together to perform, so he offered to do a short acoustic set. To flesh it out, he brought along friend Lisa Miller (now Walker), and it must've been a good experience, because they went on to form the successful Indie band Wussy, who would be nominated for several CEAs in future years.
This was the first year at the Old St. George and marked a new, hipper direction, as Dan McCabe took over the ceremony's planning duties. Dan went above and beyond the call, culling funny/bizarre video clips from local filmmakers to be shown during the nominee announcements and decking out the old church with an array of light designs. It looked incredible ... sound was another issue. The church's acoustics weren't designed for Rock bands, so Saturday Supercade's explosive opening set echoed throughout the hall like a gazillion Super Balls. Dan learned to work with the sonic nightmare over the years, booking gentler or acoustic acts, but he still liked to stir shit up with the occasional display of bombast.
All of the performances were spectacular this year, but the theater crowd stole the fire when a cross-dressed Todd Almond and a cast of local musicians did a number from Hedwig and the Angry Inch and provided the ultimate highlight. The Glam Rock musical was an ideal production for the CEAs to showcase, the literal crossover point between the theater and Rock & Roll worlds.
Old St. George turned out to be a great venue for the event, despite the sound problems (Jason Gargano fondly recalls the church's many "glorious nooks and crannies" where many new "friendships" were formed, and the beer tent and outdoor potties were the most popular hang-out spots). McCabe approached the venue like a blank canvas and created something groovy and fittingly "alternative" for the ever-growing event.
Videos of the musical performances from 2001 can be seen at citybeat.com/cea/show2001.html#.
2002
Date/Place: Nov. 25, Old St. George
Hosts: Sheila Gray and Rob Williams
Performers: Thee Shams, Boom Bip, Jake Speed, Readymaid, Kim Taylor, Mike Wade, IsWhat?!
Big Winners: Kim Taylor (New Artist), Seed to the Sun by Boom Bip (Album) and Jake Speed (Artist)
Notable Winners: Buckra (one of the hardest working/hardest promoting bands in town saw their hard work pay off with a win in Alternative/Indie), Tropicoso (Latin fever came to the CEAs, as this Salsa/Merengue crew took home the best World/Ethnic/Reggae prize; no, there weren't any Reggae bands nominated), Freekbass (the Funk faves won one of many CEAs in the Funk/R&B category, this year in front of their mentor, Bootsy Collins)
Where Are They Now?: Readymaid (nominated in the Album, Artist and Alternative/Indie categories) still live on in various bands around town ... but, gosh, I miss them.
Hall of Fame inductee: Bootsy Collins
Memories: Bootsy was the big story this year. His profile locally wasn't quite what it is now, meaning everyone was clamoring to get their pic taken with the Funk legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. By all accounts, Bootsy and his entire entourage were incredibly gracious and a pleasure to work with, making that extra expense of paying for a giant, funky stretch limo a little easier to swallow. Jason Gargano remembers Bootsy getting stuck in the venue's tiny bathroom for what seemed like hours, talking to fans and fellow musicians (he said that the space was so small Bootsy's giant hat fell off and into his stall).
Readymaid (have I mentioned how much I loved this band?) gave a spellbinding performance, utilizing the church to great effect by cobbling together a giant back-up chorus of singers. The sound hovered around Old St. George, as opposed to the crashing, crushing sound of most full bands that played there over the years (including Thee Shams, who did an ear-splitting opening set). And Readymaid singer Jason Snell was like an old-time preacher, as he sang while sashaying up the church's center aisle.
Boom Bip also played a knock-out set, debuting his full band for the first time. Unfortunately, most people left during his Avant Indie performance, heading to the afterparty at the now-closed Cody's Café across the street to get a jump start on the carousing.
2003
Date/Place: Nov. 24, Old St. George
Host: Regina Carswell from Fox19
Performers: Over the Rhine, Pearlene, William Menefield, Ma Crow, The Five Deez, The Light Wires
Big Winners: Cari Clara (New Artist), The First One Hundred Years by Mallory (Album) and Pearlene (Artist)
Notable Winners: Mojenjo Daro (probably the most World Music group in all of Cincinnati took home the World statue this year), Bottom Line (winners of the Punk prize, the group went on to announce a record deal with Maverick a few years later), Natalie Wells (I was sitting behind Natalie when her name was announced as winner in theBlues category; she seemed genuinely dumbfounded, and her friends and family members were practically in tears)
Where Are They Now?: Perhaps crushed by the expectations that come with winning the Album of the Year trophy, Mallory disappeared after the CEAs and never managed to follow up their stellar debut.
Hall of Fame inductee: Over the Rhine
Memories: Regina Carswell (now Regina Russo) debuted as host, the first event of a three-year run (Fox says she bought "extra hair" for the occasion). Pearlene opened the night with an explosive, soulful set (hindered slightly by the bad sound) that featured back-up singers and singer/guitarist Reuben Glaser's new beard.
Hall of Famers Over the Rhine were inducted by city councilman and diehard arts supporter Jim Tarbell; he was followed by a chill-inducing solo piano performance of "Ohio" by OTR's Karin Bergquist. Fox remembers standing next to Karin's OTR/domestic partner Linford Detweiler as she played. Detweiler asked if the show was running long (duh, it always did) and John casually said, "Yes." "He asked if it would help if OTR didn't do a second song and I said, 'Sure, I guess,' " Fox remembers. "When Karin finished, Linford waved her off the stage." Taking one for the local music team!
The Light Wires hypnotized the audience with their stunning display of creative, celestial Americana, but it was the Five Deez who really shook the crowd up. The Hip Hop group had just returned that day from a tour of Europe, but they didn't look any worse for the wear, launching into a set that was highly aerobic ... literally. The group made like Jane Fonda and performed what looked like an exercise routine as they played one of the tracks on their then-new album. Most in the crowd didn't know what to think.
2004
Date/Place: Nov. 22, Old St. George
Host: Regina Carswell
Performers: Heartless Bastards, Culture Queer, Big Joe Duskin, Ali Edwards, Derrick Sanderson's Soul Expression, The Sidecars, The Chocolate Horse
Big Winners: Cathedrals (New Artist), Supersize It Under Pontius Pilate by Culture Queer (Album) and Thee Shams (Artist)
Notable Winners: The Sundresses (the rowdy Punk/Blues/ Indie trio might have burned the church down if they hadn't won best Alternative/Indie; we'll never know, 'cause they did win), Kathy Wade (the civic-minded event and charity organizer and staunch arts supporter scored the Jazz award), Jackass (continued their dominance of the Hard Rock/Metal category for one final year)
Where Are They Now?: The Ropers, a side project featuring members of Buckra and Admiral Walker, were up for best "R&B/Funk" but folded a year or so later when guitarist PJ Herrington moved to Austin, Tex.
Hall of Fame inductee: Big Joe Duskin
Memories: The theme this year: falling apart. While the ceremony was excellent, Old St. George was crumbling all around us, quite literally. Spotlights could not be positioned in the balcony because the stairwell had collapsed. The performance by new Hall of Fame member, Blues hero Big Joe Duskin (who was in a wheelchair), was a bit of a mess as well; the all-star backing band did its best to follow Joe, but the sound system and Joe's age made it (endearingly) shambolic. It was, fittingly, the last CEAs at Old St. George; the venue is shuttered now, and its future remains up in the air.
Everyone seems to remember singer/songwriter Ali Edwards of Ruby Vileos delivering a mesmerizing solo performance. And Culture Queer ended the night with a bang (courtesy of their kaleidoscopic Pop sound and confetti cannons). The Heartless Bastards (up for Artist of the Year despite not yet releasing their breakthrough debut CD on Fat Possum Records) opened the night and introduced a lot of future fans to Erika Wennerstrom's stunning vocal prowess.
We got the categories closer to right this year, extending to honor the local Electronic, Experimental and Jam Band musicians in town. C. Spencer Yeh won the first Experimental/ Electronic award for his work as Burning Star Core. He also delivered the greatest acceptance speech in CEA history, speaking some sort of elfin or alien or made-up language and leaving the audience wondering what nationality he was.
2005
Date/Place: Nov. 21, Taft Theater, Downtown
Host: Regina Carswell
Performers: Cathedrals, 500 Miles to Memphis, Heartless Bastards, John Von Ohlen, Marvin and the Experience, Czar*Nok, The Greenhornes
Big Winners: Staggering Statistics (New Artist), Stairs and Elevators by Heartless Bastards (Album) and Heartless Bastards (Artist)
Notable Winners: Robin Lacy and DeZydeco (they won the World statue, though during their acceptance speech they seemed unsure that they fit in the category), Foxy Shazam (the manic rockers won the Hard Rock/Metal category despite a sound that doesn't fit in any category), Hungry Lucy (the Trip Pop duo won their first CEA, in the Experimental/Electronic category)
Where Are They Now?: Too soon to say.
Hall of Fame inductee: John Von Ohlen
Memories: It's funny, but we all seem to have more memories from earlier shows than we do from more recent ones. It's probably the result of a tighter ship being run on the organizational end. Not that this year was flawless, but the show is now running so smoothly that the number of things that stick in your mind (usually bad things like drinking mishaps or production glitchs) goes down slightly.
The CEAs returned to the Taft Theater and split off from the theater portion to become music-only this year. Memories of the scant Taft crowd in 1998 were still with us, but we were thrilled by the large turnout, which improved over the best Old St. George years. McCabe took advantage of the bigger setting, bringing in a huge, light-bedazzled backdrop that looked like something out of a Lindsay Lohan video. The performances sounded great through the Taft's big, boomin' system, a far cry from our Old St. George nightmares. Alas, the show ran a tad long, cutting short the Heartless Bastards' closing set to the dismay of those who stuck around (which was most of the audience).
Marvin and the Experience put on a big spectacular, with back-up dancers and a shit-ton of energy, while rising Hip Hop duo Czar*Nok played a gritty, powerhouse set that ran a little long thanks to myriad special guests. But John Von Ohlen pretty much stole the show, graciously excepting his Hall of Fame award and then playing a stunning, effortless set with a trio of fellow local Jazz greats. The drummer is a local icon, and his influence spreads well beyond Jazz. But not all of the rockers were enraptured, as Fox remembers it.
"When John Von Ohlen was playing his thing, two groups in front of me at the Taft started arguing — one was a younger group of rockers or punks who were talking, and the other was an older group who was telling the punks to shut up and listen to this great Jazz guy and show some respect," Fox says. "The punks finally stopped talking."
Newly elected mayor Mark Mallory, who presented an award, was also a big attraction.
"I took (Mallory and his father) backstage, where they hung out with Peter Frampton," Fox recalls. "All the bands wanted their picture taken with the new mayor, and he seemed to enjoy the attention."
The Barnyard Burlesque troupe (an old-school burlesque group with a backwoods twist) served as trophy girls (they're back this year, too). Carswell at one point called them "hookers," but the gals' feelings didn't seem too hurt and they managed to pull off a performance at the afterparty at alchmeize that had everyone drooling.
The afterparty also featured an amazing surprise set from psychodots (featuring three of the four Hall of Fame inductees from The Bears). The 'dots have had some involvement at the awards every years. I joke with singer/guitarist Rob Fetters that we're going to put his high school marching band in the Hall of Fame one year just so we can make sure he's there.
Every year has had its ups and downs, but with last year's event it felt like the show had become what everyone always dreamed it would be. But if this year doesn't work, it's back to the Red Cheetah in '07! ©
