Blue Pike Awards in Review
By Lucas Scotts
Earlier this month, Sunday January 6th, an Independent music event kicked off its inaugural affair that set the stage for local Indie Music Artists to be honored with the accolades that they have not only deserve, but have earned as well.
The Blue Pike Independent Music Awards was created by a union of local music and art experts. Bob Jensen, Mark Tannenbaum, Michael Bennett, and Tavon Markov to offer an alternative forum for local musicians who have dedicated their time and talents to their craft, the art of music.
E R I Jams Magazine is proud to announce a series of articles in the coming weeks that will feature the insanely talented musical artists that were honored with awards at what has been a long awaited event to fill the gap in our Indie Music scene.
Bob Jensen of the incredible talented musical group Pegasus Unicorn has be an musician, promoter, and advocate of your scene for decades, and what should be described as a charter member of Basement Transmissions Records since the early years.
Founded by John Johnston in 1998, Basement Transmissions Records has been an iconic figure in the local music scene, and has released 25 albums of original local music, including releases from artists Telephonics, Black Rose Diary and Professor Small, along with many others.
As a promoter of live Independent music throughout our City, Jensen established Basement Transmissions as a physical entity, and an all-ages venue, that has been home to hundreds of shows and countless artists, covering all genres of music.
Since 1971, Mark Tannenbaum has been involved in the local art and music scene and has appeared in innumerable theatrical productions at both the Erie Playhouse and other theaters, in addition to co-founding the comedy troop, In All Seriousness.
In 2012, Tannenbaum established the Performance Artist’s Collective Alliance, (PACA), a non-profit venue for the performing and visual arts, original music, and innovative theatre. PACA not only offers a space for performance, it is also an incubator of artistic education.
Michael Bennett, AKA, Fazed Cookies, has been a DJ on local Gannon Radio 90.5 WERG since 2005, and has brought independent and underground music to the Erie airwaves. Dedicating his show to showcasing the brightest and most talented Independent musicians our area has to offer, Bennett has promoted our scene as avidly as he has the musicians who keep it alive.
With deep roots in our local music scene, Tavon Markov has shared his experience as a skilled light and sound technician that he developed over the years. Working with local performing arts productions and as a soundman in various Erie venues, including the Docksider Tavern and the Crooked i where he has been the lead production manager since the venue first opened its doors.
In addition, Markov has produced countless albums for local artists at his own studio, Horizontal Experiment Productions.
The Award Winners of the this year’s Blue Pike Independent Music Awards include
Acoustic: Optimistic Apocalypse, Punk: The Masquerade, Jam: Shotgun Jubilee, Metal: From The Ashes, Urban: C. Brown, Alternative: Barlow, Hardcore: Smoke & Mirrors, Electronica: onewayness, and Rock: Kevlar.
The Nominees of each genre include:
For more information on PACA and their upcoming shows and events, please visit their Facebook page. For show, event and booking information on Basement Transmissions please visit their Facebook page. PACA is located at 1505 State Street and Basement Transmission is located next door at 1501 State Street.
