Everyone's a Sinner, Baby
THE 95b.FM MUSIC AWARDS
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Not long ago, journalist Colin Hogg desribed the members of the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand as, "a bunch of old farts." And for once he was right. For years, RIANZ have been unable to disguise the fact that their thumb is not on the pulse of the local music scene, and at no time is this more glaringly obvious than when they stage the annual RIANZ Music Awards. The 'underground' is neither represented or acknowledged as the 'industry' pats itself on its head for doing god knows what. In recognition of this, Auckland station 95bFM hosted their own Music Awards on the night of August 29 at the Mandalay in Newmarket. The nationwide selection of nominees ranged from the recognised (Shihad, Che Fu, Bic Runga) to the obscure (Lanky, Cosmetics, Trinket) and the award categories spanned a range of music genres.
On the night, the focus was firmly on the music and the musicians, although breasts and stetsons also got a look in. In amongst the drunk behaviour the winners were revealed to be:
BEST ALBUM The Stereo Bus, The Stereo Bus
BEST SONG (Released) Darcy Clay, Jesus I Was Evil
BEST SONG (Unreleased) Sugar Bug, Spaceman
BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE Micronism, Inside a Quiet Mind
BEST LOCAL LIVE ACT Head Like A Hole
BEST INTERNATIONAL LIVE ACT Beck
BEST NEW ACT Hasslehoff Experiment
BEST GUITAR PLAYER David Mitchell (3Ds)
BEST KEYBOARDIST Godfrey De Grut (The New Loungehead)
BEST BASS PLAYER Karl Kippenberger (Shihad)
BEST DRUMMER Tom Larkin (Shihad)
BEST VOCALIST Bic Runga
MALE FOX Booga Beasley (Head Like A Hole)
FEMALE FOX Floss (Loves Ugly Children)
INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT Neil Finn
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Murray Cammick
WORST REVIEWER(S) Graham Reid & Russell Baillie (The New Zealand Herald)
BEST PROMOTER Flash Tours
BEST COVER ART Crispin Schuberth (The New Longehead, Came a Weird Way)
BEST MUSIC VIDEO Jesus I Was Evil (Director: David Gunstone)
BEST DANCE/CLUB EVENT The Gathering
BEST HIPHOP/REGGAE/DUB RELEASE Samonella Dub, Calming of the Drunken Monkey
BEST HOUSE/TECHNO DJ Greg Churchill
BEST BREAKBEAT DJ Manuel Bundy
BEST ELECTRONICA GROUP Pitch Black
BEST PRODUCER Dale Cotton (for HDU's Higher EP)
BEST LIVE SOUND ENGINEER Tiki (Salmonella Dub)
BEST STUDIO ENGINEER Chris van der Geer (for Eye TV's Birdy-O)