Best Original Rock Performer
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22.02% Go Dog Go*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot | Awhile back, I wrote a letter to Scene and Heard columnist Brad Lucas saying if there was a Barenaked Ladies cover band in town, I’d probably go and see them. Luckily for me, I may have found them. Go Dog Go plays a lot of BNL covers, and they seem to be as much into BNL as I am, though I’m the only person I know with a custom-made BNL hockey jersey. So maybe that makes me the bigger dork, er fan, I mean. Anyway, Go Dog Go was named best original band by whatzup‘s readers. They were also nominated for best local CD release in the rock category for Long Story Short, released last June. Since the CD took a year to complete, Go Dog Go wanted some acknowledgment for their achievement. So how does a covers-based band make the transition to best original band? By sneaking some original stuff in during every gig. “It’s done really well at Borders and at our shows,” says guitarist Matt Kelley of Long Story Short. “It came out of the gate really hot.” It also got some radio play as well, particularly the song, “All That Lonely,” which the band performed at the Whammys. I asked Kelley why he thought people voted his band as the best original one. “This is one award we didn’t expect to win,” he said. “Unexpected, but very, very gratifying. We’re thankful that people voted for us.” Kelley elaborated further in an -email he sent to me the next day. “I think one of the keys to us winning the award is all the work we did after our CD came out to get it into as many people’s hands (and ears) as possible. Instead of just doing the Tuesday night ‘original music’ night at C Street, we also played ‘original’ shows at Club Art, Borders Books, Three Rivers Festival ... any new and interesting way to get in front of people. We even staged our CD release show from the rooftop of ad agency Boyden and Youngblutt downtown on Superior.” They also got busy with playing out of Fort Wayne and got a little competitive. “We’ve also entered our CD and songs in many songwriting competitions, original song contests and more. In August, we even placed sixth out of more than 300 entries at the Midwest Music Showcase’s demo review panel, made up of industry insiders and power players. To sum it up: they marketed themselves. Hard. And the effort paid off in recognition and appreciation. “It’s nice to have the payoff,” said Chris Dodds, of his band’s achievement. |
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