2005 Best Original Rock Performer
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23.26% Matthew Sturm Band*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot |
The band has changed bass players a few times since the CD was released but the rest of the stellar lineup remains. With Sturm on guitar, piano, vocals and auxiliary triangle, Thom Grant on guitar and vocals, Jamie Simon on drums and Damian Miller on bass and vocals, this is one hot band. (Simon and Miller play in Legendary Trainhoppers with Sturm. Grant played with Red Ball Jets when that band was lighting up stages around town.) Sturm, it seems, is also the proud owner/proprietor of a very small country bar residing within him, near his pancreas, perhaps, or his gall bladder. It is apparently a popular club (though likely A-list only, given the out -of-the-way locale and limited seating) placing a distant second to the Rock-N-Horse. He likes visiting New York City, selling guitars and watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development and Smallville His favorite Beatle is Paul. When hungry he’s likely to head for the nearest Panera for a Chicken Olivada sandwich. His favorite color is blue. He might like walks on the beach at sunset and Champagne-filled hot tubs, too. I don’t know about those last two. I am not sure I want to. When he is not doing any of the above he is writing songs, thus the "Original Rock" nomination. Sturm has fronted this particular band for three years, though he says he has been a musician for 25 years, a claim that is beyond dispute, really. He should know, right? "I think I came out of the womb singing," he said. From the womb he headed to the coffee shops of Fort Wayne, quickly earning a reputation as a gifted player and singer. He taught himself to play guitar at age 16 and began writing songs shortly thereafter. He has not stopped. When he was starting out, he cited as influences Lennon and McCartney, Noel Gallagher, and many others, including local talents Sunny Taylor and Michael Schwarte. These days Sturm is well on his way toward finding his own voice, a process that is as difficult as it is rewarding. Of his current Whammy win, he cites surprise as his overriding emotion. "I can’t believe we got it," he said. "If there is an award to win, this is it. This is why we do this. This is what it’s all about." |
Copyright 2006 Ad Media Inc.
Matt Sturm is a regular guy with anything
but a regular talent. Sturm and the band he
fronts, the Matthew Sturm Band, is, likewise,
more than just a regular band. As winner of the
Original Rock Performer Whammy two years running,
Matthew Sturm Band has proven itself again and
again with engaging live shows and a fine CD,
Unspoken Conversations.