2006 Best Cover Rock Performers
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34.57% Plow*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot
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By Mark Hunter The tug and slap of Plow. At first glance it seems unlikely that four guys with only a few years under their belt as a band, a repertoire of hard rock and metal covers, only one prominent original and an out-front partying attitude would find mass appeal in the City of Churches. But hey, what do I know? Apparently first glances don't count for all that much, especially if that band offsets its hard play with hard work, a tight grasp on their demographic and the resolve to meet their goals. As proof that hard work and determination pay off, Plow unseated a perennial fan favorite to win the Performer of the Year Whammy, also picking up the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performer and Best Rock Performer/Covers along the way. Plow, comprised of Shane Wyant on vocals, Marc Accillien on drums, Eric Bair on guitars and Dan Middleton, on bass, formed nearly three years ago with one idea in mind. Wyant described the band's philosophy to me in 2005 after his nascent band picked up their first Whammy for Best New Performer. Said Wyant, "We're just four guys who like to kick some jams." Well, they kept kicking throughout 2005 eventually winning the Whammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Band while narrowly missing wins for Performer of the Year and Best Rock Performer/Covers. In 2006 Wyant and his Plowmates decided to lobby hard for votes. "We're still reeling from the whole thing," Wyant told me last Friday. "We all felt like the winner was going to be The Freak Brothers. But we talked to them and they were like, 'You guys deserve it.' We all worked real hard at it." Though formed just three years ago, the members of Plow all had extensive experience playing with other bands. Bair was in Little Green Men and Stygma, Middleton played with Spork and Wyant and Accillien both played in The Lollygaggers. Accillien, who joined Plow in December, "struck the flint that sparked Plow to new heights," Wyant said. "His nickname is 'Mulch Maker,'" Wyant said. (Each member, as listed on their Plowband.com website, has a nickname. Wyant is "Sugar Shane," Bair is "Shred Eric" and Middleton is "Dan-O-Matic." It may seem a bit clubbish, but that may be the effect they're going for.) Nicknames assume a welcoming familiarity. What better way to connect with fans? Or to thank them for support. Consider this Myspace blog entry: "We can't believe it!! PLOW got three Whammy Awards last night at the whatzup Whammy Awards at Piere's! We won Best Hard Rock/Metal Band, Best Rock Performer/Covers and Performer of the Year! It's only because all of you voted for us, and we can't thank you enough! We know we'd be nothing without all of you and we appreciate that you guys took the time to vote for us. Anybody that has seen us play knows that we bring it every time we are on stage, and have fun with the crowd. If you haven't seen us yet, come out with a friend and check it out. We'll try our best to rock your face off and get you Plowed!" Continuing, "We just want to thank whatzup, first for the awards, but also for keeping all those award winners secret and putting on a great show. We're sure it's not easy to do. All the people that come to our shows, we thank you for rocking with us. But again, to all the people who voted for us – a huge thank you!" Plow recently opened for hard rock stalwarts Sevendust at Piere's. The job of any opening act is to raise the blood pressure of the audience while not outshining the headliner. The best way to do that, often, is by playing songs the audience knows well, and playing them note-for-note. It's yeoman's work, but the payoff is gigs like opening for Sevendust at Piere's. While playing covers is fun and well within a certain comfort range for bands and fans alike, the goal of most working bands is to write their own music, etch it onto discs and sell boatloads of albums to the loyal following amassed through playing live. Plow are beginning to make that transition, though getting those songs from the rehearsal room to the stage is taking longer than Wyant would like. Said Wyant, "We're writing stuff now, and are going to start working on that some more. We're actually going to start hitting it hard now. We're wanting to do more original stuff when we play live. Now we finally have the right chemistry and are going to do it." One song, "Vultures," has been in Plow's live set for awhile now. It's also available for download from the band's website, as well as on their Myspace page. Wyant said singing the song on stage has produced a strange and happy new feeling. That feeling comes when Wyant looks out over the audience and sees the crowd singing along. Said Wyant, "When that happens, I'm like, 'this is weird.' It's almost like you're playing a cover everybody loves and is singing along with. It's an awesome feeling. It makes you feel a lot better about what you're doing and about your abilities." As Plow moves though the current year, don't be surprised if they take the momentum of their Whammy triumphs into Middleton's digitracks recording studio and find themselves up for a few more Whammy categories. Wyant, for one, really likes the feeling of success. "It's really cool," he said, "I brought the Performer of the Year Whammy into work to show everyone." |
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