2006 Best Original Rock Performer

20.53% Definitely Gary* 18.53% Moser Woods* 13.65% I, Wombat* 8.77% Orange Opera* 6.66% Sketch Machine* 6.10% SuperHunk* 5.55% Vandolah* 1.44% Unlikely Alibi 1.11% Twelve and Two 0.78% All Nite Skate, Made to Change 0.67% Migraines, Wailhounds 0.55% Coda, Pleasing Melani 0.44% Tito Discover, Tri-State Killing Spree, Waking Abbott Others with Votes (more than one): Between the Rooms, Brother, homeless J, Left Lane Cruiser, Legendary Trainhoppers, The Lurking Corpses, Plow, Riverbottom Nitemare Band, Under the Wake, Basement What?, Brad Kelsey & Triple Tornado, The Chinese Express, Downstait, The Goddammits, Missing Murderers, Mudbone, North River Agents, Rehab After Party, Second Sun, Soulfyre 2005 Winner: Matthew Sturm Band 2004 Winner: Matthew Sturm Band 2003 Winner: Go Dog Go 2002 Winner: Blue Moon Boys 2001 Winner: Rosemary Gates & Wailhounds 2000 Winner: Blue Moon Boys 1999 Winner: Blue Moon Boys 1998 Winner: Blue Moon Boys 1997 Winner: Senator Dillwilly (now Jackie Fly) * On the ballot

It's been a long time coming for Definitely Gary. The funk/rock trio has long been a favorite among fans and musicians alike. Casey Stansifer, Zach Smith and Jon Ross stole the show and the top prize at last year's whatzup Battle of the Bands III. They left the throng gathered for last year's Whammy Awards clamoring for more with a end-of-night set that left many scratching their heads and wondering why the band got shut out of the Whammy winners circle yet again.       Well, this year things are different. No more blue Thursdays for Definitely Gary, who claimed not one but two Whammys, one for Best Rock Performer/Originals and one for Best Local Rock CD Release for their latest album, The New Deal.       For Smith and Stansifer the wins are a long-overdue vindication. "It feels really good," Smith said. Stansifer was a tad more effusive. "It's about goddamn time." They are not the only ones who feel that way.       Since before winning the Battle of The Bands III, Definitely Gary had been among the most popular bands in town. Fusing muscled rock and a light-hearted approach, Stansifer, Smith and Ross developed an act too difficult to ignore. For instance, while not a new idea, wearing matching track suits as a band uniform of sorts lent a "go team go!" attitude to the their performance at the Whammys. I found myself watching and rooting for them to do something spectacular: pass that bass line; shoot that a riff; work that backbeat.       Definitely Gary formed in 2000. Smith, Ross and Stansifer had been friends for years. Ross and Stansifer played in a band together in middle school and formed a band called Ping in high school with a third friend who later moved out of town. Smith filled the void.       The trio writes their material as a bounce-it-off-the-wall collective, banging out ideas in someone's living room until the song takes on a life of its own. Then the fun begins. But according to Smith, the process from living room to finished product does not always move quickly. "We hope to have a new record out by the end of the year. But hope is a big word for us. It usually takes us two and half years to get something out. But you never know."       All things in due time. (Mark Hunter)

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