What I did with my 15 minutes of fame…
July 13, 2006
What does it mean to be famous? Is being recognized on the street the mark of stardom? Is it money? The company of a beautiful woman or man … or both?
In keeping with the theme of the 15th annual Sacramento Area Music Awards, held July 12 at the Crest Theatre, we asked each of the 2006 Sammie winners to describe their 15 minutes of fame. Those who insisted their 15 minutes were still on the way were asked, “How will you recognize them when they’re upon you?” As it turned out, the winners’ definitions of fame and those all-important 15 minutes were as varied as the music for which they were recognized.
2006 Sammies Critics’ Choice awards
Local CD
Daisy Spot by Daisy Spot
Female Vocalist
Tatiana LaTour
“We have probably only had about three-and-a-half minutes of fame, and of those, the memory is hazy,” said Daisy Spot vocalist LaTour. “We try not to connect the notion of fame with our music. We try to stay just inside of the love. The fame and the fashion [are] a little scary and probably not healthy for all of our children. Money is good; we are not opposed to money. We would love the freedom to spend more time with our families and to earn money doing something that makes sense in our lives. We just hope to achieve that along some odd path without the fame.”
Male Vocalist and Songwriter
Kris Anaya
“The only 15 minutes of fame I’ve had was when I came out of my mother’s womb,” said Anaya, leader of melodic emo ensemble An Angle. “Everyone showed up for that; they gathered around witnessing the magic of my birth. Everyone was asking about me. I was the center of attention. I think I even was in the paper the next day. … I don’t remember it too well, but I think I even got gifts when I got home–diapers and stuff.”
DJ/Turntablist
Shaun Slaughter
“I really have no idea how to answer this question,” three-time Sammie winner Slaughter told SN&R. “[Tuesday-night dance club] Lipstick is as busy as it has ever been in the last six years, bringing new people in every single week and hipping people to indie-label goodness week after week. … I am gaining popularity as a DJ in New York from my bimonthly trips there, and [I] run, book and DJ two clubs in San Francisco that are doing really well. … We’ve had continued success with our clubs because we have always put integrity first and haven’t jumped on any fad bandwagons, playing only what we really love.”
Keyboards
Stuart Nishiyama
“Considering how long I’ve been playing music, I feel as though I’ve had numerous ‘15 minutes of fame’ occasions,” said Didley Squat keyboardist and UC Davis music student Nishiyama. “Whether it would be on a stage in front of thousands or during practice in front of your teacher, there are points where you feel as though you are on top of the music world. … Creating music is one [of] the most enjoyable things to do as a musician, and if he or she feels proud of what they’ve accomplished, who wouldn’t want to share it with the world?”
Guitar
Steve Randall
“I have never been famous, nor could I ever become famous, even if I wanted to–and I’m pretty sure I don’t. Not real fame, that is, but the 15-minutes concept works perfectly with today’s weird disposable fame of Internet clips and reality TV,” said Randall, guitarist for the Richard March Band, GB and the Carousers, and Anton Barbeau, as well as Sammies Hall of Famers Natalie Cortez and the Ultra Violets. “That said, if I contrive some formula where, let’s say, one day of local or regional notoriety were equal to one minute of pseudo-fame … I think the bulk of mine would probably be via the Ultra Violets. Enough to total 15 minutes, anyway.”
Local Act
Th’ Losin Streaks
“We’ve definitely had our 15 minutes already,” Losin Streaks guitarist and vocalist Tim Foster told SN&R. “It started immediately after Mike [Farrell] joined the band, and it seemed like everybody was excited about us. Mike joined the band, we played our first gig with him, appeared on a local TV show and recorded our first record–all within two weeks! The record turned out well, and we got a lot of nice feedback on that, too. Then we were asked to play South by Southwest, and someone even gave us a custom ’69 van to tour in! It was pretty crazy for a while there.”
Drums
Matt Kanelos
“I’ve had 15 minutes of shame, 15 minutes of lame, but 15 minutes of fame?” asked Th’ Losin Streaks’ drummer, Kanelos. “In the David Bowie sense of the word, I don’t think I’ve had it yet, and I don’t really plan on it–again, in the ’70s, bright-light itchy-nosed sense of the word. But if I had to answer, I’d say the first 15 minutes of the first Losin Streaks practice with Mike [Farrell]. No one was around, nobody knew we existed yet, nobody cared, and it was perfect. I did feel famous for those 15 minutes. Then we finished practice, opened the door to the real world, and I was back to shame and lame. Doh!”
Reed/Woodwind/Brass
Scott Anderson
“I was playing at Borders Books with one of the many groups that Tony Passarell has put together over the years,” saxophonist Scott Anderson recalled of his most “famous” moment. “That quintet just happened to feature John Tchicai on saxophone. I was on the bandstand creating music with a living legend who has played on some of the greatest and most important jazz albums of all time. I was honored to be on the bandstand with him and at the same time felt lucky to be surrounded by fellow talented musicians who felt the same way.”
Bass
Erik Kleven
“It seems as though my place has always been to be behind the scenes. Damn near invisible,” joked Kleven, bassist for a number of jazz, classical, country and pop acts around town. “It’s certainly nice to be appreciated by one’s colleagues and peers. I have said to myself, ‘Oh my God! I’m playing with world-famous cultural icon so-and-so.’ But who notices the bass player in Bob Hope’s backup band? But if fame appears on my doorstep, I’ll probably say, ‘Come on in. Give me 15 minutes, 15 seconds, 15 nanoseconds of whatever. Let’s figure out what this is.’”
2006 Sammies Readers’ Choice awards
Rock
Th’ Losin Streaks
“We’ve definitely had our 15 minutes already,” Losin Streaks guitarist and vocalist Tim Foster told SN&R. “It started immediately after Mike [Farrell] joined the band, and it seemed like everybody was excited about us. Mike joined the band, we played our first gig with him, appeared on a local TV show and recorded our first record–all within two weeks! The record turned out well, and we got a lot of nice feedback on that, too. Then we were asked to play South by Southwest, and someone even gave us a custom ’69 van to tour in! It was pretty crazy for a while there.”
Pop
Didley Squat
Keyboardist Stuart Nishiyama said, “We have accomplished so much over the past couple of years. To be able to meet so many new and interesting people, let alone spend time with my best friends, the band is a gift in itself. … I’ve always envisioned [15 minutes] being the point in time where we have at least one dedicated fan in every single country of the world. Obviously, this is impossible, but something close to it would suffice.”
R&B/Funk
The Bennys
“I do not feel that we have had our 15 minutes of fame yet,” said Bennys bass player Brian Burke. “I imagine that it would be very exciting. I’m sure we would be experiencing many new things and that it would be here and gone very quickly. Maybe those 15 minutes might last a little longer, and that would definitely be interesting as well; I wouldn’t mind throwing a few extra minutes on. How can one tell they are in the middle of their 15 minutes and only have 7.5 minutes left? I guess you need to enjoy every moment as it is happening.”
Punk
The Secretions
“Let’s see, the Secretions have been a punk band for 15 years now,” calculated Danny Secretion, the band’s drummer and vocalist. “So, that works out to about one minute of fame per year. That one minute breaks down to five seconds per month. So, what you should really ask is if I feel the Secretions feel famous for .16 seconds per day. The answer? Probably not. Ask us again in another 15 years.”
Jazz
Four Guys From Reno
“We try to avoid the idea of fame for 15 minutes, assuming a lifetime is anywhere from five to 12 hours. Really, after 15 minutes, our new fans are still trying to piece together what they’ve heard,” said drummer Brian Rogers. “With a purely instrumental foundation, we embrace the music of the moment, which makes for a returning bunch of fans who are willing to walk down the path we blaze.”
Rap/Hip-Hop
Crazy Ballhead
“I don’t feel like I’ve started those 15 minutes yet,” Ballhead confessed to SN&R. “I’m thinking every second will be action-packed. Work, work, work … oh, and some play. [I’ll know] when it’s almost over! Unfortunately, I’ll probably be too focused on my next move to realize what’s really happening until it’s almost done.”
Blues
Stacie Eakes and the Superfreakes
“It will be a moment when people we don’t even know or have never seen before are yelling our name and singing the words to songs that we wrote,” Eakes said, describing the Superfreakes’ future 15 minutes. “That has happened on a smaller scale, but I wouldn’t qualify it as fame unless it is large-scale, national or international. … I will enjoy it while it is happening, but I will revel in it when I read about it in The Times the day after.”
Country/Bluegrass
Amee Chapman and the Big Finish
“We haven’t had our 15 minutes of fame yet,” Chapman said definitively. “A year ago, when we got together, my pedal-steel player, Dave Wren, said ‘OK, I predict good things for this band, and I’m going to cut my hair, and by the time my hair grows back, we’re going to be famous.’ And now since it’s grown out, and we have the Sammie [nomination], he’s thinking of cutting it again. If we make it onto a talk show–like a Dave Letterman, that style of show–nowadays, that’s when bands know they’ve really made it. Another way I’ll know we’ve really made it is if we can all fit in my van and drive cross-country, touring the country playing music. That’s our goal, really.”
World/Latin/Reggae
Sol Peligro
“Fifteen minutes of fame really comes from the business end of the music industry, not from the heart,” trombonist Jason Tescher said. “Sol Peligro approaches our music from the heart. We’re about culture, tradition and respect. We make music, and people can’t help but scream the lyrics and jump on the dance floor. That has nothing to do with fame. We’re proud to represent working people who need a release–and music is it! Fame? We’ll take it when it comes, but we’ve started from the heart.”
Hard Rock/Metal
Hot Pistol
“I don’t think we’ve had it, and I hope we don’t have 15 minutes,” said Hot Pistol vocalist Johnny Elmasian. “I hope it’s not like a flash in the pan like that. I hope it lasts at least an hour.”
Folk/Acoustic
Justin Farren
“I don’t feel as though I’ve had 15 minutes of fame,” Farren admitted. “Of course, I probably wouldn’t know if I was in the middle of my 15 minutes because I would most likely be hanging drywall or installing floor coverings, and it’s impossible to feel famous when you’re doing something lame like that.”
Electronica
The Evening Episode
Drummer Ira Skinner said, “The Sammies Showcase show was very nice to play, and I can’t wait for the awards show, but I feel our band has a lot [further] to go regionally and beyond. Local recognition warms my heart, but I still feel we are not done yet.”
Sammies 2006 Special Achievement…
July 6, 2006
Andy Hawk
Sometimes the hardest part of being a musician is getting someone to listen. After toiling over sheet music, scribbling lyrics on cocktail napkins and practicing for hours, a band is often left searching for a set of ears. For many Sacramento groups, Andy Hawk provides an audience.
Hawk, the recipient of this year’s Sammie for Special Achievement, first garnered local attention in 2004 when he landed a gig as DJ on 93.7 FM–then KHWD. Though he started with a small time slot, Hawk took advantage of this stint to create his signature show, Punk Rock Academy, which grew to become a unique musical experience in Sacramento radio.
“I didn’t plan on playing anything local,” Hawk recalled in a recent phone interview, “but I just started throwing in local acts next to the national acts. It worked and we got a huge response.”
As the calls began to roll in, Hawk took notice of a developing trend. Sacramento callers wanted to hear their homegrown punk; demands for the Groovie Ghoulies and the Whiskey Rebels rapidly accumulated. Naturally, when demand increases, so must supply–hence Hawk’s next move.
“We started letting bands come on the show. They would co-host the show and get a chance to play live on the radio,” Hawk said.
Besides the rush local punkers got from having their songs broadcast over the airwaves, many gathered a growing fan base from the exposure.
“I think there were people who had heard of us, but not our music. Andy and Punk Rock Academy changed that,” said Danny Secretion of The Secretions. “The iPod generation was tuning into local radio for once. He made kids who normally don’t listen to the radio listen, and I think that was the biggest achievement Andy had. He puts in as much work as a lot of bands out there to spread the news.”
Unfortunately, the radio station powers-that-be tuned out the audience. Despite the fact that Punk Rock Academy had grown to six nights a week, KHWD was transformed to accommodate the nationally distributed Jack-FM format. All live content–including Punk Rock Academy–was, well, jacked.
Hawk stayed on at 93.7 as a producer and programmer. Now he hosts Check Out My Sac! on 93.7’s sister station, KHTK 1140 AM, spotlighting local music on Thursday nights from 11 p.m. to midnight as part of the Carmichael Dave Show. He’s also moved outside the sound booth to local clubs like The Boardwalk and Shakers Neighborhood Pub, where he hosts punk rock shows.
“Sacramento has this horrible rep that there is nothing to do here, and we always hate when we hear people say that,” Hawk said. “If there is a purpose of [my] shows, it’s just to let people know that there is something there. You just have to look and find it.”
