Portland Phoenix Best Music Poll Winners

Pete Kilpatrick (center) and friends

Appropriately, Kilpatrick was joined on stage by bassist Matt Cosby, who took home his own Best Act as part of Jeremiah Freed in 2004. The pair has been lately courting As Fast As’s Zach Jones, who’s been in town, has been playing shows with Kilpatrick since January, and has his own BiMPy from a 2005 win for Pop-Rock Act (again, appropriately). Jones was in the crowd sporting a nice gray suit, but didn’t make it up on stage. Kilpatrick seems to be attracting talent, and for good reason: the time to move his career forward is now. He might even be settling down a little. There’s word that kittens have taken up residence in Kilpatrick’s pad. Yes, kittens.

_Sam Pfeifle

Into the Night, by Cambiata
Best Album + Best Live Act
It’s a good thing Cambiata won two awards last Wednesday; they didn’t find anything to say for themselves until acceptance speech number two. “Wow, I’m an idiot,” said guitarist Sean Morin, understated among attendees in a denim jacket. “Last time I was up here I couldn’t think of anything to say.” In the meantime, he’d remembered to throw thanks Mark Curdo’s way (’CYY’s “Spinout”) and to “every band we’ve ever played with. Thanks for being part of the scene — it’s ridiculous that we’re up against some of these bands.”

It’s not so ridiculous. Into the Night was easily the most daring and adventurous album of 2006, a genre-bending, magnesium-bright burn by a band remarkably tight for having been together such a short time. Somehow, Cambiata funneled their crackling stage energy into a studio effort without losing an amp along the way. It’s an energy that fuels everything they do, starting with the efforts of explosive frontman Chris Moulton, whose In the Arms of Providence scored a BiMPy for Best Punk/Screamo Act in 2005, and who’s about as easy to contain as uranium. Guitarists Morin and Miguel Barajas provide swirling melody and smart jazz as backdrop, while bassist Stan Dzengelewski (hope he doesn’t get a corporate job where that last name serves as his e-mail address...) and drummer Daniel McKellick keep everything from spiraling out of control — at least not so far out of control that it doesn’t seem like it’s on purpose.

As this year’s only multiple-award winner, Cambiata carry with them into the bulk of the year a great deal of promise. The Portland scene is shaking itself out, trying to make room for up-and-comers getting their start in the all-ages rooms. Cambiata are a band that demands our city find a way to cultivate young bands into 21+ superstars or risk losing them to bigger and brighter lights.

_Sam Pfeifle

Confusatron
Best Category-Defying Act
We like it when this happens. Year after year of nominations, and Confusatron finally landed a BiMPy! They’ve unwittingly trained to win the elusive genre-defying category as a Portland underground staple by not giving a crap about what anyone thinks about their music. According to Mr. Tickles (or was it Mixolydicon? or Ultraflam? or Rumblebot? Who are these guys, anyway?), the result is more “genre-encompassing” as they geek out, weaving through metal, math-rock, surf, punk, Greek and Romanian traditionals, and a love of all things 8-bit.

Five years of building a cult following (it was only supposed to be one year but they fell in love with the Portland scene after moving from Bangor) paid off by getting your votes. Their appeal is such that they don’t really have to advertise their shows to get a bunch of loyal heads in the room. Most bands push their fans to vote in the readers’ poll, but these guys even forgot to vote themselves! How’s that for defiant?

Up next for the band is a couple weeks touring in July and maybe, finally, finishing this record they’ve had up their sleeves for the last three years. Hopefully, their shiny new BiMPy will let them know Portland is chomping at the bit for the album to drop. If you can’t wait any longer to hear some tunes, check out their MySpace page for some epic live tracks.

_Ian Paige

Moshe
Best DJ
The people have spoken. They chose Moshe. They choose him now and have chosen him many times over, as this is the ninth BiMPy of his career. He’s proof that the meek inherit the Earth, or at least get a BiMPy. Moshe is an undisputed architect of the hip-hop scene that so many of us enjoy, marvel at, and brag about to our out-of-town friends. He works tirelessly to develop the careers of other artists. A vocal supporter of the scene here in Maine, he uses his skills as a community advocate with We Push Buttons to help sew together what is frequently a fractured community. This award is appropriate for a man who has worked tirelessly to wrestle control of the spotlight, not so he can shine it on his own face, but so he might illuminate the artists on his Milled Pavement label and put some brightness into the dark corners he retires to. His acceptance reflected this perfectly when he, flanked by labelmates Brzowski and Mike Clouds, stated simply, “Milled Pavement Dot Com. That’s all I’m going to say.” Moshe would likely be just as happy if one of the other nominees won this time. But the people have spoken, and they chose Moshe. Like his biblical namesake, he is a born leader, marked for greatness. But to him, it is simply following the call.

_Todd Richard

Satellite Lot
Best Electronic Act
Last time most of us checked in with Satellite Lot, they were about as much indie-rock as you could get. This version of Satellite Lot have branded themselves “electro/rock,” according to the band’s MySpace. There, you will find four tracks of electropop and modern rock hearkening back to the ‘80s New Wave era. Satellite Lot have undergone several incarnations and cycled through many members over the course of their career. This incarnation actually featured some recycled material, too, as drummer Jason Ingalls proudly claims that he has been the first, third, and now fifth drummer for SL. So, they emerge from a self-imposed cocoon and, bam! they are an electronic band. But how did we miss this transition? Satellite Lot’s Sydney Bourke, during her acceptance speech, admitted, “we don’t really play out.” Their coolly clever songs and sounds are unquestionable. Perhaps a more poppy sound is what is needed as an in-road to expose audiences to other electronic acts. If so, then who could not be in favor? Perhaps some of the other nominees. Satellite Lot’s win obviously bears the mantle of responsibility to help audiences understand what electronic music really is.

_Todd Richard

Emilia Dahlin
Best Female Vocalist
Emilia Dahlin won this award in 2005 and 2006 and she showed no inclination toward releasing her stranglehold on the Best Female Vocalist category in 2007. In the past year, she’s done nothing more than release her second full-length album, God Machine, to plenty-favorable returns, get a nod as a top 12 DIY disc in Performing Songwriter, and travel the country as Portland’s top female musical ambassador. Not only was she a perfect choice to open the BMP Awards show with stand-up bassist and sidekick Adam Frederick, wowing the crowd in a floral number you might see on Desperate Housewives, she was the logical choice to take home BiMPy number three. (Note to councilor Dave Marshall: if you’re going to be the touchy-feely arts councilor, learn how to pronounce the name of Portland’s best female vocalist.)

Over the past two years, Dahlin has reinvented herself as a songwriter, infusing jazz and rock into her repertoire without abandoning the witty wordplay that made her interesting in the first place. Her delivery has never been an issue, with a crisp enunciation and bell-clear tone. She can do sassy, smart, and cool with equal aplomb. To start God Machine, Dahlin tells us, “Candy was the sweetest girl, as sweet as sweet could be/And all the boys with sweet tooths wound up with cavities.” Sounds like an autobiography.

_Sam Pfeifle

Dead Season
Best Heavy Music/Metal Act
This year’s vote goes down in BiMPy history as having the closest margin. Dead Season won by an impossibly narrow one vote. The precedents set by this category hardly stop there, as the top four nominees in this category were all within seven votes. While Ogre, End of Everything, and Conifer all obviously put up great fights, they could not stave off the ferocity of Dead Season and their enthusiastic fans. Based on their recorded work alone, I for one would be frightened to death to be in any sort of competition facing DS vocalist Ian Truman. His Phil Anselmo-inspired guttural scream must have intimidated Ocean and Hour Past’s fanbases to some degree. Dead Season also possessed what might be the most earnest acceptance speech. They repeatedly thanked their fans, supporters, and Portland for treating them like locals, despite their Oxford (that’s Maine, not University) upbringing. It’s great to see a band that, in spite of their black attire, have a sense of optimism and have not been jaded by the “scene.” With attitudes like this, more awards are in their future.

_Todd Richard

Sontiago & Moshe
Best Hip-Hop Act
They’ve outdone themselves. Sontiago and Moshe walked off the stage as winners of Best Hip-Hop Act for their sixth BiMPy together. Are you two done yet?

Well, in a way, yes. Winning the award was the perfect way to call it good after years of collaboration, ever since they were part of kNOw Complex way back in 2000. The duo are focusing on their own projects for the time being. Looking at what’s coming down the pipeline, we can expect twice the hotness.

Sontiago is going to drop her sophomore album in the fall, this time with the raging Canadian power of Montreal label Endemik behind her. Gabe FM is taking over on the tables for live shows, with siren Dilly Dilly complementing Sontiago’s stage presence perfectly. If you haven’t seen the two of them sing together yet, prepare to have all your expectations of what makes a hip-hop show taken out of the box and scattered all over the floor.

Meanwhile, Moshe scratched his itch this year, releasing an album with Mike Clouds under the name The Desert People, and is going to see 2007 through with two collaborative releases with Syn the Shaman and Nomar Slevik respectively, not to mention a solo album entitled Thinning the Herd.

All right, you two, you can take a break and let someone else win for a change; just make sure you throw us a track every now and then, okay?

_Ian Paige

Phantom Buffalo
Best Indie-Rock Act
After Phantom Buffalo’s awesomely satisfying BiMPy victory at the Asylum Wednesday, I asked my boss if my PB write-up could just say FINALLY in huge type. He said no (and, if I’m not mistaken, muttered “Sober up, lush” under his breath), so instead I’m gonna get sentimental on y’all. Phantom Buffalo concerts have marked probably five of my ten favorite nights in Portland in the two years I’ve lived here. That this chipper little indie band can incite mass dance-and-smile parties and sell out a couple-hundred-person venue on a random Friday night is a testament to everything right about this town. That they could also record an internationally acclaimed album (Shishimumu) that we’re still listening to regularly five years later, score an opening gig on a national Fiery Furnaces tour, and survive with their humble insouciance intact is more than enough cause for this well-deserved celebration.

Frontman Jonny Balzano-Brookes and guitarist Tim Burns both missed Lost to make it to the show, and it sounded like the sacrifice was worth it. New Phoenix staff writer Deirdre Fulton spoke to them after the win. Jonny: “This was totally unexpected.” And, not to be outdone, Tim Burns quipped, “This is the single most amazing thing that’s ever happened in my life,” which Deirdre couldn’t consider sarcastic because he seemed so sincere. That’s just a taste of the winning charm that will ensure we keep smiling and dancing along with Phantom Buffalo for a long time to come. And that long-awaited second album: Take to the Trees will be released in July on Time-Lag Records.

_Christopher Gray

Hot Club of Portland
Best Jazz Act
Jazz is niche music in Portland as it is. Introduce into that niche an act which is a tribute to a virtuosic guitarist from decades gone by, and it is marvelous that the Hot Club have managed to get the recognition of this BiMPy — their second. The band celebrate the music of Django Reinhardt, a highly influential guitarist whose unique two-finger style and gypsy jazz sound changed the game for the instrument and the music. The Hot Club of Portland seem to have achieved acclaim and respect out of sheer determination and focus to get this music heard. The band were born from a single event in which founder and Django enthusiast/expert Bryan Killough presented a multimedia tribute to his hero. After turning away more than a hundred people at the door, the continuation of the project was inevitable, and a band formed. The group currently consist of Killough on guitar and vocals, Phil Bloch on violin and vocals, Mike Arciero on guitar and vocals, and the most giggingest bass player in town, Kris Day. They’ll start playing in June at Portland Lobster Company on Commercial Street on Thursdays, as well as larger festival dates including the DjangoFest in Bath on June 16.

_Todd Richard

Dominic Lavoie (of Dominic & the Lucid)
Best Male Vocalist
After spending much of the night incognito, under a black top hat and John Lennon sunglasses, Dominic Lavoie could hide out no longer when WMPG’s Jan Wilkinson called his name as winner of the Best Male Vocalist category. It’s fitting, considering years of toiling in relative obscurity in the Portland clubs ended this year with the release of Waging the Wage, the debut full-length from the Lavoie-fronted Dominic and the Lucid and the choice of many industry types for album of 2006. Lavoie attributed his status as best local crooner to a start at sleepaway camp: “We were all playing Tom Petty songs at camp and no one could sing, so I started singing,” he told the assembled crowd, before throwing out a big “thank you to Pro Tools,” the recording software that had nothing to do with Lavoie’s polished vocals on Wage.

On that album, Lavoie displayed a grasp for the art of the falsetto, an ability to bounce between alluring pop and throaty psychedelia, and enough command of his pipes to match his guitar pitch for pitch. But being a rock vocalist is about more than vocal ability; it’s about swagger, grace, and an appeal to the ladies, something mastered by Dave Gutter, the former Rustic and Paranoid frontman who’s owned this category since its inception in 2000, but for a 2003 win by Spencer Albee in his Rocktopus days. With a ready smile and a Jim Morrison physique, Lavoie has shown he’s ready and able to carry the torch.

_Sam Pfeifle

Are You A Fox?
Best New Act
Ben Lyons and Adam Swain didn’t exactly paint hulking figures walking across the BMP stage, but they’re walking in big shoes and fill them well. Past New Act winners include 6gig, the Popsicko (which would become Rocktopus, then As Fast As), Vacationland, Pete Kilpatrick Supergroup, Animal Suit Drive-By (now the Killing Moon, which is an excellent Echo and the Bunnymen reference), and, last year, Lost on Liftoff. You could say each of those bands had a good run, and many continue.

So what did Are You a Fox? do this past year? Most notably, they released the articulate and literate Release the Hounds EP, as good as any introduction to the band. Living on the bread of grunge and indie rock, the band scored a nice little single with “American Idle” and wear musical styles like well-fitting suits throughout the five released tunes. Are You a Fox?, like any good New Act, have potential in spades and their debut full-length is much anticipated, starting now. What will it sound like? I’m guessing even they aren’t quite sure yet. Planning is so hedgehog.

_Sam Pfeifle

Covered in Bees
Best Punk Act
The Bees! The Bees win again! What’s changed since last year when these insect-laden harbingers of death-punk graced the stage of our award ceremony? Their fondest memories of the year include a killer Halfway to Halloween gig and drummer Tristan Gallagher working on his side project “Man Witch.”

2007 is really looking like the year to end all years for the boys in the band. Portland Death-Punk Volume 2: Tank vs Spaceship, unlike its debut predecessor, will purportedly kill anyone who listens to it. Before you choose death, may we suggest you choose the tasty cake of some of their other recorded offerings this year? Your options start with an upcoming album to be recorded in 24 hours and aptly entitled 24 Hour Record. They’ve also recorded a soundtrack for a zombie flick and (this is big) scored tracks on the new Troma film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. Remember, you’re going to die when you hear their second full-length, so you owe it to yourself to pick up the seven-inch compilation Short Songs from Long Fellows, which features Bees tracks. You should also make a living will and call your mom. Even death-punks call their moms.

_Ian Paige

Samuel James
Best R&B/Soul/Blues Act
Nominated in three separate categories, Samuel James was the winner of Best R&B/Soul/Blues Act — and our hearts. This was obvious from the two standing ovations he received at the awards show — for his win and for his live performance. Leaned over the guitar resting on his lap, sweat seeping through his button-down shirt, suspenders stretching over his tall shoulders, James’s live performance was relentless. Without pauses, only transitioning from one song to the next, his non-stop 20-minute set had me looking for calluses and blood on his fingertips.

Mavis Staples’s father told her, “If you give from the heart you capture the heart,” and in the short time James has been in the Portland music scene he has done just that. I’ve lived in the South for a good chunk of my life, and wonder if James’s popularity is because he is an anomaly in Maine. He wonders too, and says that often at his gigs here, “people don’t know the difference between my original songs and covers.”

But James is not only an anomaly in Maine. After seeing James perform, the director of the biggest blues talent agency in the world told him, “You’re the only young black man in the country doing this kind of music.” He keeps alive the aesthetic and sound of early blues and would make his predecessors proud. James says, “This music is sacred to me. This is Delta blues. It comes from a place where people were born without record, and people died and no one gave a shit. This music changed the world. There would be nothing else without this; there would be no hip-hop, there would be no Rolling Stones.” The response to his first year on the ballot proves he has big things ahead, too.

_Sonya Tomlinson

Lost on Liftoff
Best Rock Act
When it comes to trophy cases, only Dave Gutter (14 career BiMPys) has had to reserve more space than Walt Craven, who scored his 13th BiMPy this year with Lost on Liftoff. Perhaps that explains his rambling acceptance speech — dude’s had plenty of practice. He also had a willing partner in drummer Shane Kinney, who has plenty of experience doing stand-up along with his years sitting behind a kit. A father of the scene (and a nine-month-old boy), with well more than a decade in at this point, Craven knows enough to be humble (“not bad for a band that released one four-song EP in two years and plays a show a month”) and to root for the new underdogs (“thanks to Headstart!, who put out a great record last year that didn’t get nominated”).

Along with fellow songwriter/singer/guitarist Nick Lambert (Nick: where were you?) and bassist “Shiv-D,” Craven and Kinney also have themselves a kick-ass radio-rock band, just itching to drop a full-length this summer. They’ve been playing the songs live for two years, so what might seem like new material to the record-buying public already feels old to the band, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t eager to introduce everyone to their old favorites.

_Sam Pfeifle

King Memphis
Best Roots Act
Sadly, King Memphis were unable to attend the awards show. In their absence they had Kris Eckhardt, a founding member, who occasionally plays with band still, stand in for them. He accepted in true King Memphis fashion- vintage suit, derby hat, instrument in hand — complete with a whammy bar. I spoke to lead singer/guitarist Matt Robbins from the Rockin’ ‘50s Fest in Wisconsin about their win. After accusing him of not being shocked he rebutted with, “No, we really were surprised. There was stiff competition with the Jerks of Grass, Sean Mencher, and Micah Blue Smaldone.” After 15 years of performing and recording, King Memphis are not stopping. “I came close to packing it in when we lost our last drummer,” said Robbins. “But I think I’ll keep going for a couple more years. Just as long as it stays fun and doesn’t become work then we’ll keep doing it. It’s the gigs like this that keep me doing it, it’s the fun gigs.” From rockabilly festivals, to car shows, to Goodyear commercials, King Memphis have received attention in the US and abroad. They attribute a lot of that recognition to touring with rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson in 1997. We’re glad they’re still at it. Their timeless looks and nostalgic sound make us eternal listeners. Who couldn’t love self-proclaimed fans of girls, vintage motorbikes, kittens, magic beans, doughnuts, and rotary telephones. When they’re not traveling the country you can catch the handsome trio — Matt Robbins, Kris Day, and Dave Ragsdale — the first Friday of every month at Bull Feeney’s.

_Sonya Tomlinson

Moses Atwood
Best Singer/Songwriter
Oh, Moses. After releasing one of the most acclaimed local albums of last year, playing a vital role in popularizing Portland’s bustling blues scene, and devoting nearly as much time and effort to maintaining that moustache — Fu Manchu and mustachio don’t do it justice; let’s call it a Mosestache — Moses’s Best Singer/Songwriter victory was sweet justice indeed. Atwood’s strengths were highlighted in his four-song set at the awards show. Equal parts showman and lonely soul, the man’s a born performer: it takes some serious confidence to bust out a chest-thumping, foot-stomping gospel incantation amid a crowd of drunken rockers, and Moses pulled it off with gusto.

I sent our new staff writer, Deirdre Fulton (noticeably faint after being introduced to the music of both Atwood and Samuel James in the same night) to chat with Moses after his set, and it sounds like he’s ready to take on the world, BiMPy in hand: “I’m really grateful for how much support I’ve gotten in Portland, and when I go out on the road I consider myself an ambassador for the Portland music scene,” Atwood said. He reminisced about his favorite moment of the past year, his epic CD-release party at SPACE, and let us know that he’ll be heading out on the road for the next few months with a brand new conversion van, touring the region and then heading down South as well. Ambassador Atwood: we’re happy to have you serve us.

_Christopher Gray

Grupo Esperanza
Best World Music Act
This was an easy one for readers, and equally easy for Grupo Esperanza, taking home a BiMPy in this category for the second year in a row. This large ensemble play and write music rooted in Cuban tradition but infused with their own personal flavors. While their audiences sweat their asses off at the band’s shows, el Grupo make this work look effortless. With no less than nine pieces, Grupo Esperanza are more like a small army of Cuban revolutionaries, and they have indeed brought regime change to Portland. For many years, Portland was without a dance band scene. The Latin music emergence of the early 2000s introduced a few contenders, but Grupo Esperanza are the only ones left standing. They have been a welcome reminder that you don’t necessarily have to have a DJ if you want to have a dance party. Their infectious rhythms have spread virally to unlikely locations such as ... Italy? Indeed, the band won an award for Best Salsa/Latin Jazz Album of 2006 from Vinilemania, a Web radio station and online forum dedicated to Latin music from all over the world. Speaking of Cuba, two of the band’s percussionists missed the memo about that embargo thing, and took off for the exile island to study traditional drums and percussion with local masters. This dedication and attention to detail and authenticity sets them leagues apart.

_Todd Richard