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organissimo wins two WYCE Jammie Awards

Jim Alfredson
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Jim Alfredson

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Last night was the 7th Annual WYCE Jammie Awards and we won both the "Best Jazz Album" and "Album of the Year" awards at the show. It was a crazy night, since we played at Meijer Gardens at 6:30pm, then I played with Root Doctor, then we headed over to the Intersection for the Jammie Awards and played there.

Whew! But we're very proud and grateful for the recognition. I guess people like "This Is The Place". Next up, a live album.

:cool:

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Robert J Newbie

Robert J

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Did you guys dress for the occasion? :D

© 2006 Grand Rapids Press.

A tradition was coined unintentionally during WYCE's first Jammie Awards ceremony in 2000.

"People just showed up in their jammies," said WYCE-FM (88.1) station manager Michael Packer, speculating the name of the awards led listeners to believe they were attending a pajama party. "We said, hey, that's a cool thing."

Now, it's standard for pajama-clad fans to attend the best-in- local-music ceremony, where they are rewarded for their spirit.

At Tuesday's seventh-annual show, the first 100 pajama wearers through the door will receive a free CD.

Of course, there's plenty of reason for normal-clothes-wearing music fans to show up as well, since Jammies night for the past six years has been a showcase for the eclecticism of Grand Rapids' music scene.

Packer hopes to have 15 or 16 acts perform in the show, which will be recorded for a CD. A disc of performances from last year's ceremony, titled "Sweet Rewards," has been well-eceived, he said.

Bands that have played the Jammies, winners and nominees alike, stand to reap benefits from the exposure.

....

Among the benefits of a nomination is the chance to perform for a new crowd. Since the Jammies honor an eclectic blend of musicians, listeners with a variety of tastes will gather under the same roof.

....

Winners are chosen by a staff of 80 volunteers. Artists whose CDs are accepted into WYCE's music library are eligible for the Jammies.

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GregN Newbie

GregN

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The Intersection is a world class venue and about 700-1000 people were in attendance. It was very cool! This is the same place where organissimo opened for Scofield, but given the diverse and very stacked bill of regional favs, the crowd was much thicker. The place went nuts when org broke into Peaches and the fellas did themselves proud. The Meijer Gardens gig was also to capacity.

Randy, Joe, and Jim, I am proud to call you friends.

Greg

"Did you guys dress for the occasion?"

Randy had on some very sexy pajamas. :o:unsure:

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Robert J Newbie

Robert J

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Greg - hope you don't mind me posting this - I have free access to Factiva at work. Though it is 'yesterday's news'

© 2006 Grand Rapids Press.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Gigs and congratulatory calls are pouring in, radio airplay has picked up, audiences pack performances.

"It's kind of wild because the phone's been ringing off the hook," said guitarist Greg Nagy of Lansing's Root Doctor. "It's kind of taking off right now ... I think it's going to be an incredibly busy year, a big year."

With a new album already captivating fans just two weeks after its release, the five-piece blues band hopes to keep building musical momentum starting with Tuesday's concert at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Root Doctor and the jazz-blues trio Organissimo perform at the first of two February "Tuesday Nights Rock" concerts in the Gardens' Grand Room. Organized by West Michigan singer-songwriter Ralston Bowles, the Tuesday blues, jazz and rock sessions serve as a test run in drawing new audiences to the Gardens.

"We're trying to jazz up Tuesday nights during the wintertime when it's cold outside and there's not as much to do," said Rick Jensen, public relations coordinator for the Gardens, which will offer a cash bar plus specials at the Taste of the Gardens Cafe starting at 5 p.m. Concertgoers also can check out the "Andy Goldsworthy: Arches" exhibition now on display.

Because it falls on the same night as the Jammie Awards sponsored by WYCE-FM (88.1) at The Intersection, organizers have moved up the show's starting time to 6:30 p.m. That allows Organissimo, nominated for best jazz album of the year at the Jammies, to pack up and move downtown for a brief late-night performance at The Intersection.

For Root Doctor, the Gardens debut also doubles as a CD-release party -- marking a chance to showcase the rootsy blues and R&B music unveiled by the band on its new album, "Been a Long Time Coming."

Led by veteran singer Freddie Cunningham's soulful, resonant vocals, the Lansing band assembles talented musicians with impressive resumes: bassist James Williams (younger brother of Allman Brothers' Lamar Williams), Nagy (who's shared stages with Larry McCray and Ronnie Earl), drummer Rick Bole (formerly with Duke Tumatoe), and Hammond B3/keyboard whiz Jim Alfredson (also a member of Organissimo, a band generating a national buzz of its own).

"It's like the whole thing had to happen," Nagy said of forces that brought the current lineup of Root Doctor together last year to record a CD. "It's a milestone. I feel it had to be done because we've all put so much time and effort into our craft."

But Nagy said the true character of Root Doctor, initially formed in the early '90s, surfaces during live performances of its "feel- good" blues music. "It's the only time I'm totally in the moment. When things are clicking ... it is electric."

And the band clicks a lot on this side of the state.

"Honestly, we love Grand Rapids. People really respond to the band," he said.

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GregN Newbie

GregN

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Greg - hope you don't mind me posting this - I have free access to Factiva at work. Though it is 'yesterday's news'

© 2006 Grand Rapids Press.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Gigs and congratulatory calls are pouring in, radio airplay has picked up, audiences pack performances.

"It's kind of wild because the phone's been ringing off the hook," said guitarist Greg Nagy of Lansing's Root Doctor. "It's kind of taking off right now ... I think it's going to be an incredibly busy year, a big year."

With a new album already captivating fans just two weeks after its release, the five-piece blues band hopes to keep building musical momentum starting with Tuesday's concert at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Root Doctor and the jazz-blues trio Organissimo perform at the first of two February "Tuesday Nights Rock" concerts in the Gardens' Grand Room. Organized by West Michigan singer-songwriter Ralston Bowles, the Tuesday blues, jazz and rock sessions serve as a test run in drawing new audiences to the Gardens.

"We're trying to jazz up Tuesday nights during the wintertime when it's cold outside and there's not as much to do," said Rick Jensen, public relations coordinator for the Gardens, which will offer a cash bar plus specials at the Taste of the Gardens Cafe starting at 5 p.m. Concertgoers also can check out the "Andy Goldsworthy: Arches" exhibition now on display.

Because it falls on the same night as the Jammie Awards sponsored by WYCE-FM (88.1) at The Intersection, organizers have moved up the show's starting time to 6:30 p.m. That allows Organissimo, nominated for best jazz album of the year at the Jammies, to pack up and move downtown for a brief late-night performance at The Intersection.

For Root Doctor, the Gardens debut also doubles as a CD-release party -- marking a chance to showcase the rootsy blues and R&B music unveiled by the band on its new album, "Been a Long Time Coming."

Led by veteran singer Freddie Cunningham's soulful, resonant vocals, the Lansing band assembles talented musicians with impressive resumes: bassist James Williams (younger brother of Allman Brothers' Lamar Williams), Nagy (who's shared stages with Larry McCray and Ronnie Earl), drummer Rick Bole (formerly with Duke Tumatoe), and Hammond B3/keyboard whiz Jim Alfredson (also a member of Organissimo, a band generating a national buzz of its own).

"It's like the whole thing had to happen," Nagy said of forces that brought the current lineup of Root Doctor together last year to record a CD. "It's a milestone. I feel it had to be done because we've all put so much time and effort into our craft."

But Nagy said the true character of Root Doctor, initially formed in the early '90s, surfaces during live performances of its "feel- good" blues music. "It's the only time I'm totally in the moment. When things are clicking ... it is electric."

And the band clicks a lot on this side of the state.

"Honestly, we love Grand Rapids. People really respond to the band," he said.

:blush:

I don't mind at all, however,

I didn't realize the interview was going to come out as such (with me being cited). So I was a bit embarrassed at first. But hey, it's a very nice article, and it definetly helped with the turnout at Meijer Gardens.

The best part of the Garden's show: they asked us to come back and do the outdoor venue in the summer. Last year the venue hosted such acts as Keb Mo, George Benson, Bela Fleck, etc.. so we are very honored and excited. Things are taking off a bit for both bands as Jimmy is kind of like Warren Haynes of the Allman Bros.

organissimo is his Govt. Mule, and they be kickin'!

(man do I write some corny stuff sometimes) :)

The New RD CD Song Samples!

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randissimo Newbie

randissimo

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Congrats to you all, great albums deserve great rewards!!

I'm confident this is just the beginning, keep on GROOVIN'!

Ogie Dreyer

Thanks in part to you Ogie.. You (and Mike Scot) were the first to help us get our music heard on WYCE when you had that great Friday afternoon show on WYCE..

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