Vote For the 2015 People's Choice Award for the 24th Annual Detroit Music Awards
Anyone that is even remotely interested in the Detroit music scene has probably heard of the Detroit Music Awards. It's the annual celebration of Detroit music, honoring some of the best bands and artists that have come through Detroit. They're back this year for the 24th Annual Detroit Music Awards, and the event will be held on Friday, April 10th at The Fillmore Detroit.
Along with nominations in almost every category, such as Best Rock Artist to Best Live Performance, there's also a special award given out called the People's Choice Award, which is powered by Opportunity Detroit.
Opportunity Detroit is giving everyone the chance to grab some of the freshest tunes from the Motor City – and in turn, the band or artist with the most amount of downloads will win the People's Choice Award!
Here's is how it works:
You can visit the Official Detroit Music Awards website and look for the Opportunity Detroit media player. In the player are the nominees for the 2015 People's Choice Award. Listen and download your favorite tracks for FREE to vote for the winner. You can vote (download) one time per day, per artist or band. The artist or band with the most amount of downloads at the end of the voting wins!
Voting for the 2015 People's Choice Award ends on Sunday, April 5th, so get over to the Detroit Music Awards to vote for your favorites now!
CBS 62 was lucky enough to snag an interview with Opportunity Detroit, along with a couple of the bands nominated for the People's Choice Award…check it out!
We spoke with Tom Goulding, who is the Projects and Communication Manager over at Opportunity Detroit…here is what he had to say!
Tom, tell us about Opportunity Detroit's involvement with the Detroit Music Awards…
Opportunity Detroit believes that the integration of art, culture, design, and music in our community is essential in building a stronger Detroit. Detroit is an entertainment destination, and there's no better way to showcase our music talent than celebrating our homegrown artists!
How did the connection come about?
Opportunity Detroit was born under the mission of showcasing Detroit's exciting present and promising future by creating an urban environment that attracts businesses, residents, and visitors while promoting Detroit in a positive light inside and outside the city.
Anything else you'd like to add?
We are thrilled to be a part of another event that promotes the city as not only a great place to work, but to live and play as well.
We certainly agree, Tom!
Up next is Brian McLaughlin, who is the band manager of alternative rock band Bulletproof Snow. They're not only up for the 2015 People's Choice Award, but also nominated for "Best Rock/Pop Artist/Group," "Best Rock Recording" for "Here We Come," and "Best Rock Vocalist" for Trey McLaughlin, who is the band's lead singer.
Tell us Brian, has the band ever been nominated for a Detroit Music Award, or other awards before?
Bulletproof Snow has received multiple awards and has also won several competitions. Some previous competitions are: Know Resolve-Diesel Concert Lounge (Macomb, MI), Livonia Spree (Livonia, MI), Rockapalooza (Jackson, MI), and Venetian Festival (Charlevoix, MI). Regarding awards, BPS was nominated in 2014 for a Detroit Music Award in the Outstanding Rock/Pop Recording category with "Punished for My Innocence," the title track from our debut EP release. We were also selected to compete for the People's Choice Award. In 2013, BPS also competed for - and won a slot - in the Rockstar UPROAR Festival, where they performed at DTE Energy Music Theater alongside artists such as Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains, and shared the stage with former Guns N' Roses bassist, Duff McKagan and his band, Walking Papers.
What do you think of the People's Choice Award?
I believe the DMA People's Choice Award sort of represents the very essence of what the DMAs are all about. The idea of presenting voting opportunities via song downloads from a media player is great because it covers a lot of ground. It's a simple way for fans to cast votes for their favorite artists and voters to come away with something tangible in return for their support. It also simultaneously exposes fans/voters to the other 19 artists who have songs on the media player. If you vote for an artist, you're bound to notice some of the artists' names and their material; it's inevitable. Another interesting twist is that you cannot cast a vote for a song without first clicking the "play" button on the media player. This makes it a certainty that fans casting votes will actually hear the music when voting. So what do we think? It's an innovative way to conduct the competition and a great way to expose fans to local music.
Are there any upcoming shows for Bulletproof Snow?
We have plenty of interesting shows this spring/summer. We're just starting to post some of them now with more hitting the calendar in the next 2-5 weeks. We've also booked some larger shows, but for some of these, performers will not be announced until reaching the promo "launch" dates. We try to space our shows out enough so that we're not constantly asking the same fan base to come out to a show. We believe this creates more of a demand for the product and provides a better experience for everyone involved. If you're a cover band, you can play out all the time but we are definitely not a cover band. Our next big show is May 16th at the Aztec Ocean Resort on the Jersey Shore boardwalk in Seaside Heights, NJ, followed by a local show at the B One Ballroom in Keego Harbor on May 27th.
What are your thoughts on the Detroit music scene and the Detroit Music Awards?
I believe, and strive to impress the same upon our band members, that the DMAs are something truly special that only happens once each year. Musicians often do not often have a chance to see one another because they are busy all year long working toward their goals and performing. The DMAs offers a situation where a large number of some of metro Detroit's most talented music artists are all gathered at the same location to celebrate Detroit music. It is a fantastic event that offers all who attend not only the chance to greet old friends and meet new people, but also a real opportunity to learn about the current music scene and about Detroit's rich past and music history.
I've heard some say that the DMAs is a sort of "good old boy" closed network of musicians and artists who've known each other for years and that the same artists are nominated and win awards year-after-year. However, we think the DMAs are what you make of them. We worked very hard last year to "break in," if you will, to the DMA music network and I feel like we accomplished a lot. No awards, but a nomination, a selection to compete for a People's Choice Award, and most importantly, we made several new friends and began to get noticed.
Much like anything else, what you get out of the DMAs is most likely proportionate to the amount of effort you're willing to put into it. As a new young artist, applying the required amount of effort is somewhat unusual, especially for a group of high school kids, but not with someone like me guiding and pushing them. I'm reasonably happy (never satisfied) with our involvement and progress in the DMAs this past couple of years. So, in my view, the DMAs are a great opportunity to network, a chance to connect with old friends, to bask in the rich music history of Detroit, and have some fun while you're at it!
You can find more information about Bulletproof Snow here at their official website!
Last but not least, we spoke with the band Harlow, who are a hard rock and alternative band. They're also up for the People's Choice Award, as well as the "Best Rock/Metal/Thrash Band" award.
Tell us about the band…
Harlow was started by the 4 of us (Lauren, Kelly, Joe, and Kevin) in late 2013. We have all been part of the Detroit music scene for years with bands such as Broke, .12 Gauge Persuasion, Avarice, Bat on Fire, and Shudder, but we were looking to do something different, and the result is HARLOW. Harlow is named for the original Bombshell who, in our opinion, was Jean Harlow, and we wanted to be the new bombshell in the Detroit music scene with powerful female vocals mixing with a melodic and dynamic sound from metal to punk and pop. When we started, some people were calling us a super group of local talent, but as it has progressed, we have shown that we work our tails off representing the new Detroit sound all over the Midwest and deliver a show to people and music that they can truly feel. That is what Harlow is truly about.
What do you think of the People's Choice Award?
We are so proud and we all think it's great. What we really like about the People's Choice Award is that it allows the general public and the fans of each and every band to be a part of the DMAs (whereas to vote in the major categories, you must be a member). It gives people that may be hesitant to get involved a way to look in and see that the DMAs are a positive thing for all Detroit music. It also gives a greater audience the chance to listen to artists that they may not be exposed to yet and re-discover that not only is Detroit the Motor City, but we have always and will continue to be a world-class music city!
Are there any upcoming shows for Harlow?
We are very busy and active and hope to be for the entire year. Locally, you can catch HARLOW on 4/25 at the Foundry in Jackson, MI; 5/2 at Simons After Dark in Allen Park, MI; 5/27 at the B One Ballroom in Keego Harbor, MI, and then we are looking to do our debut CD release in the summer, but the details for that are not finalized as of yet.
Tell us your thoughts on the Detroit Music Scene and the Detroit Music Awards…
We have always been huge supporters of the DMAs, and we take a lot of pride from being from Detroit and Michigan overall. As for the DMAs, any kind of award has its detractors or criticism because it tells everyone else that in someone else's opinion, you matter. We look at it as healthy competition with our peers and being recognized is already a victory.
The fact is, the DMAs are a celebration of what this music scene can create collectively and if you have never been or never been involved, you should to see it for what it really is and can be. The organizers truly have a passion for giving us this chance to mingle and grow, and we thank them for all their hard work. As to the scene, Detroit is full of wonderful music, musicians, and developing talent that deserves to be recognized for what they do. To all of them, I say keep chasing that star and follow your paths to where you know you want to be, we will see you along the way.
You can find more information on Harlow on their official Facebook page here!
Don't miss the 24 Annual Detroit Music Awards on Friday, April 10th at the Fillmore Detroit - and make sure you vote by 4/5 for the People's Choice Award! Find more information about the DMAs here!
