88Nine RadioMilwaukee announced the winners today of its first annual Milwaukee Music Awards. Awards were given in 18 categories.
Although station staffers selected most winners, more than 1,000 listeners voted online for Listener Choice Awards in a number of categories.
Winners will be featured on the station Web site and identified on air as "Milwaukee Music Awards Winner" when their music is played. They will also receive a plaque.
More than anything, the Milwaukee Music Awards are about celebrating Milwaukee's growing music scene," says RadioMilwaukee's Programming and Content Director Kedar Coleman. "We want to use our resources to draw attention to Milwaukee's world-class musicians and its creative class."
Winners of the Milwaukee Music Awards:
- Song of the Year (Urban) -- "Bombs Away," Element with J Todd
- Song of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- "Her New Church," Paul Cebar
- Album of the Year (Urban) -- "Life is a Heist," Element
- Album of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- "Civil War," Fever Marlene
- Vocalist of the Year (Urban) - Adi Mack (of Growing Nation)
- Vocalist of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- Scott Starr (of Fever Marlene)
- Best New Artist -- Leo Minor
- 414 Music Award (in-studio performance of the year) -- Ali Lubbad & The Desert Sound Ensemble
- TNT Award (artist most likely to blow up nationally) -- Northern Room
- Kick-Ass Guitar Riff of the Year -- "Can U Dig It?" Certain Stars
- Earwig Award (catchiest single song of the year) -- "Losin' My Mind," ShutDemDown Productions
- Album Cover of the Year -- "Dance Casador!" The Championship
- Best Band Name -- Dark Horse Project
Winners of Listener Choice Awards:
- Artist of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- Northern Room
- Artist of the Year (Urban) -- Element
- Live Performer of the Year (Urban) -- De La Buena
- Live Performer of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- Northern Room
- Club DJ of the Year -- Old Man Malcolm
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
