(Top) Best Female Vocalist winner Bekka Eaton during the Daves’ live performance. (Center) Evening Magazine’s Ray Murray presents two awards. (Bottom) Teenage guitar whiz Ritchie Kotzen grinds his axe for all to see at the Chestnut Cabaret. (Photos by Andy Rash).

By GREGG KIRK
Big Shout Magazine, February 1990

To say that the 1989 Street Beat/Big Shout Magazine Music Poll Awards Bash brought the reader’s poll to a head would be like saying the San Francisco earthquake inconvenienced a few people.

The event was a wild musical blowout that was the culmination of months of work and preparation and which assembled most of the area’s noted talent, who either performed, accepted awards, or came to watch the festivities.

For the several hundred people who were in attendance at the Chestnut Cabaret on Tuesday, Jan. 23, the goodwill, good cheer, and good vibes were very apparent, but there were many things — behind the scenes things — that only the staff of Big Shout or WMMR got to witness. This is why we thought it necessary to show the public a backstage view of what actually occurred during the 1989 Music Poll — from its inception last summer to its wildly successful awards ceremony last month.

In the tradition of all the “The Making of…” videos foisted on the public after a full-length film has ended its run at the box office, here is our anatomy of a music poll — “The Making of Music Poll 1989,” if you will. For reasons of nostalgia and for the benefit of those who could not attend, here is our account of the action.

“I Know, Let’s Put On A Show!”

It all started with a few ideas that turned into a few phone calls, that turned into some actual meetings of the minds — all of which began last summer around July. The fact that the staff at Big Shout had been wanting to do a reader’s/music poll of some kind at the end of the year coupled with the fact that Cyndy Drue and Buzz Barkley of WMMR‘s Street Beat radio show had been looking for a vehicle in which to do a music awards poll, was the lucky coincidence that got the ball rolling.

After a few initial phone calls in the late summer, it was decided that the magazine staff and the Street Beat staff would meet sometime in September to get down to brass tacks. It was during these meetings in the autumn of last year that the three different categories (best nationally-signed bands best independently-signed bands, and unsigned bands) and the 24 different awards were conceived.

We would like to say that we pounded out the basic concepts of the poll during late-night brainstorming sessions held in cramped smoke-filled rooms. Instead, we met during rainy afternoons in Philly, usually over lunch, and we got plenty of parking tickets.

It didn’t take long to decide that it was important not only to recognize the unsung heroes of our area but also to note the ones who had risen to the top or were in the process of rising. And thus came the three different categories.

The Awards

The awards themselves were another story. After much discussion and a little haggling, it was decided that very standard awards would be given to the nationally and independently-signed bands, while individual instrumentalists would be recognized in the unsigned bands category. Buzz Barkley is credited for coming up with the idea for the actual trophy itself. It stemmed from a comment he made about Cyndy’s playing local music on commercial radio as being like “a spiked heel in the face of the industry.” And so the “Spiked Heel Award” was born.

Miscellaneous awards were discussed, and we thought there was a need for a sort of comedy-relief award which would take some of the serious edge off of the poll itself. This is why, at one point, there actually existed a best groupie award, which read something like this on the nomination ballot: “Bands, this is your chance to vote! Cast your ballot for the most enthusiastic fan you have encountered. A first name is sufficient.”

But for the obvious reasons the award was scrapped. Instead, it was replaced with the biggest hair award, which later became the best/biggest hair award because it was felt that color and architecture should be taken into consideration besides the sheer size and mass.

(Top) John Eddie rattles the rafters. (Center) Robert Hazard accepts the Artistic Achievement Award as presenters Alan Newman and Michael Tearson look on. (Bottom) Audience members and nominees Jack and Cat Faulkner of Junior League of America watch the ceremonies with interest. (Photos by Andy Rash)

The Ballots

Finally, the nomination ballot appeared in November’s issue of this magazine, and after 15 days of balloting, the results were used to compose the final ballot, which was printed in December. In order for a nominee to have made it into the final ballot, that person or group had to have been nominated and seconded, and then those nominees with the most ballots were compiled for the final ballot. The number of nominees that appeared per award were left to the discretion of the staff at the magazine and at Street Beat.

After receiving a modest influx of nominations from the public in November, nothing could have prepared us for the deluge of ballots that struck our post office box like Hurricane Hugo. At first they trickled in at 10 or 15 a day. Then 32 ballots in one day became the record. A few weeks later, 50 ballots in one day were received and in the final days of the poll, 77 envelopes were received in one winter afternoon. The workers at our local post office came to know us on a first-name basis.

Then came weeks of counting and the weeding out of ballot stuffers. With some of the ballots, a few voters sent us letters voicing their opinions on different aspects of the poll. Several commended all involved parties on the existence of the poll itself, while more complained about why there was a need for the dreaded gray box.

If you filled out a ballot, you knew it well. It was the harmless-looking box that asked only for your name and address in the nomination ballot but which grew into a gray monster about the time of the final ballot. Its purpose was twofold — 1. To deter ballot stuffers from sitting down with a stack of the magazines and a six-pack of beer and filling in the votes for that person’s personal favorites and 2. to enable us to acquire vital demographic information that will help us better serve our readers. It was for your own good. Really.

While the staff at Big Shout was furiously counting ballots and preparing a program for the grand finale — the awards ceremony, the Street Beat people as well as the staff at WMMR began organizing the actual event in tandem with a slew of production people too numerous to mention.

And the Sunday before the event, Cyndy featured the editors of Big Shout on Street Beat in order to discuss the nominees, workings of the poll, and world problems. The recorded work of some of the nominees was played on the show, and coffee and donuts were served afterward.

Suffice it to say, it got a little crazy at the end, and some wondered if it would ever come off.

The Grand Finale

The night began auspiciously enough with a champagne reception at 6:30 p.m., which was open only to the nominees and their significant others. This was very well attended and afforded those present to an unbridled schmoozing free for all. Videos and the recorded music of some of the nominees were played over the dull roar of the networking attendees.

And suddenly the music blared from the house P.A., and Earle Bailey‘s voice boomed like the voice of God to announce the official beginning of the night’s festivities. Jack Quigley suddenly appeared — with no friends to speak of — and played an acoustic song he had written about the troubles with the music biz, which he ended with the Beatles’ line, “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” And suddenly everything was underway.

The night’s masters of ceremonies, Cyndy Drue and Tom Toones, were announced and they introduced A&M recording artists Innocence Mission, who broke into a song that helped reestablish why they had been nominated for two awards.

Next, Shrapnel recording artist Ritchie Kotzen played an original guitar instrumental that did not suffer from him not being backed by a band (he played to a tape).

John Eddie and his band clocked in with a high energy performance that was toned down in mid-song so that Eddie could deliver a message to the audience where he pledged his support to the Philly music scene.

Multi-award winners the Daves gave a spirited mini-show that saw lead singer Bekka Eaton also giving this message to the audience, “I came here from the Midwest a few years ago. You people have made me feel at home!”

But perhaps the most stunning performance of the night came when Kenn Kweder (whose name is commonly preceded by “South Street legend”) took the stage. His band of South Street all-stars ripped into an abrasive instrumental that was broken only by Kweder’s fits of outrageous poetry. With hair standing on end like a mad scientist, Kweder paced the length of the stage with a folder containing his original poem “White Bastards.”

“You are the whitest bastards I have ever seen!” screamed Kweder as the song grew in intensity. Without a doubt, his was the most talked about and most amusing appearance.

All the stops were pulled out at the end of the night with the event’s first annual “Guitar Army.” Enlisted men Greg Davis, Allen James (Junior League of America), Ritchie Kotzen, Steve Parry (Heaven’s Edge), and Steve Ericks (Bad Romance) took the roof off of the Chestnut with a version of “Freeway Jam.” They were later joined by Tom Toones in rave-up versions of “Tush” and “Twistin’ the Night Away,” which Toones dedicated to Cyndy Drue.

But of course, the music was not the only reason for the evening, and awards had to be given away. There were plenty of illustrious presenters on hand to perform the duties in style. Jade Starling (Pretty Poison), Michael Tearson (WMMR), Alan Newman (Concert Co.) Bob Beru (the Cabarets), Dan Mecham (Channel 29), Kurt Shore (Kajem Studios), Phil Nicolo (Studio 4), Ray Koob (WMMR), G.G. & Dave Rath (Heaven’s Edge), Pierre Robert (WMMR), Ray Murray (Evening Magazine), Tamra Feldman (WMMR), and the editors of this magazine were among those who doled out awards, and the presentations were complimented by “The Geator with the Heater” Jerry Blavat.

At this point it would have been appropriate to insert a pithy quote somebody uttered during the course of the evening which adequately summed up the entire awards. Instead, here are a barrage of one-liners that captured certain moments of the evening.

“It’s not a man’s world anymore!” — Lynne Davis (the Candles)

“I love her like a sheep, Baaaahhh,” — Tom Toones

“I’m making less money now that when I was a musician!” — Bob Beru (the Cabarets)

“I’m glad you liked my hair. I really hope you like my music, too.” — Jade Starling (Pretty Poison) and award winner for Best/Biggest Hair.

“I need another drink.” — Ken Homer (Live After Elvis)

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” — three of the four members of the Electric Love Muffin.

See you next year.