The ’01 L.A. Weekly Music Awards (LAWMA) were held at Ruby nightclub on Wednesday, June 27, and all things considered were pretty much a smash(ed) success. A packed house of jolly music-bizzers and those who love them enjoyed an evening of glad-handing, milling about and general frivolity, as well as strong sets by the likes of funky party boys Slowrider, an erratic but compelling John Frusciante and merry mixmaster Madlib; thanks also to Anna Homler and Michael Intriere, who tackled their voice-and-cello improvs at evening‘s end as if in command performance at Royal Albert Hall. All the while host Bob Forrest did a fabulous job of holding the sometimes loose proceedings together, which, along with plenty of clever quips, heartfelt pronouncements and bared breasts by award winners and presenters along the way, made for a night to remember.
And here are this year’s LAWMA honorees:
BEST NEW ARTIST
Slowrider
BEST ROCK BAND
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
BEST HARD ROCK
METAL BAND
tie: Nebula and Tool
BEST POPROCK BAND
The Negro Problem
BEST PUNK
HARDCORE BAND
Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones
BEST RAP
HIP-HOP ARTIST
Medusa & Feline Science
BEST JAZZ ARTIST
Brad Mehldau
BEST COUNTRY ARTIST
Dave Alvin
BEST CONTEMPORARY
BLUESR&B ARTIST
tie: Macy Gray and Jill Scott
BEST SALSALATIN ARTIST
Poncho Sanchez
BEST INSTRUMENTAL BAND
W.A.C.O.
BEST NEW-GENRE
UNCATEGORIZABLE ARTIST
Xu Xu Fang
JAZZ EMINENCE AWARD
Horace Silver
POPROCK LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Captain Beefheart
BEST WORLD MUSIC
RECOMBINANT ARTIST
Very Be Careful
BEST DJ — MIXMEISTER
Cut Chemist
BEST DJ — SELECTOR
tie: DJ Nobody, DJ Daz
and Garth Trinidad
BEST RADIO SHOW
Chocolate City — KCRW
BEST ROCKPOP SONGWRITER
COMPOSER
Beck
BEST DANCE MUSIC ARTIST
Supreme Beings of Leisure
OUTSTANDING CLASSICAL
ENSEMBLEARTIST
L.A. Philharmonic
Our first annual MVP Award,
in which readers chose the most valuable player on the L.A. music scene, goes to:
DJ Keoki
Other top vote-getters
in the MVP stakes include:
East L.A. Sabor Factory
Kim Hill
John Frusciante
Even Rude
Gwen Mars
Lily‘s Siren
Come and Go
Huayucaltia
Brilliant Sins
Jerry Quickley
Nik Frost
Sheila Nicholls
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