Boston’s Own Debbie And Friends Among The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards Vox Populi Winners

May 27, 2009 - PRLog -- Boston based band, Debbie and Friends is among the diverse group of artists chosen as winners in the prestigious Independent Music Awards (IMAs) Vox Populi poll. The Independent Music Awards, the awards program for independent artists and fans is an international program that promotes independent artists, labels & releases to millions of music fans & industry insiders.

Over 33,000 votes were cast In support of the independent artists who were nominated in more than 50 music genre and design categories. In many instances, fan-selected winners were different than the winners chosen by the industry-judging panel that included Peter Gabriel, Roger Daltrey, Suzanne Vega, Keith Urban, George Jones, Clint Black and many other industry vets.

Now in it’s 9th year, The IMAs is a unique program that encourages music fans to make a difference in an artists’ career. Launched during the 6th annual IMAs, voting at the Vox Pop Jukebox begins in the fall when the IMA nominees are determined and continues for several months after the results of the industry-judging panel are announced, in January.

IMA winners and nominees receive promotion, distribution and performance opportunities that place them in front of millions of music fans.

Artists in the 8th Independent Music Awards who won over both industry and fans include:
Unknown Hinson (Alt. Country Song), Ridley Bent (Country Song),
Velvet Code (Dance/Electronica Song), The Trews (Hard Rock/Metal Song), Joeldavessel (Holy Hip Hop Song), John Ricci (Jazz Song), April Smith (Pop/Rock Song), Mana Poly All-Stars (Social Action Song), The Wilders (Alt. Country Album), Niklas Sivelov (Contemporary Classical Album) and Ala-Tan-Ch-Chi-Ge & Zha-Ge-DaSu-Rong (World Traditional Album).
Adding to their IMA win for Alt. Country album, The Wilders’ epic Someone’s Gotta Pay was a hit with fans as well, yielding the Kansas City band additional awards in both Americana Song & Alt. Country Album categories. And the design firm Oxen headed by Emilee Seymour and Shawn Harris, the front man for the Art-Pop Rockers The Matches, earned Vox Pop honors in both the Music Video and Band Web Site categories.

Artistry Has Its Awards
The Independent Music Awards helps top ranked artists and releases reach new markets via promotions, distribution and performance opportunities that place them in front of millions of Fans, Programmers, Talent Buyers, Film, TV & Gaming Music Supervisors, Press and other industry gatekeepers.

The IMAs honor artists who broaden the definition of commercial success & represent the diversity of the global Indie scene. The program supports artists with previous major label releases as well as artists who have only self-released or appeared on indie labels.

Past winners and nominees include: Koko Taylor, Sugarcult, The Apples In Stereo, Lacuna Coil, God Forbid, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Jeff Healey, Denque Fever, Joan As Police Woman, Twilight Hotel, Speech, Chris Whitley, Richard Julian, Mary Gauthier and Tannis Slimmons.

Adding to an already broad spectrum of music genre and design categories, honors added to the upcoming IMA program include: Story Song, Love Song, Concept Album, Eclectic and Long Form Music Video.
Submissions for the 9th annual Independent Music Awards must be received by August 21, 2009 to be eligible for the upcoming program.

A spread featuring the judge-determined IMA winners and entry forms for the upcoming IMAs are included in the 2009 edition of the industry contact directory, The Musician’s Atlas currently on sale. Program details and entry forms are also available at IndependentMusicAwards.com and sonicbids.com/ima2009.
In addition to IMA sponsored showcases throughout the year, a full-day celebration of IMA artists is scheduled for February 2010 in New York City.

8th Annual Vox Pop SONG WINNERS

ALT. COUNTRY
Unknown Hinson-“Torture Town”**

AMERICANA
The Wilders- “Hey Little Darlin”

BLUES
Celso Salim- “Big City Blues”

CHILDREN’S MUSIC
Debbie and Friends-“Hangin' Around”

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN
Bill Petty- “In You”

COUNTRY
Ridley Bent- “Nine Inch Nails”**

COVER SONG
Megan Slankard- “America”

DANCE/ELECTRONICA
Velvet Code- “Say You Love Me”**

FILM/TV (tie)
Jude Johnstone- “In This House”
Michael Brandmeier- “Returning Home”

FOLK/SINGER-SONGWRITER
Andrea Hamilton- “It'll Be Alright”

GOSPEL
Darcell- “If U Wanna”

HARD ROCK/METAL
The Trews- “Hold Me In Your Arms”**

HOLY HIP HOP
Joeldavessel- “I  See”**
Craig Amaker- “Crazy Praise Reload”

JAZZ
John Ricci- “Mode Time”**

LATIN
Muza(Sol Aravena)- “Ausencia”

NEW AGE
Martyrs of Sound- “Ananda”

POP/ROCK
April Smith- “Colors” **

PUNK
The Reveling- “The Great Unknown”

R&B
Izzy James- “Caught Up”

RAP/HIP-HOP
Wondur of Dynamic Vibrations- “The Weight”

SOCIAL ACTION
Mana Poly All-Stars- “Gunshots”**

WORLD FUSION
Baye Kouyate- “Danama”
Pavlov's Dogs Orchestra- “Lines”

WORLD TRADITIONAL
Daniel Payne- “Viking Jig”

DESIGN WINNERS

BAND WEB SITE
Oxen- www.thematches.com

MUSIC VIDEO
The Matches- “Yankee in a Chip Shop”

BAND/VENUE POSTER
Two Hours Traffic/Rebecca Ford

ALBUM ART PHOTOGRAPHY
Kerry Sherck

ARTIST/BAND PUBLICITY PHOTO
Jody Domingue

CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY
Ebru Yildiz

BUSINESS WEB SITE
iMedia Development- www.noisyplanet.net

INDIE RECORD LABEL WEB SITE
Dirty Bandits

ALBUM WINNERS

ALT. COUNTRY
The Wilders- Someone's Got To Pay **

AMERICANA
Valerie Smith & Becky Buller- Here's A Little Song

BLUES
Delta Generators- Devil In The Rhythm

CHILDREN’S MUSIC
The Kerplunks- The Kerplunk

COLLEGE RECORD LABEL
John Common, Autumn Fish, Dualistics- From These Words

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN
Legacy- Legacy

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL
Niklas Sivelor- Improvisational 1 **


COUNTRY
Danielle Talamini- The Road Rises

DANCE/ELECTRONICA
Phileas- Spoken Wor(L)D

FOLK/SINGER-SONGWRITER
Eric Wilson- The Twenties

GOSPEL
J. Parker Scott- Steppin' In

HARD ROCK/METAL
Slickfist- Subharmonic Addiction

JAZZ
Massimo Biolcati- Persona

LIVE PERFORMANCE
The Brakes- Tale Of Two Cities

NEW AGE
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Lil' Tae Rides Again

POP/ROCK
Elephone- Canister

LATIN
Various Artists-¡Ayombe! - The Heart Of Colombia's Música Vallenata

PUNK
The Bloody Irish Boys- Drunk Rock

R&B
Lyne'- C'et Moi

RAP/HIP-HOP
Melo Kan- EPU

WORLD FUSION
Lehera- Heart Sky

WORLD TRADITIONAL
Ala-Tan-Ch-Chi-Ge & Zha-Ge-DaSu-Rong- The Mongolian Folk Long-Song **

8th Annual IMA Judging Panel:
*Peter Gabriel
*Suzanne Vega
*Roger Daltrey
*Buddy Guy
*Clint Black
*James “Blood” Ulmer
*Paquito D’Rivera
*Keith Urban
*Steve Vai
*Rob Wasserman
*Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying)
*Butch Walker
*Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw)
*Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne)
*Kristen Henderson (Antigone Rising)
*John Patitucci
*Lee Ritenour
*Brian Litrell (Backstreet Boys)
*DJ  Skribble
Billy Graziadel (Biohazard)

*Jennifer Arroyo (Suicide City)
*Dez Cadena (The Misfits)
*Christopher “Play” Martin (Kid n Play)
*Kurtis Blow
*MC Lars
*Ice T
*Lisa Loeb
*Rick Springfield
*Jason Olaine (VP Programming The Festival Network)
*Aimee Allen
*Anthony DeCurtis (Rolling Stone)
*Joe Cuello (MTV Networks)
*Mike Errico (SpiralFrog.com)
*Barbara Dacey (mvyradio.com)
*Josh Madden
*K. Tighe (Venus Zine)
*Carol Lester (Mamapublooza Publishing)
*John Pfeiffer (The Aquarian)
*Pilley Bianchi (Mamapalooza Records)

*Paul Anthony (Rumblefish)
*Lee Mergner (Jazz Times)

*Shari Black Velvet (Black Velvet Magazine UK)
*James Wells (Eyeball Records)
*Gordon “Big G” Ames (Big G’s Texas Roadshow)
*Josh Rabinowitz (Grey Group Advertising)
*Stefan Goldby (Mania TV Network)
*Carrie Hughes (MTV)
*Eric Faison (Superadio Networks)
*Fiona Bloom
*Elena Rossi (Capitol Music Group)
*Heather Smith (Rock The Vote)
*Aubin Paul (Punknews.org)
*Richard Jankovich (Rumblefish)

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About Debbie and Friends: Debbie and Friends songs are engaging, interactive, fun, and educational. Their family concerts are fun for the whole family. Many say that Debbie and Friends’ performances are all about making music together and having a great time!