I have been nominated for three MusicNL awards!
It's all set in now and I think I have some heartfelt thanks to give out. It feels really good to have gotten this recognition. As Ian Foster noted, the nomination process is juried, which means the plum is that much sweeter for those nominated.
I have to, first and foremost, thank Dean Stairs and Stevie Stairs for taking me under his wing to help develop me as an artist and as a professional musician. Without our chats, studio time and consultations, I would still be some albumless guy only playing in bars.
Different But Polite is a striped down album that I am insanely proud of. I love how it sounds, but mostly, I love the direction that my music has been taking. I can already see the next album being further down the evolutionary path of my craft. The album wouldn't have been a third of what it is without the musical help from Harry Parsons, Elizabeth Pond and Greg TheSquare. I also have to thank all the guest vocalists Laura Belbin, Emily Guy, Kallie Fifield, Brittany Benson, Peter Welsh, Donavon Hutchings and Sam Stairs. Also, a major thanks to Joel Upshall for the design work. With a team like this, who could go wrong?
The awards I have been nominated for are:
Music Educator of the Year
The Nickle Music Video of the Year
Folk/Roots Artist of the Year
The nominated video is for Poor Cold hungry Happy. The video was directed by Johnny Rawkhard with huge help from Conrad Layden. We hung out for an afternoon and made a really nice video that really suited the song. John and I have discussed making more videos together, I can't wait.
With regards Educator nomination, Ill keep it simple. I work really hard at my job, extra curricular groups, private lessons and anything else I can do to help young musicians/artists grow. I have a true ethusiasm for my vocation, but my students, co workers, admin (the amazing teams of Krista M. Freake, Kris White, Dave Conway and Shelly Harnett Whiteway) parents and other members of the community make my job fun, easy to do and very successful. Thank you for the love and support. (I think Lindy Whitt deserves a shout out because he has guided me through lot).
I'm a musician and I earn my living as a musician. As a kid (even before I started playing music) that's all I ever wanted. I worked really hard to make 2017 my best year as an artist and it already has proven to be. Thanks to anyone who has offered support, performance opportunities or just love in general. Im a weird guy who has a lot of great people around him.
A major congrats goes out to all of the nominees and all the artists who have done great things this year.