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With the Band Everyone a winner at the NORBAY Awards By Gretchen Giles A petite brunette in a gold, mesh top made her way to the backstage area of the NORBAY Awards early in the evening on June 10. "I need an all-access pass," she explained. When asked why, she uttered those delicious words, "I'm with the band." The band she is with is DDK, a guitar-bass-drum trio composed of two brothers in fifth and ninth grades and a seventh-grade friend, all from the Sonoma Valley. They kicked off the first annual NORBAYs with a glimpse of the future as they wailed a hard-edged lament to the miseries of the middle school years. Held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on a warm, clear evening, the first annual North Bay Music Awards heralded a new tradition. Co-sponsored and co-conceived by this paper and the Harmony Festival, and graciously hosted by KRSH 95.9-FM morning host Doug Smith, the NORBAYs aimed to fete the enormous musical talent we in the North Bay are so blessed with. With house sounds provided by hip-hop jazz popsters the Shot Gun Wedding Quintet, the evening was a blur of excellence. Among the evening's many highlights were Celtic goddess Kate Price spinning a golden ephemera; blues artist Marcus James bringing two of his colleagues from Mali onto the stage for a too-brief set of pentatonic magic; American Drag lighting up the place just as dusk settled; Wisdom proving to be excellently named; the cool cats from Girls in Suede performing directly after high school graduation; that perfect moment when the long-limbed Lisa from the Lemon Lime Lights put down the cello and broke into tap dance; the furious, impeccable duel of Carter and Bodlovich's guitars; and the Johnny Otis Tribute Band almost literally bringing the house down as everyone danced in the darkening night to their tight set of R&B classics and Otis faves. Thanks to all who participated by voting, performing, volunteering and attending! Here is the list of the artists who were nominated in this inaugural year. Winners names are italicized. See you there next year. Bluegrass / folk / Cajun: David Thom Band Nina Gerber Hot Buttered Rum String Band Skiffle Symphony Stiff Dead Cat Blues: Elvin Bishop Norton Buffalo Maria Muldaur Charlie Musselwhite Roy Rogers Celtic: Chris Caswell Greenhouse Kate Price Mad Hannans Spiral Bound World music: Ancient Future Markus James Hamsa Lila Mickey Hart Zakir Hussein Children's music: Tim Cain Jim Corbett James K Kid Kaleidoscope Katie Ketchum Classical: Cotati Philharmonic Jeffrey MacFarland-Johnson Marin Symphony Napa Valley Symphony Santa Rosa Symphony Country / Americana: Free Peoples Dave Gleason The Jenkins Audrey Auld Mezera Mother Truckers DJ / electronica: Rob Cervantes Zack Darling Dragonfly Foxgluv Gianni Hip-hop / rap: Derivative Jebidiah & Natron North Coast Underground Wisdom Zealous Jazz: Carter & Bodlovich Dave MacNab Jazz Lab Mel Graves Julian Lage Ian Scherer Latin: David Correa & Cascada Grupo Atlantis Los Esclavos del Amor Cautivo Banda Show los Amantes New Age: Suzanne Ciani Steve Gordon Steve Halpern Daniel Kobialka Jai Uttal Punk / industrial / alt rock: Girls in Suede Lemon Lime Lights The Rum Diary Toast Machine Tsunami Bomb R&B / soul / funk: Eric Lindell Rhythm Town Jive Pride & Joy Shotgun Wedding Quintet Vinyl Reggae / ska: Amha Baraka & Jahkuumba Groundation Luna Angel Rootstock Sol Horizon Rock: American Drag Les Claypool New Monsoon Righteous Fists of Harmony The Velvet Teen Vocal group / choir: Copper Wimmin Les Etoiles Love Choir Occidental Community Choir Sonoma Chorale North Bay legends: The Dead Journey Huey Lewis Bonnie Raitt Carlos Santana [ North Bay | Metroactive Central | Archives ]