Prayers, the self-described cholo-goth duo whose debut album came out in June, earned a field-leading five nominations for the 25th annual San Diego Music Awards.
Close behind, with four nominations apiece, are national jam-band favorites Slightly Stoopid and singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Berkley. Encinitas -based jazz guitarist, composer and band leader Peter Sprague will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award when this year's edition of the SDMAs is held Oct. 5 at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay on Shelter Island. The nominees were announced Sunday at 6 p.m.
Confirmed performers at the annual awards fete include Sprague, Berkley Hart Selis Twang, Big Mountain, Louis XIV, Gregory Page and teenaged troubadour Cody Lovass. With the exception of the recently formed group Berkley Hart Selis Twang, all of the performers have won SDMAs in previous years. So have the individual members of the comma-free Berkley Hart Selis Twang, which teams Eve Selis and Marc "Twang" Intravia with Jeff Berkley and Calman Hart.
The public can vote online in 18 of the 28 SDMA categories between now and Sept. 18 on the event's website. Votes for the 10 Album of the Year categories -- which include pop, rock, blues, Americana and other categories -- can only be voted on by members of the San Diego Music Academy, which includes area musicians, concert promoters, talent buyers, radio station program directors and other industry professionals. Tickets for the Oct. 5 event are available from the SDMA website.
The five nominations for Prayers, which was formed in 2013 by vocalist Leafar Seyer and electronic musician Dave Parley, are the most in recent memory by a new group for the SDMAs. Seyer, whose real name is Rafael Reyes, would make a fascinating subject for a film documentary.
In 1994, he opened Pokéz, downtown's first (and, so far, only) Mexican vegetarian restaurant. A member of the gang Sherman Grant Hill Park 27, he served time for assault in 2010. While imprisoned, he began writing his book, "Living Dangerously," which was completed and published after his release. Now 40, he is also the founder of the nonprofit Diamond Dogs, an organization that provides a safe haven for artists in need. The lyrics Reyes writes for Prayers reflect the realities of his life and his quest for redemption.
Prayers is nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video (both for "Young Gods"), Best Alternative and Artist of the Year.
The other 2015 Artist of the Year nominees include: the Grammy Award-winning band Switchfoot (which in July opened a pay-as-you-can music school in Encinitas);, Slightly Stoopid (which last year became the first band to headline seven years in a row at Chula Vista's nearly 20,000-capacity Sleep Train Amphitheatre and in December launched its own music festival in Puerto Morelos, Mexico); Steve Poltz (who has completely recovered from an on-stage stroke he suffered last year), Tribal Seeds, Little Hurricane (which won a field-leading three trophies at the 2011 SDMAs); Unwritten Law; and saxophonist Karl Denson, who leads the band Tiny Universe and is also the new touring saxophonist with the Rolling Stones).
This year's other top nominees include Little Hurricane and The Burning of Rome, with three nods each, and Switchfoot leader Jon Foreman, who earned one nomination with his band and two for his solo work.
Proceeds from the SDMAs go to the San Diego Music Foundation's Guitars and Banjos for Schools program, which provides free instruments and music instruction to public school students across San Diego County.
The 2015 San Diego Music Awards nominees
Artist of the Year
Karl Denson
Little Hurricane
Prayers
Steve Poltz
Slightly Stoopid
Switchfoot
Tribal Seeds
Unwritten Law
Album of the Year
B-Side Players - Dos Generaciones
Berkley Hart Selis Twang - BHST
Danny Green Trio - After The Calm
Gregory Page - One Way Journey Home
Jack Tempchin - Room to Run
Prayers - Young Gods
Slightly Stoopid - Meanwhile...Back at the Lab
Tristan Prettyman - Back to Home
Song of the Year
9 Theory - At Home in the Dark
Blackout Party - Float On Towards Our Doom
Jon Foreman - Caroline
Little Hurricane - Heart Skips a Beat
P.O.D. - This Goes Out To You
Prayers - Young Gods
Slightly Stoopid - The Prophet
WAVVES - Leave
Best New Artist
Birdy Bardot
KI
Le Chateau
Saint Shameless
Shady Francos
Taurus Authority
The Bassics
Ypsitucky
Best Music Video by a San Diego band
Berkley Hart - My Name is Sam
Burning Of Rome - Better Than He
Dare to Be Dreamers - Still Young
Hideout - Where You've Been
Hills Like Elephants - Misquote
Jon Foreman - Caroline
Prayers - Young Gods
Slightly Stoopid - The Prophet
Best Jazz
Áfrojazziacs
Danny Green
Gilbert Castellanos
Joshua White
Krass Bros
Montalban Quintet
Nathan Hubbard
Steph Johnson
Best Jazz Album
Archie Thompson & The Archtones Allstars - Jazz Vespers, Vol. 1
Charles McPherson - The Journey
Danny Green Trio - After the Calm
Juice Box - s/t
Miss Erika Davies - In Love With Someone
Peter Sprague & Leonard Patton - Dream Walkin'
Sue Palmer - Bricktop
Wayne Riker - Ten Shades of Green
Best Singer-Songwriter
Christopher Dale
Cody Lovaas
Dave Humphries
Dawn Mitschele
Natalie Emmons
Raelee Nikole
Sierra West
Tolan Shaw
Best Blues
Bill McGee
Chet & the Committee
Euphoria Brass Band
Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact
Robin Henkel
Tomcat Courtney
Whitney Shay
Mercedes Moore Band
Best World Music
Cumbia Machin
Jet West
Patric Petrie
Stranger
B-Side Players
The Devestators
Todo Mundo
Tribal Theory
Best Americana
Action Andy & The Hi-tones
Behind the Wagon
Berkley Hart Selis Twang
Jesse LaMonaca & The Dime Novels
Nena Anderson
Sara Petite
The Midnight Pine
The Moves
Best Hip Hop
Black Resume
The Lyrical Groove
Mr. Ridley
Odessa Kane
Orko Eloheim
Parker and the Numberman
The Gaslamp Killer
Vokab Kompany
Best Pop
Calamity
Dr. Seahorse
Gayle Skidmore
Nicky Venus
Paul Cannon Band
The Lulls
The Rosalyns
The Silent Comedy
Best Alternative
Flaggs
Grizzly Business
Octagrape
Prayers
Shake Before Us
The Bassics
The Burning of Rome
Wild Wild Wets
Best Rock
Amerikan Bear
The Routine
Barbarian
Blackout Party
Neighbors To The North
The Donkeys
The Farmers
The Nervous Wreckords
Best Hard Rock
Author & Punisher
Cattle Decapitation
Deep Sea Thunder Beast
Head Wound City
Retox
Roni Lee
Schizophonics
Wovenwar
Best Club DJ
Adam Salter
DJ Artistic
DJ Claire
DJ Kurch
DJ Scooter
DJ Slowhand
Gabe Vega
Mike Czech
Best Pop Album
Gregory Page - One Way Journey Home
Hills Like Elephants - Tell Tales
Josh Damigo - I Will Be There
Kimm Rogers - Where The Pavement Grows
Michael Inzunza - Michael & Marie
Normandie Wilson - Is Tired of Being Nice
Steven Ybarra - What I Really Want to Say
Tolan Shaw - Chin Up
Best Rock Album
Bangladesh - Certain Illusions
Barbarian - Night Blooms
Cult Vegas - By Any Means
Diamond Lakes - Modern Horrors
Neighbors to the North - All Southern View
The Loons - Inside Out Your Mind
The Soaks - s/t
Weatherbox - Flies in All Directions
Best Alternative Album
Hideout - Rookie
Sledding With Tigers - Come on and Slam
Soft Lions - Spellbreaker
The New Regime - Exhibit B
The Palace Ballroom - s/t
Triumph of the Wild - We Come With the Dust
Weatherbox - Flies in All Directions
Wild Wild Wets - 14th Floor
Best Hard Rock Album
Author and Punisher - Melk en Honing
Death Eyes - Death Eyes
Desert Suns - Desert Suns
Gletscher - Die Einöde
Griever - Our Love is Different
Joy - Under the Spell of Joy
The Long and Short of It - Burl
Wovenwar - s/t
Best Hip Hop Album
1019 and J. Treel?- Treel Tales of Number Running
Dre Cat?- What's a Dre Cat?
Buhay Cali - Blessings
Dre Trev & 18Sense - CALiens
Generik & Audible Junkie - Organic Anti-D.O.T.E.
Kaus and DJ Inform - Welcome to the World Of...
Left in Company - Artifacts
The Lyrical Groove - Spoken Soul: Music for Life
Best Blues Album
Black Market III - Vanarchy Live
Bayou Brothers - High Roller Zydeco
Jocko Marcellino - Make It Simple
Melly Frances & The Distilled Spirit - The Album
Missy Andersen - In The Moment
Reverend Stickman - More Than Blues
Shifty Eyed Dogs - The Shifty Eyed Dogs EP
Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - s/t
Best Americana Album
Berkley Hart - Fleur de Lis
Joel Rafael - Baladista
Alaina Blair - Love it or Leave It
John Meeks - Que Viva EP
Nancarrow - Simple Things
The Tree Ring - Ten Rivers
The Western Collective - Hearts and Dreams
Three Chord Justice - One Four Five
Best World Music Album
B-Side Players - Dos Generaciones
Big Mountain - Perfect Summer
Dornob - Segah
E.N. Young - Live Love Stay Up
Gonzo - Red
Marujah - Gringolandia
Quel Bordel - Caravan Treasures
Revival - Guidance
Best Live Performer
Burning of Rome
Dead Feather Moon
Flaggs
Little Hurricane
Retox
Schizophonics
Shady Francos
The Creepy Creeps
Best Local Recording
Astra Kelly - Back to Ten
Le Chateau - s/t
Cleopatra Degher - Pacific
Mystery Cave - Natural Mind
G Burns Jug Band - The Southern Pacific & The Santa Fe
Little White Teeth?- Songs the Attic Sings
Rob Bondurant - Hurricane
L.A. Edwards - Secrets We'll Never Know
Best Cover Band
Beta Maxx
Cash'd Out
Detroit Underground
Electric Waste Band
Lady Dottie and the Diamonds
Rising Star
The Baja Bugs
Y3K
Source: DiscoverSD