Table of Contents
Jazz trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, Americana-new music mainstay Jeff Berkley and the style-blurring Joshua Taylor had been the 3 major winners Tuesday night at the 32nd annual San Diego Tunes Awards at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.
Castellanos grew to become the first jazz artist in the event’s background to acquire Album of the 12 months honors. “Espérame en el Cielo,” his to start with comprehensive-duration launch because 2013, also took dwelling the prize for Ideal Jazz or Blues Album. It was a doubly sweet victory for the trumpeter, who this wintertime concluded substantial dental operation that he credits with preserving his career.
“Wow. I was not expecting this,” Castellanos explained as he recognized his Album of the 12 months award.
“Thank you San Diego. This suggests so considerably to me. I want to devote this award to my dad and mom. Also, I’m just particularly grateful to however be carrying out. I went through a 4-calendar year professional medical roller coaster exactly where I had three surgeries on my mouth. To be in a position to enjoy is a privilege.”
Singer-songwriter Berkley, who is similarly prolific as a performer and an album producer for other artists, been given the Artist of the Yr award. In addition, he and his group, The Banned, won the Most effective Country or Americana Album trophy for “I Can Reach the Stars.”
Berkley was 1 of several winners to admit the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic that had silenced San Diego’s at the time once more vibrant live tunes scene.
“It feels like we’re back. It feels like we’re again,” he claimed as he approved his Artist of the 12 months award. “This previous yr, I have never labored more difficult, and I have under no circumstances been happier, in my lifetime.”
Joshua Taylor also received two awards: Best Pop Album for “Unscene” and Ideal Rock or Indie/Substitute Track for “Cars Really don’t Run Eternally.”
“Thank you,” Taylor mentioned as he accepted the very first of his two awards. “This is an amazing city. I really do not know what else to say, but you have a good (scene) in this article.”
Vocal powerhouse Rebecca Jade, the 2020 Artist of the 12 months winner, and the neo-soul band Thee Sacred Souls entered the evening with a field-primary 5 nominations apiece.
They just about every went home with a person award.
Jade gained the Ideal R&B, Funk or Soul Album class for her debut solo album, “A Shade of Jade.” Thee Sacred Souls gained for Most effective R&B, Funk or Soul Music for “Love Is The Way.”
The Finest New Artist Award went to Ash Easton.
“Oh my god. Whoo! We did it!” she stated at the start out of her temporary but spirited acceptance speech.
Life span Accomplishment Award
Guitarist, keyboardist and singer Mike Keneally received Life span Achievement honors at the 2023 San Diego Audio Awards and executed at the occasion with his band.
(Courtesy of Martin Mann)
The Place Dick Montana Lifetime Accomplishment Award went to guitar and keyboard wizard Mike Keneally, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s as the “stunt guitarist” in former San Diegan Frank Zappa’s remaining touring band.
Keneally a short while ago relocated from San Diego to Arizona. His several credits include things like albums with every person from Zappa, Rock Hall of Famer Solomon Burke and XTC founder Andy Partridge to these fellow guitar greats as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Henry Kaiser.
“Wow, Thank you. I’m a small confused,” Keneally advised the viewers as he approved his award..
“My songs is truly weird. And to the extent that I’m able to do anything at all, it’s many thanks to the persons who have supported me, cherished me and allowed me to do my detail.”
He singled out a range of individuals, which includes his mothers and fathers his wife, Sarah Crochet his brother, Marty and his longtime album producer and resourceful foil, Scott Chatfield.
“When I graduated from significant school,” Keneally recalled, “my father advised me: ‘Your position is to keep property and publish tunes!’ ”
The evening showcased uniformly sturdy performances by Keneally, Castellanos and his quintet, Berkley and his team, The Banned, Track of the 12 months-winners Daring Tremendously, Greatest Blues Artist-winner Anthony Cullins, The Inflorescence and Earl Thomas & The Gospel Ambassadors, who bought the clearly show off to a memorably rousing start that instructed their forthcoming album need to be a soul-stirring outing.
Awards had been introduced Tuesday night in 29 types at Humphreys, exactly where a offered-out viewers of 1,350 was in attendance. Just more than $50,045 was raised for the nonprofit San Diego Songs Basis, under whose auspices the awards are held.
That delivers the complete funds raised at the party about the past 32 years to $896,247, which has funded the foundation’s Taylor Guitars for the Educational facilities. The system has furnished no cost devices and classes for approximately 60,000 pupils across San Diego County.
“We want to put guitars in the fingers of as a lot of students as we can,” Hellman told the audience. “I feel like tonight is a re-emergence from the pandemic due to the fact we marketed extra tickets than we ever have prior to. We’re sold out.”
‘Who received? Who gained? Who gained?’
1 concept of the evening was longevity.
Two of the night’s honorees, Keneally and Very best Rock Artist winners The Farmers (previously the Defeat Farmers) each released their occupations right here in the 1980s. So did oh-so-soulful singer Earl Thomas and Guide Scan co-founder Bart Mendoza, a tireless nearby music winner who was the shock recipient of the Marketplace Award.
“I’ve been executing this for 40 years,” Mendoza instructed the viewers. “I hope to do it at minimum yet another 40.”
Farmers’ bassist Chris Sullivan experienced an even additional heady range to cite when he tallied up how long he and the band’s co-founder, Jerry Raney have been musically active.
“Jerry and I, put together, have been taking part in guitars for 116 several years!” Sullivan explained.
Also celebrating longevity were being five current and former 91X-FM employees users, who all played a vital position in the station’s now-35-year-aged “Loudspeaker.”
The demonstrate has supplied invaluable exposure for many San Diego tunes artists, like Jewel, who — through a pre-filmed video clip — credited “Loudspeaker” for transforming her daily life.
The specific award to “Loudspeaker” led to a person of the evening’s couple of key misfires.
“I never know what to say,” mused previous Loudspeaker host Tim Pyles. “I was fired by 91X.”
Talking of loud speakers, a different topic of the evening — and just one that, alas, occurs every calendar year at the San Diego New music Awards — was the loud, incessant chattering of a sizable percentage of the attendees.
It is unclear whether the din was because the part of the viewers close to the open-air bar at the rear of Humphreys was much too lubricated to know an awards show was using location. Or, potentially, because they thought the musical performances and acceptance speeches have been presented solely to deliver qualifications accompaniment to their blathering.
“Yo! All you people in the back again need to be quiet,” explained P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel as he co-introduced the Very best Hip-Hop Artist award with neighborhood media veteran Chris Cantore. “I was again there ingesting with you, and you require to be tranquil.”
Curiel’s plea, which was generally ignored, arrived at 9:30 p.m. That was almost two several hours immediately after keyboardist Ed Kornhauser belatedly manufactured his way to the phase to accept his Most effective Jazz Artist award.
“I could not hear (my title declared) from back there,” Kornhauser reported. “(I was like:) ‘Who gained? Who gained? Who won? Oh, hold out — they are enjoying my track (in excess of the sound procedure)’.”
Hmm.
Possibly future year, a new group can be added for: Most Loud and Clueless Viewers at an Annual Songs Awards Display. The acceptance speech, shipped en masse, can last for the duration of the multi-hour event.
An edited, two-hour variation of Tuesday’s awards display will be televised June 4 on Fox 5 KSWB.
2023 San Diego Audio Awards: Official Winners Listing
State Dick Montana Lifetime Accomplishment Award: Mike Keneally
Album of the 12 months: Gilbert Castellanos, “Espérame en el Cielo”
Artist of the 12 months: Jeff Berkley
Tune of the Calendar year: Daring Considerably, “Never a Goodbye”
Finest New Artist: Ash Easton
Greatest People or Acoustic Track: Michael Tiernan, “Life in 3D”
Finest Folk or Acoustic Album: Dave Preston, “Alligator Shoes”
Most effective Jazz Artist: Ed Kornhauser
Best Jazz or Blues Album: “Gilbert Castellanos, “Espérame en el Cielo”
Greatest Blues Artist: Anthony Cullins
Finest Place or Americana Artist: Kimmi Bitter
Best State or Americana Album: Jeff Berkley & The Banned, “I Can Access the Stars”
Finest Hip Hop/Rap Artist: Brothers Burns
Greatest Hip Hop/Rap Track: Bassassin, featuring Mitchy Slick, “Padre Gang”
Very best Hip Hop/Rap Album: Katie LaDubz, “Pressure”
Ideal Indie/Alternative Artist: Aviator Stash
Very best Indie/Alternative Album: Wild Wild Wets, “Love Always”
Ideal Pop Artist: Jonny Tarr
Very best Pop Track: Audrey Callahan, “Good Good Energy”
Very best Pop Album: Joshua Taylor, “Unscene”
Finest Rock Artist: The Farmers
Most effective Rock Album: The Tourmaliners, “Surfidia”
Finest Rock or Indie/Choice Music: Joshua Taylor, “Cars Don’t Run Forever”
Greatest Entire world Music Album: Sandollar, “Under the Water”
Ideal R&B, Funk or Soul Song: Thee Sacred Souls, “Love Is The Way”
Best R&B, Funk or Soul Album: Rebecca Jade, “A Shade of Jade”
Very best Regional Recording: Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas, “Third Flagon”
Ideal Video: Black Sector III, “Rosalee”