Editor: In response to Schabow's post yesterday where he reflects on the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards, Rick Tvedt had some comments of his of his own. In the Dane101 spirit of encouraging community dialogue we have provided his response.

Thanks for this feedback. I do value and respect all the feedback we get but really, did you have to steal my Tim Allen line? I’ve been wanting to drop that for years.

Seriously, though, the most valuable feedback we get is like this; from people who have become members and been through the process. You’d be surprised at how many times a journalist or poster has made comments without ever having become a member, voting, or being familiar with the process, much less the organization, its goals and objectives.

I was recently asked by a friend and musician the reason why I don't write about local music on this website. I jokingly responded back through email, "It's the reason why your mom doesn't tell you why you aren't her favorite child."

The point is that no matter how careful or fair I may be at writing, it's inevitable that I will upset or embarrass a fellow local musician, which is something I just don't want to do. After all, us musicians already have low enough self-esteem.

I guess the closest I will come is this off the cuff, unpolished rant regarding the Madison Area Music Awards (The MAMAs). So, before delving in, I would like to preface this by stating, I believe everything is done with good intentions and I hope Rick or no one else takes this too personally. I am merely one man (or "half a man" according to a few women I know).

1. The Treats at Great Dane MAMAs afterparty
2. The Shabelles at Great Dane MAMAs afterparty
3. Boys and Girls Club Revue at MAMAs
4. Pale Young Gentlemen with a string section of students at MAMAs
5. Stephanie Rearick at MAMAs
6. Profound with Lil Braugh at MAMAs

Click here to read more.

Below is the complete list of award winners from the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards. A more in-depth write up coming soon...

GENRE AWARDS

Blues Song of the Year

The Mud Angels

Blues Album of the Year

Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band

Blues Artist of the Year

The Mud Angels

Classical Song of the Year

Ben Johnston-Urey

The Madison Area Music Awards return to the Barrymore Theatre on May 10 with a strong line-up of awards show performers as well as a new feature this year, after parties. Performers this year include the Pale Young Gentlemen, Motorz, Jessie Lynn, and others. The red carpet rolls out at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m. and running until 10 p.m. At that time the after parties kick-off around Madison with shows at Mr. Roberts, the Harmony Bar, the Great Dane-Downtown, and the Brink Lounge. We asked MAMAs founder Rick Tvedt some questions about how the MAMAs are different this year and how he feels they are being received in the local music community.

What is the most important change about the MAMAs this year?

Two things:
We've instituted some rule changes that have opened up the nominations. We were finding that especially some albums were getting nominated in more than one category and that some artists were getting multiple nominations in the same category for different songs. We now scrutinize the results so that a single album can only get nominated in one category and an artist can only have one song nomination in any single category.

Below is a complete list of the nominess announced for the album categories of 2008 Madison Area Music Awards. The MAMAs will be held on May 10 at the Barrymore Theatre. The second round of voting runs from April 1 - April 30. Attached is the complete list including Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Non-Genre awards.

Dane101 is a proud partner of the Madison Area Music Awards.

The first round of voting is underway for the 2008 MAMAs and we need your help in getting the vote out.

All MAMA members are eligible to vote. Membership is a $5 contribution toward kids’ music programs and putting instruments in kids’ hands. To become a member visit: www.themamas.org

The first round of voting is a listen-and-rate system offering music fans the opportunity to hear more local music in one place than ever before.

(Dane101 is a supporter of the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards)

MAMA, Inc. has announced the registration and voting deadlines for the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards:

Registration is now open and will run until February 14th. Musicians who wish to submit materials for consideration must first become MAMA members. This requires a $5 donation to fund music programs and to help us put musical instruments in kids’ hands. The first round of voting will run February 15th to March 27th. The first round of voting determines the nominees for the final round. We’ve made some rule changes to increase the number of individual nominees and lessen some of the multiple nominations that have occurred in the past.