2011 New Mexico Music Award Winners

The 24th Annual New Mexico Music Awards took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Albuquerque. The Hard Rock invited the NMMA to present our show there believing it would be the perfect match. The program featured performances by Jono Manson, Linda Myers, Larry Mitchell, Evarusnik and Jon Gold & Unstrung Heroes.

IN 2011, the NMMA fielded over 500 entries from 69 studios in nearly every genre of music. Presenters included Tom Frouge of Avakado Artists, Lynn Marie Rusaw from Moonlight Talent Management, Dan Mayfield from Albuquerque the Magazine and Juan Velasco of 92.3 KRST. Thanks to our sponsors Grandma’s Music & Sound, Quickbeam Systems, High Fidelity Mastering, Music X-Ray.com and Createspace.com

The 2011 program fielded 563 entries in 41 categories.

Eric Larson Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient-Jimmy Shendo

Photo credit: Karen Kuhen

Jimmy Shendo was a brilliant singer and songwriter from the Pueblo of Jemez. With his band, Moiety, Jimmy brought Native American music into the forefront of New Mexico music, mixing traditional instrumentation with modern rhythms and a mix of rock, country and jazz.

Sadly, Jimmy was killed in a traffic accident six months prior to the awards show. His award was presented posthumously to Andrea Frauga and fellow band member Mike Sandoval.

Eric Larson Endowment recipient- Damien Neccochia

The Eric Larson Endowment presented its first scholarship to Damien Neccochia. Professor Steven Block in the Fine Arts department at UNM was instrumental in helping the NMMA make the selection of the recipient as was Manny Rettinger for his invaluable assistance in providing the instruction and an internship for Damien. None of this could have been done without the support of Eric’s family; his daughters Toni and Robbie, his mom, Ressie and sisters, Carol Larson Flint and Lydia Larson for their continued support of the scholarship.

The Eric Larson Endowment at UNM provides unrestricted funds for juniors or seniors who have chosen music or the recording arts as their major and have maintained a 3.0 GPA. Eric Larson was co-founder of the New Mexico Music awards and passed away in 2005. The New Mexico Music Awards contributes annually to the scholarship fund. To donate, go to ericlarsonendowment.com

Awards are listed as follows unless otherwise indicated for specialty categories.

Artist

Title

Producer

Studio

Adult Contemporary

Linda Myers

Memory Book

Linda Myers

Mountain Road Recording Studios

Adult R & B

Jo-Amber

Somethin’ About You

Mike Cee

Alternative

The Hazy Dean

Lonely World

Brian Widger, Cristen Grey

Blackness Is My Home

Americana

Breaking Blue

Old Roads

Breaking Blue, J Anderson, JD Harding

JD Sez

Artist’s Website

Cal Haines/Victoria Rogers

bertdalton.com

New Can Studios

Best Arrangement

Ambient Trash

From Dreaming Aspiration

to Laborious Doing

Ron Sanborn, Rob Brothers

Moon Music and Sound

Best Country CD

Douglass C. Jeffords

West of the Pecos

Auge Hays

The Kitchen Sink

Best Cover

Christina Catlin

Landslide

John Wall

Wall of Sound

Best Engineer

Indigie Femme

Beautiful Spirit

Larry Mitchell

Insatiable Studios

Best Instrumental

Josh Coleman

Smile

Herman Martinez

Alta Vista

Best of the Year

Jaime Michaels

the man with the time machine

Jono Manson

Kitchen Sink Studio

Best Packaging

Santa Fe Indian School Spoken Word Team

Moccasins and Microphones

Timothy P. McLaughlin

Best Pop CD

Murali Levine

Enjoying A Life

Murali Levine

Undiscovered Love

Best Producer

Jaime Michaels

the man with the time machine

Jono Manson

Kitchen Sink Studio

Best Rock CD

Ambient Trash

Ambient Trash

Ron Sanborn, Rob Brothers

Moon Music and Sound

Best Song

Linda Myers

Destiny (part 2 ) (Love Glues the Molecules)

Linda Myers

Mountain Road Recording Studios

Best Video

Joey Liew

Leiahdorus -Forward Blindly

Ultimatum Pictures, Leiahdorus

Ultimatum Pictures

Best Vocal

Maggie & Bruce Washburn, Scott Altenbach

Mary Had A Baby

John Wall, Holy Water and Whiskey

Wall of Sound

Bluegrass

Jon Gold, Unstrung Heros

Back Road

Jon Gold

Gold Mine Audio & Mastering

Blues

Tijerina – Todd Tijerina, Dave Heidt, Curly Castillo

Nothin’ Like The Blues

Todd Tijerina, Dave Heidt

Rt. 66 Music

Children’s Music

Kathleen Sabo

Lullaby – Hey

Kathleen Sabo, Larry Mitchell

Insatiable Studios Southwest

Country

Jaylah Danielle

Real Country Boy

Jaylah Danielle, Chuck Lucero

Shepherd Studios

Electronica

D Numbers

New-Age Wondertwinism

D Numbers, Andrew Click

Stepbridge Studios

Hip-Hop

Relikis

I Am Relikis

David Lucero

Pro Legends Records

Hispanic-Contemporary

Dave Heidt

Asado

Dave Heidt

Rt. 66 Music

Hispanic-Traditional

Michael G. Rael

Nina Mia

Michael G. Rael

Bear Rock Studios

Jazz

Russell Scharf

Overcast

Russell Scharf

Fingerprint Warehouse Studios

Mainstream Rock

S.E.T.

Free

S.E.T., Ysidro R. Garci

Sight 16 Studios

Metal

Left Brain

Empires of Oblivion

Left Brain, Ysidro R. Garcia

Sight 16 Studios

Native American-Contemporary

Indigie Femme

Mother Earth Father Sky

Larry Mitchell

Insatiable Studios

Native American-Traditional

Steve Rushingwind

Old Chief’s Pipe

Michael Mucklow

Harmony Road

New Age

Dawn leriho:kwats Avery

A Drift In Time

Larry Mitchell

Insatiable Studios

Novelty/Humorous

Kito Peters

My Gulag

Kito Peters, Jono Manson

Kitchen Sink Studio

Pop

Michael Junchaya

I’m Ready

Donn Halliburton

On Fire Productions

Punk

Static Reply

She’s Too Religious For Me

John Wall

Wall of Sound

Rap

Unusual Content

Bring It Back

Unusual Content, Ysidro R. Garcia

Sight 16 Studios

Religious/Gospel

Lydia Clark and the Gospel Ryders

It’s A Brand New Day

Lydia Clark

Ceremony Studio

Western

Maggie & Bruce Washburn, Scott Altenbach

Fancy Red Boots

John Wall, Holy Water and Whiskey

Wall of Sound

World Beat

Randy Granger

Side Street Dance

Randy Granger

Dogsense Music