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 On Thursday night, the famed Phoenix Concert Theatre was graced with the presence of the Toronto indie music scene's finest. Nominees, performers, sponsors and media all gathered together to enjoy this celebration of independent artistry in Toronto and abroad: This is a 2008 Toronto Independent Music Awards exclusive.
Four years ago, Daniela Oliva co-founded and executive produced the first ever Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMA). What started off then as a simple awards ceremony, has since exploded to include over 500 applicants, a small selection of powerhouse nominees, a live showcase, and a seminar.
The motivation? To recognize the achievements of independent musicians in Toronto, and to provide them with industry-connected prizes and tools to further their road to success in the industry.
And let me tell you, these prizes were good. The recipient for each category not only received a snazzy plaque, but several other goods and services specifically geared towards success in their musical genre. Recipients received anything from 6-months worth of artist management, MySpace profile revamps, to features on Muzik Movement Newz (ahem).
Anxious and excited nominees piled into the green room pre-show. Among them was Luther Mallory of Crush Luther, who was nominated for three awards, including Best Indie Rock, and Best Pop.
This was Crush Luther's first year being recognized at the TIMAs, and the band feels great about the Toronto indie scene. "The independent scene here is a good reason to stay independent", said Luther. "All of our friends on major labels don't seem to be very pleased, and we're very comfortable being an independent band."
Lisa Swain, nominated in the category of Best Country, feels as though it is a bit difficult on the "country" side of things, especially in this city. "Toronto seems to be very "indie rock". I've been going to Nashville, because they don't have the avenues in Toronto, unfortunately." Nonetheless, Lisa is very pleased to have been nominated, especially after her first try, "I'm really excited and honored that I was a part of this. It feels good, and it feels like I'm finally getting some recognition."
Shobha feels great about being recognized in Toronto, having been born and raised elsewhere. "I'm from Halifax, and I remember applying for this when I was in Halifax as an Out-Of-Province act, and I didn't get a nomination ...I'm just a small town girl, so I just feel really honored that I got nominated this year."
Having won the Best Urban category (out of three possible nominations), Shobha will be appearing in a feature article on our website as part of her prize! To get your Shobha fix in the meantime, she has made several of her songs downloadable for free on her MySpace page, including the TIMA nominated, "Always On Your Feet". "It's a good all-around pop song," she says of the song, "A lot of people can relate to it."
Probably the biggest upset of the evening, (and I mean that in a good way), came in the form of DAME, an alternative rock trio consisting of Katee, Faye and Kayla. These girls took home awards for Best Alternative Rock Band, and the coveted Best Song award (an award given to the artist with the highest cumulative TIMA score), for their songs "Intervention" and "Cyclops". They also tore the house down with their high caliber performance of both songs at the TIMA ceremony.
And while it has no bearing on their maturity level as artists, it is probably worth mentioning that these three ladies are 16, 17, and 15 years old, respectively.
"We feel really honored [to be nominated] because we've only been at this for three years, there are people here who have been making music for much longer", said Faye.
"Toronto is obviously where it's happening", Kayla remarks about the indie scene, "The support is incredible. People are always coming out to shows and whatnot. There's tonnes of support-- "
"-- Especially from the parents," interjected Katee, who had mentioned earlier on in the interview that their families were a huge factor in inspiring the girls to pursue music.
This year's TIMA ceremony, hosted by comedian Sean Ward, brought musical communities together with cross-genre performances from last year's winners.
Highlight's included ARYA's high energy combination of hard hitting metal riffs and sugar sweet vocals, as well as Fancy Girls Market's performance, which ended off with the lead singer, doing an injury-defying skate jump off the stage.
But the man who completely stole the show in terms of performance was Luke Stapleton, aka The Human Record (winner of this year's Best Live- Urban award). By the end of this beat boxing prodigy's solo performance, my jaw had literally dropped to the floor. Look him up. It will be three minutes of utter amazement, and you'll be begging to hear more!
All in all, the 2008 TIMAs were certainly great, and kudos to Daniela Oliva and her team for a job well done. Check back for exclusive interviews with TIMA 2008 nominees and performers, and we shall see you again in 2009!
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