Local bands nominated for Tri State Indie music awards.

Tri State Indie is a Lancaster-based music site that, having outgrown its own name, covers music in DE, NJ, PA, NY, and MD.  They're a little aggressive in their promotional tactics (for instance: if they offer your band the opportunity to post your tour diary on their site, be prepared for them to request that you announce their name, and display their promo banner, from stage during your shows).

But I've met the people behind Tri State Indie, and they seem like nice folks who are genuinely excited about promoting regional music.  This year, they're trying a new course to bring attention both to their site and to Mid-Atlantic bands: an awards contest with accompanying "red carpet" ceremony at World Cafe Live Philly.

Here is a link to all of the award categories, and bands nominated: http://www.tristateindie.com/tsi-music-awards-vote/  You can vote from this page, and voting is only limited to once every 12 hours, per IP address.  If you see a favorite band on the list, bookmark the page and visit it often.  Note that you do not have to sign up for any account or log-in to vote - just visit the page and start clicking.

Notable Delaware bands on the list (all deserving): 

Spinto Band, up for Best Delaware Band
The Sky Drops, up for Best Delaware Band
New Sweden, up for Best Delaware Band

Besides the Delaware bands:

• World Cafe Live at the Queen is up for best new venue, and it's the only non-Pennsylvania venue up for that award.  They're up against some heavy hitters like Union Transfer, so they'll need some help.
• West Chester's Hoots & Hellmouth is up for Best Indie Folk/Americana Band, against Hezekiah Jones and Good Old War. This could be anyone's game; they're all pretty equally regarded.
• Revolution, I Love You, who are often seen on Delaware stages, are up for Indie Electro / Experimental Band of the Year, against the popular Sun Airway and Work Drugs.  They also have a steep road to climb in this contest. 
• Dr. Dog is up for National Live Performer of the year against Grace Potter and My Morning Jacket (who gave Dr. Dog their first break). 
• Philly-based Kurt Vile is up for National Overall Band of the year, which I guess is the 'Best In Show' award here.  He's up against Deer Tick and Dawes in this. 
• There are other bands up for awards that have Wilmington ties, and I'd love to tell you about them, but I have to recuse myself because of my personal connections there. 

I find it a little odd that the categories are so far-reaching (why bother to have national award categories? It's a no brainer that the Philly-based bands will win those).  Also, since voting is done by users and they can vote up to twice a day (or more if they vote from both work and home), the winners will basically boil down to who has the most dedicated group of super fans or family members.  But that's not to say that it's a total fluff contest and that the local bands who were nominated don't have something to be proud about. 
Because the main accomplishment here is not how many votes are ultimately gained, but who nominated these bands in the first place. 

Among the industry people on the nominating committee, which included Salesianum-grad Andrew Miller, are music honchos from WHYY, the operator of Origivation Magazine, Josh Landow from Y-Not Radio (the former Y-Rock's current incarnation), a writer for A.V. Club, Prefix, and Magnet magazines, the station manager from WXPN, and representatives of reputable local blogs and clubs.  So for some of the lesser-known nominated bands to have attracted the attention of these people is no small feat.

Voting is open from now until February 19th, and will be capped off with an awards ceremony and live show at the World Cafe Live Philly on Sunday, February 26th.  The line-up for this show is yet to be announced, but organizers hope to provide a mix of local and national talent, including nominated bands.  For more info about the awards show in February: http://www.tristateindie.com/tsi-music-awards/tri-state-indie-music-awards/

May the best bands (or at least the ones with fans willing to vote multiple times per day, for weeks) win!