The Jammie Awards hosted by WYCE-FM (88.1) at The Intersection will boast 24 bands on two stages and a packed house. It’s come a long way from its humble beginnings. Local Spins asked three key Jammie-ites to recount the event’s origins and importance.
By John Sinkevics
LocalSpins.com
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The Jammies could have been the Wammies, but more about that later.
Having attended 13 of the 14 Grand Rapids Jammie Awards shows hosted annually by community radio station WYCE-FM (88.1), I’m convinced the name is not nearly as important as the characteristics that have marked these events year after year even as formats and venues changed: Musical camaraderie, inspiration, acknowledgment, solidarity.
That was true from the early years when the Jammies were held on winter-time Tuesdays at such varied spots as the old Founders Brewing, former Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Wealthy Theatre and, now as of late, at The Intersection, where it seems to have found a home on Friday nights.
It’s a unique and absolutely necessary celebration of West Michigan’s music scene in particular, with more than 100 local and regional albums nominated in a host of categories for awards being doled out to a bevy of happy musicians when the 15th annual Jammies commence on Friday night.
Two dozen bands will strut their stuff in short sets on two stages (13 of them playing the Jammies for the first time), giving music lovers the rare opportunity to see a dizzying mix of acts all in a single evening – something that’s always made the evening a special one for those of reveling in Grand Rapids’ burgeoning music scene.
It’s not so much about who wins the awards or even which artists are nominated every year, but about commemorating and spotlighting the wealth of talent this region continues to generate. In essence, the entire region wins.
To be sure, there have been some oversights and minor stumbles along the way – and some musicians would still love to see the Jammies take place on a Tuesday when they’re not usually gigging – but those growing pains are part of any event’s upward trajectory. And there are few musical showcases that foster a more upbeat, positive vibe than the Jammies.
To put this special affair into perspective, Local Spins asked three key players in the development of the Jammie Awards to relate why this event is so important and how it’s evolved: former WYCE station manager Michael Packer, longtime WYCE volunteer programmer Michael Van Denend and singer-songwriter (and Jammie Award winner) Ralston Bowles, who once performed his “Jammie Song” at the beginning of the celebration every year. In their own words, here are their takes on the event.
Michael Van Denend, aka ‘Michael J.’
Volunteer WYCE Programmer
Calvin College Director of Alumni, Parent and Community Relations
What I recall is going to the YCE staff with the idea of having something like the Grammys locally. What initially motivated me was that artists we admired as programmers and played at YCE – musicians like Bruce Cockburn, Steve Earle, Over the Rhine, Lucinda Williams – typically would be ignored by other high-profile music events. I also thought that having such an event would better communicate to people what kind of music YCE played.
We’d have our own awards show and give these great artists their due, even if relatively few people knew about it. I suggested the Wammies – for WYCE – but someone found out that there already was a Wammies in Washington state. So, P.J., another one of our programmers, suggested Jammies (kinda worked nice with his programmer handle, too) and that stuck.
It was Michael Packer, then the station manager, who understood that we needed some music at this event and gathered a lineup of local artists to make the evening much more fun that simply listening to which musicians we programmers thought were best. We decided to add one local award – for best local recording – to go along with our choices in all of the genres of music we play.
That decision, in my mind, was the stroke of genius that made the evening become what it is today. We reserved the old Founders Brewing site on north Monroe Avenue and a dozen or so of us signed up to play various volunteer roles as Michael Packer handled the live performances.
WONDERING WHETHER ‘ANYONE WOULD COME’
You have to understand that, back then, the station didn’t do a lot of external promotion and we had no idea if anyone would come. We did publicity on a shoestring, added the “wear your jammies” element and said we’d give a free CD to anyone who came in pajamas, something we still do at the event today.
I remember being there early, getting things ready. And really, the main wonder was if we’d get at best 50 people to show up. The doors opened, and folks started coming in, many wearing pajamas, and they kept coming, packing the place. I seriously think it was the first time people at the station knew how deep the support was for WYCE and, as it turns out, for local music.
I remember climbing over people to get to the microphone to announce the awards and the musicians. The place was incredibly full.
We gave the local artist award to Roberta Bradley and Gypsy and she performed a terrific final set that brought the house down. It was an amazing night and there was no doubt we’d do this again.
And so it began, an annual event that changed locations a number of times before settling into a permanent home at the Intersection. The attention and awards to local musicians grew each year until it became the main focus of the night, which it should be.
Today, the Jammies serves as a celebration of local music and the best part of the evening for me each year is to witness the camaraderie and genuine appreciation the local artists have for one another. Clearly, there is a strong bond among local musicians here and that, I believe, is a key reason music of all genres thrives in Grand Rapids. They encourage one another, cheer for each band, root them on. Yes, they’d all like to win the “Big Jammie,” but more so, they want to connect with other musicians and with local listeners.
Kudos to the leadership of WYCE which extends to today’s talented team of Kevin Murphy, Pete Bruinsma, Matt Jarrells and Nicole Leach, and to the dynamic Rainbow Music team of Pete Bardolph and John Gelderloos who manage the stage set-up and take-downs that make the evening come off so smoothly. This is a major undertaking, so much larger than that first year at Founders.
Above all, thanks to the local musicians, whose talent, big hearts and love of community make the Jammies a unique and deep treasure for us all.
Michael Packer
Former WYCE-FM Station Manager
The Jammies is all growed up.
It’s hard to believe it is in its 15th year. When it was initially launched, we were apprehensive. Would anyone even be interested in a local awards event?
The first Jammies pretty much answered that question when, much to our surprise and delight, we not only packed the old Founders Brewery, but they actually ran out of beer!
Baby steps turned into a toddling toddler and we tested different locations. Did they always work? Not really, but it landed at The Intersection and has become a staple of the West Michigan music scene. WYCE has nurtured the baby into teen-hood and is doing a darn fine job of it.
As a result of the Jammies, the music scene in our area has been nurtured. Kevin Murphy, Matt Jarrells, Pete Bruinsma and Nicole Leach all have kept the baby well-fed and are seeing that it ventures into adulthood safely.
Mike Van Denend, one of the other Jammies founders, is still on board at WYCE and is still ever-present at the Jammies. Apart from my daughter, it is one of the things that delights me the most.
Happy 15th Birthday, Jammies!
Ralston Bowles
Singer-songwriter
Former Jammie of the Year winner
Fifteen years ago, an intimate group of musicians, media and music patrons gathered in the Brassworks Building on Monroe Avenue in what was then Founders’ infancy. Interestingly enough, both the event and the brewery have grown in stature as the community they grew up in has embraced the quality and quantity of excellence they have provided for West Michigan and beyond.
The musical celebration was christened The Jammies under the leadership of Michael Packer, then station manager for WYCE, and Michael Van Denend, head of the Calvin College Alumni Association as well as a WYCE volunteer on air programmer.
Along with a handful of station volunteers, they set in motion what has become a touchstone for those who have taken up the task of creating and performing original music. It marked the beginning of encouraging and acknowledging the scope of talent which calls Michigan home.
Over the past decade-and-a-half, the number of people recording and performing has expanded and so has the perimeters which the music awards take into account. This has led to opportunities for many of these bands and songwriters to move beyond the state line and into cross-country touring, and even international travels.
Most of the music probably would have found its way to the surface and broken through on its own, but what a gathering of peers and a celebration of creativity does toward nurturing the drive to continue and achieve cannot be ignored.
FOSTERING CAMARADERIE AND COLLABORATION
The Jammies event has helped foster a camaraderie and team building for people who are often isolated and alone in the trenches of some venue that they’ve found willing to let them haul their own sound in and play their music for a crowd more into ESPN than Elliot Smith. It has given rise to collaborations that become shared promotions that become creative projects and in some cases even self-produced tours.
There may be those who find themselves making petty comparisons or critiquing who did or didn’t get recognized and why. But most of the artists find that, as trite as it may sound on the surface, to be counted among those who have found creative validation in the form of an award is a tremendous boon to the labor that they have invested.
Each name which has found its way on a ballot, each recording which has received spins on the local airwaves or downloads to fans, each musician who has been given time to present from a stage, and the hundreds of people gathering to witness a night of recognition have reason to celebrate and be proud of what we have together become: a city with a legacy of musicians who are leaving an impact on our culture through our compositions.
Music is a language that transcends our differences when we take the time to listen. The Jammies helps us find a time and place for those who are scattered throughout the state to listen to each other and for a few hours enjoy the variety of talent and skill and how much we have grown in 15 years.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music