Staff photo by Aaron Street Texas Music Awards founder Lucky Boyd introduces musicians, who, like their fans lining the ropes, are dressed in an array of styles from glam to cowboy.

Texas Music Awards attracts musicians, fans from far and wide
By ANTHONY DAVIS
Texarkana Gazette

“Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”—Jesse Owens

LINDEN, Texas—Nominees for the fourth annual Texas Music Awards departed from limos onto the red carpet decked out in Americana chic.

Wearing patent leather shoes and ostrich skin boots, their evening gowns and T-shirts indicated the wide swath of tasteful attire preferred by Texas musicians.

And no one seemed surprised by the presence of a 7-foot Pilgrim’s Pride chicken squawking his approval of the festivities.

As friends and fans leaned over the ropes, the musicians and singers stopped along the way to be introduced by TMA founder Lucky Boyd of MyTexasMusic.com.

Welcome to the world of rough-cut Texas talent from all corners of the Lone Star State. These are the musicians who nurture fragile fan bases, who play willingly at just about any kind of venue and who deserve the recognition reserved for the “big names” in the business.

“This awards presentation is hopefully a steppingstone for these musicians to be recognized by their peers. These are all up-and-coming artists who have sold less than 100,000 CDs, but some of them are close to breaking through in the business,” said Richard Bowden of Music City Texas Theater, the site of the awards ceremony held just over a week ago.

“The theater will definitely be improved as a result of hosting this awards show. They have added controllable lighting, a big screen and smaller televisions, which will be donated to the theater after the show. Lucky and Jinelle Boyd have been working themselves to death the last week getting ready for the event.”

In previous years the TMAs have been held in much larger cities in Texas including Houston, so it was a stroke of luck that brought the Boyds and their online business to Linden.

In previous years the TMAs have been held in much larger cities in Texas including Houston, so it was a stroke of luck that brought the Boyds and their online business to Linden.

“It was nice to migrate the show from a big bar to a classy theater—especially one with so much musical history,” said Lucky. “Moving the TMAs here brought a level of sophistication to the event, which we had envisioned from the beginning, so we were very pleased.

“The community support exceeded all expectations and the level of volunteerism was unbelievable. Had it not been for those factors and the generosity of our sponsors, having the show here would have been impossible.”

The Texas Music Awards weren’t around when cowboy and popular folk music singer/songwriter Michael Martin Murphey was on his way to musical success in the early ’70s. Murphey, serving as host for the day’s events, said opportunities for musicians to earn recognition at this level are critically important.

“I wish awards presentations were around when I was living in Texas,” Murphey said, surveying the nominees grabbing a quick bite to eat before the show began. “Back then the record companies made you believe they had control over everything.

“I was fortunate enough to be on Columbia Records, but we ended up not making the royalties and I had to fight against a lot of production restrictions. By being independent as these musicians are, they have more creative control.”

Murphey still has a home in Plano, Texas, but he also owns several ranches where he maintains herds of cattle and horses.

“I sing about the life I led, not the life I would like to be living,” he said.

And so do many of the groups, duos and trios recommended by the public and a panel of judges who waited patiently for the show to get under way.

It’s not from a lack of effort that many of the nominated artists are unfamiliar to the general public, which is prone to look to Manhattan, Nashville, Austin and L.A. for guidance on good music.

Bands and singers such as The Committed, Humanimal, Jason Marbach, the Jimmy Kaiser Band, 3 Fools on 3 Stools, Barbara Malteze, Mike Siler and Jen Adams are hardly household names. But the same drive and sense of dedication to their music is on a par with more familiar Texas country and Americana recording artists.

In a similar vein, Linden has not always been regarded as hub of live music. With its history of the Cass County Boys, Scott Joplin, T-Bone Walker, Don Henley, Richard Bowden and many others, the small town in Northeast Texas had become relegated to a “once famous” designation.

But the ascension of Music City Texas from the ashes of time has begun to place Linden on the map of world-class entertainment hosting.

And events such as the Texas Music Awards can only serve to enhance that new-found status.

Russell Wright of the Cass County Economic Development Office is hopeful this event and future attractions at Music City Texas Theater will serve as an economic boon to Linden and surrounding communities.

“The immediate benefits are being experienced more by Jefferson and Atlanta as far as the actual day’s events are concerned. We don’t have the lodging to accommodate the almost 400 people who are attending the awards show today,” Wright said.

“I ran the numbers on the 300 people who will be attending the after-party tonight in Jefferson, and its immediate cash impact is about $50,000. That’s a big impact for our local sponsors.

“We hope to benefit from the long-term recognition for Music City Texas. This is one of the biggest events we’ve held. If we can get them to commit to a multi-year relationship, the TMAs will benefit us further down the road. We’re seeing some synergy with local communities with this event. This is an award show, not a concert, so this event has a future here in Linden. Those fans who love Texas music missed out today.”

Whether the Texas Music Awards brings an influx of cash or provide always-welcome notoriety, Music City Texas officials appear sold on this collaboration.

But the decision for coming years must come from Lucky.

“You know, the awards are kept secret until the envelope is opened at the actual show each year. The selection of the location for next year’s show is the first secret of the 2007 Texas Music Awards,” he said. “But I will tell you that it looks promising and Linden is under heavy consideration. We would love to be able to say ‘yes’ right away, but there are so many things we will need to look at.

“Some folks have told us the show was not only good for Linden, but good for Northeast Texas as well. With that in mind, and with Northeast Texas being Jinelle and my new home, it would be a shame to move the show away from the geographical center of North America and the new music center of Texas, now wouldn’t it?”

Sounds like a “yes” to me.