Ryan Schierling
Hip-Hop/Top Vote Getters Overall Blue Scholars
This is getting ridiculous! Except for the Nu-Soul Tribe scoring the Hip-Hop vote four years ago in our first Music Awards, the Scholars have reigned like a mean fourth-grade teacher with a splintered ruler. Just kidding—they're more like the pleasant sub you actually want to bring an apple for, the one who can tell you what you need to know without making you feel like a total dunce. MC/lyricist Geologic and DJ Sabzi are all over town with their various projects, and while tallying the ballots we can see their efforts are appreciated. There's no stepping down from their position at the moment, so it'll be interesting to watch them step it up in '06 and beyond. RACHEL SHIMP
Americana/Folk/Country Jesse Sykes
Jesse Sykes' voice seems to waft from her throat like a sweet puff of smoke. It's deep, haunting, and raspy, and she uses it to deliver songs rife with dark imagery and an overall sense of pain and loss. With Phil Wandscher (Whiskeytown) on guitar and the absurdly talented Anne Marie Ruljancich handling violin, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter are like a moody midnight waltz through the backwoods of gothic America. Their 2003 album, Oh, My Girl (Barsuk), got them plenty of raves from the national and international press, and they even scored an opening slot on Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning tour. BRIAN J. BARR
Best New Artist Common Market
KEXP trendsetter John Richards called Common Market "the most exciting thing happening in Seattle music," and the tag couldn't have been more deserved. Mixing a flair for nostalgic sounds with a desire for progress, the duo is a promising glimmer for Seattle's current hip-hop renaissance. With RA Scion already noted as one of the city's most passionate emcees and Sabzi a near icon for his work with local faves the Blue Scholars, Common Market have put a fresh stamp on Northwest hip-hop, ensuring that all artists who follow will look to them as inspiration. BRIAN J. BARR
Blues Alice Stuart
As one of the trailblazing women in blues rock, Alice Stuart has shared stages with Van Morrison, Joan Baez, and the great Mississippi John Hurt. Cited by Bonnie Raitt as one of her main influences, Stuart is recognized as one of the first women to play guitar, lead her own band, and perform on international rock tours all at once. She and Frank Zappa struck up a musical partnership in the early days of the Mothers of Invention but eventually drifted apart. Stuart continued touring and recording, and her songs have since been covered by the likes of Kate Wolf and Jackie DeShannon. BRIAN J. BARR
Cover/Tribute Hell's Belles
Another year, another triumph for the Belles—the Northwest's ferocious, all-female AC/DC tribute band (see interview). Though the lineup has changed in the last four years, fans have given it up for every incarnation. Currently composed of bassist Mandy Reed (Cliff), lead vocalist Jamie Nova (Brian/Bon), guitarist Adrian Conner (Angus), rhythm guitarist Lisa Brisbois (Malcolm), and drummer Melodie Zapata (Phil), the group tantalizes locals when not jetting around the country and pulling pranks on each other. Proving that they aren't one-trick dames, most have outside projects, like Reed's punk band, Neutral Boy, and Zapata's the Isms. In the words of Bon Scott, "She's got balls." RACHEL SHIMP
DJ/Turntablist DJ Fucking in the Streets
If Capitol Hill is your haunt, it's impossible to miss Eric Grandy, aka DJ F.I.T.S., who beat out the healthy competition (including some of his Mass Mvmnt comrades) as your favorite DJ for the second year. His long-running Members Only party at the Baltic Room is supplemented by monthlies like Comeback, one-offs, and supersecret after-hours. Grandy's mantra may be "Dance! Party! Dance! Party! Dance! Party! Sleep. Repeat," but don't think the all-nighters are leaving him brain-dead. In the last three years, he's done more than most to expand the rockist consciousness of Seattle's party hood into one that accepts—and adores—electronic music. RACHEL SHIMP
Electronica United State of Electronica
Having graced the cover of our Music Awards issue last year, U.S.E. remain your favorite in the shake- what-ya-mama-gave-ya category, which the band has ruled for four years now. They aren't the first to match four-on-the-floor rhythms with a pop song structure (Modjo, Stardust, and Daft Punk paved the way), but they're arguably the best this side of late-'90s France. Huge in Japan and with a mess of devoted, awkwardly dancing N.W. fans, these members of Wonderful, Dolour, and the Catch have been keeping it somewhat lo-pro around town as they work on the follow-up to their 2004 self-titled debut. Hurry up, guys—music sounds better with U.S.E.! RACHEL SHIMP
Jazz/Experimental The Dead Science
"Teeth pulled and punctured/The nerves dead worn." Nobody ever tagged the Dead Science as a sunshine-and-kittens band. In fact, they've been dubbed "gloom rock" by more than a few local publications. With vocals echoing back to Jeff Buckley and jazz-punk crossover musicianship, the Dead Science are easily Seattle's finest of the sort. As romantic as they are icy, the trio evoke a madness and playfulness, which were exquisitely captured by producer Ryan Hadlock (Black Heart Procession, Blonde Redhead) for last year's Frost Giant (Absolutely Kosher) LP. Having shared stages with Deerhoof, Interpol, and Xiu Xiu, the group is now finishing up a U.S. tour. BRIAN J. BARR
Guitarist Leif Andersen (of Vendetta Red)
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