2009 New Mexico Music Awards Winners
The 22nd Annual New Mexico Music Awards was held at the Marriott Pyramid North in Albuquerque New Mexico and featured performances from the Hank & Lewie Trio featuring Johnny Dacucon, The James Douglas Show, Jennifer Barre, Kathleen Sabo, Meridith Bils, Sean Healan and John Kurzweg, Illustrated Man and an all star performance featuring Hillary Smith, Cristen Grey, John Rangel, Larry Mitchell, John Kurzweg and members of the James Douglas Show. Guest presenters included Dan Mayfield of the Albuquerque Journal, Juan Velasco of 92.3 KRST, Nancy Laflin, Executive Dir of the New Mexico Music Commission and City of Albuquerque Music Liason Tom Frouge. Thanks to our sponsers, Grandma’s Music & Sound, Quickbeam Systems and High Fidelity Mastering. Photography for the event was provided by Karen Kuhen.
The 2009 program fielded 481 entries in 39 categories from across New Mexico.
Eric Larson Lifetime Achievement Recipients-The Wickham Brothers Trio
Johnny Dagucon, Lewie Wickham and Hank Wickham. Photo by Karen Kuhen.
Lewie Wickham grew up near Grants, New Mexico with his brother Hank, 14 years his junior. Lewie learned to play guitar at a very young age by his father and played barn dances with his dad. When his father passed away years later, Lewie adopted his brother Hank in order to become his legal guardian and adopted his friend Johnny Dagucon, also 14 years younger, who had also lost his family. There was the beginning of the Wickham Brothers Trio.
The brothers played throughout the western US, everything from ski resorts to small clubs and touring with other national groups. They found themselves in the occasional movie and counted among their friends Dennis Hopper. Lewie wrote songs for other artists and the brothers had a few hits of their own including “A Little Bit Late” and “$60.00 Duck.”
Over the years the boys had gone on to playing on their own and with other groups, but always came back together to record a new album or entertain their loyal fans in Taos and throught New Mexico. Lewie passed away in February of 2016 and his brother Hank passed away a year later in 2017. Johnny continues to perform around New Mexico.
You can see a film produced in 2010 about Lewie and the history of the Wickham Brothers here.
The Eric Larson Endowment at UNM provides unrestricted funds for juniors or seniors who have chosen music or the recording arts as their major and have maintained a 3.0 GPA. Eric Larson was co-founder of the New Mexico Music awards and passed away in 2005. The New Mexico Music Awards contributes annually to the scholarship fund. To donate, go to ericlarsonendowment.com
Adult R & B
U
The James Douglas Show
The Arkiteks-Producers
The Arkiteks-Albuquerque
Americana
Tennessee
David Garver
Greg Martin-Producer
Plenish Records, Dead Horse, Tone Palace-Taos
Blues
Hang On
The Plateros
Murphy Platero, Jack Howell-Producers
Native Star Studios-Gallup
Bluegrass
This Dream
Steve Smith & Hard Road
Steve Smith-Producer
Emmit Brooks Recording Studios-Las Cruces
Country
Think Twice
Jeanette Clark
Larry Mitchell-Producer
Insatiable Studios-Santa Fe
Electronica
Old Enough
Illustrated Man
John Wall, Seth Launer, Dereld Padilla-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Hip Hop
Roll the Windows Up
Matthew Carrasco-Trujillo
Matthew Carrasco-Trujillo-Producer
WRM Studios-Albuquerque
Hispanic-Traditional
La Gran Cosecha
The Purple Cactus Ramblers
Gene Romero, Dennis Pacheco-Producers
Song Dog Studio-Grants
Hispanic-Contemporary
Gente Mi Gente
La Junta
Nicholas R. Pena & Josh Shepherd-Producers
Timbre Studios
Jazz
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Transit
Rodolfo Gonzalez, Transit-Producer
Casa Blanca Productions-Albuquerque
Native American-Traditional
The Town Crier
J Shendo, R Hale, C Fragua, Cliff Vigil Sr, Cliff Vigil Jr
Rick Hale, Jimmy Shendo-Producers
Rick Hale Productions-Albuquerque
Native American-Contemporary
Goin’ Home
Joy Harjo
Larry Mitchell-Producer
Insatiable Studios-Santa Fe
New Age Contemporary
Last Words
Charmed-Bambi Wolf, Alicia Ultan
Charmed, John Wall-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Novelty/Humorous
Last Dollar
Ten Cats Laughing
John Wall, Elizabeth Dicharry, Guy Dicharry-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Rap
Crabs In A Bucket
Matthew Lowe, Michael Jaramillo, Nick Fury
Matthew Lowe, Michael Jaramillo-Producers
TuMan Studio-Albuquerque
Religious/Gospel
Save Me
Steve Smith & Hard Road
Steve Smith-Producer
Emmit Brooks Recording Studios-Las Cruces
Rock-Adult Contemporary
Sleeping Dog
Justin Holub, Daniel Snow
Justin Holub-Producer
Mud Pie Sound-Albuquerque
Rock-Alternative
I Am Not
Illustrated Man
John Wall, Seth Launer, Dereld Padilla-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Rock-Mainstream
Tight Grip
Nathan Pellerin
Nathan Pellerin-Producer
Groovesonics/Taos Recording Retreat-Valdez
Rock-Metal
Six Shots Till I Die
Brandon Ruckus
Shane McConnell-Producer
Rock Shack Music-Peralta
Rock-Punk
No Retreat
J. Mee, C. Berry, S. Blankenship, R. Chavez
John Wall-Producer
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Western
The Cowboys of New Mexico
Jim Jones
Jim Jones-Producer
Clare Sky Studio-Corrales
World Beat
No Huli
Joy Harjo
Larry Mitchell-Producer
Insatiable Studios-Santa Fe
Best Arrangement of an Original Composition
Things Aren’t Always What They Seem
Arrangement by Charmed-Bambi Wolf, Alicia Ultan
Charmed, John Wall-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Best Engineer
Never Make Your Move Too Soon
Andrew Click-Engineer
Luis Guerra, John Rangel-Producers
Stepbridge Studio
Best Instrumental
Mambo Mongo
Transit
Rodolfo Gonzalez, Transit-Producers
Casa Blanca Productions-Albuquerque
Best Recording of a Live Performance
Build Me A House
Kim and the Caballeros
Kim Treiber-Thompson & Omar Rane
Omar Rane-Engineer
Best Remake
Gotta Serve Somebody
Hillary Smith
Bob Dylan-Writer
Luis Guerra, John Rangel-Producers
Stepbridge Studio
Best Song
Give A Meaning Michael Muldoon, Martin Greaves
Michael Muldoon, Martin Greaves-Writers
Larry Mitchell-Producer
Insatiable Studios-Santa Fe
Best Vocal Performance
I Prefer You
Hillary Smith
Luis Guerra, John Rangel-Producers
Stepbridge Studio
Best Artist’s Website
www.nosotrosmusic.net
Design by Fingerprint Warehouse
Best Packaging
Only So Fast
Steve Smith & Hard Road
Design by Steve Smith & Hard Road
Best Pop CD
Illustrated Man-Welcome to Your Life
John Wall, Seth Launer, Dereld Padilla-Producers
Wall of Sound Studios-Albuquerque
Best Rock CD
Sean Healan & John Kurzweg-Floodplain
John Kurzweg-Producer
The Kitchen Studio-Santa Fe
Best Country CD
The Buckaretts-Cowgirl Serenade
Katie Gill, John Egenes, Auge’ Hays-Producers
John Wagner Studios-Albuquerque
Best Producer
Luis Guerra, John Rangel
Hillary Smith-“No Easy Way”
Stepbridge Studio
Best of the Year
Hillary Smith-“No Easy Way”
Luis Guerra, John Rangel-Producers
Stepbridge Studio