The Drive to Five: Rise of The Fallen

Welcome Back to our continuing coverage of the first four Platinum Vinyl Awards as we make our way to #PlatVnyl5, which is sure to be a milestone at +The WENC Night Beat . From the start way back in 2010 we always had a broader view than most as to what constituted Christian Music. Back in the early days of Christian Rock we clung to anyone who remotely sounded spiritual, so among the selections played at WENC was some guys from Ireland called U2 and another band by the name of Mister Mister.

As the industry got bigger, it got a little too big for its britches. It soon started deciding, Walter Martin Like, on the spiritual bona-fides of artists. If an artist got a bit too critical of the industry and saying things like "I'm a Musician Who is a Christian, not a Christian Musician", well, we just couldn't have impudence like that in the industry, so they were Kicked Out Of the Kingdom. The first one I remember was Leslie Phillips, who left the Black and White In a Gray World CCM industry and recorded as Sam Phillips.

Our first K.O.O.K. of the Platinum Vinyl Awards was The Knappster herself, Jennifer Knapp. She came out and was kicked out, but she won a Fallen Award and Folk Rock Album of The Year. Nominations were also given out to crossover artists Evolett, though that wasn't enough to keep them around. And we also had the Clean Secular Rock/Cello artists Apocalyptica make an appearance.

That concludes our look back at our inaugural Platinum Vinyl Awards. When we return we will go on to #PlatVnyl2. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Drive To Five: The Class of 2010

Welcome back to our look back to the first four Platinum Vinyl Awards as we begin the road to #PlatVnyl5. Today we will look at the Class of 2010 interpreted however you want to.  It was the year of The New, The Dying, and The Establishment. Debut artists came up winners in Modern Worship and Pop with wins by Rend Collective Experiment and Poema respectively. Debut artists receiving nominations included the two winners as well as Forever Jones, The Washington Projects, VaShawn Mitchell, Evolett, The Letter Black, Audrey Assad, Me In Motion, Kerrie Roberts and Heather Williams. The Class of 2010 did not have an easy road, and of the 11 newbies 4 of them (The Washington Projects, Evolett, Me In Motion and Audrey Assad) are no longer with us musically, with Assad leaving the industry completely, unable to reconcile faith and pop music.

The newbies weren't the only ones to say goodbye. 2010 was the swan song for several artists. Delirious was the only official breakup. (When you're nominated for your farewell show, it is pretty obvious). Though Addison Road broke up soon afterward. Caedmon's Call has not been heard from in years and Group 1 Crew, though still technically intact, has lost two of its three original members so it is very hard to say it hasn't broken up.

There is a pecking order in Christian Music, and it reaches even to The Night Beat. New Artist of The Year , the class of 2010 had to wait their turn in most cases. Jennifer Knapp, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, even industry favorite Michael W. Smith won in the inaugural award. We shall see how the rest fare.

In our next post we will discuss the Crossovers, The Kooks, and the Grac. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Drive To Five: The Pursuit of Platinum

Here at the Headquarters of the Platinum Vinyl Awards we are racing toward our 6th Awards. But just like they say about not looking past an opponent, we must not forget about the fifth awards this Spring. Still, as we prepare for the Fifth, I feel it is an appropriate time to look back at our humble beginnings.

The inaugural awards had 10 genre based awards and another 10 general field awards. It was a five hour blogathon. Growth was natural. Even before the ceremony we had to split Rock Album of The Year into Rock and Metal.

The original concept was for the Platinum Vinyl Awards to be a best of the year award with a Calendar Year eligibility period. The idea was soon scrapped and a October 1 - September 30 eligibility year instituted. We also set the perfect number of nominees per category at 7. Considering that only two genres (Folk/Folk Rock and Children's Music) fell short of the number it was a good choice. Those two genres were still awarded, however.

It goes without saying that the inaugural award would be full of "firsts", yet not all of them were welcome. Two of the album awards resulted in ties, a result as distasteful to this blogger as the neck ware, yet sometimes just as necessary. The first tie occurred in the folk music genre. You would think that a clear winner could be picked among only five nominees, but such was not the case. In a field consisting of Andrew Peterson, Sandra McCracken, Caedmon's Call, Jennifer Knapp and Carolina Story, it deadlocked at two finalists. Since each artist represented one half of the genre, so to speak, the solution was to split the baby. Carolina Story took home Traditional Folk Album of The Year for When The River Met The Sea and Jennifer Knapp took home Folk Rock Album of The Year for Letting Go.

A more traditional tie occurred with Alternative Album of The Year. No Solomon like wisdom needed here, we simply gave our two awards. Genre Creators The Choir, Burning Like The Midnight Sun after over twenty years, for sounding truly alternative, and Ivoryline with the more corporate sound, for Vessels.

We will continue our look back at the inaugural award with our next post. Until then I am Awaiting Your Reply.