The Grammy Awards dissed the Dave Matthews Band bigtime at last year's ceremony, when they shockingly omitted sax player Leroi Moore from their annual video montage of musicians who had passed away.
But the Grammys have partially made amends by giving the Dave Matthews Band its first-ever Album of the Year nomination. Here are some quick facts about 2010 Album of the Year nominee Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King.
1. The "GrooGrux King" part of the title is a nod to Moore, who died last year after complications in an ATV accident. The album was dedicated to him, and the opening track "Grux" is a sax solo Moore recorded before his death.
2. Big Whiskey was produced by Rob Cavallo, who has also produced such acclaimed albums as Green Day's American Idiot, My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, and the Goo Goo Dolls' Dizzy Up the Girl.
3. The album sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week of release - the fifth straight DMB album to accomplish that feat.
4. Guitarist Tim Reynolds, a non-member who has frequently toured with the band, was given co-writing credit on five tracks, including the hit single "Funny the Way It Is." Reynolds had not appeared on a DMB album since Before These Crowded Streets in 1998.
5. Critics praised Big Whiskey as one of the best albums the Dave Matthews Band has ever recorded, noting that songs like "Shake Me Like a Monkey" do a better job of capturing the energy of the band's live shows than previous DMB works. In addition to Album of the Year, Big Whiskey is up for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
The other four Album of the Year nominees are the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D., Lady Gaga's The Fame, Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce, and Taylor Swift's Fearless.
The 2010 Grammy Awards air on CBS on January 31.
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Comments
I'm so happy that DMB finally is getting some respect in the main stream, but I cringe when I see the other "artists" with nominations.
Lady Gaga... F
Beyonce... F
Black Eyed Peas... F-
Taylor Swift... Isn't there a reason for the CMA's?... F
In the great words of Billy Corgan, after being heckled by a fan... "What's your band called?"
Very true words, and I will gladly apply them to myself in this case. Nevertheless, what has our music world come to when those 4 are even mentioned in the same breathe as a true (soon to be immortal) band like the Dave Matthews Band?
:-) Catching up on the 400+ articles/emails everyone published while I took a break. You guys have been busy!
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