AZ Ska Punk Awards

The Arizona Ska Punk Awards is an annual awards ceremony that rewards the independent music scene of Arizona. The awards are held in different locations throughout the state each year, and is very similar to other awards shows such as the Grammys. The ceremony showcases live music from between fifteen and twenty-five local bands each year, and features guest presenters that usually include minor celebrities from the state. Laundromat Productions are responsible for throwing the awards each year, and the Phoenix based indie label Bad Stain Records picks up the bill each year for the event. 1 2 3

Categories vary and awards are given to bands, solo artists, venues, recording studios, promoters, and various other supporters of the local music scene in Arizona. Nominees are decided by peers of the music industry, and the final voting is left up to the fans. Fans vote for their favorite nominee either online at a website hosted by Bad Stain Records, or at various record stores throughout the state. 4 5 6

Laundromat Production held the first awards ceremony in 2003 that showcased music ranging from punk and ska (as the name would suggest), to performances from bands that perform emo and metal. Over the past years, the awards have added a dozen additional categories such as Best Live Show, Most Comical Band, and Best Grind-Core Band. 7

In the past, independent bands from Arizona, such as North Side Kings and Stereotyperider have won various awards. Although the ceremony has given away awards to more notable bands as well. In 2005, Authority Zero won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2004, Jimmy Eat World also walked away with the award. Other popular artists have walked away with various awards such as Job for a Cowboy, Greeley Estates and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. 8 9

Each year, websites raise questions AbOUT the awards and accuse the votes of being rigged. Prior to and after the awards ceremony in 2006, the message board on AZPunk.com had become flooded with accusations and rumors that bands, recording engineers and promoters used various resources to win awards. Others complained that popular national acts like The Format and Jimmy Eat World made it an unfair competition. Both Laundromat Productions and Bad Stain Records have denied the accusations. 10

Over the years, award winners have come to use their achievement as a marketing tool. Arcane Digital Recording Studios advertise themselves as a Ska Punk Awards winning studio,11 and promoter Will Anderson proudly hangs his award in his office at AMJ/Luckyman Productions. Previous award winning venues hang their awards in their clubs, and the winners of Best Female Fronted Group, Girl Kick Boy (now dismembered), attributed much of their later achievements as a band to winning the award. 12