The Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMAs)
Jenness Mitchell • Published 6 Feb 2012 09:00
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The Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMAs) nominations are out and Miniature Dinosaurs are up for Best Live Act (sponsored by Messer Schmitt). The Stirling-based band will compete against The Little Kicks, PAWS, Song of Return, Admiral Fallow and We Were Promised Jetpacks.
Speaking to the Advertiser, Miniature Dinosaurs bassist Alban Dickson said, "It's a great honour to have been nominated, not only in such a complimentary category but to be up against such great bands. The live show is a big part of who we are and for that to have been recognised is a great feeling. Of course, we have a little agenda to get ahead of We Were Promised Jetpacks after they ran rampant at the football tournament we hosted last year."
The boys are looking forward to suiting up on the night. Alban added, "It's a fantastic opportunity within the Scottish music scene and is something to strive towards. The fact it is regionalised to an extent is also great as it ensures a lot of bands from throughout the country have a great chance of being in it. Thanks to everyone involved at the SAMAs for nominating us. It's a huge boost to kick off our 2012."
Miniature Dinosaurs are fresh out of the studio having laid down a few new tracks and hope to take their energetic live show to the road later in the year.
In association with retro clothing store Vintage Guru, Glasgow's The Garage will host the SAMAs when it returns for its third year on Thursday 1 March. The event, which provides recognition to bands and artists that mainstream music tends to ignore, will be hosted by stand up comedian Billy Kirkwood and feature explosive live sets by some of Scotland's hottest new acts.
On the evening awards will also be presented to Best Rock/Alternative (Aerials Up, Iain McLaughlin & The Outsiders, Johnny & The Giros, Lady North, Little Eye, Fatherson) sponsored by Ignite Records, Best Metal (A Fight You Can't Win, Autumn In Disguise, Constellations, Lost In Echoes, The Recovery, Ten Tonne Dozer) sponsored by Departed Apparel, Best Acoustic (Beerjacket, Amber Wilson, Colin James Murphy, I Build Collapsible Mountains, Mike Nisbet, Brown Bear & The Bandits) sponsored by JamHut Studios, Best Electronic (Rustie, Fridge Magnets, Miaoux Miaoux, Niteworks, Teklo, Discopolis) sponsored by Bar Bloc, Best Newcomer (Athos, Bwani Junction, Davey Horne, Forest Fires, Oskar Empire, Vukovi) sponsored by Cathouse Rock Club and Best Hip Hop (Madhat McGore, Hector Bizerk, Stanley Odd, Bigg Taj, Team Kapowski, Profisee) sponsored by Young Scot.
SAMAs founder and creative director Richy Muirhead said, "The diversity of the nominees this year is incredible. It's really warming to see artists from all over areas of Scotland involved. This really gives a sense of Scotland to the awards, which is what SAMAs is all about."
The Tolbooth's Stephen Hume and Clackmannanshire's very own Craig Johnston are just two of the judging panel that had the very hard decision of choosing the impressive selection of nominees.
Craig, who works for DF Concerts and judged entries for T in the Park's TBreak 2011, was asked by Richy to get involved after admiring from afar last year. Craig said, "For up-and-coming bands it's all about exposure and this is a great platform for them. All us judges have done the nominations and now the rest is down to public vote. Fingers crossed all the acts I nominated win. Not because I don't like any of the other acts - I'm just really competitive."
Craig is looking forward to the ceremony as it will give him a chance to put faces to names. He added, "In my job sometimes I feel I'm just a name on an email. I love meeting bands in person, plus it's always a great night when you get so many people who are passionate about music under one roof."
The Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMAs) will take place on Thursday 1 March at Glasgow's The Garage. Tickets are on sale now for £10 via Tickets Scotland (in-store, tickets-scotland.co.uk, or 0141 204 5151) and from Vintage Guru, 165 Byres Road, Glasgow (vintageguru.co.uk). For more information, go to officialsama.co.uk, twitter.com/officialsama or facebook.com/officialsama.
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