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Houston Press Music Awards Winners

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Red attributes his latest win to the many high-profile gigs he had this past year, opening for visiting turntable heavyweights and doing some killer sets. Said Red, "I opened up for Tiesto. I opened up for Benny Benassi, so I've gotten a lot of exposure this year." Not to mention that Red spins all over the place, doing regular sets at such spots as Rich's, Venue and the Vintage Bar. "Today's music scene is growing in Houston, and I'm just proud to be a part of it."

Humble, successful and not an asshole — maybe he truly is the best DJ in town. — C.D.L.

Best Funk/R&B Fondue Monks Make no mistake, despite their second consecutive win in this category, the Fondue Monks won't be pigeonholed. "We're not a pure funk band," says singer Denver Courtney. "We're funky."

With 16 years together, you would think the band members know each other as well as they know their Texas-flavored blues-rock style. After accepting their award, however, guitarist Steve Olsen revealed with a wink that they just met Courtney "the other night." Still, Olsen has high hopes for the new vocalist: "Sixteen years from now, he's gonna know how to spell ‘Zamorano.'" (That's Monks' drummer Ronnie and bassist Rozz's last name.)

Rozz's sights for the Press awards in 2023 are a bit more ambitious, as he prophesied, "We'll wheel ourselves up there" to claim the trophy. Well, maybe. Rozz is also a realist. "Hopefully we'll be on the next Police tour," he said, "wheeling Sting off."

In the more immediate future, the Monks play Saturday at Antone's in Austin and November 1-4 at the Lone Star Rally in Galveston. — L.L.

Best Drummer Patrick "Beans" Wheeler Patrick "Beans" Wheeler couldn't make it to the awards ceremony because he was playing with Miss Leslie' s Juke Jointers at the Continental Club. When former Los Skarnales rhythm section compadre Nick Gaitan (Best Bassist) called Wheeler after accepting for his former bandmate, all Wheeler had to say was, "Cool, man. Gotta go. Bye." With the breakup of Los Skarnales, Wheeler has moved on to projects such as Umbrella Man, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans and fill-in slots all over town with a variety of artists. — W.M.S.

Best Zydeco Zydeco Dots For anyone who has read Dr. Roger Wood's Texas Zydeco, winning Best Zydeco band in Houston is akin to winning Best Potato in Boise, Idaho, or Best Watermelon in Hempstead. It's huge. The Dots have won so many times now, they almost own the award. They've gotten so popular that, according to Raymond Chavis, they're playing mostly private parties and corporate events these days. But they're still packing the Big Easy once a month and drawing crowds at venues like Jack's For Cocktails. Meanwhile, they're finishing their sixth album and should have it available in the next month. — W.M.S.

Best C&W John Evans After we got to ten, we lost count of the number of trophies this lanky, twangy bespectacled singer has won. Ramblin' Boy, his latest CD, resonates with the echoes of '80s pop-rock, so his nomination in the country category was puzzling to some. Not Evans himself, though. "My band is so schizophrenic with all the different styles we play, that it's hard to put us in a category," he said the day after the show. Keeping with this all-over-the-map trend, Sideshow, his new record, is all-acoustic. It's not on shelves yet, but you can get it at his shows, the next of which is at Full Throttle Coffee this Friday. — J.N.L.

Best Alt Rock LoneStar PornStar Either LoneStar PornStar brought along their own screaming section, or they're just really popular; I'm guessing the latter. The year 2007 marks the third in a row LSPS has dominated the Best Alternative category. Lead singer Gregg Stegman expressed thanks to the fans who voted them into three-peat status. He claims the band didn't expect to win again. "There was a lot of tough competition," said Stegman. "Everybody in here rocks."

LSPS also thanked DA Records, their newly acquired record label. In addition to the national distribution of their 2006 album Protection, which sold out in several Houston-area stores, DA plans to market the band worldwide. The UK, Japan and Europe will soon have access to Protection — probably a good idea, considering the screams of ecstasy bursting from the audience after each mention of the PornStars. Stegman plans to take this euphoric effect to the happiest place on earth. When asked what's next for LSPS, he responded, "Go to Disneyland!"

Mothers, guard your children. — L.L.

Best National Rap/Hip-Hop Paul Wall His new record Get Money, Stay True might not have sold as well as its major-label predecessor, but Paul Wall remains "the people's champ" in H-Town. Wall edged out one-time rapping podna Chamillionaire and a host of other platinum-selling names to claim his second straight win in this category. And just as he did last year, Wall didn't let the fact that he's a big-time national star stop him from coming in and picking up his award in person. That's the way you get to keep being the people's champ. — J.N.L.

Best Misc. Instrumentalist Geoffrey "Uncle Tick" Muller By his own reckoning, Muller plays three styles of banjo, several types of guitar, bass, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer, Cajun fiddle and "various homemade instruments that don't really have names." What's more, he builds many of them himself, and then plays them in numerous bands, including Sideshow Tramps, the Umbrella Man, Sabra Lazal, Le Hot Club, Two Star Symphony and other local bands without names. "You know how it is, man," he said the day after the event. "It's hard out here for a misc. instrumentalist." — J.N.L.

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