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Meet your winners  Carry the Zero
Best Alternative/Indie Band Buzzing Rickenbacker guitars, vintage fuzz organ and pop smarts separate Carry the Zero from the force-fed rock that plagues the airwaves. The trio — Matt Erhartic on guitar, Bill Gaudette on the skins and Eddie "Velvet Fingers" Paquette on the keys — combines left-of-the-dial, indie pop cool with the sexy kick of your old Elvis Costello and Jam records. Carry The Zero delivers garage-door bustin' riffs with all the sharp licks and the swinging hips your family has come to love. What's the best record you've heard in the past three days? It just so happens that I've been listening to our new record. It was produced by Roger Lavallee and it "drops" in June. And there's going to be a CD release party on June 23 at The Lucky Dog Music Hall — plug, plug. If given the chance, what building in Worcester would you gut to turn into a place for shows? The Numbers Club on Park Avenue. But I wouldn't touch a thing! It's so sleazy and sweaty, which is how we like it. It reminds me of Burt Reynolds's moustache, circa 1977. You're winning a game of "Risk" and, all of a sudden, some guy you're playing with totally steals Africa from you. What do you do? Probably cry. Not because I lost Africa, but because I was actually playing "Risk." Are you a fan of carbonation? Further, did you know that people who like carbonation are more likely to be into S&M? I just finished my third Diet Coke ... what are you up to later, tiger? Do you remember Denver the Last Dinosaur, and do you think he gets a lot of action? Yes, the kind of action you would see at rest stops and rest areas on the highway at 3 a.m. and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Go get em' Denver!  OSB
Best at "drinking and playing" at the same time and write-in winner for Best Live Act On the outskirts of the Seven Hills of Worcester, a bunch of teenagers growing up together were drawn to the energy and emotional effects of music. Although still in their early 20s, the pop-rock band has the maturity and stage presence of seasoned professionals. They have been selling out shows in Worcester for the past year and have been headlining shows in Boston in New York. What's the "drinking and playing" drink of choice? I would first like to say what an honor it is to win this prestigious award. It really validates all of our practice and hard work. Our drinks of choice can be summarized in two words: cold and free. But, we wrote a song about whiskey, so we like to imbibe on some Jameson from time to time. You can also find us drinking Busch at practice but most of the bars we play at don't serve it so we settle for Budweiser and Jager or anything else you throw up, or should I say hand to us, on stage. What can I say? We're classy guys. OSB sounds like a military term, or a government agency. If you were one of those, what would OSB stand for? We cannot disclose that information. Finally, if you were on a safari, which animal would you chase down just for fun? Probably a liger — no wait, Dusty Cobb.  Craig
Winner of the write-in vote for "Best Emo Band," as well as first place for "Most Improved" and "Best at Self-Promotion" Since 2003, Craig has been an experienced rock band with a highly energetic and entertaining live show. Led by singer/guitarist Sam James, Craig was reborn in 2006 and has broken through the Alt Rock genre with classic stylings, tight musicianship and catchy hooks. Besides just going out there and playing, what's the best secondary method you guys use to promote yourselves? Making friends. We love our music, but we rely heavily on keeping and building our fanbase. We have found that the easiest way to do this is to be personable, and share in the fun. As entertainers, we are always trying to deliver the best show possible. The four of us love practicing and playing, but the music is the easy part. If people are going to go out on a Friday or Saturday night to see us, they are our friends, and we feel obligated to give them something more. Any of you in the running to be the next Bond? No. But we have toyed with the idea of doing a show with a James Bond theme. Funny you should say this, though. Anytime anyone of us wears a tuxedo someone makes a Daniel Craig comment. Finally, is space food really all it's cracked up to be? Not even close. Space food was huge in the '80s, but it's totally lost its appeal. Mama Celeste's Pizza actually has a longer shelf life and we predict it as the space food of the future. Don't believe us? Get all the details at Craig2000.com  Erick Godin,
owner of The Lucky Dog Music Hall Best Club Owner Godin came onto the scene in ‘88 in various bands playing all over the city. Since then, his love for local live music and the people who really appreciate it has grown into taking over Sir Morgan's Cove (where he booked the bands for two years before it transformed into The Lucky Dog). For the past eight years he's been handling The Lucky Dog's bookings and operations. Presently, he's in four bands: Chillum; The Deadites; as a vocalist for an Alice In Chains tribute Angry Chair; and his alter ego "Simon LeBoner" in the Flock Of Assholes, the alternative '80s tribute that plays at the Dog every Sunday night. What do you provide for your bands that perhaps other owners do not? I don't know if it's standard practice for others, but I book 90% of the bands that play here and I try to see them all. I have a weekly regimen of making posters and promoting the shows to the best of my ability by leaving a trail of info on Internet forums and Myspace. We try to pay the bands fairly for their hard work. Have you ever had the slightest inkling about torching the place and rolling in the insurance money? Absolutely not. That's just ridiculous. The Slinky: Should it make a comeback? Slinky? Did you leave your old rusty metal slinky out in the rain? You may be repressing some memories here. Unless this is a dance move from the '50s, Slinkies have no place in our business, as we have no stairs here. We provide enough fun for a girl or a boy without involving a silly coil experiment-gone-wrong developed by some drunken NASA scientist. But if you need to talk, we can chat over a beer and a pick-up game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.  Doctor Robert
Best Cover Band Doctor Robert was born from a mutual love for The Beatles; it specializes in classic rock and has some of the best vocals around. The songs are gems and you will often hear the audience say, "I love that song, what band did that song originally?" The material ranges from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin and everything in between (including some serious R&B funk classics). Doctor Robert consists of four seasoned musicians: John Docimo (vocal, keys, guitar, harp), Doug O'Malley (vocal and bass), Ron Ouimette (drums), Jim Perry (vocal, keys, guitar) and Glen Ditammaso running sound. DocRobert.com What's the worst request you've ever gotten? A priest (in full clerical garb) walked up to the band while we were playing, waited for the song to end and than told the band to "turn the f*** down." As he walked away from the band, he turned back toward the band and repeated, "That's right. I said turn the f*** down." Name the best thing (not song) you cover. Walls with paint. What's the worst city (or part of town, if it's Worcester) you've ever driven through? The Taco Bell drive-thru on Lincoln Street What's worse: an IRS audit for the next 10 years, or being forced to play all Nickelback, all the time, for the next week? Having to pay Nickelback's taxes. Do you hold a grudge against leeches for the way they killed George Washington like that? Naw, he had wooden teeth. He was lucky they weren't termites.  The Curtain Society
Best Pop Band The Curtain Society's been around since the '80s, one of the few bands to survive the changing Worcester music scene and retain its popularity. The trio — Duncan Arsenault, Ron Mominee, and Roger Lavallee (guitarist, song writer, lead vocals) — have a few records, still play, and still sound good. Lavallee hates describing the band, saying only, "The Curtain Society plays big music for all the little people." What's the best song you ever wrote that never got recorded? I would have to say that fantastic rap song that Duncan and Ron wrote in the van, on tour somewhere in Indiana. I think they called it "Your Speakers Can't Handle the Bass." It was awesome. I'm glad you reminded me. We have to get that one up on Myspace. Who's better: Pryor or Rock? If it was a competition in "who is the most alive," I would definitely go with Chris, but if we're talking who is/was funnier, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that no one holds a candle to Gallagher. Not even Gallagher II. If you got your hands on a time machine, which geological era would you warp to? Hmmm, I think I would probably just go back to this morning. I think I could do a better job with today if I had another chance. Did you see David freakin' Bowie as Nikola freakin' Tesla in The Prestige? No, but I did see David freakin' Naughton in An American Werewolf in London and that wasn't so freakin' awesome. Since you're all experts on curtains, including those made of iron, what did you see in Gorbachev's birthmark? If you looked at him straight on, it looked like a roadmap to peace. If you were standing above him, though, it looked a lot like an outline of Michigan, without the Upper Peninsula.  Ray Hendricks Revival
Best Jam/Groove Act What's the tastiest kind of jam? We're more into salsa and relish than jams. Did you guys put that crack in the Liberty Bell? If so, ‘fess up, and maybe you'll only get grounded for a week. Ironically, the Liberty Bell is the only thing we don't put crack in. What's the tallest mountain you've ever climbed? If by mountain you mean hard-boiled eggs, and by climbed you mean how many could we eat in one hour — it would definitely be 50. The best pre-show meal is ...? The bodies of the previous band. Think back to that time when your hair reached down to the small of your back (maybe it still does, I don't know) and estimate for us how much of your total weight consisted of hair. No comment. We're very sensitive about our hair.  Panache
Most Underrated Band Panache is a four-piece Top 40 cover band that has been playing throughout New England since 1993. Mark Daigneault (keyboards, lead vocals), Kirsten Daigneault (keyboards, lead vocals), George Munoz (guitar, lead vocals) and Jimmy Kelly (percussion) are the players that enable this band, known for its "just like the record" sound. What's been the biggest factor in your recent success? First of all, we perform a wide range of music, stretching from the ‘40s and ‘50s all the way to current. As a result, we play something for everyone. We also have fun performing, and it shows. When we have fun, the audience has fun. Finally, we realize that we are very fortunate to be doing what we are doing, and we never take our ability to perform for granted. Panache has been performing almost every weekend for the last 15 years, but the minute we become complacent about our music, the gig is over. And that's never going to happen. Your band name sounds especially culinary and especially French. Are you fans of French cuisine? Our name came out of the blue. Mark and I had just come out of the ‘80s show band, U4EA, and we were putting Panache together. We had no idea what we wanted to call ourselves, and my mother suggested Panache. Since we couldn't think of anything better, we kept the name. And frankly, we prefer McDonald's. They have French fries, don't they? Worcester has just been taken over by aliens! How do you, as a band, fight them? We de-tune our instruments and play an unplugged version of "Wipe Out." That will kill them in a heartbeat. Or we could always perform "Like a Virgin." That should scare them back to their own planet.  Silent Drive
Best Emo Band Boasting members of Bane, Drowningman and the short-lived Ink Cartridge Funeral, Silent Drive has been a strong part of the independent music scene for close to 10 years. Though this four-piece has deep roots in the hardcore/metal scene, it is branching out far beyond the constraints of any genre. Silent Drive's debut album, Love Is Worth It, showcases the eclecticism of the band's influences and the ability to infuse a punk-rock sense of ferocity and intensity into their writing. Do you appreciate or at least tolerate the "emo" label? I don't really care much for labels. I'd just say we're a rock band. How does this last year compare to the year after you turned 16? Ummmmm ... I still don't have a real job. Imagine Mayor Konnie Lukes builds a Lazarus machine and invites you to use it to raise from the dead anyone who you want to play with. Who is it? Well, I don't live in Mass. and do not even know of her. I don't think I'd raise anyone from the dead. That would make me feel a bit strange. What's your favorite "big" word? I don't have a favorite. I use them as they are needed. Jimmy cracked corn. Do you care? No, not at all.  Skulltoboggan
Best Metal Band Skulltoboggan, now in its ninth year, is running stronger than ever, according to the band. With Andrew "Dubble-O" Smith, Craig Steven "G-Spawt" Gaumond, Eric "E-Dawg" Corbett and Robert "Skullbob" Eurenius Jr. all manning the controls, this collection of lunatics delivers a highly energetic performance each and every time they hit the stage. What's the heaviest metal: mercury, an oil rig, or Skulltoboggan? An oil rig. Honestly, I have never considered Skulltoboggan as a pure metal act. We have so many mixtures in our sound that we are difficult to define. Sure we have some metal stylings, but you will also find hard rock, punk, stoner rock, hardcore, surfer rock, etc., all included in the "toboggan recipe book." Is there anyone you've toured with whose neck you've wanted to wring? No, but we would love to open up a can of whup-ass on those responsible for the ridiculously high fuel prices. Once we were running low on gas and had to pour the last of our Jack Daniel's into the tank just to arrive at our destination on time. Luckily, a few miles down the road, we found a bottle of Jim Beam rolling around in the van, which was used to quench our thirst. Have any of you thought about running the Iditarod? Running? Hell no! We really can't run very fast in the snow. Christ, I don't think any of us own boots without holes in them. And dogs, they growl at us. Among you, how many cardigan sweaters do you own? Shhh ... don't let this get around, but "G-Spawt" has quite an extensive sweater collection. Perhaps he will wear one on stage at this year's "Turtle Boy Music Awards" show. Who's the best cat-herd you know? Definitely our NYC kitty cats. They know how to bring it! Meow! Purrrr ....  Wilbur and
The Dukes
Best R&B/Swing/Blues band Wilbur and The Dukes is an institution. Starting back as a small blues band more than 15 years ago, Steve Going turned it into an R&B powerhouse, adding female backup singers (long the Wilson sisters) and a horn section. Lately, he's been stripping it down again, taking back the bass, and bringing it back to basics. What's the worst gig you ever had that you got paid for? A clubhouse party for the Hell's Angels. It was 11 hours, seriously, and not with Wilbur and The Dukes. If you were going to give a guided tour of the real Worcester, where would you start and end? I'd start at Ralph's and end at The Lucky Dog. Because the music scene may well be one of this city's greatest success stories. Wilbur and The Dukes, eh ... so where are your duchesses? That would take a feature article. What's the best natural (a.k.a. non-pharmaceutical) painkiller you've experienced? Love or Jack Daniel's. Jaywalking: commit the crime, do the time? If I had it my way, it would be a sport to take out jaywalkers. Don't even get me started.  DJ Shame
Best DJ Shame started spinning in '84 and producing in '86, and he became a regular fixture on the Worcester scene as one of the most respected deejays around. What's the toughest gig you've ever spun? Spinning is never tough to me. When doing special parties (which I don't do very often), it's usually the drunk white girls who tend to be the most annoying, though. Physically, how do most disc jockeys compare to horse jockeys? DJs have 12 inches. Horse jockeys seem to be about 12 inches in height. The cover for Sample Land is a play on "Candy Land." Do you plan on continuing the board game theme with your next record, perhaps with "Clue" or "Trouble"? Ummmm ... nope. The artwork will always be different and non-predictable. What kind of animal would make the best living pillow? A porcupine? Twenty-first birthdays or bachelor parties: which are deadlier? Whichever one has more alcohol.  The Numbskulls
Best Hardcore/Punk Band The Numbskulls are a four-piece neo-traditionalist punk-rock band from Worcester. They have been playing shows and have been self-releasing their music since their start in 2001. Would you ever considering spelling "rock" as "rawk" while promoting yourselves? You're the one who can't spell. Starburst or Mambo? (Remember, Mambos are vegetarian.) What? You finally have a chance to run away and join the circus. Do you do it for the elephants or for the kick-ass clown car? Um ... no? Which of you is the most "hellish?" Yes.  Jon Short
Best Blues Musician Born on our country's bicentennial — July 4, 1976, East Coast blues traveler Jon Short has a rich appreciation for Americana. His warm and high-energy performances on a bottleneck National steel guitar blend the styles and themes of the music that came out of the Mississippi Delta and Piedmont regions. By working songs by masters of this style of music (such as Charley Patton, Bukkah White and Blind Boy Fuller) and using his travels as inspiration for new songs in the same tradition, he is one of the many performers who keeps this music alive while occasionally giving it a breath of fresh air. On a scale ranging from midnight blue to robin's egg blue, how would you rate yourself? Mississippi Mud Blue. It's off the charts. What's the type of pasta is most reminiscent of your music? Do biscuits count as pasta? Do you have webbed toes? If not, what would you do with them if you did? No webbed toes here — but it's rumored that Robert Johnson's fingers were slightly webbed — so I guess if I did then I should try to play with my feet. You wake up one morning to find that a crazed PBS executive has switched the entire city of Worcester with the land of the Teletubbies, excluding you. What do you do first? Tune in to PBS for all the Wormtown Action! If you could replace one of your eyes with a bionic one that could see through walls, would you? If I did, I'd have an instant blues nickname "Bionic-eye Boy Short," similar to Blind Boy Fuller or Blind Blake — but with the ability to watch my neighbor's TV from my own couch.  The Deadites
Best Electronic/ Experimental Act and Crankiest Band The Deadites, a Halloween favorite, just recently launched a new Web site featuring Monster Hunting Tips, MP3s, photos, news and lots more. Check out thedeadites.com "Experimental" is a pretty vague term. How do you define it? We like to call our musical experiments "pop music." Would a baby bottle full of liquor make you guys less cranky? A baby full of liquor would — that would be hilarious. What dinosaur does your band's sound most resemble? The pterodactyl. Don't you think the world would be a better place with more multiple-seater bicycles? How can you even think of something so ridiculous when the world is being slowly overrun by zombies? In the Nine Circles of Hell, where does Sammy Hagar fall? Isn't Sammy Hagar the marionette that David Lee Roth used to do shows with?  Sawmill
Best New Act Sawmill rakes through the trash of lost American culture and feeds it to the hungry savages of the 21st century. These highly energetic, highly motivated young men draw their strength from a long history of working-class pride and devote countless hours each day to wondering why the hell they're not on the radio. "Without Sawmill, life is meaningless." How big is your dirty laundry pile right now (literally or metaphorically)? We tend to skip laundry and just go right ahead with making large piles of filth wherever we go. Calligraphy: art or sport? Sawmill is very competitive by nature and we find sport in any venue that allows us to stab our opponents with paint brushes. What's the best show you've seen while decidedly un-sober? Definitely Sasquatch and The Sick-a-billys. Every time Sasquatch pukes on stage a piece of our culture dies. How larval would you consider your music? We actually won the category of most larval in last year's Turtle Boy Awards but we've since blossomed into a marvelous horsefly.  White Chocolate
Best Funk and Soul / Best Live Act White Chocolate is a funk super-group comprised of members of several Worcester area bands including Uncle Billy's Smokehouse, Flock of Assholes, The Bee's Knees, The Beer Bellies, Pako and more. Some of its members have also been involved in past music projects such as Jive, The Cream Team, First and Last, T-Bag, and Blood Groove. White Chocolate is generally smooth, soft and milky. Would you describe yourselves in this manner? Ice B: Quite the opposite, I'd say maybe smooth but definitely not soft and milky. More like loud and beery! Yeah, we're not smooth either. Rough, loud and liqoury is a better description. How funky can funky be? Max: How much funk can a funk band funk, if a funk band could funk funk? I overheard [former] U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan say that "beer is decent food, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's good food. It's very filling." Your response? Spoonie-J: Kofi is just trying to be politically correct but we know he's a true Chocolatier. Whenever we play in Ghana he jumps on stage with us and does keg stands. One night in Uganda he and Boutros Boutros-Ghali both got ripped on Jell-O shots and started stage diving when we played Mothership Connection. Which X-Men costumes could you best pull off? Max: I'd pull Anna Paquin's costume right off. If you opened a bar, would you hire Ernest Hemingway as your bartender? Spoonie-J: Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson would work the bar and Toshiro Mifune would handle security. And we would have bullfights inside the club every night.  Seemless
Best New Record (for What Have We Become) Derek Kerswill (of Seemless) Best Playing Face What's the best thing fame has done for you? It's more like what has infamy done for us? We're still broke, bro, but at least people know we're broke now. What were some other names you guys thought of before Seemless? Drive ... that was about it. Glad we didn't stick with that one. Has Victoria's Secret contacted you about putting your music in their ads? No, but we're on a new Pontiac commercial for the Pontiac G8 at pontiac.com. Were any of you members of the Glee Club? No comment. Leprosy: How good a metaphor is it? I gotta' go play some drums, man ....  Dawn Sweet
Best Female Vocalist Sweet's the lead singer of Pet Rock, which was purposely excluded from eligibility in this year's competition, since a Worcester Magazine staffer, Events Editor Charlene Arsenault, is also in that band. Sweet has been singing for years, starting out with a teenager heavy-cover band called Complete Exposure, which led into a country phase and then a karaoke phase. She's been fronting Pet Rock with her brother, Paul Starvaski, for 10 years and also performs consistently with Cathy's Clown and Sunshine Superman. She's also voiced a handful of local jingles. What was your most personally successful gig this past year? The most successful gig to me is when people are dancing from start to finish and we make a good paycheck on top of it. We had a few of those this past year. Foxwoods is one of my faves. How many lame "sweet voice" puns do you hear when the media writes about you? Generally speaking, the puns never stop in print and in person. At least my last name isn't Toneless or something like that. Dancing with the Stars: fun and games or pop culture menace? Don't watch it, don't know, don't care. It interferes with my poker games. I love games. Bring on the competition. What's the most underutilized instrument in music today? Real drums and live vocals. It seems like real singing and harmonizing is evaporating.  The Bee's Knees
Best Roots/Country/ Folk Band Michael Thibodeau (of The Bee's Knees) Best Singer/Songwriter Soulful, gritty and twangy, with sweet harmonies and a hard-to-contain lead guitarist, The Bee's Knees are in a world of their own. Taking leads from classical country, '60s pop and psychedelia and the country rock movements of the '70s and '90s, The Bee's Knees have fashioned a unique Americana-infused pop sound that is quite their own. How are you getting along without your drummer, Joe Giotta? It's been rough going without Joe. He was an original member of the band and was a huge contributor to our sound. He left amicably, which is almost harder, since none of us wanted him to go. He is off "living the dream," so we cannot fault him, but we miss him. We are still looking for someone to come in permanently, but our friend, Rich Scales from The Black, has been filling in amazingly. What astrological sign typically has your favorite horoscopes? Pisces, since I am one. Peanut butter: chunky and rugged, or smooth as a baby's bottom? I love all peanut butter. If it's a sandwich, smooth all the way. If it's on a spoon, chunky. If you could anchor a dance party around one song right now, what would it be? "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn and John How many hats do you own? Too many to count. One for every mood and baseball stadium. And finally, who would win in a fight — you, or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? Well, she is pretty smart and we all know she is sneaky and would fight dirty. I still think I could take her, but only if I could find a way to keep her from biting me.  Dick Odgren
Best Jazz Musician Known for many years as Emil Haddad's "better half," Dick Odgren is a legendary jazz pianist who helped define the Worcester scene. Many have studied under him, and he's appeared in a variety of quartets and duos over the years. What's your favorite key to play in? I love every major key and every minor key, and all the modes as well. Each has a certain feeling and color. If your music could solve one problem in the world, what would it be? If there was no more hate, I would be fulfilled. Who's got the sassiest chops on the radio these days, in your opinion? I guess I don't understand the question. You're late to work, starving — what's your choice? I play the gig and eat later. What's your biggest talent besides music? I draw portraits, but nowhere near as well as my friend Larry Kniveton.  Uncle Billy's Smokehouse
Best Rock Band and Hardest Working Act Uncle Billy's Smokehouse is "the next great classic rock band," as they say, sent here in a time machine from 1969 to bring back the lost art of rock ‘n' roll. They don't want to smash anyone's face, wear women's underwear or want their MTV. All they want to do is keep on rockin' wicked hahd. What's the biggest reason you're the hardest working act in Worcester? It's really hard to answer a question like this. I can't say straight out that we are the hardest working band in the city. All these bands put in their time and do as much as possible to live their dreams, and they all do it without even thinking about it. But if I had to give an answer it would have to be because we play a style of music that is supposedly "passe." We're not any certain category of popular music; we're not a jam band, we're not a hardcore band, we're not a pop band and we're not a blues band. It's a tough thing to sell to someone who has never heard of us before, so it makes us have to work harder. And the irony is that if you turn on the radio at any given time, I'm pretty sure you'll hear Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Seger or The Rolling Stones. Were you good spellers in elementary school? I wus and eksulunt speler in skule. What building in Worcester have you always wanted to go into but never had the guts to go through with it? If there was a building in Worcester that I didn't have the guts to go into, it would have to be the KFC on Park Ave. Who's better: Bill O'Reilly or Tucker Carlson? I don't even know who Tucker Carlson is but I'd have to choose him. Bill O'Reilly is a pickle. You're at the local 7-11 buying some snacks, but you're 25 cents short. The Hand of God comes through the ceiling and offers you a quarter. Do you take the quarter and thank God for helping out his buddy, or give the quarter to a homeless person just in case this is a test? If God gave me a quarter to help me buy Ring Dings, I'd have to wonder why he isn't helping one of the 68 trillion people who actually need it. 
Meet your panelists As was the case last year, we enlisted a group of panelists to assist with the nominations. A few wished to remain anonymous, but here are some of the people who offered their input on the ballot this year. Since some names presented a conflict of interest in that their band was a contender for a certain category, panelists were not allowed to nominate their own acts. Bob Bernier (AKA DJ Bobo) is the host of WCUW's Friday night hip-hop extravaganza, "Save Hip Hop Radio," the proprietor of savehiphop.org and wortownhiphop.com, and one of the most recognized organizing faces of the Wortown hip-hop scene. Nytmare is life-long Worcester resident, and one of the most unique and dynamic voices in Worcester, both in terms of his outspoken viewpoint, and of his lyrical skill. Zac Galen is an internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter; former host of the "Thursday Night Showcase" at Tammany Hall, and a guy with more alter-personalities (and acts) than a full psych hospital. Brian Barlow is the executive director of WICN 90.5 FM. He also is the Friday morning host of "A Tasteful Blend," heard at the station. Ed Gardella is a former chief of police for the city of Worcester and a long-time jazz fan. He is also a regular host on a variety of jazz shows at WICN 90.5 FM. Norm Rosen is the host of "Saturday Night Fish Fry," heard on WICN. In 1989, he received his first on-air radio experience at an alternative station in Pittsburgh. Since then he has worked at a series of New England radio stations including WRIU, WATD, WHOB, WGBH and WICN. Noah Schaffer is a former staff reporter for Worcester Magazine, who continues to write about everything from do-wop to hip-hop. Michael Thibodeau is the Visual & Performing Arts Program/Events Coordinator at Clark University. He is also a singer-songwriter and lead singer for The Bee's Knees. Troy Tyree is the head of Word Of Mouth Productions (WOMP), and producer/host of "American ROOTS Radio" heard Thursdays from 7-11 p.m. over WICN 90.5 FM. Kyle Warren is the Operations Director at WICN and host of the Saturday morning edition of "A Tasteful Blend." He also plays the alto saxophone. Mike Warren is the longtime host of "Friday Night Blues," heard from 5-8 p.m. on WCUW 91.3 FM. He is also one of the strongest supporters of the local blues scene. If there's a blues band playing in town, chances are that you will see this Warren there. Kimberly Morel owns Rox's The Rock House in Oxford that was a strong supporter of the local, heavy-music scene. Joe Dufresne runs Grand Unified Presents Booking, which lines up indie rock, metal and hardcore shows for the QVCC, among other venues in the Worcester County area. Mike Hsu has been a disc jockey on WAAF for eight years now and currently holds the station's 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. time slot. Each weeknight from 11p.m. to midnight, Hsu also hosts "Harder Faster," a one-hour specialty show highlighting the best in extreme music. Phil McNamara, in addition to driving a cab around town, is one of the most recognizable faces at local rock shows. A staunch supporter of hardcore, emo, punk and rock acts, he's a frequent contributor to Worcester Magazine's Gallery section, and is known for his year-end CD reviews. Roger Lavallee is practically a household name in the Worcester music scene. Not only is he the frontman for The Curtain Society, but he's recorded just about every band in town — or will — at The Tremolo Lounge. Mark and Gabrielle Blanchette are proprietors of Wormtown Trading (wormtown.com), which once held shop down on Highland Street. Wormtown books a solid calendar of bands that fall into the jam band vein, whether they like the label or not. Chris Galli is the owner of Tammany Hall. Erick Godin owns and operates The Lucky Dog Music Hall, as well as sings in a few different bands. Scenester/photographer Dickie Cummings has been booking Ralph's Diner for more than a year, helping Vincent Hemmeter (another panelist), who also owns Vincent's.
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