2006 Dallas Observer Music Awards

"Our rule is to never take ourselves too seriously," Richmond says. "John and I took it so seriously and so personally when people didn't like [Slick 57]. Then with the Sues, all we did was say, 'Man, who's not gonna like this shit?!'" And he's right--it's just plain hard to not like the Sues. After all, it's not every country band that can look itself in the eye unashamed after performing a live mash-up of Eminem and Merle Haggard. Sure, they're goofy as hell sometimes, but that's the point--"We're all about wanting other people to have a good time with us," Richmond says. And to those who just can't believe we would give the award for best country band to a group known largely for covers (for the second year in a row, no less), I direct you to the Sues' upcoming album of originals, The Hits, Volume One--which is sure to set the EDT (East Dallas, Texas) on fire if it sports half as many "dandies" as Richmond says it does. --Noah W. Bailey

• Mark Graham

  

  DJ Merritt

• Mark Graham

  

  Hard Night's Day

Subject(s):

Dallas Observer Music Awards

Hard Night´s Day
Best Cover Band

When the dust settled and the votes were counted, we noticed a few DOMA categories were hotly contested, but none as much as the... cover band category? People love cover bands, sure, but two fan bases fighting for the tribute vote seems like the plot for a half-baked mockumentary. In the end, 12-year-old Hard Night's Day won yet again, defeating the Boys Named Sue by a margin of four votes.

But the Dallas quintet (yes, it takes five mere mortals to re-create the Fab Four) has certainly earned the honor this year; when they weren't re-creating the earliest, rock 'n' rollin' half of the Beatles catalog and helping Dancing Bob get his groove on, they were getting Club Dada back on its feet. With the help of investors, the band has put the Deep Ellum institution back together, but they've done more than sign a deed. Their concert calendar is trying its damnedest to mix happy-hour fare with some of the area's best up-and-coming talent. If "Happy Just to Dance With You" gets more people to listen to the likes of Fishboy, Doug Burr and Voot Cha Index, then we say bring on 12 more years of Hard Night's Day. --S.M.

DJ Merritt
Best DJ

In years past, you could find DJ Merritt spinning his inherently danceable mixes on any given night at one of Dallas' top dance clubs. Now, he's harder to find. "I've kinda quit doing all of my residencies, so I've been excited to go out and hear local music," the newlywed says. "In all honesty, it's been awesome. We go everywhere. The Cavern. The Landing. We'll even go see, what's his name?--you know, that crooner--yeah, Ricki Derek. I like to expand what I hear."

But that doesn't mean the local legend has been unproductive. In the past year, Merritt has produced releases on U.K. and U.S. labels, written and produced music for television soundtracks (including a couple of HBO pilots), had his mixes played on XM and Sirius and worked with his latest production group, Datguy. Oh, and he still cranks out Edgeclub from midnight to 3 a.m. every Saturday night on 102.1 The Edge, his sets progressing from "song-based electronic music" (Royskopp, Goldfrapp) into his inimitable dance mixes.

For more than two decades, he's been known for his guru-like mastery of the turntables, but Merritt has recently branched out into the (more) electronic world. "I've been incorporating my trusty Mac--doing stuff on the fly," Merritt says. "It's a new dimension to DJing. Do the same thing for 20 years, it gets old. [The laptop] is a breath of fresh air." And that ability to evolve, to keep his sets and mixes fresh, is what keeps DJ Merritt a fixture in the DOMAs year after year. He's energetic, ever-changing and, most important, always looking for new sounds. Get ready for your remix, Ricki. --Merritt Martin

The pAper chAse
Best Experimental/Electronic

"We're not the friendliest band,"

vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/producer John Congleton says, explaining how his band, the pAper chAse, differs from the typical sell-yourselves pop-rock outfit. "We try to be entertainers. But we're also not the kind of artists that say that the art speaks for itself and just buy the album--we actually like to play for people."

For each concert and album, the pAper chAse proves this devotion with a level of energy--and perfection--that's incomparable to many bands. They leave it all onstage, from Congleton's one-armed guitar assaults to bassist Bobby Weaver's possessed (and very bearded) stage prowl during "plugged-in" shows to the orchestral sound that comes from the trio of pianist Sean Kirkpatrick, cellist Kris Youmans and Congleton during intense acoustic sets. "There's pretty much never a show we play that I don't feel completely annihilated afterward," Congleton says.