Hearing his band’s name announced as they sit in an audience of their peers literally took Sherman Downey’s breath away.
“It’s like an intake of breath,” he said, feigning a gasp. “It blow us away every time just to hear it.”
The band, Sherman Downey & The Ambiguous Case, claimed two awards at Sunday night’s 2014 MusicNL Awards at the Arts and Culture Centre in Corner Brook — the SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) Songwriter of the Year and the Molson/Coors Pop/Rock Recording of the Year.
Also featuring Andrew Ross, Bill Allan, Neil Targett and Paul Lockyer, the Corner Brook group was up for three other awards as well, the FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) Album of the Year, Group of the Year, and the Nickel Film Festival Music Video of the Year.
After the success of their 2010 debut release “Honey for Bees,” the band followed it up in 2013 with “The Sun in Your Eyes,” the first single of which, “Thick as Thieves,” propelled them to a victory in the 2013 CBC Searchlight Contest as the best new act in Canada. The record has since spawned two more singles, “The Right Idea,” and “Annalee.”
For Downey, who was named MusicNL’s Male Artist of the Year in 2010, having such support from the province is almost surreal, particularly at a time he believes the entire country is looking towards Newfoundland and Labrador to see what’s coming next in Canadian music.
“ ... The province is kind of what’s determining what’s really great in Canada right now, in my opinion,” he said.
Though he said both awards were equally as exciting to win, songwriting clearly has a special place in his heart. By surrounding himself with “virtuosos on their instruments,” he said he’s able to concentrate on lyrics and the structure of the songs.
He keeps a journal where he jots down different ideas that inspire him. Touring as much as the group has recently has exposed him to different situations and environments that have allowed him to formulate lyrics that may not have previously popped into his head.
Sometimes the words come first, sometimes it’s just a song title or the melody itself. He said he’s got a full list of song lyrics that don’t have music yet and another group of guitar ideas written and recorded that he just can’t seem to write lyrics for.
“Sometimes the mood strikes when they collide and the situation is just right,” he said. “You kind of have to let it flow.
“Getting that nod from SOCAN was really special.”
And the winners are ...
The 2014 Music NL award winners include:
- Country Recording of the Year: The Secrets
- Female Artist of the Year: Brianna Gosse
- Group of the Year: The Once
- Urban/Electronic Recording of the Year: Hear/Say
- Steele Communications Celtic/Traditional Recording of the Year: Aaron Collis & Emilia Bartellas
- Unsung Hero Award: Paul Heppleston
- Side Musician of the Year: Craig Follet
- Coast 101.1 Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year: Hip Waders
- Molson/Coors Pop/Rock Recording of the Year: Sherman Downey & The Ambiguous Case
- Loud Recording of the Year: Monsterbator
- Instrumental Recording of the Year: Duane Andrews/Craig Young
- Industry Builder Award: Shirley Montague
- The Telegram Folk/Roots Recording of the Year: The Once
- Classical Recording of the Year: Rob Power
- SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Sherman Downey
- Dc Design House Male Artist of the Year: Mick Davis
- Alternative Artist of the year: Cabbages and Kings
- Gospel Artist of the Year: Dan Bursey
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Mattis Benoit
- Bell Aliant Community One Rising Star Award: Steve Maloney and the Wandering Kind
- The Nickel Film Festival Music Video of the Year: Chris Kirby for ‘Leave of Absence’, Directed by Don-E Coady
- FACTOR Album of the Year: Brianna Gosse, for her album AERA
Source: Music NL
Hearing his band’s name announced as they sit in an audience of their peers literally took Sherman Downey’s breath away.
“It’s like an intake of breath,” he said, feigning a gasp. “It blow us away every time just to hear it.”
The band, Sherman Downey & The Ambiguous Case, claimed two awards at Sunday night’s 2014 MusicNL Awards at the Arts and Culture Centre in Corner Brook — the SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) Songwriter of the Year and the Molson/Coors Pop/Rock Recording of the Year.
Also featuring Andrew Ross, Bill Allan, Neil Targett and Paul Lockyer, the Corner Brook group was up for three other awards as well, the FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) Album of the Year, Group of the Year, and the Nickel Film Festival Music Video of the Year.
After the success of their 2010 debut release “Honey for Bees,” the band followed it up in 2013 with “The Sun in Your Eyes,” the first single of which, “Thick as Thieves,” propelled them to a victory in the 2013 CBC Searchlight Contest as the best new act in Canada. The record has since spawned two more singles, “The Right Idea,” and “Annalee.”
For Downey, who was named MusicNL’s Male Artist of the Year in 2010, having such support from the province is almost surreal, particularly at a time he believes the entire country is looking towards Newfoundland and Labrador to see what’s coming next in Canadian music.
“ ... The province is kind of what’s determining what’s really great in Canada right now, in my opinion,” he said.
Though he said both awards were equally as exciting to win, songwriting clearly has a special place in his heart. By surrounding himself with “virtuosos on their instruments,” he said he’s able to concentrate on lyrics and the structure of the songs.
He keeps a journal where he jots down different ideas that inspire him. Touring as much as the group has recently has exposed him to different situations and environments that have allowed him to formulate lyrics that may not have previously popped into his head.
Sometimes the words come first, sometimes it’s just a song title or the melody itself. He said he’s got a full list of song lyrics that don’t have music yet and another group of guitar ideas written and recorded that he just can’t seem to write lyrics for.
“Sometimes the mood strikes when they collide and the situation is just right,” he said. “You kind of have to let it flow.
“Getting that nod from SOCAN was really special.”
And the winners are ...
The 2014 Music NL award winners include:
- Country Recording of the Year: The Secrets
- Female Artist of the Year: Brianna Gosse
- Group of the Year: The Once
- Urban/Electronic Recording of the Year: Hear/Say
- Steele Communications Celtic/Traditional Recording of the Year: Aaron Collis & Emilia Bartellas
- Unsung Hero Award: Paul Heppleston
- Side Musician of the Year: Craig Follet
- Coast 101.1 Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year: Hip Waders
- Molson/Coors Pop/Rock Recording of the Year: Sherman Downey & The Ambiguous Case
- Loud Recording of the Year: Monsterbator
- Instrumental Recording of the Year: Duane Andrews/Craig Young
- Industry Builder Award: Shirley Montague
- The Telegram Folk/Roots Recording of the Year: The Once
- Classical Recording of the Year: Rob Power
- SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Sherman Downey
- Dc Design House Male Artist of the Year: Mick Davis
- Alternative Artist of the year: Cabbages and Kings
- Gospel Artist of the Year: Dan Bursey
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Mattis Benoit
- Bell Aliant Community One Rising Star Award: Steve Maloney and the Wandering Kind
- The Nickel Film Festival Music Video of the Year: Chris Kirby for ‘Leave of Absence’, Directed by Don-E Coady
- FACTOR Album of the Year: Brianna Gosse, for her album AERA
Source: Music NL