But first, some background: This past November, WAMA board member and musician Diana Quinn asked me to suggest some nominees. Each year, WAMA members select most of the nominees, but the organization also contacts "experts" for additional assistance.  I sent her an extensive list of local performers and recordings in the areas of rap, pop, rock, EDM, world music, blues, soul, jazz, roots rock, and metal, and included links from a variety of publications covering those artists and recordings. On the jazz front, I urged her to contact Washington City Paper critic Michael J. West and DJ, writer, and recording engineer Larry Appelbaum.

Quinn said she'd bring my suggestions to WAMA's board. She said WAMA compiles the votes of its dues-paying members, and if there are not enough nominees in some categories, they consider the suggestions of the experts, which have to be seconded by someone in WAMA to make it on the ballot. As for the number of experts contacted this year, WAMA president Mike Schreibman says "anywhere from 2 to 10 depending on the category."

Obviously, I'm pleased to see some of my suggestions made it. For the first time, rapper Fat Trel, experimental-pop act Bluebrain, Mariachi Los Amigos, and eclectic indie label Sockets Records were nominated. Oddisee, Zenizia Allstar, Orquesta La Leyenda, The Caribbean, Deleted Scenes, Kid Congo Powers, and Edie Sedgwick also are included. The Wammies will be that much more diverse this year. The addition of these artists helps make the rapper, electronica artist, record company, Latin duo/group, and pop/rock duo/group categories more reflective of what D.C. had to offer in 2011.

Now for the bad news. The go-go categories almost entirely ignored younger musicians, such as popular and critically lauded bounce beat groups like TCB, XIB, Reaction Band, TOB, and ABM. (I suggested go-go talker Killa Cal, but he didn't make the list.)

The omissions continue. Maryland-based Haitian band Rafrechi may have played Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage recently, but they weren't nominated. Maryland soul singer Jim Bennett won a southernsoulrnb.com award, but he didn't make the cut, either. There is no heavy metal category. Sockets Records got a nomination, but indie-rock acts associated with that label, like Hume and Laughing Man, were not (nor was the Sockets hip-hop band The Cornel West Theory). Few of Michael J.  West’s favorite local jazz musicians are included—where are Brian Settles, Nasar Abadey, and Brad Linde? Volta Bureau , Protect-U, and Outputmessage released acclaimed EDM recordings, but they're not applauded here. I've made the case for many of these musicians in earlier articles on the Wammies, but WAMA doesn't seem interested.

Real talk: In the end, my complaint isn't that individual artists I like are ignored by the Wammies (although plenty are), but that the Wammies need to reach out to a truly wide variety of experts, and do a better job demonstrating they care about all styles of music. It was nice that Quinn reached out to me and included some of my suggestions this year, but it's still disappointing how much impactful local music—much of which is heralded by local media—is ignored each year. While time and time again, WAMA insists it does its homework and that it's the responsibility of skeptics to become paying members of WAMA if they feel a sound needs more attention, the hit-and-miss nature of this year's ballot shows that WAMA's approach is not working. After a quarter century, WAMA has not convinced many local musicians that it is worth it to join the organization.

To get a sense of WAMA's biases, look at the general music awards at the bottom of the ballot. WAMA’s “musician of the year” nominees include roots rockers, folkies, and a klezmer musician, but no modern jazz, reggae, R&B, go-go, metal, or indie-rock players. It should probably go without saying, then, that the category is disappointingly homogeneous—it includes 10 white men and one white woman. Since the Wammies include a wide range of genre categories honoring musicians from all walks of life, you'd think the "musician of the year" prize wouldn't seem limited to such a narrow few.

But that is WAMA. Dues-paying members  have until Feb. 5 to vote for their choices.

*correction-This blogpost originally said there were no metal bands nominated.  While there is no metal category, Periphery was nominated for best modern rock group, and Pentagram for best modern rock recording.

In an e-mail to Arts Desk, Byrum notes that the longtime roadhouse is open as a bar on nights where they do not feature music. Surf Club ran into trouble with the Prince George’s County Liquor Board when someone involved in a fight that occurred inside the club was later murdered nearby.

The event will be hosted by longtime local Holly fan and rockabilly singer J.P. McDermott and his band, Western Bop, who have hosted numerous tributes over the last ten years to the horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing star, who died in a plane crash at age 22. Also scheduled to appear are local roots rockers David Kitchen, Andy Rutherford, The Jelly Roll Mortals, The Spectacles, Hangover Royale, and more.  McDermott was just in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday, singing with Texas band the Prophets of Rockabilly at the Buddy Holly Center. Expect McDermott and others Saturday night to sing Holly classics like “Rave On,” “That’ll Be the Day,” and “Peggy Sue,” and obscurities alike.

J.P. McDermott and Western Bop perform Saturday, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. with David Kitchen, Andy Rutherford, The Jelly Roll Mortals, The Spectacles, Hangover Royale, and others tba at the Surf Club, 4711 Kenilworth Ave., Hyattsville, Md. $15. (301) 927-6310.

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, who are at Artisphere tonight, are a Cajun band. But they’re more than that. Formed in 1988, this French-singing Louisiana group, led by singer/accordionist Riley and fiddle player David Greely, started out by covering obscure Cajun two-step numbers and waltzes with energy and precision. But beginning with their 1995 album, La Toussaint, they added original material and covers that have alternately displayed pop catchiness, quiet melancholia, Creole rhythm, and garage-rock swagger.

On their fine new 2011 effort Grand Isle, these qualities are again on display. “Chatterbox” is not an original, but this driving garage-rock number by New Orleans oddballs Quintron & Miss Pussycat gloriously melds Riley’s pumping Cajun squeezebox,  Kevin Dugas’ rollicking drum beats, and guest Quintron’s '60s-sounding organ. The album is astutely produced by CC Adcock, who plays with Riley in part-time swamp-pop supergroup Lil’ Band of Gold, and who lends his guitar, synthesizer, and piano playing to three cuts here. While the album includes the traditional pings of the triangle on Riley’s Lyons Point,” it also presents some less standard elements. The memorable “C’est l’heure Pour Changer/This is the Time for Change” incorporates bongos, baritone sax, bayou blues guitar, New Orleans-meets-ska syncopation, and expertly played Gulf Coast fiddle. Guitarist Sam Broussard’s “Pierre” features handclaps, palm-slapping percussion, and acoustic guitar. The band turns the Fats Domino-associated “Honest Papas Love Their Mamas Better” into honkytonk country, with Riley’s voice sounding as warm as ever, and they close out sweetly with Broussard’s touching “Au Revoir.”

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys perform  tonight from 8:30 to 11 p.m. (preceded by a free dance lesson at 7:30) at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. (703) 875-1100. $15 ($12 with student ID).

The Kennedy Center’s Maximum India Festival opens today with just one performance, a free U. Shrinivas concert from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Millennium Stage, but over the next 20 days it will feature 73  events involving music, dance, theater, literature, comedy, visual art, cuisine, and film. While the celebration may not include events in all of India’s 24 tongues, or cover every aspect of culture of the country, it offers a pretty impressive variety—with 13 master chefs, bhangra dance lessons, a panel discussion on the portrayal of Indian women in film, artists producing paintings, rapper Panjabi MC, and a number of collaborations with the National Symphony Orchestra.

The 42-year-old Shrinivas has performed traditional South Indian Carnatic music on the acoustic and electric mandolin since he was 9 years old. Never sloppy despite his frenetic finger-picking, Shrinivas creates psychedelic ragas that are heavy on reverb.  While he has collaborated with the likes of John McLaughlin,  he will be without special guests tonight.

Wednesday night shows off some of the breadth of the festival. Rhythms of Rajasthan on the Millennium Stage at 6  will feature  percussion, flute, and wailing Sufi vocals, while the play Nati Binodini, at 7:30 p.m. in the Terrace Theater, tells the true story of a prostitute who became one of India’s leading actresses. Meanwhile in the Eisenhower Theater at 8, Indian classical dancers Madhavi Mudgal and Alarmel Valli will present Samanvaya: A Coming Together, a show that exhibits the distinctive twirling and sinuous arm movements from Madhavi’s New Delhi and Valli’s Chennai.

Other potentially impressive events this week include comedian Dan Nainan (Thursday at the Millennium Stage), rock band Emergence (Thursday at the Monsoon Club), blues and soul band Soulmate (Friday at the Monsoon Club), and an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play When We Dead Awaken (Friday and Saturday in the Eisenhower Theater). We'll be previewing more fest events in WCP''s print edition on Thursday, and here through the 20th.

Some folks from the Washington, D.C., area won awards, as well. Blues-rock singer Mary Ann Redmond won a WAMA award for the 17th time, and country/roots-rock singer Ruthie Logsdon took home her 40th and 41st  WAMA awards. Al Williams, known mostly for smooth jazz these days, took home a jazz musician trophy. Roots-rocker Janine Wilson won the album of the year category.

With the long-troubled Wammies, the artists who do not win or even get nominated are as important as those who do. WAMA leaders have said they sometimes consult "experts" to fill out the nominations slots, and in recent years they have, indeed, reached out to Washington City Paper writers (including me). But they've then largely ignored those suggestions.

Despite pleas from D.C. Blues Society members, WAMA for the second year in a row chose not to select any old-school blues or soul artists for its hall of fame. As previously noted, WAMA also left out all metal bands, traditional D.C.-based Ethiopian, Haitian, and mariachi musicians, new indie-rock labels, southern soul groups, and many more. While those artists have received media and public attention here and elsewhere, the dues-paying, voting members of WAMA are apparently not interested or aware of them.

Editor's note: We would've had this up yesterday, but due to an apocalyptic spike in traffic, uploading this many photos was impossible. Apologies!

Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, brought his laptop, his mashed-up songs, and his crowd props to the sold out 9:30 Club Tuesday. More of a massive performance-art piece than a concert, this traveling dance party rained confetti, streamers, and balloons down on the masses, while Gillis, acting as head cheerleader, controlled his electronic samples from the stage.

(The rest of the photos from the set can be seen here.)

Pianist Terry Adams is best known as a founder of the polymath rock and pop band NRBQ, which existed in various incarnations from 1966 to 2004 (and which received plenty of local radio play here in the '80s courtesy of Weasel on WHFS). Tomorrow, the now 62-year-old (and still wacky) Massachusetts-based keyboardist and his current band, the Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet, will be at Iota in Arlington. On their 2009 live album Crazy 8s, Adams, Chicago guitarist Scott Ligon, bassist Pete Donnelly, and Austin drummer Conrad Choucroun, offered up straight-forward originals and covers (Big Joe Turner, Allen Toussaint, Johnny Cash) that reflected Adams’ interest in Beatles-esque pop, Memphis rockabilly, and Monk-inspired jazz.  Yes, some will recognize that NRBQ played a few of them, including “Imaginary Radio,” Adams’ tune about Sun Ra having a No. 1 song on the charts.

Adam’s offbeat humor and eclectic music taste have also been apparent in his production work with zydeco accordionist Boozoo Chavis, pro wrestler Captain Lou Albano, and Chuck Berry’s pianist Johnny Johnson.  He played keyboards on a Half Japanese release, and was responsible for the reissue of the off-key but beloved Philosophy of the World by The Shaggs.  His whimsical approach is apparent in his e-mailed responses to my questions:

Washington City Paper: How did you meet the Rock & Roll quartet members?

Terry Adams: I met all the members through the process of osmosis. I had been aware of them but slowly, began to realize the potential of this unbeatable combination of spirits. No one, I repeat, no one, can play like us!

WCP: Did you choose the songs (covers and originals) or have the others come up with a few?

TA: This band, some say, sounds like NRBQ. One of the reasons is because, like with NRBQ, I’m selecting the songs. We play the music for the moment, it can’t be pre-planned or thought out ahead of time. But I love ideas and contributions from the other members, and you’ll hear some live and on the new record.

WCP: How did the recent international touring go?

TA: We recently spent some time in Spain where we played the Azkena Rock Festival.
We had a few days off in Madrid. It was there that we all went to art museums to see what the paintings could do. At one of them I had to leave the others and take a taxi back to the hotel because the paintings were so powerful I could feel the pain. Later that night we recorded a song written by Scott Ligon which will be on our next album, which will be released in April. The rest of it is being recorded in the U.S.. It will be our first studio album.

WCP: Did you enjoy working with Jim Stephanson from D.C. on his recent CD?

Terry Adams:  Yes, I loved working on my friend Jim Stephanson’s great new CD Say Go. He’s a great songwriter and guitarist. We asked Jim to come down and play a few songs with us at the IOTA.

The Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet perform with opener Bobby Houck at 9 p.m. this Thursday at Iota Club and Café, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. (703) 522-8340. $16.

As made clear in my 1998 and 2010 articles, the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) largely views any suggestions regarding changing the Wammies nomination process, or the organization itself, as simply sour grapes, naïve, or an undemocratic attempt to impose someone’s else’s opinion. Write WAMA a check, become a member, and we’ll listen to your opinion on nominations, they say, while WAMA critics wonder why they would want to join an organization that ignores widely heralded musicians, has a history of embarassing mistakes, and dispenses juvenile insults (see the reactions to the two prior pieces) in response to criticism that is meant to be constructive.

WAMA board members have told me in the past that they on occasion consult "experts" to fill the nominations slot, rather than simply relying on the suggestions from members. My point continues to be that WAMA needs more experts, and that WAMA needs to do a better job making their organization useful and helpful and demonstrating that it cares about all styles of music. WAMA members may still not vote for expert-suggested names, but getting more such names on the ballot would at least be a start. I am not talking about substituting my own view; I mean consulting various participants in the area music scene, including critics, promoters, bloggers, and academics. WAMA needs these experts because, frankly, numerous musicians and others do not see the organization or its Wammies as being valuable, and therefore do not want to join and nominate artists themselves. The list of well-regarded artists not nominated under the current process for the Wammies is simply too extensive to be dismissed in the manner that WAMA partisans have done for 25 years.

(An aside: WAMA should  update its website, which contains a number of out-of-date items including a link to a list of D.C. venues that contains the long-since-closed Warehouse Next Door, Capital City Pavilion, and Ellington's on Eighth, but not various facilities that are open.)

As for this year’s ballot, the Wammies have ignored all metal bands, including Northern Virginia's Salome, a favorite of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the City Paper.  They have again neglected bluesy soul artists such as the Hardway Connection, Jim Bennett, and Little Margie.  The world music category contains virtually the same choices as last year while again overlooking Haitian band Rafrechi and all Ethiopian performers (despite this area including one of the largest Ethiopian populations in the U.S.).  Rapper Fat Trel may have the support of Wale and the Washington Post and the City Paper and be on the WKYS list of hot area hip-hop artists, but that's not enough to get nominated for a Wammie. The Latin list again contains no mariachi bands, including Mariachi Los Amigos, whose membership includes the Smithsonian’s Dan Sheehy, one of the organizers of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  The Latin roster also omits again Zeniza, Orquesta Romana, and Orquesta La Leyenda. Roots and country guitarist Jim Stephanson’s Say Go album was recorded with members of NRBQ and made a WFMU DJ’s top 10 for the year, but WAMA did not mention it.  Electronica vocalist nominee Bob Mould moved to San Francisco in 2009, and electronica vocalist nominee Ultra Nate is based in Baltimore. Electronica DJ act Nadastrom is wrongly listed as a performing act while DJs Dubfire & Sharam are listed together, when they have rarely DJed together since releasing solo projects several years ago. Where are electronica act Bluebrain and D.C. rock bands like Title Tracks, True Womanhood, Imperial China, and Medications, which The Washington Post, City Paper, DCist, Brightest Young Things, and other local media hailed as top acts last year? Michael West and others can surely name more ignored jazz participants, but it's obvious to even a non-fanatic of jazz like me that veteran players such as Bobby Felder, Jacques Johnson, Sr., and Nasar Abadey deserved to be mentioned.

Sure, it's nice that artists such as Warner Williams, the What ? Band, Joe Falero, Wale, Lena Seikaly, and others have been nominated in various genre categories, but when the water glass is so empty year after year, it’s hard to appreciate the water that's there.

So bad that when one percussionist leaves, three bands call it quits. At least, that was the case when Greg Gendron decamped for Japan last March. His departure spelled the end for Lejeune, The Courtesans, and Secret Pop Band—three long-running groups that regularly played at the Black Cat and other major venues.

"We are not looking to grind out records and play innumerable shows.... We are trying to get as much enjoyment out of the band as possible," says Lejeune frontman Sam Bishop. "And Greg was a big part of that."

Few would accuse Lejeune of playing innumerable shows. Over the group's seven-year history, it played around two dozen shows, says Bishop. Perhaps that's because the first gig, for Lance Armstrong's "Tour of Hope," was such a bust.

"Lance Armstrong was supposed to ride in with Lejeune playing in the background, on this huge stage on the Ellipse, with a Jumbotron and everything" recalls Gendron. "We sound checked the night before and were excited to play through those huge speaker stacks."

The whole event got rained out, and, as a consolation prize, the band was offered a meet-and-greet with Armstrong.

"I don't think any of us went to that; we were so bummed," Gendron says.

The band's final show was a bigger success, albeit on a much smaller stage. Last winter, Lejeune fans packed into Galaxy Hut for an epic, 90-minute set encompassing the band's full catalog of folksy indie pop.

"Two years lapsed between our penultimate and our ultimate show," says Lejeune keyboard player J. Forte.

What were they doing during all that interim time? Practicing, says Gendron.

"Lejeune is the most well-rehearsed band in the world. We practiced at Barco Rebar in Falls Church, and they charge a ridiculous amount of money," says Gendron. "We probably paid for that guy's retirement, over the five years we practiced there."

All that practice paid off last winter, when Lejeune went into the studio (well, its bassist's basement) to record its final album—"Adieu," released last month, and the subject of this week's One Track Mind column in Washington City Paper. They only had a few hours to record four songs, and they nailed it, Gendron recalls.

"It's our best work; it's a shame it took us seven years to get to that point," he says. "Not to diminish our other albums — they are good too. But on this last one, we finally got to where we always wanted to be. It's a good resting place for Lejeune."

Gendron now lives in Iwakuni, Japan, in a home with paper-thin walls. In deference to his neighbors, he hasn't practiced much, though he hopes to start a band in the future. "Japan doesn't have a Craigslist—or if it does, I haven't discovered it yet," he says. His former bandmates, Forte and Bishop, are working on respective solo projects. "I don't think any of us are going to hang up music," Bishop says.

At Thursday night's 9: 30 Club show of fun., Steel Train, and The Postelles, I found a new band to like, as well as a new band to goof on. Turns out both shared a guitarist. I was happy to discover that Steel Train, the one I liked, is one of those "It's the live show, stupid" bands. Full of powerful E-chords and anthemic fist pumping bravado, it was like a punk-pop E Street Band—which is an easy comparison, since the band is from New Jersey, but an apt one. Frontman Jack Antonoff has a charm that makes a room of 1200 feel cozy.

Then Antonoff re-emerged with headliner fun. The band's plinky plunky sound, paired with the floppy prep-school hair and wardrobe of lead singer Nate Ruess, was precious, probably too much so. Imagine Bay City Rollers for the new millennium, this time with an Ezra Koenig sweater instead of a kilt.

The best band of the night was the first: The Postelles, who at first may seem like a standard pop outfit. But their garage and soul-pop touches and criminally catchy rhythm section were saving graces.

See the rest of the photos from the sets here.