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The Orange County Music Awards Look to Reignite OC’s Music Scene

Orange County has a variety of attractions that draw millions of visitors every year, whether it’s families descending on Anaheim to have a go-around at the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland (the locals fondly refer to it as the “tea cup ride”) or college kids staying in a weekly rental down on the Balboa Peninsula.
The common thread is that many of the reasons people visit Orange County are destination based, places that local folk have grown accustomed to long ago. One would be hard-pressed to say, however, that their sole purpose for being here is for the music scene. That is something that Ashley Eckenweiler and Luke Allen, both 27, are trying to change.
For many, Los Angeles is still the place to go to have one’s musical dreams realized. It’s a city where the streets are seemingly paved with record contracts and a place that any traveling band can come through and perform at a nearly limitless list of venues. The thing is, though, times are changing.
The record industry is not the powerful juggernaut it once was, and Orange County is looking to breed some of its own musical talent and venues to boot. There have been many bands that have come from this county and have gone on to do great things -— No Doubt, The Offspring, Social Distortion and Thrice, to name a few.
Hoping to legitimize the Orange County local music scene, Eckenweiler and Allen are organizing the upcoming Orange County Music Awards, which is in its eighth year of existence. This is the first year without its founder, Martin Brown, and also the first year that the awards will not be submission based and instead academy driven, in which 18 Academy Members ranging from Chris Alfano at The Crosby to Mike Concepcion at Gypsy Den vote for winners [Joulain is also an Academy Member]. “I think with the academy in place, there is the potential to really award a much broader range of artists,” Eckenweiler says of the change.
Both Eckenweiler, who is the consulting talent and marketing coordinator, and Allen, who is the producer, have had their fingers on the pulse of the county’s music scene for some time. Allen is the owner of Gemini Studios and has had a liter of local bands go through his rehearsal spaces, while Eckenweiler used to put on music events at the Orange County Museum of Art and most recently put on the indie music series for Orange County Performing Arts Center. Both are well-schooled in the local scene and have a genuine love for all things musical.
Allen first became involved with the awards show last year as a sponsor. It was then that Allen was asked to put on this year’s event. “Martin [Brown] just propositioned me one evening at the [OCMA] finals last year and said: ‘Hey, I am moving to Spain, do you want to take over this awards thing?’” That was all Allen needed and he went off and running.
Allen and Eckenweiler met last April at a party thrown by business magazine OC METRO to celebrate the “40 under 40” issue, in which both were recognized for their achievements. Soon after, Eckenweiler was on board and the two have been at it ever since.
Eckenweiler and Allen have a strong belief that the music scene in Orange County is on the verge of making a splash and think that the Orange County Music Awards is the key to unlocking it. “I think right now there is an emerging scene and it really can go to the next level,” Allen says. “We’re trying to provide opportunities for [local] musicians through this awards show and hopefully … it will inspire others to take root in Orange County and make something work here.”
The awards show is comprised of 21 categories, 18 of which are academy nominated. While the main new feature this year is having the academy, the awards show still has two categories that are submission based: “Best Live Acoustic” and “Best Live Band.” Throughout the months of February and March leading up to the awards show on April 4, the duo have put on music showcases at the Detroit Bar, Chain Reaction, eVocal, The Continental Room and Gypsy Lounge. “We have had people playing with drumsticks on bicycle spokes,” Allen says. “We’ve had accordion soloists and have seen people use tubs for percussion. We have definitely seen a whole bunch of music.”
The Orange County Music Awards are deadset in not necessarily reviving the Orange County music scene, but rather putting it out there for all to enjoy. Eckenweiler and Allen’s goal is to make the public aware that gone are the days where one has to always travel to LA to see great music. Residents of OC have talented musicians right in their own backyard.
For Allen, it’s simple: “If anything that we are doing … we want to create awareness and opportunities through recognition of talent. So hopefully we are acting as a platform and a spotlight for these bands to stand up and get noticed. If we do our job well, someone will see them and give them a chance to get them where they need to go.”
While the LA and San Diego music scenes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, with the efforts of Eckenweiler and Allen they are looking to give them a run for their money.

Support those who support you at www.ocmusicawards.com

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