David Gogo's Juno nomination for blues album of the year has been
withdrawn after the singer-guitarist's album, "Live At Deer Lake," was
ruled ineligible by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
(CARAS).
While the academy's press release made no mention of the Gogo blunder,
it did state that there had been a change to the nominee category:
The Rockit 88 Band's "Too Much Fun" had been added to the
category.
Although submissions to the Juno Awards craft categories go through
numerous screening committees, a spokesperson from Holmes Creative
Communications, the Toronto publicity company for this year's Juno
Awards, told Lowdown that Gogo's album does not have 25 percent original
material.
Gogo's record label, Vancouver's C0rdova Bay, put out its own release. "Initially,
it seemed that all concerned agreed as 'Live At Deer Lake' progressed
through the advisory committee stages and, based on the quality and
merit of the music, was selected as a finalist for the coveted Juno
Award," president Michael Burke wrote.
"The problem arose over an eligibility rule that is not entirely
clear, in my view. Unfortunately, it is David Gogo who pays the greatest
penalty. Although this situation is regretful, it does not discourage
David from continuing to work extremely hard now as he has in the past."
Burke had hoped that Gogo's name would be left on the ballot, as
Nickelback's "The Long Road" had been added to album of the
year two weeks ago, without any of the acts being dropped off. Due
to this "data entry error," the album of the year category,
for 2004 only, contains six nominees. That would not be the case for
the blues album category. The nominees now consist of Ray Bonneville's "Roll
It Down;" Morgan Davis's "Painkiller;" Harrison Kennedy's "Sweet
Taste;" Harry Manx & Kevin Breit's "Jubilee;" and
The Rockit 88 Band's "Too Much Fun."
"I knew that CARAS didn't like compilation albums from previous
years and I understand there was some interesting discussion about
the great Gordon Lightfoot tribute album this year," Burke told
Lowdown. "When I was going through the submission process - an
online step-by-step web application - the eligibility requirement was
for no more then 75 percent of the 'cuts' being on previous albums
by the artist. Since 'Live at Deer Lake' was a new recording none of
the 'cuts' had been released before.
"My definition of 'cut' meaning recorded performance. However,
CARAS means no 'composition' can have been released on previous albums.
The submission went through their initial screening and also appeared
to go through the category review and nomination process. We heard
(last) week that there was some discussion about the album at the final
meeting, but after rereading the rules it was nominated.
"The problem was discovered when the nominated albums were
set to the judges. I understand that the album is ineligible based
on their meaning (and it turns out they also have FAQ page that clearly
states their meaning - although it is not part of the automated step-by-step
submission process). I am disappointed in the way they have handled
the situation."
Nanaimo, BC-based Gogo, who was nominated for best new solo artist
at the 1995 Juno Awards, will still attend the 2004 Junos and perform
during Junofest.
"It's an unfortunate circumstance and undoubtedly difficult
for everyone involved," Gogo said in the Corova Bay press release. "That
said, I've been doing a lot of writing for a new studio album that
I'm really excited about and with any luck, perhaps we'll get another
shot at a Juno Award next year."
The 2004 JUNO Awards will take place April 4 at Rexall Place in
Edmonton.
