So who is among Vancouver’s best underground talent?

The inaugural edition of a new local awards ceremony took place last Friday, Feb. 12 at the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac St.) in East Vancouver. The Whammys have been established to recognize artistic achievements in Vancouver’s music scene. For the awards, both nominees and winners were selected and voted on by the public. Local “celebrities” hosted the awards ceremony, which also included live entertainment.

As one would expect from an independent awards event, the nominees skewed towards the underground. For example, the places named in the Best Local Venue category are all punk/metal/thrash bars (except perhaps for Studio Records, 919 Granville St.). Some of the categories are pretty interesting, too. Besides the usual “Best Vocalist”-type categories, you’ll also find Best Burlesque Group, Best Bouncer/Door Person, Best Bartender and Sh**iest Band.

So who won?

Here is a list of nominees and winners in each category.

BEST POP GROUP

Bodhi Jones
The Furniture
Mother Mother (WINNER)
Kieran Strange

BEST PUNK BAND

Selfist
Bishops Green
BRASS
Spree Killers (WINNER)

BEST HIP HOP GROUP

JDohe – Jesse Doherty
Bubzy B
The X Presidents (WINNER)
KIDS

BEST AVANTE GARDE BAND

My Mother The Carjacker (WINNER)
Key to Abyss
Seven Nines & Tens
Eric Campbell and the dirt

BEST METAL BAND

The Hallowed Catharsis
Unleash The Archers (WINNER)
Golers
West of Hell

BEST BLUEGRASS GROUP

Devil and the Wood Shack (WINNER)
Bottom Shelf Bourban Trio
Orchard Pinkish
Wasted Strays

BEST ROCK BAND

Black Wizard
La Chinga
88 Mile Trip (WINNER)
Kiss of the King

BEST BURLESQUE GROUP

Screaming Chicken
Bloody Betty (WINNER)
Kitty Burlesque
Lost Girls

BEST GUITARIST

Jared Smith
Matt Fiorito (WINNER)
Kris Schultz
Ross Albrecht

BEST DRUMMER

Ricardo Viana (WINNER)
Allan Heppner
Jesus Adrián Caballero Ramirez
Stephen Gunn

BEST VOCALIST

Ani Kyd
Bodhi Jones
Brittney Slayes of Unleash the Archers (WINNER)
Val (Lord Heathen)

BEST BASS PLAYER

Darin Wall (WINNER)
Nikko Whitworth
Bob Petterson
Drew Racijewski

BEST ILLUSTRATIVE ARTIST

Allan Heppner (WINNER)
Richard Katynski
Alison Lilly
Dena Lazarenko

SH**TIEST BAND

F**king Unicorns (WINNER)
BRASS
Archspire
BOG

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER

Karen Hansen
Cat Ashbee
Derek Carr
Trav Amena (WINNER)

BEST PRODUCER and ENGINEER

Michael Rogerson
Jesse Gander
Brian Else (WINNER)
Matt Roach

BEST SOUND TECH

Brian Else (WINNER)
Johnny Wildcat
Chris “Crud” Engleman
Cecil English

BEST BOUNCER/DOOR PERSON

Phil Metuzals (WINNER)
Kenny Lush
Chris McLean
Jamie Lee

BEST BARTENDER

Brandy Blue (WINNER)
Sheri Pohl
Egg
Clayton Holmes

BEST LOCAL VENUE

Rickshaw Theatre (WINNER)
Funky Winkerbeans
Studio Records
SBC

The evening featured live performances by Devil in the Wood Shack, Bottom Shelf Bourbon Trio, comedian Samantha Craig-De Boer and R.D. Cane. The Whammys was created by Rob Stewart (Suna Studios) and Johnny Matter (Apocalypse Sunrise). Stewart and Matter stress that the Whammys are meant to bring together musicians and performers from different genres who have at least one thing in common – the struggle to make art in an increasingly expensive city.

In a speech at the WISE Hall on Friday night, Stewart noted some of the problems faced by Vancouver musicians, including gentrification, and the resulting artistic exodus. “It is people like you – the artists, visionaries, supporters, the dreamers and the general crazy f**kers that keep the beating heart of art alive here in Vancouver,” he told the audience.

On March 5, a follow-up Whammys event, The Whammys/Night Out for Music Heals 2016, will feature the winners (or, if unavailable, one of the other nominees) of nine of the main categories, including Best Burlesque and Sh**iest Band. The show is at the Rickshaw Theatre (254 E. Hastings St.), $10 at the door. $1 from each ticket goes to the Music Heals Charitable Foundation, which helps raise awareness of the healing powers of music and fundraises to increase access to Music Therapy for patients in children’s hospitals, senior’s homes, palliative care, AIDS and HIV programs, bereavement, and more.