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| Reverend Zen Named Best Song Nominee New York's rock/jazz/blues group Reverend Zen continues their multiple award winning year with a 2008 Best Song Nomination from the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards. "Bad Attitude", Reverend Zen's he said, she said ode to bad luck, has just been named a nominee in the Best International Adult Contemporary Song category of this year's Canadian awards. The second annual Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards are sponsored by Toronto Exclusive Magazine and the Toronto Exclusive TV Channel. The TEMA's provide emerging Canadian and international artists in the music and fashion world with not only recognition of their unique talents, but also with a global platform of exposure. In addition to New York's Reverend Zen, this year's international nominees include artists from Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Armenia, India, Nigeria, Spain, Ireland and the U.K. Reverend Zen's 2008 Best Song Nomination from the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards follows on the heels of the group's "Her Love" being named a Best Song Nominee in the Adult Alternative Artist category of the 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards. This year's 18th annual edition of LAMA, called the Grammy's of independent music, takes place November 20 at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood. In addition to attending the Los Angeles Music Awards, Reverend Zen bandleader Jack Evans will be interviewed on L.A.'s I Radio LA by Program and Music Director Mark Maverick. Mr. Maverick's I Radio LA, named New Music Weekly's Internet Station of the Year, is considered one of the country's cutting edge broadcasters of independent music. Carmen Allgood, co-host of station's Indie Music Wave show remarks, "We consistently receive a large number of requests for Reverend Zen on I Radio LA. Their album Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon rocks my world." In January of this year, in addition to receiving five Finalist Awards, Reverend Zen's "The Boston Shakedown" was named Blues-Rock Song of the Year by ABC Radio Networks Fame Games 2007/08 Effigy Awards in Malaga, Spain. That was followed with "Dangerous Times" being named a Finalist in France's 2008 100% Song Contest in Paris with "Bad Attitude" and "The Boston Shakedown" named Semi Finalists. Summer 2008 brought the band three Semi Finalist Awards from the BBC sponsored 2008 UK Song Contest in London for "Her Love", "Bad Attitude" and Dangerous Times", as well as a Semi Finalist Award for "Bad Attitude" from the 2008 Australia Song Contest in Sydney. This year has also seen Reverend Zen bandleader and songwriter Jack Evans named the recipient of a prestigious 2008 ASCAP Plus Award in New York. In 2007, after receiving four Best Song Nominations in the Adult Contemporary Artist and Blues Category of the Los Angeles Music Awards for "Bad Attitude", "Don't Try to Tell Me", "Dangerous Times" and "The Boston Shakedown", Reverend Zen's "Bad Attitude" was named 2007 Blues Song of the Year by LAMA, with the genre stretching band named 2007 Blues Artist of the Year. The year also saw the group's "Magdalena" and "Bad Attitude" receive Finalist Awards from the 2007 Unisong International Song Contest in Los Angeles, as Mr. Evans received his first ASCAP Plus Award. The group concluded the year being named 2007 Artist of the Year by WCH Radio in St. Louis. Two thousand six saw Reverend Zen's "Dangerous Times" named a Finalist in the 2006 VH1 Song of the Year Contest in Houston, with the band receiving five Runner Up Awards for "Magdalena", "Bad Attitude", "Don't Try to Tell Me", "The Boston Shakedown" and "Fingerprints". The year also brought the group RGW Radio's 2006 Bronze Artist Award in Norfolk, UK. Additionally, Reverend Zen has received song writing and performance honors from the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest in Washington, D.C., the U.K.'s Singer-Songwriter Awards in London and the Billboard World Song Contest in New York. To date Mr. Evans and Reverend Zen has received forty-four music industry awards from around the globe. All of Reverend Zen's award winning songs can be found on their debut cd Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon. The album features a stellar group of musicians who've performed with Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox, David Sanborn, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King, Shawn Colvin, Donald Fagen, John Scofield, Stevie Wonder, Paul Schaeffer, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and John Mayer. Since its release the band has received air play and coverage in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Japan. Reverend Zen is also a Featured Artist on the compilation releases "Fresh Produce 4" from MVY Radio in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Newport, R.I., "Music for Coffee Beings I" from RPW Records in British Columbia, Canada, "Songwriters & Storytellers" from the San Francisco Bay area's India Artist Alliance and on "Just Talents" from Research Music in Miami, Rio De Janeiro and Berlin. The international ceremony of the 2008 Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards takes place Nov.26 in Toronto. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |