Sarah Blackwood is hoping to win an FU Award. She’s certainly taken enough of a ribbing from her bandmates to deserve one.
She’ll find out soon enough at the FU Awards, a gala that showcases some of the best in Canadian hard rock going February 5 at 7 p.m. at the Sound Academy. Hosted by Jason Mewes (star of Clerks, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back and every other movie helmed by Kevin Smith), the event will feature performances by Die Mannequin, The Flatliners and Andrew W.K. Winners will be determined by the number of online votes at www.fuawards.com.
Blackwood will be on-hand crossing her fingers for a prize, if only to get some payback from her peers.
“They bug me about my solo stuff,” giggles the lead vocalist for the Burlington, Ont.-based psychobilly outfit The Creepshow, who struck out on her own with solo effort WayBack Home late last year. “So if I win, I’m going to go out on tour with the award, hold it up and say, ‘Remember this?'”
It could work the other way round. Blackwood herself is nominated for a Young Jedi Award for best new act of 2008. But The Creepshow is also nominated (along side Protest The Hero, Fucked Up and Living With Lions) for the Monster Energy Band of The Year award given to the best live band of 2008.
Though it’s not like they haven’t earned the nomination, Blackwood in particular. She’s hoed a long road, spending the past year touring WayBack Home a countrified departure from the usual thrashes and howls of her day job – along with The Creepshow’s. But the idea of a solo disc had bounced around in her head for a while and last year she finally found the time.
“I wanted to put this album out for the past four years. It was never the right time,” she said. “Touring and writing with The Creepshow and meeting the people who I’ve met over the last while, I’ve found my solo persona in music. It’s not like I write a song and say, ‘I don’t know who this is going to be for.’ They’re both pretty distinct.”
