October 16, 2002

First of all, NYRock.com would like to give a shout out to the New York bands that made the Top 50 cut of the nationwide 2002 Coca-Cola New Music Award competition. The New York bands include...

Acetaminophen Julia Brown Bishop Clearview 77 Earl Pickens and the Black    Mountain Marauders Fagen Father Divine Finespun

furniture music Honeycomb Alice Lee Jonny Lives Mercury Boy Oscura Otto's Daughter shagg Sprout

Congratulations! Thanks for making us NY Rockers proud.

Secondly, judges chose 10 semi-finalists from the top 50 cut and announced the winners today (see below). On Friday, November 1, 2002, the 10 semi-finalists (unsigned bands from across the country) will take the stage at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City as part of "The American Music Awards Presents the Coca-Cola New Music Award" competition at the CMJ Music Marathon. The bands will go head-to-head as they play one-song sets ranging from hip-hop to rock, funk and folk with the hope of moving one step closer to winning a live performance on the 2003 American Music Awards and walking away with the 2nd Annual Coca-Cola New Music Award trophy.

The 10 semi-finalists include:

• 2nd day broadcast (Tampa, FL): band members in their first year together, they have already opened for seven national recording acts;
• Accidental Superhero (Colorado Springs, CO): a band topping the mp3.com charts with its pop/rock sounds, hip-hop grooves and soaring melodies;
• Alice Lee (Brooklyn, NY): a solo artist influenced by and trained in classical music who would sing at cemeteries at an earlier age to bolster her confidence;
• a.m. DRIVE (Anderson, IN): a versatile band with a quirky stage show and music that is grounded in folk, funk and modern rock;
• defined print (Washington, DC): an underground hip-hop dynamic duo with turntable wizardry;
• Honeycomb (New York, NY): an inventive multi-media pop/rock band;
• Jonny Lives (New York, NY): an alternative/pop/rock trio that has opened for some of the biggest names in music;
• Moe Loughran (Nashville, TN): a singer/songwriter known for her rock/alternative music's jagged emotional honesty and sound that's been called "a younger, sultrier Sheryl Crow";
• Sleep Station (Oakland, NJ): a retro/pop/rock band with a plethora of diverse material;
• Terell (Jamesburg, NJ): an artist with fine-tuned R&B talents.