Bartender
1st Place
Danny D’Auria at Paddy’s Bar & Lounge, 2 W. Main St., Ventura, 652-1071
2nd Place
Lauren Ayers at Sans Souci, 21 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, 643-4539
3rd Place
Mary Claudia Ramirez at Maria’s Italian Kitchen, 2711 Seaglass Way, Oxnard, 988-3300
Billiards
1st Place
Stiix Billiards, 2520 E. Main St., Ventura, 641-2020
2nd Place
Victoria Pub & Grill, 1413 S. Victoria Ave., Suite F, Ventura, 650-0060
3rd Place
The Q Club, 2362 N. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard, 278-1231
Cheap Date
1st Place
The Beach
2nd Place
Regency Buenaventura 6, 1440 Eastman Ave., Ventura, 658-6544
3rd Place
Beach House Tacos, 668 Harbor Blvd., Ventura, 643-4783
Club DJ
1st Place
Nick Dean
2nd Place
Spencer Fischer
3rd Place
DJ Kutz
Steve Sharp
Comedian
1st Place
Camilo Alvear
2nd Place
Travis Greer
3rd Place
Samantha Ross
Comedy Showcase
1st Place
Ventura Harbor Comedy Club, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, 644-1500
2nd Place
Ventura Improv Company, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura, 643-5701
3rd Place
What’s Up With Merlot? at Wine Rack, 14 S. California St., Ventura, 653-9463
Dance Club
1st Place
Paddy’s Bar & Lounge, 2 W. Main St., Ventura, 652-1071
2nd Place
Bombay Bar & Grill, 143 S. California St., Ventura, 643-4404
3rd Place
Thursday Swing Night at Golden China, 760 S. Seaward Ave., Ventura, 652-1188
Dance Troupe
1st Place
Claddagh Irish Dancers, Ventura, 1729 E. Main St., 672-0167
2nd Place
HIR BOIS Drag Queens
3rd Place
The Aerial Studio, 4476 Dupont Court, Ventura, 340-3412
Darts
1st Place
Victoria Pub & Grill, 1413 S. Victoria Ave., suite. F, Ventura, 650-0060
2nd Place
The Bench Warmer, 1855 E. Main St., Ventura, 643-4303
3rd Place
Brendan’s Irish Pub & Grill, 1755 E. Daily Drive, Camarillo, 383-4100
Dive Bar
1st Place
Sans Souci, 21 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, 643-4539
2nd Place
Rudder Room, 2929 Ocean Drive, Oxnard, 985-6096
3rd Place
Star Lounge 343 E. Main St., Ventura, 648-4709
Event DJ
1st Place
Bouquet Sound, www.bouquetsound.com, info@bouquetsound.com, 855-968-7351
2nd Place
Tim Knapton at In the Mix Events, 2011 Auto Center Drive, suite #112, Oxnard, www.inthemixevents.com, 659-4235
3rd Place
Bruce Barrios at Bruce Barrios Productions, www.brucebarrios.com, djbrucebarrios@aol.com, 658-7565
Gay Bar
1st Place
Paddy’s Bar & Lounge, 2 W. Main St., Ventura, 652-1071
Happy Hour
1st Place
Lure Fish House, 259 W. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, 388-5556; 60 S. California St., Ventura, 567-4400; 30970 Russell Ranch Road, Westlake Village, 818-651-6611
2nd Place
Aloha Steakhouse, 364 S. California St., Ventura, 652-1799
3rd Place
Brophy Bros., 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, 639-0865
Jukebox
1st Place
Busy Bee Cafe, 478 E. Main St., Ventura, 643-4864
2nd Place
El Rey Cantina, 294 E. Main St., Ventura, 653-1111; 2302 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, 484-4433
3rd Place
Sans Souci, 21 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, 643-4539
Karaoke
1st Place
Golden China, 760 S. Seaward Ave., Ventura, 652-1188
2nd Place
Paddy’s Bar and Lounge, 2 W. Main St., Ventura, 652-1071
3rd Place
The Lookout Bar & Grill, 2800 S. Harbor Blvd., Oxnard, 985-9300
Local Music Recording
1st Place
Whiskey And Waves by Medicine Hat
2nd Place tie
How The West Was Young by Big Tweed
The Velveteen by The Velveteen
3rd place
The Navanax by The Navanax
Music Festival
1st Place
Ventura Music Festival, 472 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura, 648-3146
2nd Place
Roadshow Revival: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash, www.roadshowrevival.com
3rd Place
Ojai Music Festival, 201 S. Signal St., Ojai, 646-2094
Music Venue (Large)
1st Place
Majestic Ventura Theater, 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, 653-0118
2nd Place
Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, 648-3376
3rd Place
Libbey Bowl, 210 S. Signal St., Ojai, 646-3117
Music Venue (Small)
1st Place
Bombay Bar and Grill, 143 S. California St., Ventura, 643-4404
2nd Place
W20 Lounge at Watermark on Main, 598 E. Main St., Ventura, 643-6800
3rd Place
Green Art People, 140 N. Ventura Ave., 729-2361 (Closed)
Musical Artist (Cover/Tribute)
1st Place
Sound Effect
2nd Place
Mandex
3rd place
9 Mile Skid
Musical artist (original)
1st Place
Dirty Rice
2nd Place
Hard Six
3rd place
Medicine Hat
Open Mic
1st Place
Beers Brothers at Bmigos, 546 E. Main St., Ventura, 874-2232
2nd Place
Keynote Lounge, 10245 Telephone Road, Ventura, 8647-9390
3rd place
Hong Hong Inn, 435 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura, 210-8185
Radio Personality
1st Place
Rico and Mambo, Rico & Mambo Morning Show, Q104.7 FM
2nd Place
Tom and Sandy, Live 805, KVTA 1590 AM
3rd Place
kim Pagano, The Brighter Side of the 805, kvta 1590 AM
Radio Station
1st Place
100.7 FM KHAY
2nd Place
88.3 FM KCLU
3rd Place
Q104.7 FM KCAQ
Recording Studio
1st Place
Rock City Studios, 2258 Pickwick Drive, Camarillo, 383-3555
2nd Place
Castaway 7 Studios, www.castaway7.com, 654-8273
3rd Place
Goldmine Studios, 1393 Callens Road, Ventura, 644-8341
Singles Hang-Out
1st Place
The Tavern, 211 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura, 643-3264
2nd place
Cafe Fiore, 66 S. California St., Ventura, 653-1266
3rd Place
Bombay Bar and Grill, 143 S. California St., Ventura, 643-4404
Sports Bar
1st Place
Cronies Sports Grill, 2855 Johnson Drive, Ventura, 650-6026; 370 N. Lantana St., Camarillo 482-5900; 2752 Cochran St., Simi Valley, 583-9999; 5687 Kanan Rd., Agoura Hills, 818-889-0889; 1620 Newbury Rd., Newbury Park, 498-7888
2nd Place
Social Tap, 1105 S. Seaward Ave, Ventura, 667-8485
3rd Place
Rookees, 419 E. Main St., Ventura, 648-6862
Theater Company
1st Place
Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura, 667-2900
2nd Place
Ventura Improv Company, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura, 643-5701
3rd Place
Cabrillo Music Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 497-8613
Theater Production
1st Place
Dark Heart of Poe at Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center
2nd Place tie
Mary Poppins at Cabrillo Music Theatre
Other Desert Cities at Rubicon Theatre
3rd place
How to Succeed in Business at Conejo Players
Trivia Night
1st Place
Anacapa Brewing Company, 472 E. Main St., Ventura, 643-2337
2nd Place
Garman’s Restaurant and Irish Pub, 932 E. Main St., Santa Paula, 933-4600
3rd Place
Paddy’s Bar & Lounge, 2 W. Main St., Ventura, 652-1071
EDITOR’S PICK
Best place to run into the ghost of Jerry Garcia
Castaway 7 Studios
654-8273
www.castaway7.com
JP Hesser, owner of Castaway 7, keeps the vibe in the studio groovy.
It’s been 20 years since Jerry Garcia left this world with a smile on his face, and if one is to believe the legions of fans that claim to have encountered (or hallucinated) the Grateful Dead leader in spirit form, perhaps he never really left us. Whether or not the Grand Poobah of Psychedelia pierced the veil (presumably using his guitar pick), his presence is undeniably palpable at the Emmy award-winning Castaway 7 Studios.
Neatly decorated with extra-large quartz crystals, Himalayan salt lamps and exotic floor rugs, the wood-paneled space has the kind of welcoming boho vibe that lends itself to magic. It’s no wonder Garcia likes to hang out there.
Call it Aquarian conspiracy, divine appointment or who you know (read: what famous ghost haunts your digs), but a confluence of unseen forces has, for some time, been assembling a most benevolent outcome for the groovy recording retreat in Ventura’s industrial district, and much of it, coincidentally (or not) revolves around the Grateful Dead.
When Neal Casal (Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Beachwood Sparks, Chris Robinson Brotherhood) moved to Ventura, he began poking around Craigslist for a local recording studio to lay down some bass tracks. Long-haired leaping gnome and Castaway 7 owner J.P. Hesser happened to be running an ad for his studio and Casal happened to resonate with its verbiage. Unbeknown to Hesser, the tracks were for a Jayhawks record. That was the beginning. As time wore on, the stars aligned to form a constellation of alliances that culminated in a harmonic convergence of the grandest scale: Circles Around the Sun — Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall, Dan Horne, Mark Levy —aka the group that wrote the set break music for the Dead’s Fare Thee Well tour.
Named by Garcia’s daughter, Annabelle, during a flurry of text messaging with Casal, it refers to lyrics of a song the Dead performed in its early days; but, oddly, from a verse they never actually sang live. The “Interludes for the Dead,” conceived and recorded live in one crazy/beautiful weekend at Castaway 7, is five hours of instrumental bliss that captures the essence of the Grateful Dead’s transcendent musical meanderings and builds on them. Composed for the highly evolved ears of GD family and friends, or what Timothy Leary once referred to as “the finest and largest disorganized religion in the world,” the recording and mastering processes were exceedingly complex, but rising to the challenge has put both Hesser and his studio on the map. Response to the music has far exceeded everyone’s expectations, to the extent that Rhino Records will be releasing it as a vinyl two-record set exclusively for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on Nov. 27: The living are also grateful.
