BUILDING MOMENTUM TO MAY >>>

Who really cares if Bon Iver wins a Grammy or how many VMAs Madonna has stacked on her mantel? It's not like anybody with taste actually takes them seriously. As aficionados of the South Sound music scene, however, we're dying to know which of our faves will end up big winners at the inaugural Oly Music Awards this May.

"We're specifically focusing on the Olympia music scene, but encouraging musicians, bands, and music listeners throughout the South Sound region and throughout Western Washington to participate, especially bands with a presence in the Olympia music scene - bands that play Olympia," says musician and Oly Music Awards organizer Jabi Shriki.

The Oly Music Awards will run three days, kicking off Thursday, May 3 with a solo performer showcase, followed by a live band showcase Friday and an awards ceremony Saturday.

Not specific to any one genre - although the Weekly Volcano doesn't see any crunk, chillwave or garagedubcrunksteptechwave on the eligible "recognized" genre list - the contest portion of the Oly Music Awards will consist of two components - judging of submitted mp3s and online voting to pick the best live musicians.

"There will also be two showcases as part of the Oly Music Awards - one will feature solo/acoustic musicians and the other will feature live bands," says Shriki.

To build momentum, an Oly Music Awards "pre-show" will hit Le Voyeur Friday night. We tossed a few questions at indie acoustic musician Shriki.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Who's performing Friday at Le Voyeur?

JABI SHRIKI: I'm kicking off the show at 9 p.m. performing music off my new CD, Puzzle Pieces. Alt-pop band Fight For Change hits the stage at 10. Rockers Elbow Coulee with its new line-up performs at 11 p.m. The night ends with the debut of indie rockers Point Process.

VOLCANO: Any science behind the line up?

SHRIKI: The show really kind of fell together organically.  Elbow Coulee wanted to have a return show with their new line-up.  Point Process is a band that practices at my house that wanted to schedule their first show.  Fight for Change is a band that also practices at my house that I really liked, so I asked them to join the bill.  I put myself on the bill, since Olympia Power and Light wanted to review the CD, but they wanted to have a show to mention in the article.  It ended up not working out time-wise, but I kept myself on the bill as a solo act at 9 pm.

VOLCANO: What's the backstory on your CD title?

SHRIKI: It's a long story. The title came from a quote from a character in a book that I'm working on. One of the characters - who is a good person with powers that can be used for horribly destructive purposes -  wonders why a just god or an ordered universe would allow her to exist. The other character responds, "We all have a purpose in life, but the search for that purpose can be maddening. It's like putting together a puzzle with all the pieces facing down.  You know that they fit together somehow, but it's impossible to see the bigger picture."

I ended up spending a lot of time thinking about puzzle pieces as a metaphor for life, and I wrote a poem, which was:

blind to the way
undertones turn the world
in verse, second voices grind
broken glass into puzzle pieces

VOLCANO: Will you perform at the Oly Music Awards?

SHRIKI: I'm keeping my music totally separate from the Oly Music Awards. I'll be strictly the organizer for future pre-shows.

[Le Voyeur, Oly Music Awards Pre-show, Friday, Feb. 10, 9 p.m., no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]

LINK: Best of Olympia 2012 Party