In 17 award shows produced over the past 22 years, the Syracuse Area Music Awards has nominated hundreds of local musicians for Sammys.
The almost-annual awards were bestowed on this year’s winners March 6 at Eastwood’s Palace Theater.
So over those two decades hundreds of nominees have walked away without winning a trophy, but most of those remained glad to be nominated and returned to the studio to try, try again.
Jamie Cheeseman apparently decided against that passive stance. Instead, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, having never won a Sammy despite being nominated several times for a hip-hop award, Cheesman took the offensive, in every sense of the word.
Twelve years ago Cheeseman, who lives in Liverpool on Sunflower Drive, adopted the stage name Powder Jay.
His ReverbNation page claims he is a two-time Sammy Award nominee.
In 2010, the Sammys seem to have misspelled his name, nominating “Powerjay’s ‘Love Theory’” in the hip-hop category.
That year he was beaten out by Anormous and Rsource. The following year, Powder Jay earned another nomination but lost out to Sophistafunk.
According to Sammys Committee Chair Liz Nowak, Cheeseman had been nominated four times in all but had never won a Sammy.
Sour grapes?
In February, after this year’s Sammy nominees were announced and he wasn’t on the list, Cheeseman posted a video on YouTube, a rap song called “Ill Wishes.” In that performance, Powder Jay railed against the Sammys judges and allegedly threatened to burn down the Palace Theater and physically attack Nowak. The “Ill Wishes” video included an image of a pipe bomb.
The song’s lyrics predict violence:
Who’s gotta die if we ever want change?
See, I ain’t talking ’bout money, ’bout blowing out your brains…
As a result, Sheriff’s deputies busted the 37-year-old Cheeseman on March 1 and charged him with a misdemeanor count of aggravated harassment and making a terrorist threat, a felony.
He was arraigned in town of Salina Court before Judge Paul Carey and released on pretrial probation. He’s scheduled back in court on April 9.
Cheeseman is listed on LinkedIn as the proprietor of Liverpool DJ’s since April 2010. That business is one of the sponsors of the Syracuse Alternative Music Awards 2015 slated for 6 p.m. April 25, at the St. Clare Theater, on North Townsend Street, on the city’s Northside.
Nichols’ new meat meals
If you’re a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy like me, you know that Nichols Supermarket has one of the best meat departments in the area. That well-deserved reputation dates back to at least the 1970s when my dad bought his 70 percent ground beef for the hamburgers he made at Tarbe’s Grill.
Here in the 21st century, however, Nichols’ butchers are getting more and more creative. A few months ago, I alerted you to the chicken sausages they’re rolling in out in several different flavors, and now they’ve come up with some delicious stuffed meat dishes.
Employee Andy Rossi hit the jackpot by stuffing a center cut, bone-in porterhouse pork chop with spinach, feta and parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, croutons and onion. Be careful not to overcook it, warns butcher Mike Hennigan Jr. It’s done when the inner temperature reaches 145 degrees. The end result is a sweet and juicy chop subtly enhanced with its zesty ingredients
Meanwhile, Mike Jr. developed a lightly breaded chicken cordon bleu, boneless breasts stuffed with ham, Swiss cheese, Italian bread crumbs, olive oil, asparagus, spinach and garlic.
As beef prices remain on the rise, Mike Jr. thinks Nichols’ customers will be buying more and more pork and chicken in coming months, so the store’s meat department continues to brainstorm ways to make those products even more appealing. Mangia!
A look back 101 years
In 1914 Woodrow Wilson was president, the Panama Canal was inaugurated, the Federal Reserve Bank opened, “Tarzan of the Apes” was published, Charlie Chaplin appeared in 35 films as “The Little Tramp” and World War I broke out in Europe.
Retired SUNY Cortland history professor Tom Henry, considered quite the compelling speaker, will discuss America in 1914 at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at Liverpool Public Library. The program is free and open to the public; 457-0310; lpl.org.
Dare we dream of baseball?
Meanwhile, Syracuse Chiefs General Manager Jason Smorol – who lives in Liverpool – is looking forward to opening the Chiefs International League home season at 2 p.m. April 16, at the redundantly named NBT Bank Stadium. (My understanding is that NBT stands for Norwich Bank and Trust so the ballpark is actually the Norwich Bank and Trust Bank Stadium. That’s two banks for the price of one!)
Anyhow, on opening day, the Chiefs will host the New York Yankees’ top farm club, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. For ticket info, visit syracusechiefs.com, or call 474-7833.
Contact the columnist at [email protected].
