About Voting
YOU get to pick the Grand Prize winner and the Fan Favorite.
The five grand prize FINALISTS will be selected from among all eligible entries received by the August 8th deadline. A panel of judges made up of Gatti’s representatives and Austin members of the music industry (see below bios) will judge the entries. The top five aggregated scores across all judges will be named the five grand prize finalists.
GRAND PRIZE SELECTION:
Between August 17th and September 6th, the public will vote on the grand prize finalists to determine the grand prize winner. Voting will take place at gattisjingle.com. Subscribers of Time Warner Cable digital cable in Austin, Texas can also preview finalists on Find It On Demand, digital channel 1303, and then must log on to GattisJingle.com to vote. The grand prize finalist who receives the most votes will be the grand prize winner. In the event of a tie, the highest score awarded by the judges during the finalist selection will be named the grand prize winner.
FAN FAVORITE SELECTION:
Between August 17th and September 6th, all eligible entries may be voted on at gattisjingle.com. The entry that receives the most votes during this voting period will be named the “Fan Favorite” winner. In the event of a tie, the entry with the highest percentage of positive comments will be named the “Fan Favorite” winner.
For more details visit the Rules page
JOIN THE PARTY!
Come party with your hosts Kevin Conner (ME TV Austin) and Jason and Deb from the 101X Morning Show on Saturday, September 12th at GattiTown in the historic South Park Meadows where the Grand Prize Winner and Fan Favorite will be announced.
OUR ESTEEMED PANEL OF JUDGES:
Marcia Ball
Pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball has been performing in Austin for nearly 40 years. She has released numerous critically-acclaimed albums and garnered a few Grammy nominations along the way. She has received the Blues Music Award multiple times for her albums. Marcia also received the coveted “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year” award for her album, SO MANY RIVERS. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 the Blues Music Awards honored Ball as the “Piano Player of the Year.”
In 1999, Marcia and her band appeared in the nationally televised Public Television special ‘In Performance At The White House’ along with B.B. King and Della Reese. Ball appeared on Austin City Limits and Late Show With David Letterman with The New Orleans Social Club not only reached millions of people, but helped to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Mike Blair
Mike recently retired as Executive VP, Senior Creative Director at GSD&M Idea City in Austin, where he spent 27 years. Mike has written over 300 jingles and created in the neighborhood of 1200 television spots in his 40 years in the advertising and broadcasting business. He wrote and produced the music and the spots for most of the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign from its birth in 1986 until 1998. Over his career he has created music for dozens of national accounts, including Wal-Mart, Coors Beer, Chili’s restaurants, SeaWorld, McDonald’s, Barq’s Root Beer, Texas Tourism, The Texas Lottery (he created the original music campaign for the Lottery) and most importantly, Mr. Gattis (now Gatti’s Pizza). He has performed music with many music icons, including Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Leann Rimes and the list goes on. He has received many awards for his work including Cannes Film Festival and New York Film & Radio Festival Awards.
Ed Cohen
Mr. Cohen has served as Gatti’s Pizza Vice President of Marketing since May 2006. He has worked with record labels producing events and promoting artists including Wyclef Jean and India Arie. He has traveled with various musicians in Europe and produced concerts in major US cities, such as Chicago. From April 2004 through May 2006, Mr. Cohen served as President of Interactive Endeavors, a marketing consulting agency. From March 2002 through March 2004, Mr. Cohen served as Managing Director of Fusion 5, a Connecticut-based brand innovation and strategic consulting agency. From October 1996 through March 2002, Mr. Cohen served as Dallas/Chicago Marketing Manager with US Concepts, a New York-based grass-roots marketing and promotions agency. Mr. Cohen graduated from the University of Kansas. His favorite Gatti’s pizza is mushroom, burger and extra cheese on thin crust. And most importantly he loves music.
Kevin Connor
Kevin was drawn to Austin by its music (and a friend’s wedding) in 1981 and has been promoting Austin music on the radio and television here ever since. In 1990, he helped start 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin, where he hosted the morning show until he recently resigned to devote his full attention to ME Television. Kevin’s first involvement with music television came through his 5 years of service as chairman of the Austin Music Commission. He was asked to help supervise the operation of the old Austin Music Network through a period of its transition. When the City of Austin said it would cease funding of the channel, Kevin met Connie Wodlinger and worked with her to create a privately-funded model that would maintain a commitment to promoting Austin music and entertainment.
Randolph B. “Huey” Houston, Jr.
Randy is an artist manager, representing recording artists, television and film actors, and comedians. He is also a performing and recording musician and songwriter with nearly three decades of experience across all genres of music. He produces for and co-writes with a number of local recording artists and is the owner of a small independent record label. In 2006, Randy became a Voting (Producer) Member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), also known as the Recording Academy.
Randy is also a Co-founder of and Principal in the law firm FORTKORT & HOUSTON P.C., where his practice focuses on trademark, copyright, music, and entertainment law, including negotiating deals involving major label recording artists, representing individual musicians, actors, artists, and writers, and speaking and writing on entertainment-related topics. He is proud to volunteer his time serving in numerous organizations, including the Board of Trustees of The Long Center for the Performing Arts, the Austin Music Commission and the Advisory Board of the Austin Community College Commercial Music Management Program.
Ruben Ramos
Ruben Ramos, also known as El Gato Negro, is an award-winning American Tejano music performer. Beginning his music career in the late ’60s, Ruben fame as has grown throughout the years as he formed his own distinct sound of music. In March 1998, Ruben was inducted into the Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame and later won Best Male Vocalist in 1999. His band, The Mexican Revolution, also won album of the year in 2008. Ruben Ramos & la Revolucion have been nominated for a Grammy Award two years in a row and in January of this year, at the 51st annual Grammy awards, Ramos & la Revolucion won the 2009 Grammy for “Best Tejano album of the Year.”
