It was certainly a tight race this year, but we are happy to announce that Punk Rock Payroll are the winners of our Best Local Record Label Poll which was voted on by our selected jury. They managed to edge out Siltbreeze Records by one vote, but we certainly believe that Siltbreeze deserves kudos for their years of continuous work with such interesting artists. However, this moment is about the high-quality work that Punk Rock Payroll is churning out from their headquarters in South Philly. Frede and Misty Zimmer’s adventurous spirit led by their belief in the things that they are passionate about has led them to the top of our list, and it doesn’t hurt that we love artists on their roster like The Extraordinaires and Dangerous Ponies. Congrats for seeing art in everything that you do! punkrockpayroll.com/ - The Deli Staff

 

Mark my words - if the rock gods are just, then Grandchildren will be HUGE! No one on the local scene impressed me more in 2009. I was instantly drawn in with my first listen of tracks from their debut full length Cold Warrior, a project by Aleks Martray three years in the making. He changed what might have been your average acoustic singer-songwriter material into something accessibly drenched with layers of the most interesting sounds coming out of our local music scene. He also performed a Herculean task of bringing together a group of Danger Danger Gallery talented misfits into a six-piece mind-blowingly dynamic live band. With Cold Warrior scheduled to be released this spring on Green Owl which was responsible for 2009’s critically acclaimed Warm Heart of Africa by The Very Best and is owned by Benjamin Bronfman, M.I.A.’s baby daddy and son of former Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., the stars seem to be aligning correctly for this crew of West Philly’s finest. myspace.com/grandchildren - Q.D. Tran

 

 

The Spooks play unabashed garage/surf rock with guitar riffs that come from somewhere below the waist and vocals that could scare you into loving them. Their raw, punkish energy might possibly have you playing air guitar with some serious ferocity by the end of the night. Recently back from a tour down South in support of their EP Sea Monster, the boys should be well-practiced and tight when they join The G next Sunday night at Kung Fu Necktie. myspace.com/spooksquares (Photo by Megan Trosclair) - Q.D. Tran