Dawna Lee Heising and John Cox of Eye on Entertainment Cover Los Angeles Music Awards

Dawna Lee Heising and John Cox of "Eye on Entertainment" filmed a segment on the red carpet at the Los Angeles Music Awards on November 20, 2008, at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California. The Los Angeles Music Awards has an 18 year history, dating back to 1991.

The Los Angeles Music Awards is the longest running red carpet event for independent musicians and filmmakers. Performers at the 2008 LA Music Awards event included: Easton Ashe; Inca Son; Brian Judah w/ David Campbell; Juliette Goglia; Jeffrey Taylor; Cliff Morrison; Becca; Sherry Petta; Eric Erskine; Alestar Digby; Garden of Eden; and Mark Barnes.

The LA Music Awards were founded by Al Bowman, who was inspired by a conversation with Bill Gazzari, only three days before his death. Gazzari, often seen wearing his trademark white fedora hat, was known for giving musicians their start. During the conversation on March 3, 1991, Gazzari gave Bowman his hat and gave him his blessing to become the voice of independent music in Los Angeles.

Nine months later, Bowman singlehandedly kicked off the first annual Los Angeles Music Awards event as a tribute to honor local musicians and help them gain exposure for their recordings and live performances.

Mark Barnes, the “Bad Boy of Chill Out,” performed two of his beautiful instrumental compositions at the LA Music Awards, and received a 2008 Hollywood F.A.M.E. Music and Cinema Award during the event. The title track from his new CD, “The Awakening”, is piano-based and deeply moving. Barnes also recently was named the 2008 Independent National Artist of the Year at the Phoenix Music Awards.

Barnes is a friend of “Eye on Entertainment” and has appeared on two other segments of the show, along with his manager, Sher LeFevre, the founder and CEO of the Confederate Starz Management Agency and of “Child Predator Busters”, an organization that protects children. Rick Borgia, the spokesman for “Child Predator Busters” and a successful New York actor, also attended the LA Music Awards.

Other Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award winners included Suzanne DeLaurentiis for Lifetime Achievement for Music in Motion Pictures, Don Branker for Concert Production, David Kershenbaum for Lifetime Achievement in Music Production, Dolores Fuller for Career Achievement for Hit Songs and Film Appearances, Peter Brown for Lifetime Achievement for Music in Motion Pictures, Jason DeParis for Cinematic Achievement, Tawn Mastrey for Posthumous Award Star, Bobby Strom for A-List Special Achievement and Hector Luis-Bustamante, for Breakthrough Actor.

The after-party performance was headlined by UFOetry, a unique band that has a recurring theme of unidentified flying objects in its music and plays such events as the Roswell UFO Festival. Vocalist Josh Poet, MUFON member and avid follower of the UFO world, stays up-to-date and incorporates the latest info on the subject into every facet of UFOetry’s production. Since 2004, the band has garnered a number of awards from the Los Angeles music scene.

Eye on Entertainment “Eye on Entertainment”, a division of Eye on Excellence™ Productions, is a high-energy, high-impact television program focusing on extraordinary individuals and the entertainment industry. The show is aired twice weekly on Time Warner Cable in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, and covers entertainment events and awards shows and features powerhouse interviews with successful people in all walks of life, exploring the traits that they have in common. Dawna Lee Heising is the executive producer and host of EOE. Dawna is also Ms. Universe Ambassador 2009 and is a long-standing member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). The show is produced and directed by John Aldesek, who is also the unit production manager on Robert Michael Conrad and James Nestor movie productions. The EOE photographer is David McNeil, a business executive and Mensa member who helped develop Pay-per-View and formerly worked for United Artists Cable.