John Billings, Isaac Slade and Ryan Tedder believe in the circle of life, even when it comes to inanimate objects.
They’d like to think that, like salmon swimming upstream, some of the Grammy Awards being handed out tonight in Los Angeles just want to come home — to Colorado — to spend the rest of their days on mantles and shelves.
“It’s mind-blowing to think about where all the Grammys that have ever been handed out are right now,” said Billings, the Ridgway artist who handcrafts each of the statuettes in his studio on Colorado’s Western Slope. “The fact that I’m making them here in Colorado might influence me a little bit in terms of who I root for.”
You might catch a glimpse of Billings while watching the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, airing at 7 tonight on CBS. He’ll be the one in the old- time, Western suit with the Buffalo Bill-inspired cowboy boots coming up over his knees. He’ll be the one handing out Grammy-styled lapel pins to the nominated artists he meets. He’ll be the one with the big smile on his face.
Billings is the Grammy Man. He estimates that 15 hours go into each statuette, which is cast as four separate components. After they’re refined and ground, polished and gold- plated, assembled and engraved, they are ready for the artists who earned them. It’s a lot of work.
And they’re not indestructible.
“I just repaired some of the Grammys that went through Hurricane Katrina,” Billings said. “Two of them were for Aaron Neville, and two were for Trina Shoemaker, an engineer.”
“We just want to win”
The Grammy Award is something that is envied, loathed and coveted — depending on whom you’re talking to. But if you’re talking to a nominated artist, especially an artist who has yet to snag a gramophone statuette, the Grammy is the golden ring.
“The first time we were nominated, we told everybody, ‘Ah, we don’t care if we win or not. Being nominated is an honor,’ ” remembers Isaac Slade, frontman of multiplatinum, Denver-based band the Fray. “But now we just want to win.”
Slade and his bandmates have Grammy dreams, but it’s not like the singer-pianist is paying a ton of attention to the awards ceremony. When asked a few weeks ago about the artists he’s up against, he resorted to the Internet for a few minutes to double-check his competition.
“I’ll admit I’m not super- familiar with who we’re up against,” he said midsearch. “Ah, yeah. I love MGMT. That song ‘Kids’ was one of the most-played songs on my iPod this year. And I think I do have a soft spot for Pink. Something about her snarl has always got my attention from her earliest days.”
The Fray’s competition for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals includes MGMT, the Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi and, oddly, Darryl Hall & John Oates. In the Best Pop Vocal Album category, its rivals are The Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Colbie Caillat and Kelly Clarkson.
“It’s good company to be in, but we’re less nervous than we were before,” Slade said. “We know a little bit more now with what to expect. We’re used to it more than when we were punk kids from Arvada. It’s just like doing Leno and Letterman a couple times; every following time it gets easier and easier. Now we’ve sat in those chairs a bit and seen the big stars sitting next to each other.
“It’s just like when I worked at the Gothic Theatre in a way. They’re just people. That was the humanizing of the rock star for me, to see them singing to 1,400 kids and then they’d come backstage and say, ‘I need to use the bathroom. Where’s the bathroom?’ And I’d say, ‘It’s down the hall and to the right.’ ”
Top award nominee
Just as the Fray has toured and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the game, Ryan Tedder is also putting Colorado on the map. Tedder was raised in Colorado Springs, and after moving away to L.A. and seeing his band, OneRepublic, and his producing/songwriting career take off, he is back in Denver for good.
Tedder is up for the biggest award of the night, Record of the Year. He wrote “Halo” for Beyonce, and he also co-produced the track. Tedder and the pop/R&B diva have stiff competition in Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas and Kings of Leon, but he is confident about his chances tonight.
“I’m not being cocky, but I honestly think I’ll walk away with at least one Grammy,” said Tedder, who is also nominated for Album of the Year for his work on Beyonce’s full-length, “I Am . . . Sasha Fierce.”
“Every single high-ranking Grammy person I know has told me it’s Beyonce’s year — despite the Taylor machine. So my fingers are crossed.”
Beyonce’s album is up against some of the biggest LPs of 2009, including Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” Swift’s “Fearless,” Dave Matthews Band’s “Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King” and the Black Eyed Peas “The E.N.D.”
Maybe it is Beyonce’s year. She does lead the field, with 10 nominations. Then again, Swift is on fire — and her eight noms aren’t too shabby, especially when you consider that she, like Beyonce, is nominated for the top three awards: Record, Album and Song of the Year.
“And if I don’t take an award home with me, that will be 0 for 5 for me, which puts me in the same category as that soap opera star who got nominated for, like, 15 years until she actually won, ha-ha,” Tedder said. “I’m hoping that doesn’t happen, but if it does, maybe the new songs I’m doing with Adele will work for next year.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com; Follow The Post’s music critics on Twitter at @RVRB.
Our critic’s picks for this year’s Grammys
The Grammys aren’t pretending to honor the year’s best music. They’re not ashamed of the fact that they’re one of the world’s biggest popularity contests. That said, here are our picks for this year’s winners.
Record of the Year
“Halo,” Beyonce and Ryan Tedder: The epic pop ballad ruled the radio, and it also fits the Grammys’ type.
Album of the Year
“The Fame,” Lady Gaga: Grammys love rewarding the hitmakers, and Gaga was one of 2009’s biggest stars. (Bonus: She’s weird and talented.)
Song of the Year
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon: In a year when pop artists outsold rock musicians, these boys triumphed artistically and commercially.
Best New Artist
Silversun Pickups: The latest group to graduate from indie rock’s elite class now has a No. 1 debut under its belt.
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift: She’s gotta win something, right? The year’s biggest crossover act represents the future of the Grammys.
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
“Love You,” Maxwell: John Legend has his. It’s Maxwell’s turn, and his is a voice worth celebrating.
Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
“Never Say Never,” the Fray: This second FM radio hit off the Denver band’s second LP is proof of the Fray’s appeal, and the Grammys reward consistency.
— Ricardo Baca
