Mothers of ECMA artists bond over their talented children

Move aside East Coast Music Association artists, it's time for your mothers to shine.

A group of women has created a special award for the mothers of the artists featured by the ECMAs. East Coast Mamas has been awarding artists' mothers with wooden statuettes they call them dolls for nine years.

The award is to recognize the support a mother has given to her musician child.

Jo Schieck, mother of musician Nikki Waite, is one of the founders of the group. She says she and her friends met Debbie Mullins, mother of Keith Mullins, and Flo Sampson, mother of Gordie Sampson, a few years ago and decided to create an award for them.

'They're cool'

"(I) thought these people are a lot of fun. They're cool. We should just give them a little award. So we did, and it just sort of grew from there," said Schieck.

Mullins remembers receiving the award with Sampson and said it was an emotional moment for her.

"It was very overwhelming. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it," she said. "Flo and I have gone for 15, 16 years now, every ECMA, and go to shows of all East Coast artists. But of course we're always there where our sons are playing."

Schieck says the statuettes they gave to Mullins and Sampson were pretty basic, but a year later the group decided to fashion new ones.

"We were like, 'Wouldn't it be fun if the doll kind of looked like the artist that they're representing?' So now we are very particular about that," said Schieck.

EC Mamas have given out more than 20 awards since 2008. They originally got the wooden statuettes from Michaels craft store, but now they make their own.

Like a family reunion

The group likes to surprise the recipients of the award and Schieck says they will probably give out three during the ECMA festivities in Sydney this week.

She admits the creation of the dolls is mostly informal, and "made on the fly a lot of the time."

Mullins says the women in the group have developed a close bond. Schieck says it's like a family reunion when they come together.

"It's like a beautiful music cult of mamas that love to go to shows. So automatically, they're friends, you know, once they get that award," said Mullins.

Schieck has never received a statuette herself, but her daughter is playing during this week's ECMAs with her husband's band, Andrew Waite & the Firm.

"I'm hoping they're going to surprise me this year," said Schieck.