AIROS Native Network's blog

We here at Native Sounds - Native Voices would like to keep it chill and relaxed this week with easy listening songs for all to enjoy.  We start the show with no one chiller than George Leach with "Making Love" and you can't have George Leach without a little Harrison Begay to complete the combo with his song "Baby with a Golden Smile." Later on in the show we have Buffy Sainte-Marie with the song she won an Academy Award for, "Up Where We Belong" from the movie "An Officer and a Gentlemen."  After that we have Jani Lauzon with her ballad, "(Goin) Wild for you Baby." She's goin so wild for her baby that she had to put (goin) in parentheses. We also have Rita Coolidge with her cover of the Bee Gees hit "Words” which surprisingly sounds a lot like the original. We have many other artists as well, so sit back relax and catch our show on www.airos.org. Our very chill playlist:   ·        George Leach - “Making Love” [Just Where I’m At] ·         Harrison Begay - “Baby with a Golden Smile” [A New Light of Day] ·         Cherokee Rose - “Coming Up River” [Love Medicine Music] ·         Buffy Sainte-Marie - “Up Where We Belong [Up Where We Belong] ·         Jani Lauzon - “(Goin) Wild for You Baby” [Blue Voice New Voice] ·         Jana Mashonee ft. Derek Miller - “A Change is Gonna Come” ·         Rita Coolidge - “Words” [Greatest Hits] ·        Keith Secola - “NDN KRZ ‘49” [A Coup Stick] ·         Jim Boyd - “Powwow Highway ‘49” [First Come, Last Served] ·         Thunderhand Joe and the Medicine Show - “I’m Your Fool” ·         John Trudell -  “Something About You” [Johnny Damas & Me] ·         Robert Richmond - “Angel in Chains” [Sour Milk Moon] ·         Tonemah - “Back 2 U” [One in Every Crowd]   Stay Tuned!

Since Arigon Starr is here in Lincoln, Nebraska for her live recording of the Red Road, her one woman show, NS-NV  has compiled a list of our favorite Arigon Starr tunes. Some of the songs we picked out have certain nerdy pop culture references we enjoy, while others have strong political messages. We have created a playlist comprising ten of our favorite Arigon Starr songs that you should check out.

Check out more photos from The Red Road performances on our facebook page.

 

Our Top Ten Favorite Arigon Starr Songs

•  "Junior Frybread" [Wind-up]

Aden: "One of my favorite songs of hers. It deals with one of my favorite foods...frybread."

•  "Apache A-Go-Go" [Wind-up]

Sina: "This song starts off Arigon's 'Wind-up' album, and provides a really great sense of what you're getting from this album. It's pop, it's happy, and just a lot of fun all around."

• "Eugene Tooms is Dead" [Meet the Diva]

Aden: "Great song about a creepy guy from the X-files, here's a link of Mr. Eugene Tooms."

• "Snagging" [Wind-up]

Sina: "This song is basically a 3-minute 'it's funny because it's true' joke. I think the line 'With fire in your eyes, you'll be snagging!' says it all."

• "Monsters of the World Unite" [Meet the Diva]

Aden:"Hilarious song about what would happen if all the famous monsters unionized."

• "Edith Keeler Must Die" [Backflip]

Sina: "'Edith Keeler' is a reference to the original Star Trek episode 'City on the Edge of Forever'. I don't want to give anything away, but I'll give you a hint of how it ends--there is something Edith Keeler MUST do...and she does it."

• "Honor Me" [Wind-up]

Aden: "A song about how people "honor"  Native Americans by the use of mascots.It is a clever political song."

• "Please Do Not Touch the Indians" [The Red Road]

Sina: "Arigon discusses the portrayal of Native Americans in westerns...through a country song. The rhythm may be upbeat, but the lyrics remind us of the serious subject."

• "The Red Road (Original Version)" [The Red Road]

Aden: "The song that started her one woman show, it is about a Native truck driver, which reminds me of my dad who is  a Native truck driver."

• "The Peltier Song (One Bright and Shining Morning)" [Wind-up]

Sina: "Of course, no semi-political list is complete without a Leonard Peltier song, and this one is on par with any."

 

Check out the AIROS livestream for more songs by Arigon Starr. See photos from the event on our Facebook and MySpace pages.

Stay tuned!

Sina Bear Eagle & Aden Marshall NS-NV co-hosts

 

So how'd that end up working out for you there Custer?

Remember that dude who totally got his butt whooped by a bunch of Indians? Probably can't remember, because Indians kick a lot of butt. I'll clarify... that long-hair guy, way back in 1876 .....Yeah that guy, Mr. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th calvary. We are going to celebrate that victory with Lakota and Northern Cheyenne victory and traditional songs.

Our Great Victory Playlist:

Native Thunder  - “Traditional” [Representing the Valley in the Pit]

Lakota Thunder – “They Brought Us Victory” [Way of Life]

Edgar Red Cloud – “Lakota Battle of Little Bighorn Victory” [American Warriors]

Elk Whistle – “Traditional” [He Sapa Wacipi]

Earl Bullhead – “Victory Song” [Keeper of the Drum]

Earl Bullhead – “Pehin Hanska” [Keeper of the Drum]

Porcupine Singers – “Straight” [Songs of the Oglala Nation]

Pass Creek Singers – “Soaring” [Songs of the Oglala Nation]

Eagle Mountain – “Straight” [Songs of the Oglala Nation]

Lakota Thunder – “My Friends Take Courage” [Way of Life]

Floyd Red Crow Westerman – “Custer Died For Your Sins” [Custer Died For Your Sins]

-Stay Tuned

 

 

NS-NV Co-host Aden J. Marshall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite childhood memories is taking long road trips with my dad. With no special occasion in mind, my siblings and I would jump into his worn down car and take weekend trips to all around our little section of the Midwest.

There was never quite enough room in his car, the padding on the ceiling was stripped out, and the exterior paint was chipping, but as long as we were spending time with him we didn’t care. He’d spend the entire trip telling us stories about when we toddlers, old jokes regarding the differences between us Oglala and our Sicangu cousins*, and the time a bear tore up the roof of his car. He always said his punch lines twice, and we’d laugh even harder the second time.

It’s been years since I’ve been on a road trip with my dad, but those memories still remain close to my heart. This week on Native Sounds-Native Voices, we are celebrating fathers and grandfathers.

Father’s Day Playlist

• Kevin Locke - "Grandfather Look At Me" [The Flash of the Mirror]
• Natay - "Daddy'z Little Angel" [A Place Called Survival]
• Arigon Starr - "Daddy's Records" [Backflip]
• Glen Ahhaitty - "Daddy's Coming Home" [True Lies From the Road]
• Jim Boyd - "Father and Farther" [Smoke Signals]
• Ulali - "Forgive Our Fathers Suite/Wahjelleh-Yihm" [Smoke Signals]
• Mystic River - "Please Dad!" [Evolution]
• Tha Tribe - "Elders" [Emery]
• Young Bird - "For Mom & Dad" [Memories]
• Eli Secody - "Love Your Parents" [Following Generation]
• Alex Maldonado - "Grandfather's Song" [Desert Breeze]
• Shelley Morningsong - "Grandfather's Talking" [Out of the Ashes]

Feed Times:

6/22: 8:05am, 2:05pm, 8:05pm

All Times Eastern Daylight Saving Times

Hope you're feeling nice and nostaglic; Coming soon, we'll be reminiscing about the time we showed Long Hair what's what at Greasy Grass Creek.

Stay tuned!

Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-host

*Note: I'm Oglala and Aden is Sicangu. I could give him a hard time about it, but I don't. I mean, he's got it hard enough as it is; he has to spend all his time at work sitting nexting to an Oglala, constantly being reminded that he isn't one. Poor guy.

Hey there, loyal listeners, are you ready to rock? It’s more of a statement than an actual question, but to be grammatically correct, we had to put a question mark. Anyway, NS-NV will be playing some solid sounds for all to enjoy!  Can you dig it?

Our current playlist is so random, it might as well be an iPod on shuffle (an iPod with an AIROS skin on it, of course). There is one thing these Native artists have in common besides the obvious part where they’re all Native, and it’s that they all make great music.

To go with our random playlist, we’ve picked random facts about each of the artists. To our knowledge these are all true, albeit slightly exaggerated.

Random Playlist

• Randy Wood – “Saddle Lake” [Round Dance Blues]
  -- Randy was nominated for a Juno, a Grammy, a Nammy, and an Aboriginal People’s Choice award in the same year. Next step? The White House.
  
• Buddaz & Stephen – “Angel Eyes” [Northern Lights]
  -- These two are not rappers, despite looking like they’re about to drop a rhyme at any given moment.
  
• John Trudell – “Across My Heart” [Johnny Damas & Me]
  -- Like fellow political rights activists, Malcom X, John Trudell was born in Omaha, Nebraska. If you were born amongst copious amounts of corn, you’d be joining a revolution as well.
  
• Richard McKay – “My Awakening” [My Awakening]
  -- His voice sounds almost exactly like that of Pearl Jam leader singer Eddie Vedder. (Considering the number of times we’ve seen Eddie Vedder in Pine Ridge, we wouldn’t put it past him to have finally morphed into a Native either.)
  
• Bartow & Black Dog – “Crazy Daddy” [Bone Road]
  -- Rick Bartow carved The Cedar Mill Pole, which was displayed in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in the White House. (Wonder if Randy Wood will be commissioning his services?)
  
• Jimmy Wolf – “Driftin’ From Door to Door” [Driftin’ From Door to Door]
  -- Has shared the stage with blues legends Buddy Guy Jr., Wells, Albert King, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Millie Jackson, and Little Johnny Taylor. And you thought you had cool MySpace photos.
  
• Joy Harjo – “Eagle Song” [Native Joy For Real]
  -- Featured in Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam 2002 (and therefore has more street-cred than 99% of the kids you see running around in baggy jeans and backwards caps on reservations.)
• Jani Lauzon – “Real Rez Blues” [Skintight Blues]
  -- In her spare time, she’s Canadian puppeteer, whose resume extends to work on Sesame Street. The idea of being a Sesame Street puppeteer as a weekend job is ridiculously cool for reasons we can’t completely grasp.
  
• Arigon Starr – “What’s My Indian Name?” [Backflip]
  -- Had an acting role on General Hospital. (If memory serves, she played the comatose daughter of the hospital’s CDC liaison, whom everyone thought died in a tragic smelting accident 20 years earlier. See, the body in the casket was actually a dummy, while the mother stashed her real body at home so that she could collect on the life insurance. Also, she had an evil twin…okay, maybe not. Though it’s probably not too farfetched, to be fair.)
  
• Tricycle Thief – “Like This” [Six Maladies]
  -- One of the members is the daughter of NAPT Executive Director, Shirley Sneve. On a side note, Shirley has no stolen tricycles in her home…that we know of.
  
• Indigenous – “C’mon Suzie” [Indigenous]
  -- The members of this band are Nakota. Not Lakota or Dakota. That’s right, with an “N.” They’re also from Yankton…and we’re not yanking your chain about that. (…Okay, we’ll stop now.)
  
• Blackfire – “Mean Things Happening in this World”
  -- Did a studio recording with punk icon Joey Ramone and, honestly, you don’t get more serious punk credibility than that. Excuse us while we fail miserably at pretending not be jealous.
  
• The Cremains – “Who Are You” [The Cremains]
  -- One group member is the nephew of James Bilagody, hence their epic collaborative efforts with the singer. Bonus: They came up with the idea to start a rock band at a Denny’s. (No word on whether they were having the Grand Slam breakfast or not.)

Coming soon, we have "Kamehameha Day" and our tribute to the Battle at Greasy Grass: "Custer Didn't Stand a Chance."

Stay Tuned!

Aden Marshall & Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-hosts

 

What if we told you NS-NV would be playing songs from Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Nirvana?  Would you think we found documents revealing Robert Plant and Kurt Cobain’s long lost Cherokee grandmothers? Not the case, loyal listeners, for we have created an entire playlist of Native American musicians covering mainstream artists. These covers include Link Wray's tribute to fellow legend, John Fogerty, with “Run Through the Jungle,” Jack Olson exploring his inner tragic romantic with “Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond, The Police’s ode to stalking, “Every Breath You Take,” performed by Curtis Cardinal, and many more!

Many of these bands are long gone, but enjoy these modern interpretations of classic songs with a Native twist! Remember, every time you hear Jana’s cover of “Stairway to Heaven,” an angel gets its wings and an elevator key!

Native Covers Playlist

• Black Lodge – “Spongebob Squarepants” [More Kids’ Powwow]

• Davis Mitchell – “Country Road Take Me Home” [Country Road]

• Joanne Shenandoah & Michael Bucher – “Apache Tears” [Bitter Tears, Sacred Ground]
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman – “Folsom Prison Blues” [A Tribute to Johnny Cash]
• Thelma Cheechoo – “Your Cheatin’ Heart” [Pa Ma Sei Win]

• Jack Olson – “Solitary Man” [On the Wing]

• Just the Boyz – “Bad Moon Risin’” [Shotgun Rider]

• Dog Faced Gods – “Simple Man” [Stoned Council]

• Link Wray – “Run Through the Jungle” [Shadowman]
• Jimmy Wolf – “Hell Hound on My Trail” [I’ve Been Driftin’ From Door to Door]
• Billy Joe Green – “Love in Vain” [My Ojibwe Experience]
• Tori Amos – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” [Crucify]

• Jana Mashonee – “Stairway to Heaven” [Stairway to Heaven]
• Curtis Cardinal – “Every Breath You Take” [No Lies]
• Iz – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” [Facing Future]

Listen on the AIROS livestream at the following times (All Times ET)

6/8: 6am, noon, 6pm

Stay Tuned!

Aden Marshall & Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-hosts

 

Are you ready for two hours of THUNDER?!? Ready or not here it is! That's right we're doing our Thunder show! What is the Thunder show, you ask? It is the day we play nothing but thunder songs and a few lightning and storms thrown in for good taste, plus plenty of Thunderous artists, like Southern Thunder, Thunder Hill, Native Thunder and of coarse Thunderhand Joe and the Medicine Show! The first hour will be nothing but thunderous, rumbling  Powwow and the second hour will be EXPLOSIVE Contemporary music! So sit back, try to relax as Sina and I will be like Zeus hurling thunderbolts straight to your brain!

Here are some High Octane, Thunderous artists you might enjoy!

Thunder Playlist

• Southern Thunder - "Grand Entry" [From the Heart]
• Thunder Hill - "Intertribal" [The Clash of the Titans]
• Blu Thunder - "Grass Dance" [Blu Thunder]
• Red Elk "Thunder Storm" [Northern Boys]
• Native Thunder - "Women's Jingle" [Representin' the Valley in the Pit]
• Young Grey Horse "8-Second Thunder" [Tha Vibez]
• Lakota Thunder - "Black Butte" [Way of Life]
• Southern Cree - "Thunder and Lightning" [Thunder and Lightning]
• Blackstone - "Stormin'" [Round Dance Singing]
• Norman Yellowbird - "Stormin" [Northern Cree and Friends]
• Tha Tribe - "Thunderbird Wing" [Mad Hops & Crazy Stops]
• Fly - in - Eagle -"ThunderShaker" [ThunderShaker]
• Kevin Locke - "Thunderhorse" [Open Circle]
• Joanne Shenandoah - "Thunderbeings" [Covenant]
• Spirit Nation - "The Thunderbeings" [Spirit Nation]
• Koljademo - "Thunder Song" [Destined Love Traveler]
• Medicine Dream - "Lightning Flashes the Sky" [Mawio'mi]
• Jack Gladstone - "Thunderman" [Tappin' the Earth's Backbone]
• Buddy Red Bow - "Thunderbird & Departure" [Journey to the Spirit World]
• Chester Knight and the Wind "Roll on Thunder" [Freedom]
• December Wind - "Gentle Thunder" [Saved Voices]
• Bill Miller - "After the Storm" [Raven in the Snow]
• Thunderhand Joe and the Medicine Show - "Jingle Dress" [Thunderhand Joe and the Medicine Show]

Stay Tuned!

 

Aden J. Marshall NS-NV co-host

Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! I’m not a mother myself, but I appreciate any excuse to lavish attention and praise upon my mother, not to mention apologize repeatedly for everything she had to put up back in my teenage years (admit it; When you were 15, you thought the adults in your life couldn’t possibly understand you).

In celebration of mothers and grandmothers, Native Sounds-Native Voices has put together a playlist that will hopefully have you looking fondly back on the female figures in your life. When considering Mother’s Day gifts this year, remember that a visit or a phone call will likely be more appreciated than a box of flowers in the mail. (If you still live at home, try washing the dishes...and pay some rent, while you're at it.)

Mother’s Day Playlist

• Young Bird – “For Mom & Dad” [Memories]
• Black Lodge – “For the Mother of Black Lodge” [More Kids’ Powwow]
• Eli Secody – “Love Your Parents” [The Following Generation]
• Bryan Akipa – “Cherished Grandmother” [The Flute Player]
• Ulali – “Mother” [Mahk Jchi]
• Radmilla Cody – “Grandmothers and Mother’s Legacy” [Spirit of a Woman]
• Radmilla Cody – “Grandmother” [The Seed of Life]
• Mary Youngblood – “Grandmother’s Last Sunset” [The Offering]
• Anthony Wakeman – “Mother’s Guidance” [Butterfly Dreams]
• Sharon Burch – “Grandmother’s Way” [Touch the Sweet Earth]
• Elizabeth Hill – “Our Mother” [Peacemaker’s Lullaby]
• Jack Gladstone – “Speak to Me Grandma” [Tappin’ the Earth’s Backbone]
• Jack Gladstone – “Pray for the Mother” [Noble Heart]
• Jim Boyd – “Mother’s Tears” [Live at the Met]

Listen on the AIROS livestream at the following times (All Times ET)
5/9: 9am, 3pm, 9pm
5/10: 9am, 3pm, 9pm
5/11: 10am, 4pm, 10pm
5/12: 11am, 5pm, 11pm

Next week we’ll include our playlist for the Thunder Show! (Thunder! Nah nah Nah naaaah Nah nah Naah Naaah)

Stay tuned!

Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-host

 

Grab your two-step partner, Native Sounds-Native Voices is playing waila (also called “Chicken Scratch”), the distinctive dance music of the Tohono O’odham people!

The waila tradition comes from a mesh of Indigenous and European roots. The word “waila” is a Tohono O’odham adaptation of the Spanish word “baila” (meaning “he/she dances”) and is used to describe a polka-esque dance reminiscent of Scottish and Polish styles. “Chicken scratch” refers to the tendency of the dancers to kick up their feet, similar to the motions of a chicken scratching at the ground.

Confused yet?

Like all polka, it’s probably best if you don’t think too hard about it. The point is that the music is upbeat, the dance is lively, and waila is just plain fun!

Waila Playlist

• Pima Express – “Crazy Spinning Chicken” [Voice Upon the Wind]
• El Conjunto Murrietta – “Lucia” [Waila!]
  
• Elvin Kelly y Los Reyes – “El Gallo” [Waila!]
• The American Indians – “El Capitan” [Play Waila]
• Pima Express – “You’re Mine” [Time Waits For No One]
• The American Indians – “Oh My Darling Clementine” [Play Waila]
• Los Papagos Molinas – “Buttermilk” [Waila!]
  
• Elvin Kelly y Los Reyes – “Ester” [Waila!]
  
• Mike Enis & Company – “Cholla Polka” [Waila!]
• The American Indians – “Topawa Two-Step” [Play Waila]
• Pima Express – “Rock Bottom Tears” [Time Waits For No One]
• Mike Enis & Company – “To-Hono Polka” [Waila!]
  
• Los Papagos Molinas – “Lizard Dance” [Waila!]

Listen to the program on the AIROS livestream at the following times (All Times ET):
5/5: 8am, 2pm, 8pm
5/9: 11am, 5pm, 11pm
5/13: 10am, 4pm, 10pm

To find out more about waila, check out the documentary Waila! Making the People Happy. You can hear waila, along with other great Native music, by clicking “Listen to Audio” on our list of links. Coming soon is the Thunder Show! (Be prepared to get AC/DC stuck in your head all day without knowing quite why.)

Stay tuned!

SIna Bear Eagle NS-NV co-host

 

Earth Day is one of the best holidays of spring and who better to discuss the environment than Native Americans? (Don’t say “Al Gore.” He isn’t even a contender until he beats Winona LaDuke in an arm wrestling contest...which he won't, because everyone knows you just don't mess with a strong Ojibwe woman on a mission.)  We're celebrating with music about the Earth, Mother Nature, and an incredible stretch of logic regarding basic semantics ("Poison Ivy" is a type of plant, you know).

Earth Day Playlist

• “Mountain Song,” Star Nayea, Primeaux & Mike [Sacred Ground]
• “Mother Rain,” Walela, Joanne Shenandoah [Sacred Ground]
• “Land of Emergence,” R. Carlos Nakai [Desert Dance]
• “Earth Song,” Elizabeth Hill [Peacemaker’s Lullaby]
• “Natural,” Shelley Morningsong [Out of the Ashes]
• “Above the Mother Earth,” Mary Young Blood [Beneath the Raven Moon]
• “Quiet Season,” Robert Mirabel [Taos Tales]
• “Tappin’ the Earth’s Backbone,” Jack Gladstone [Tappin’ the Earth’s Backbone]
• “Color Nature Gone,” XIT [Silent Warrior]
• “Poison Ivy,” Redbone [Greatest Songs]
• “Earth Walk,” Spirit Nation [Spirit Nation]
• “I Am Water,” Spirit Nation [Spirit Nation]
• “Sacred Ground,” Bill Miller [Sacred Ground]
• “Earth Children,” Walela [Walela]
• “The Land is Your Mother,” Floyd Red Crow Westerman [The Land is Your Mother]

If, to paraphrase “Smoke Signals,” all the hippies were trying to be Indians anyway, than what could possibly be better than an Indian hippie? That’s right; nothing.*

Listen to the Earth Day NS-NV on the livestream during the follow times on
Wed 4/22 (Earth Day, of course): 8am, 2pm and 8pm ET
Fri 4/24 (Arbor Day ... it's a Nebraska thing ... don't ask me, I'm from South Dakota): 11am, 5pm, 11pm ET

Check out the next blog for a recap of our Waila show (Listen live at 10am ET on Thu 4/23). You read that correctly, we've got Native Americans playing polka. You don’t have to understand it, but check it out and you just may like it.

Stay tuned!

Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-host

*I reserve the right to refute this statement if Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and David Bowie suddenly go on a worldwide super tour together, playing all their old hits and co-writing new ones, under the group name “Khan’s Revenge.” That could very possibly be better.