AIROS Native Network's blog

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]

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.

It’s that time of the year again! A special time when thousands of tribes from across the land travel south to partake in good music, dancing, and heated debates about the merits of northern and southern style frybread. This year is the 26th annual Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, and Native Sounds-Native Voices is celebrating in style.

Included in our current playlist is a small sampling of the many great drum groups that have performed at the gathering. Whether you’re too young to remember some of these performances or old enough to wonder where the years have gone, put on your dancing moccasins and take a spin to these songs.

Gathering of Nations Playlist

• All Host Drums – “Grand Entry” [Gathering of Nations 1991]
• Black Lodge – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1991]
• Whitefish Jrs – “Trick Song” [Gathering of Nations 1993]
• Stoney Park – “Girls Fancy Dance” [Gathering of Nations 1993]
• Whitefish Bay – “Men’s Traditional” [Gathering of Nations 1993]
• Rose Hill – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1994]
• Star Society – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1994]
• Pass Creek – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1994]
• Gray Horse – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1995]
• Yellow Hammer – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1995]
• Six Nations Women Singers – “Contest Song” [Gathering of Nations 1995]
• Blackstone – “Jr. Boy’s Traditional” [Gathering of Nations 2000]
• Tha Tribe – “Men’s Grass Dance” [Gathering of Nations 2000]
• Rock Hill – “Hand Drum” [Gathering of Nations 2008]
• Midnight Express – “Women’s Jingle” [Gathering of Nations 2008]
• Sizzortail – “Men’s Southern Fancy” [Gathering of Nations 2008]

If you’re lucky enough to attend this year’s powwow, get yourself a free AIROS iPod skin. Fellow skins get your iPod skins at Stage 49. Put together by Emergence Productions, Stage 49 will feature comedians and Native artists across North America.

After you pimp your pods (and stumble home from Grahams), don't forget to tune into AIROS.org and Native Sounds-Native Voices.

Listen to the GON NS-NV on the AIROS livestream at the following times:
Fri 4/24: 7am, 1pm, 7pm ET
Sat 4/25: 7am, 1pm, 7pm ET

Sina Bear Eagle NS-NV co-host

 
Remember to take that left turn at Albuquerque! Stay tuned!

Brian Bull (Nez Perce) talks with Don Coyhis (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans), founder of White Bison, a wellness group based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is behind a petition drive to get President Obama to officially apologize for how Native Americans were treated in U.S. Government boarding schools. Will President Obama give a formal apology to Native people as nations like Canada and Australia have done recently? Should he?

Listen to the report from Brian Bull from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Then let us know, what you think by posting a comment on this blog post.

In honor of Cher's Birthday, AIROS will be playing non-stop Cher. Yes, you heard right, nothing but Cher, from her early days with Sunny to her late 90's rave music, enjoy her many unique and risque costumes! Listen to AIROS and be amazed by the Diva!

By the way....APRIL FOOLS!!!!

We got you!

Hey loyal listeners, in honor of April Fool's Day,  AIROS will be playing hilarious, humorous and laugh out loud amazing music and shows all day! Tune in anytime and try to challenge yourself from not laughing at our uproarious programming! We dare you! We double dog dare you!

Here are a few songs that will be sure to give you a smile, guaranteed!

April Fool's Day Playlist

• Keith Secola - "Frybread" [Wild Band of Indians]
• Tonemah - "Powwow Snag" [Journal of Misperceptions]
• Arigon Starr - "Junior Frybread" [Wind-up]
• Tiger Tiger - "I Am Indian" [Space Age Indian]
• Joy Harjo - "Had It Up To Here Round Dance" [Native Joy for Real]
• Red Earth - "Honey Be" [When Worlds Collide]
• Black Lodge - "SpongeBob Squarepants" [More Kids' Pow-wow Songs]
• Elk Soldier - "Snakes & Sparklers" [A Soldier's Dream]

 Stay tuned loyal listeners for more surprises and thrills here on Airos!

 P.S. There will be no Cher.

Aden J. Marshall NS-NV co-host