NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE FIFTEENTH ANNUAL NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS COMMEMORATION TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY ON TELEVISION Awards Show To Be Broadcast on FNX and PBS Stations Nationwide Thanksgiving Day A Tribute Performance In Honor of the The Late Greg Zephier, Sr. of The Vanishing Americans By Indigneous Special Lifetime Achievement Award For Colville Tribal Chairman & Five Time Award Winner Jim Boyd October 29, 2014 – New York, NY. Hosted by A Taste of Honeys Janice Marie Johnson, the 15th Annual Native American Music Award (NAMA) Ceremonies will be packed with an A List of live performers and special guests on Friday November 14, 2014 at the Seneca Allegany Events Center at the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel in Salamanca, New York. Among the performers are: Five-time award winner Indigenous featuring Mato Nanji whose music has been featured on national radio and shows like Sons of Anarchy and whose latest album, The Vanishing Americans, pays tribute to his father; Jamie Coon, whose music has been featured on the TV Show Ghost Whisperer, American Idol finalist Charly Lowry and her band Dark Water Rising, former NFL player and opera singer, Lawrence Harris, who has been critically acclaimed as a major voice by the NY Times and much more. Other special guest presenters include: Caren Knight Pepper, the wife of the late Jim Pepper, Dylan Jenet who recently signed to Stevie Wonders record label, and numerous other nominees. Tthe 15th Annual Native American Music Awards Commemoration will have its first ever national television broadcast on First Nations Experience, FNX, on Thanksgiving Day, November 27th at 8PM EST/5PM PST with a repeat broadcast on Saturday, November 29, 2014. First Nations Experience is the first and only public television network in the U.S. dedicated to Native American and World Indigenous content. FNXs programs include; news, drama, comedy, sports, art, dance and Aboriginal Unity Experience (AUX), a 30 minute compilation program of music videos. FNX was created at KVCR Public Television in San Bernardino, California, through a gift from founding partners, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and is currently broadcasting from Alaska to Illinois including Chicago and Los Angeles. Recently approved for Satellite Carriage, on November 1st, it will become a full-time channel on the Public Television Interconnect System. This major advancement means public stations across the country in all 50 states will have satellite access to FNX and the Awards. Please contact your local PBS station to request they air the FNX/Native American Music Awards program. Local PBS Station information can be found below or by clicking the link: fnx.org/bigthings/ . Devoted to bringing Indigenous music to the worlds consciousness as credited by the New York Times, the Native American Music Awards is an ultimate celebration of both traditional and contemporary Native American music. It was founded as the worlds first and largest national professional membership-based organization for the advancement & recognition of Native American music expressions around the world. The 15th Annual Native American Music Awards will be held at the Seneca Allegany Events Center at the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel in Salamanca, New York. Salamanca is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, located inside the Allegany Indian Reservation, a reservation of the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York (one of the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy). Showtime is 7:00PM EST, doors open at 6:30PM EST. Tickets for the 15th Annual Native American Music Awards are limited and can only be purchased through Ticketmaster outlets or by calling the Seneca Allegany Casino at (716) 945-9300. Public voting is open to the general public. Music from all nominees is currently featured on the audio players on NAMALIVE. Anyone can listen and cast their vote by visiting the Awards website, VOTE NOW page. Featured Performers: Host & Performer Janice Marie Johnson (Stockbridge Munsee Mohican) Singer/bassist/guitarist Janice Marie Johnson, is the founding member and principal songwriter of A Taste of Honey whose self-titled debut release rocked the record industry with the multi-platinum smash hit, Boogie Oogie Oogie. The song garnered Janice and her group a Grammy for Best New Artist of the Year and continued international acclaim. Janice Marie has remained in the spotlight with her Native American/Pop CD recording efforts, Until The Eagle Falls and Hiatus Of The Heart, on Tastebud Records. Until The Eagle Falls”, was written as a gesture of gratitude and embracing the spirit, songs and dance of her ancestry. In 2002, the award-winning Until The Eagle Falls CD and music video garnered Janice-Marie a Native American Music Award for ‘Best Producer.” In 2008 she was inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame. Through the years, Janice-Maries songs have been covered, sampled and borrowed. While she continues to perform to crowds around the world, her music of yesterday contributes greatly to the success of numerous hits of today. Buddy Big Mountain (Mohawk/Comanche/Apache) – As one of Indian Country’s top comedians and ventriloquists, “The Buddy Big Mountain Variety Comedy Show,” features a cowboy ventriloquist figure known as Windell P. Snodgrass along with Iron Horse, and Awesome Fox. Since the 80’s, Buddy has uniquely and brilliantly, combined mainstream humor with his native American heritage for all ages. Buddy has shared the stage with many great performers such as; Jeff Dunham, Sinbad, the late Charlie Hill, Crystal Gayle, Seals and Croft, and Merle Haggard. Voted the Native American Music Awards’ Best Comedian, Buddy’s goal is “to continue to provide the best entertainment through my skills as a professional and inspire all walks of life.” Dark Water Rising (Lumbee/Coharie) - In 2004,Charly Lowry made it into the Top 32 as a finalist on Season Three of American Idol. The then-20-year-old Lowry said it was an experience that she will long remember. “I always viewed my experience on American Idol as a surreal moment and opportunity to share the gift that Ive been given. You do what you can and continue to learn and grow, not only as an artist but as a person as well. Use the experience of American Idol as a tool of all-around growth and continue to relive the special moments of your experience -- whether it be receiving the Golden Ticket, rehearsing into the wee hours of the morning and pulling off that number, or driving down the highway with the anticipation of sharing your gifts upon arrival!” Founded in 2010, and led by Charly Lowry, Dark Water Rising quickly established themselves an award-winning contemporary indie rock/blues. The group won a Native American Music Award for Debut Duo or Group of the Year for their debut album, Dark Water Rising. The band tours regularly and has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR). Dark Water Risings latest release, the EP, Grace & Grit, has been nominated for Best Gospel Recording, Best Pop Recording, and Group of the Year. Indigenous (Nakota) – Born and raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Indigenous front man, lead singer/lead guitarist, Mato Nanji has dedicated his recent releases to the indigenous youth and all young people on the indigenous reservations. Their latest recording entitled, The Vanishing Americans, combines the best elements of Indigenous, yet retains the retro blues rock edge of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Cream. Mato Nanji “is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive blues rock players/singers on the circuit today”- Amazon. Mato Nanji’s father, the late Greg Zephier, Sr., was a well-known and highly respected spiritual advisor, spokesperson for the International Indian Treaty Council and a member of the musical group, The Vanishing Americans, who toured nationally and shared bills with such legends as Bonnie Raitt. With the experience, love and wisdom of their father to guide them, Mato, his brother, sister and cousin originally formed the band Indigenous in their late teens. Their debut album, Things We Do catapulted them as a top blues group and caught the attention of blues icon B.B. King who invited the band to play on his B.B. King’s Blues Tour in 1999. Indigenous also became a five-time Native American Music Award winner for Best Blues Recording (1999 and 2000), Group of the Year (1999 and 2000), and Best Pop Recording (1999). With over ten recordings to his credit, Mato continues to refine his guitar and vocal vocabularies with each new release. His music has been featured on radio stations across the country, on the hit Discovery Channel show The Deadliest Catch, and on FX’s Sons of Anarchy. Since 2002, Mato has also been a member of the critically acclaimed Experience Hendrix Tour. Paying homage to the music genius of Jimi Hendrix (Cherokee), Mato has been playing alongside lone surviving Hendrix band member Billy Cox and Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Doyle Bramhall II, Eric Johnson, to name but a few. As Indigenous, Mato will be performing with the Navajo blues power trio, Levi Platero (guitar), Douglas Platero (drums) and Bronson Begay (bass) of The Plateros. Mato and the Vanishing Americans CD have garnered nominations for Artist of the Year and Best Blues Recording. Jamie Coon (Creek/Seminole) - Jamie Coons music has been described as Soul-Pop with a timeless quality. This Oklahoma native sings her heartfelt lyrics with a soulful delivery that ranges from anthemic to the angelic. Day After Day is not just the title of her new album, but also the theme. My songs are really just about things most of us go through in our journey through life says Jamie simple human things like love & loss, joy & heartache. With influences such as; Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Elton John & the Beatles, she takes you on an emotional & musical ride- sometimes joyful, sometimes bittersweet, but always hopefulm, because we all go through this crazy life together Jamie says and we have to keep going, day after day. Jamie has performed at the Smithsonian & Kennedy Center and some of her songs have been featured in films including; Deceit and Long-Term Relationship as well as in the TV series Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her new CD has garnered her two nominations for Best Pop Recording and Best Female Artist. Jan Michael Looking Wolf (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) - Jan Looking Wolf, is a renowned Native American flutist who has travelled the country and performed across Northern Ireland, but resides close to his reservation in Western Oregon. He is a Kalapuya native who is committed to the path of the native flute... A path of healing and a path of peace. Jans lifeway and musical expressions are based on the age old tradition of One Heart. It is the recognition of Unity through Diversity. “It is important to respect all cultures, after all, everyone and everything is born to the earth and sky he says. Through lessons, workshops and university courses, Looking Wolf has taught over 9,000 people how to play the native flute. He has risen to a world class Native American recording artist with 19 CDs and 3 DVDs to his credit. He was previously awarded Music Video of the Year (2011) for Live As One, Record of the Year (2010) for Breakin Free, Flutist of the Year (2008) for his solo CD, Unity and Artist of the Year (2009) for The Looking Wolf Project by the Native American Music Awards. In 2007, his music climbed to number 10 on the New Age Charts and he was featured in the motion picture, Tillamook Treasure,, as a native flutist that is now available on DVD. Looking Wolfs most recent recording, Tamanawas, which means Gaurdian Spirit in Chinuk Wawa, has garnered him two nominations for Artist of the Year and Flutist of the Year. Jim Boyd (Colville) - Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Hailing from the small town of Inchelium on the Colville Indian Reservation, singer/songwriter Jim Boyd is a member of the Arrow Lakes tribe, which is one of twelve tribes of the Colville Confederacy in Washington State. Jims music career has spanned for over four decades. He is a multiple nominee and previously five-time Native American Music award winner. Jim started playing in junior high in his older brothers band and on the Colville reservation, with his lifelong friend Jerry Stensgar on bass. Jim wrote the song Them Old Guitars as a tribute to Stensgar, when he passed away at the age of 50. He has had four songs featured on the Miramax motion picture Smoke Signals. He recorded music for the Warner Bros. book, Indian Killer, and also appeared in Sherman Alexies The Business of Fancy Dancing. He has released 14 recordings to date, has toured throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe and performed with Bonnie Raitt, The Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, and Clint Black. He also was a member of several other groups, including XIT, Greywolf, and Winterhawk. Jim is currently serving his second term on the Colville Business Council as Chairman of the Business Council. He has been the Culture Committee Chairman, Vice-Chairman of the Business Council, and Chairman of the Law & Justice Committee. He has been married to his wife Shelly for the past twenty-five years, and together, they have six children. His son, Jim Boyd Jr., tragically took his own life in 2006. He and his tribe has are joining N.A.M.A. in this year’s Stay Strong Suicide Prevention Bracelet campaign. Lawrence Harris (Choctaw) - Baritone Lawrence Harris has been hailed by The New York Times as a major voice. He has performed in opera houses across the globe and been praised as having one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Mr. Harris has a likeness for Verdi and has taken on lead roles in the “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto,. Metropolitan Opera soprano Phyllis Curtin has endorsed him as a significant singer of the Verdi repertoire. Opera Online nominated him for Best Leading Male Performance, and he is the recipient of awards and grants from the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the American League of Orchestras and Manhattan School of Music. Lawrence’s first public showcase took place on the NFL’s “Rookie Night”. In 1976, when Houston Oilers’ rookie offensive tackle Lawrence Larry Harris took the stage, the 6-foot-5, 317 lb. rookie shocked the audience when he sang one of his favorite Italian songs. Lawrence recalls one of his teammates telling him, “People’s jaws were on the floor”. He would play in the NFL for seven-and-a-half years before a series of injuries led to his retirement. But for this professional athlete, retirement lead to a fruitful career in opera. “It was really something I had to do, Harris told Access Athletes. He has since returned to the NFL field with his highly acclaimed rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and has been featured in radio, television, and on CNN, and ESPN. Lawrence was also featured in the PBS production, Common Ground which was a celebration of the music and art of America’s Indigenous People. His CD Romanze Songs of Tosti has earned him two nominations for Best Male Artist and Record of the Year at the Native American Music Awards. Leah Shenandoah (Oneida) – Leah Shenandoah is an Oneida Iroquois Wolf Clan member who has been singing her entire life. A veteran on stage and in the studio, she has been performing with her mother, 11 time Native American Music Award winner and Grammy Award winner Joanne Shenandoah for 27 years. This invaluable life experience has enabled Leah to have a solid presence with full mastery of her vocal and songwriting abilities. Leah is also an award winning jeweler and artist, and uses many different mediums to convey her loving intentions to the universe. Whether using her voice or her hands, Leah creates from the heart. In her debut CD, Spɛktrə, her singing is reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Bjork, although she creates her own style. The CD defies any one specific category and encompasses electro-soul, jazz, blues, electronica and pop. Through a collaboration with Arrested Developments JJ Boogie, Leah delivers a collection of songs that offer an array of emotions and sounds. A virtuoso composer and visionary musician, JJ’s beats combine many different styles while creating a solid base for Leahs eclectic voice and musical journey. Her lyrics are inspired by life experience and the intent to help others find love. My goal in life is to help heal Mother Earth and her inhabitants by using my music and art, Says Leah. Recorded at World Harmony Studios in NY, the CD was mixed & mastered by Patrick MacDougall and features Ed Koban on guitar, Jimmy Wynne on Bass, and Joanne Shenandoah on background vocals. Leah’s been nominated for Debut Artist of the Year and Best Pop Recording. Lightning Creek Singers (Nez Perce) - The Lightning Creek Singers are of the great Nez Perce (Ni-mii-pu) nation. They are proud to say that all the members of the group were raised on their reservation in Idaho and have been fortunate enough to have learned nearly all their songs from their respected elders. Raised around the drum, they continue to raise their children the same way. “Songs play a vital role in the history of our people,” says member Tom Williamson. “We have been singing most of our lives, and only recently decided to move forward and do our first professional recording.” Entitled, Lightning Creek, Long Time Coming, the recording contains both very old songs learned from their elders as well as new contemporary songs, which the group has composed. “We pray our songs will bring good feelings and uplift the listeners. A large part of our sound is “Grandfather” the drum. We make their drums from animals and harvest and treat him as an elder and not an object. We were taught that if we take care of him, he will take care of us”. They named their drum group after a place we they all love to hunt as well as gather traditional roots and plants on their reservation. Lightning Creek Singers feature; Tom Willamson, Josh Henry, Frank Taylor, Casey Mitchell, David Wheeler, John Williamson, Nigele Williamson, Bert Williamson, Simon Henry, Theo Williamson, Carl Ray Powaukee, RedWing, Twomoon. The group has been nominated for Debut Group of the Year. Plenty Wolf Singers (Lakota) - Lee Plenty Wolf is a member of a traditional Lakota drum group, the Plenty Wolf Singers, which sings old songs from the 1880’s and passes these on to younger singers. They have been the host northern drum at many pow wows and during the summer months, they make many trips from Colorado to South Dakota. The Plenty Wolf Singers are a traditional Lakota drumming society that initiate their concerts with prayer and invocation to the Great Spirit. The music of the Plenty Wolf Singers is the song of our shared American landscape. The Plenty Wolf Singers and their song “Medicine Wolf” are featured on the Native American Music Awards’ Wolf benefit CD, a compilation recording to continue the protections of wolves as an endangered species. Lee and his family who reside in Fort Collins, Colorado, appeared in the television miniseries Into the West, and Lee acted in a documentary about Black Kettle, working with the National Park Service at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. Lee learned beadwork naturally by watching his aunts and grandmother work. He also makes and paints drums, shields and bags. Lee conducts a Sun Dance at Manderson, South Dakota, and is a spiritual advisor along the Front Range from New Mexico to Northern Colorado. The group has been nominated for Group of the Year. Sihasin (Dine) – Sihasin is a Navajo (Diné) traditionally-influenced, musical group composed of two siblings: a brother, Clayson, and a sister, Jeneda, from the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. Their mother, Berta, was a folk singer, and their father, Jones Benally, was a traditional medicine man who raised them on traditional Native songs. Not surprisingly, their children followed suit and have been playing music since their instruments were bigger than they were. To this very day, Jones and his children still perform as the Jones Benally Family, to display their traditional form of dance, song and story that has been carried on from the beginning of time. A high energy group, Clayson and Jeneda were originally in a band called Blackfire which they founded in 1989 with their brother Klee. Blackfire caught the attention of punk rock godfathers The Ramones. In 1994, C.J. Ramone produced a 5-song EP that became their debut album which earned them a NAMA nomination for Best Independent Release. Their first LP One Nation Under, produced by Don Fleming, producer for Sonic Youth and Joan Jett, won Best Pop/Rock Album award. They also won Group of the Year in 2005 for Woody Guthrie Singles. Their next Cd, [Silence] is a Weapon won Record of the Year and Ed Stasium, the producer, received the Native Heart Award that “recognizes significant contributions of non-Native folks to Native American music. Sihasin’s music reflects hope for equality, healthy and respectful communities and social and environmental justice. Jeneda and Clayson have just returned to the U.S. after touring Germany, Switzerland and France. Their debut CD, Sihasin, has been nominated for Debut Group of the Year and Best Rock Recording. Steve Rushingwind – (Cahuilla/Opata) Steve Rushingwind was born in the Los Angeles area and has been playing wind instruments since he was a child. The Native American flute felt natural to him when he started playing it ten years ago. After his first solo album, Cloud Runner, was released in 2009, he began a collaboration with Michael Mucklow, a renowned fingerstyle guitarist from New Mexico. The pair have since recorded four albums together: Ancient Elements (2010), Among the Ancients (2011), Bridge (2012) and the recently released Strong Horse (2013). Steve’s second solo album Sacred Grounds, was released in early 2011. Steve also released a collaborative album with Norma Tanega, entitled, Twin Journeys, which was a live acoustic album with flute and percussion in 2012, Steven gathered a few local musicians from the Claremont, California area and formed The Rushingwind Project. The Rushingwind Project has a contemporary Native Jazz/blues fusion sound. They released their first album, Southland, in February 2013. Rushingwind and Mucklow won Best New Age recording at the Native American Music Awards, for Among the Ancients. Both Rushingwind and Mucklow as well as the Rushingwind Project have been nominated this year. Rushingwind and Mucklow’s album, Strong Horse has also been nominated for a Grammy in the Original Roots music category. So the journey continues with sound and spirit, and Steve Rushingwind always giving thanks to the Great Spirit. Vince Fontaine (Ojibway) - Vince Fontaine is an award winning songwriter, producer and musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation. His Ojibway roots have given him a solid foundation and conviction in his career to draw colorful landscapes of musical fusion from rock to pop to traditional and cultural themes. He is the founder of music group Eagle & Hawk which is one of most recognizable names in Indian Country known for its longevity of success. The group won Best Pop/Rock recording in 2006 and Best Rock Recording in 2009 from the Native American Music Awards. Vinces songwriting and producer efforts have not gone unnoticed as he has also received recognition as a solo artist with the release of Songs for Turtle Island, which landed him several nominations and awards including a Native American Music Award for Best Instrumental Recording. Vince’s latest project, Indian City, is a pop fusion music group consisting of award-winning musicians coming together under Vinces guidance and vision. Indian City is nominated for Best Pop Recording at this year’s Native American Music Awards. Vince stays firm and committed to sharing the talent of Turtle Islands Indigenous talent from the stage and studio. Wayne Silas Jr & Tha Superkids - (Menominee/Oneida) Wayne Silas, Jr. was born in 1973 in Chicago and is from the Grignon family of the Menominee and the Silas family of the Oneida. He belongs to the Bear Clan. Raised in “Chicagoland”, Wayne has been singing and dancing in the Pow-Wow circle since he was a young child. His earliest experiences of singing and dancing occurred while living amongst the Native American community of Chicago at the A.I.C. (American Indian Center of Chicago). Wayne’s father first taught him all about singing and showed him the rules, regulations, respect and etiquette that go along with that responsibility. Now an acclaimed singer and songmaker Wayne Silas, Jr. draws upon his years of experience singing with some of the greatest Pow-Wow drum groups to craft his debut solo Round Dance recording, Unconditional. Blending his signature style with in-your-face humor and superb singing, Waynes songs reflect tales of love both sweet and sour. His new CD also features performances from an array of artists including: Joe Syrette, Edmond Tate Nevaquaya, Jeremy Worm Dearly, Nitanis Kit Landry and Arianne Sheka. Wayne has been nominated for Best Male Artist and won Best Male Artist last year. He will be performing with his young sons. Ed Koban Group – The Ed Koban Group returns as the house band for this year’s Awards ceremony. Ed Koban is a guitarist and flutist from Niagara Falls. Edko as he is called is of Mohawk decent. He has performed with many respected national artists and as road guitarist for award winner, Darryl Tonemah. Edko has performed at such venues as; The Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Utah. The Ed Koban Group is comprised of some of the most respected musicians in the region and is a multi-cultural brew of talent capable of delivering any music genre, sound or style. Native American Music Awards ph 212.228.8300 fax 646.688.6883 email NAMAlive@aol NAMALIVE
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 05:46:34 +0000
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