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Saturday 23 April 2011

National Museum of the American Indian. (Interview)

Why is your Cradleboard Teaching Project so essential to Native American youth?

Cradleboard teaches core subjects—science, geography, government, history and music—through Native American cultural perspectives. Our curriculum matches national content standards for elementary, middle and high school grades, so it’s not “an extra.” Teachers can actually use it. The state of school curriculum in the U.S. and Canada is usually deplorable. It’s inaccurate and boring, it supposes that Europeans “invented” science and government (etc.), and it’s not as engaging as what we offer through the use of interactive multimedia multi-sensory learning tools. A lot of Canadian universities are now using it, and I still teach college teachers how to create new curriculum with current technology tools. It’s simply more engaging.

We are determined to help not just Native American youth as others are keen to learn too; until now teachers have not had the teaching tools, the materials and content with which to teach about Native America. Native America was and is very cool and we put students, teachers, tribes and communities into the driver’s seat of delivering their own Native self-identity to others who want to know.

Your songs have been covered by a wide range of artists. How does it feel to hear other people perform works you’ve written?

It’s a thrill and an honor to know that another artist likes the songs, learns them, records them and performs them night after night to their own audiences, especially those in grassroots Indian country.

Elvis Presley is one thing, but Red Bull? Now, we’re talking. In 1975 when I first recorded “Starwalker,” powwow rock just hadn’t been done. So now it’s great to see so many younger Native American artists finally incorporating traditional social songs into additional genres and bringing the sound of Native America into the world beyond the rez, it’s very rewarding.

You’ve always been an early-adapter of new technologies during your recording career. Do you think songwriting and technique have become de-emphasized due to an over-reliance on technology?

Only by people trying to make a buck with minimum talent, but that type is “the fleas, not the dog.” Whether I record into a tape recorder or a computer, it still has to be a great original song, sung and played true to the heart. A guitar does not replace a piano or the human voice; watercolors do not replace oils; and computers do not replace artists. Technologies are just additional tools in the hands of great (or not so great) artists. I love it all, but original art is always rare.

Are there any current artists that you’re digging, and why? It’s OK if you say Lady Gaga . . .

I do like Lady Gaga; I love theater, costumes, lighting and production, and her multimedia treatment of a song is valid and wonderful. Besides she’s really talented as a singer, songwriter, dancer and designer, so go for it.

In Canada I particularly like Lucie Idlout (Inuit), Derek Miller (Mohawk) and singer/songwriter Serena Ryder. I’m also crazy about my own band mates: Jesse Green on guitars (Lakota/Ojibwe), Mike Bruyere on drums (Ojibwe), and our bass player, Donny Ducharme (Saulteaux/Meti) and Darryl Menow (Cree). During our recent tour of Europe they inspired me concert after concert and I’m so proud to present them at all the awards shows we’ve been doing. We sort of cleaned up on all the Canadian (Indian and non-Indian) music awards this year, so I got to brag about them a lot.

My own playlists include not only lots of grassroots powwow and round dance songs but also ZZ Top, Miles Davis, lots of flamenco, reggae and electronic music. I like uniqueness and variety.

I’ve read that you’ll play shows on small reservations in the United States. What kind of reactions do you get from the audience in such an intimate setting?

We sure play a lot of remote reserves in Canada, and I hope we can do the same in the U.S. with our two new releases: Running for the Drum (all new originals with a bio-documentary DVD included called Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life); and the resurrected mid-1970s album set called Pathfinder: Buried Treasures on Appleseed Records. Naturally audiences at reservation concerts are a lot more clued in to Native issues and traditional music, so there’s always that extra thrill of knowing the audience “gets it.”

What’s your next project?

When we’re done with this world tour I want to move into Phase II of the Cradleboard Teaching Project and create lots more interactive multimedia Native American school curriculum. It’s just as much fun as creating music and paintings and has brought so much joy and learning to students and teachers everywhere. Incredible feedback. At the moment we are on hiatus until Running for the Drum has run its course, then I put on my teacher hat again and get animated
Source Interview

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Friday 22 April 2011

Interview By Dean Wareham

Dean Wareham: Thanks for doing this via email. I live in NYC but was upstate the day you were here doing press. I hope you don’t mind answering questions about some favorite older songs as well as new ones. If there is anything you don’t feel like answering, just skip it. I have been a fan since hearing the Moonshot album in about 1988 (in my 20s), but earlier than that, my father used to play “Universal Soldier” on the guitar for me when I was a child (this back in Australia in 1974).
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Hi Dean. I saw your version of “Moonshot” on YouTube. Thank you!! It’s just gorgeous, and I was so touched when I came upon it—by accident—several months ago. Some of my favorite songs are real obscure like “Moonshot.” Hardly anyone knows them. I like your taste. Anyway, many thanks for doing this. I went to your website—cool. Maybe you guys will come see us at the Highline Ballroom September 26. I’m breaking in a new band.

Dean Wareham: I always liked your tracks on the soundtrack to (1970′s) Performance. How did that come about? I assume you worked with Jack Nitzsche on those, the film’s composer, and later your husband, of course.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Jack had contacted Vanguard Records after seeing my picture in Cashbox magazine. This eventuated in the (1971) album She Used To Want To Be A Ballerina. Jack was scoring Performance at about the same time. (He played piano on a lot of Stones albums; Jumpin’ Jack Flash—that was Jack.) He asked me to record something for Performance. I’d always wanted to multi-track lots of mouth bows. That little melody I sang was just something that showed up in my head that night.

Dean Wareham: My favorites on your latest are the new recording of “Little Wheel Spin And Spin,” “Easy Like The Snow Falls Down,” but especially “Still This Love Goes On,” where I see you played almost all the instruments yourself. Did you record these songs all together in one session or over a long period of time?
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Thanks a lot. Actually that’s Patrick Cockett, my longtime friend from Hawaii, playing second guitar with me; and he overdubbed a tipple track, too. A tipple is a 10-stringed instrument related to a ukulele. I only wish I played that good! Pat also played guitar on my version of “Up Where We Belong.”


Dean Wareham: “Moonshot” is my favorite Buffy Sainte-Marie song, one that I have recorded twice myself. I hear it as a protest song about the hubris of space travel, and my favorite line is “I know a boy from a tribe so primitive, he can call me up without no telephone.” And, of course, the string arrangement is fantastic. Why was “Moonshot” not released a single? I assume the record company made that decision.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: That’s the correct answer. Vanguard seldom took any suggestions seriously from me. Record companies are mostly about the business, not the music. I’ve always loved that song, too, so thanks for liking it too :) Much of the credit for the beauty of “Moonshot” and other songs on that album, and (1973′s) Quiet Places, (1974′s) Buffy and (1975′s) Changing Woman, goes to Norbert Putnam, producer, bass player and owner of Quadraphonic Studios. He shared not only his talent but engaged his friends (many from the Area Code 615 band out of Muscle Shoals, Ala.) in the albums, so there are great, great players adding their own talents. Norbert’s friend Glen Spreen did the strings for “Moonshot.”

Dean Wareham: “Now That The Buffalo’s Gone” reminded me of a terrific book I read last year, Timothy Egan’s The Worst Hard Times, which is a history of the dustbowl and those who lived through it, but he mentions that slaughtering the buffalo was a deliberate tactic to displace the Native American population. They got rid of the buffalo and the Native American population, and cut down the grass and tried to plant wheat and raise cattle, with disastrous results all around. His point was that these so-called natural disasters have a man-made component. It seems I don’t really have a question here, but maybe you would care to comment.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: You (and he) are correct. Ever read Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee? Excellent but a heartbreaker. Want a goody that won’t break your heart? Indian Givers by Jack Weatherford, Ph.D. Very easy to read. Astounding info.

Dean Wareham: Watching the documentary feature that comes with your new CD, there is much discussion of “Until It’s Time For You To Go,” which is a terrific song about illicit love (at least that’s the way I hear it—that someone in the room has to leave to get back to another life). I have a seven-inch single of Nancy Sinatra doing the song that I like, but you mention Bobby Darin specifically. Was he the first one to cover the song? I know Tim Hardin said he didn’t know if he should be flattered or annoyed when he heard Darin doing his songs and even copying his vibrato.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Artists learn from each other, and Bobby Darin did like good songs. Actually, the song is not just about illicit love, but also about anybody you just can’t have … like a soldier who’s on the way to Vietnam or somebody who’s dying or just plain unavailable to you in spite of the love. It’s been recorded by more than 200 artists in 13 different languages, so I guess it’s a common experience.

Dean Wareham: I imagine it was an incredible thrill to have Elvis sing the song, too. Did Colonel Tom Parker try to take half the songwriting credit? You always hear stories like that about him.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Who knows? His organization had certain standards and many associates of big stars try for every nickel. I have some standards, too and, having learned because of giving away the publishing rights to “Universal Soldier” for $1. I believe that if you didn’t write it, you don’t get a piece. It all worked out OK, though: I never gave up anything on “Until It’s Time For You To Go,” and it’s allowed me to survive as an artist instead of having to take a day job. And you’re right: It’s still a thrill to think that it was Elvis’s love song with his wife.

Dean Wareham: You made a splash in the New York folk scene in the early ’60s; it seems to me you were singing about things pretty close to your own life, whereas some of the other folk singers in the Village had made-up names and made-up personalities, too—which is ironic when you consider that some of those folk musicians prized the very authenticity of what they were doing. Did you find that folk scene to be very competitive?
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Yes, very competitive. Socially and regarding business, I was very “green.” I wasn’t in one of the big “stables” (which is what agents and managers called their client bases), and also I didn’t drink, so I missed a lot of business opportunities that bonded other artists and business people together into a sort of family.

Dean Wareham: Two of my favorite guitarists from the period are Sandy Bull (who was your labelmate at Vanguard) and Bruce Langhorne (who played with Dylan). Did you ever play with either of those guys?
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Both of them! And Bruce played on “Rolling Log Blues” on the Little Wheel Spin And Spin album.

Dean Wareham: “Universal Soldier” makes a case that it is the individual soldier who must bear responsibility for war “for without him, all this killing can’t go on.” Do you think those soldiers bear the same responsibility as Dick Cheney and Richard Nixon, who are what you might call masters of war? (What a great song: “Masters Of War.” Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs were such great writers in those days, eh?)
Buffy Sainte-Marie: I wouldn’t dignify DC, the Bushes, RMN and LBJ with such a grand title, though. They’re just petty, privileged thieves, investors in hate, money launderers, parasites, bullies, liars and crooks. I do think that soldiers (and career military officers and politicians) all bear responsibility for war, though. Without him, even Caesar would have stood alone. However, the point of “Universal Soldier” is that you and I are responsible, too, in this era where we vote for the people who call the shots. I’m real proud of my own generation who helped to stop a war and put LBJ out of business. However, there’s one thing we didn’t do: We didn’t build colleges of peace. There are five major, heavily funded colleges where you can go to get an advanced degree in making war. (Annapolis, West Point, the Royal Military Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Army College Of War). But there’s not one similarly serious, properly funded college for a person to study alternative conflict resolution. No wonder we have war instead of peace. We’re just plain a young species, full of people at various levels of maturity and insight. I’m real hopeful. Gotta go. Hope to meet you one of these days.

Source http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/09/17/buffy-sainte-marie-interviewed-by-dean-wareham/

Tuesday 19 April 2011

Interview on ABC Radio - Australia 18 April 2011

Buffy Sainte-Marie interview on ABC radio by buffysaintemarie
Source : ABC Radio
Buffy Sainte-Marie is in Australia to perform a number of concerts. She talks about her early musical career, the struggle for Native American rights and her work with American Indian students.

Concerts Australia
Wed, Apr. 20, 2011 Melbourne,National Theatre

Sat, Apr. 23, 2011 Sydney,State Theatre

Sun, Apr. 24, 2011 - Mon, Apr. 25, 2011 Byron Bay, Bluesfest

Sunday 17 April 2011

Moonshot : Video & Lyrics



Moonshot, released in 1972, was the eighth album by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Much of the credit for the beauty of “Moonshot” and other songs on that album, and (1973′s) Quiet Places, (1974′s) Buffy and (1975′s) Changing Woman, goes to Norbert Putnam, producer, bass player and owner of Quadraphonic Studios. He shared not only his talent but engaged his friends (many from the Area Code 615 band out of Muscle Shoals, Ala.) in the albums, so there are great, great players adding their own talents. Norbert’s friend Glen Spreen did the strings for “Moonshot.”

Written after a conversation with Christian scholars who didn't realize that indigenous people had already been in contact with the Creator before Europeans conquered them.

Moonshot lyrics by Buffy Sainte-Marie
off into outer space you go my friends
we wish you bon voyage
and when you get there we will welcome you again
and still you'll wonder at it all
see all the wonders that you leave behind
the wonders humble people own
I know a boy from a tribe so primitive
he can call me up without no telephone
see all the wonders that you leave behind
enshrined in some great hourglass
the noble tongues, the noble languages
entombed in some great english class
off into outer space you go my friends
we wish you bon voyage
and when you get there we will welcome you again
and still you'll wonder at it all


Instrumental

an anthropologist he wrote a book
he called it "myths of heaven"
he's disappeared, his wife is all distraught
an angel came and got him
his hair was light, his eyes were love, his words were true,
his eyes were lapis lazuli
he spoke in a language oh so primitive
that he made sense to me
off into outer space you go my friends
we wish you bon voyage
and when you get there we will welcome you again
and still you'll wonder at it all
• • •



Buy Album Moonshot

Friday 15 April 2011

Photo Heart Truth Fashion show

Academy Award-winning singer and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie looked radiant in a Paul Hardy two-piece rock glam dress created from red cotton silk. The top corset was fully boned with an off-the-shoulder asymmetrical neckline, styled with a pleated mini-skirt. Fingerless leather gloves and studded sky-high stilettos rounded up her entire look.
Read More

Thursday 14 April 2011

"The Big Ones Get Away" Video & Lyrics

"The Big Ones Get Away" from album Coincidence and Likely Stories. All songs composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie

The Big Ones Get Away lyrics

Hey, Baby I just got back from town
where the bribes are paid
Honey, they turned my offer down
they say the deal's already made
So now Igotta stand and watch
while it all comes down
and the buzzards and the hawks
and the judges and the mob
circle around
Now if I were the queen of all the world
I would 90 in chains just to see you free
of the ropes that bind you
and the role you play
and the pride that hooks you
while the big ones get away
Love junkies wanna change the world:
it quickly stays the same
Money junkies hire all the smart ones
Power junkies run the game
One step at a time
Polarity Hill
If the bad guys don't get you Baby
then the good guys will
With angels on the take
and the gangsters in the yard
Hey don't the wars come easy
Hey don't the peace come hard
Now if I had a way to reach the sky
I'd grab that crescent moon
wield it like a knife
save you from the lies


From the ropes that bind you
and the role you play
and the game that hooks you
while the big ones get away
Acoustic guitar - Boo Henerdine
Percussion - Chris Birkett
Vocals and all other instruments - Buffy Sainte-Marie

The Big Ones Get Away (original music video)

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Until It's Time For You To Go : Video&Lyrics



"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was never released by her as a single, but was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965, and for Elvis Presley in 1972, and a US Hot 100 single for Neil Diamond in 1970.

Until It's Time For You To Go Lyrics
You're not a dream
You're not an angel
You're a man

I'm not a queen
I'm a woman
Take my hand

We'll make a space
in the lives
that we'd planned

And here we'll stay
Until it's time
for you to go

Yes we're different
Worlds apart
We're not the same

We laughed and played
at the start
like in a game

You could've stayed
outside my heart
but in you came

And here you'll stay
until it's time
for you to go

Don't ask why
Don't ask how
Don't ask forever
Love me now

This love of mine
had no beginning
It has no end

I was an oak
Now I'm a willow
Now I can bend


And though I'll never
in my life
see you again

Still I'll stay
until it's time
for you to go

Don't ask why
Don't ask how
Don't ask forever
Love me now

You're not a dream
You're not an angel
You're a man

I'm not a queen
I'm a woman
Take my hand

We'll make a space
in the lives
that we'd planned

And here we'll stay
Until it's time
for you to go.

Video : Buffy Sainte-Marie - Until It's Time For You To Go

Friday 8 April 2011

World Music Festival First Confirmed Acts for 2011

World Music Festival ¡Globalquerque! Announces First Confirmed Acts for 2011

The following artists will be performing at the National Hispanic Cultural Center for ¡Globalquerque! 2011. Performances will take place on three stages, all located at the NHCC (1701 4th St SW, at Avenida César Chávez). Enjoy the intimate courtyard setting of the Fountain Stage, the state of the art 692-seat Albuquerque Journal Theatre and dance outside on the Plaza Mayor.

Performances start at 6 PM and the Global Village will be open into the night. There will also be FREE day programming on Saturday for families and adults, including workshops on music and folklore, crafts, and live performances.

Friday:
Sergent Garcia (France)
Esma Redzepova (Macedonia)

Saturday:
Baraka Moon (USA/Pakistan/UK)
Elvel (Russia)
RAM (Haiti)
Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree)

TBD:
Luísa Maita (Brazil)
For More Info http://www.globalquerque.com


Past festivals

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Inspiration : TV Show from Hawaii

Check this article and video from Inspiration http://oc16.tv/shows/67

Watch episodes of Inspiration anytime at OC16 at http://oc16.tv/shows/67
In this episode of Inspiration, we're getting healthy on the road with international superstar and music legend Buffy Sainte-Marie. With over 40 years of touring experience, Buffy is an expert at staying healthy while traveling. Buffy shares her insights about diet and exercise away from home, and Char treats Buffy and her band to a workout and stretch at the gym. Learn the secrets to success on the road with Buffy Sainte-Marie only on Inspiration on OC16.



Inspiration Buffy Sainte-Marie

Saturday 2 April 2011

Four Evenings of Documentary Film Festival

Four Evenings of Documentary Film featuring cultural heroes who have empowered, encouraged and inspired significant social and cultural change with courage and creativity. Four of the most popular documentaries screened at DOXA 2010, Vancouver’s Annual Documentary Film Festival.
SC Film Society mini-festival of documentary films opens tonight (April 1) and continues Saturday with a film that celebrates the 40th anniversary of Greenpeace, The Rainbow Warriors of Waiheke Island, and on Sunday with Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multi-media Life. On Monday, April 4, Six Miles Deep screens with special guest Barbara Higgins, Sechelt First Nations Elder.

Sunday April 3
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life

The biography of Oscar winner, political activist, and musician Buffy Sainte- Marie follows her from her birth on a Saskatchewan reserve through to her musical rise and her activism on behalf of North American aboriginal people. Her lust for life, eternal optimism and unique talent shine through.

More Info Visit http://www.scfs.ca/film/docfest/index.html


Friday 1 April 2011

Photos from Buffy Sainte-Marie's current tour : Hawaii, USA. March 2011

Photos taken on Hawaii, Usa .Buffy Sainte-Marie and her Aboriginal Band!
Check out more picture on Jesse Green-Guitarist for Buffy Sainte-Marie facebook page
LINK