The JOHNNYS

Any album that opens with motorcycle sound effects in its first track promises to take you on a fast ride along a wild highway of songs.

The first track of Rock, titled "Motorcycle Mama," is the songwriter’s version of a painted portrait. It is a personal tribute to a woman dedicated to feeling the wind blow through her hair. Marianne Faithfull painted this image for us in 1979 with a more tragic story within "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan." Veronica Johnny places a musical badge of honor on her heroine, proclaiming her to be “too tough to die.” Set to a fast paced syncopated rhythm, The Johnnys bring us onto the highway and manifest the wind through the uplifting lyrics and high energy. A flattering song for a friend, inspired by a promise.

The Johnnys can effectively slow it down too without losing any of their rock edge. "I'm Electric," an I’ve-Come-Full-Circle-and-Like-Who-I-Am track, encompasses all the classic, even traditional metal-rock elements made famous in the hair-band era of the early 80’s. This specific sound would fail if the musicians were anything less than a well-seasoned, mature rock band firmly rooted in those traditional rock elements. The Johnnys pull it off and pull you along for the ride.

This group has seen a rotation of different band members over the years, but the focus and commitment of husband-and-wife team Dave and Veronica Johnny has enabled them to cultivate each new player and to inspire in them the energy and spirit that drives The Johnnys’ songs.

Rock is the band’s third album, and with each they've matured in sound and content -- a testament to the couple's great collaborative work ethic in both their professional and personal lives. That said, the track “I’m Loving Your Heat” is about the closest thing
to a love ballad you’ll find on this record.

Love is expressed in a variety of ways, so for a “rocker” to say “I Love Your Heat” (which is really only one letter away from Heart), it’s as good as a gold ring. This song is sincerity mixed with a sexy edge.

On Rock, we hear less screaming and more emotion in Veronica’s vocals. Her pleasing voice leads the songs, in both sound and meaning.

Being of Cree/Dene descent, Veronica is inspired, as many Indigenous artists and musicians are, by environmental injustices especially those brought to light through the Idle No More movement. This inspiration finds it way into the song “On the Wrong Damn Side of the Law," a hard and fast battle cry pointing an unapologetic accusatory finger at government and corporate greedy practices. “Guilty of lies” Veronica sings.

The title track, "Rock," is an ancestral anthem making you reach for your Bic lighter. It is an invitation to bang your head -- and to use your head in personal practices that affect the land. Isolate the lyrics on this album and you might think these are 60s hippie messages resurfacing, but The Johnnys give the hard rock metal fan exactly what they crave, and then some.

Turn it up! This is nothing like a lot of noise pollution disguised as metal that’s already out there. This is metal with a hea(r)t and soul.

JANET MARIE ROGERS 7/12/13 - Indian Country Today

Black shoes, black pants, black shirts: this is The Johnnys.

They stay true to their album name, Louder, Faster, More Fun, and they have crowds doing the same. In May, The Johnnys rocked a room full of headbangers at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Toronto. “Louder! Faster! More fun!” sang fans as Veronica Johnny and Oriana Barbato danced onstage with guitars in hand.

They smiled at the whistles and kisses blown from the ladies dancing in the front row.

Apart from being talented, hip and sexy, Johnny and Barbato describe the band as “really fast rock and roll; 220 beats per minute rock and roll; punkish rock and roll.”

The Johnnys were formed nine years ago by two-spirit artist Veronica Johnny (Chippewa, Slavey and European ancestry) and her husband, Dave, who met in the Northwest Territories. They moved to Toronto in 2005, and the band now consists of four members: Veronica, Dave, Tim Bones and Barbato — the newest member.

“They called me up and said, “Do you want to be part of the band?” I said, “Yeah, of course!” says Barbato. Veronica and Dave found her on bandmix.com; a talk over coffee in Kensington Market led to a rehearsal and then membership.

A freelance musician, Barbato jokes, “I just play bass to get the girls. I just want to be onstage to get the girls.”

There is no shortage of fans swooning over the Chilean-born bassist, and she knows it.

“Everybody loves a woman bass player. They think it’s the sexiest thing in the world,” she says.

Johnny and Barbato don’t hold back their feelings about women.

“It’s not like I advertise it, but it’s not like I hide it either,” Johnny says. The band’s latest song, “Motorcycle Mamma,” about a friend who recently got into a motorcycle accident, is described by Johnny as being “about a really hot chick who rides a Harley.”

That’s how the song was introduced at The Hardrock Café, followed by loud vocals, fast drums and Johnny and Barbato side by side, taking centre stage.

Chrome diva, living the dream
Red hot, she’s a native queen
Iron lady, the story’s told
She keeps cruising on the damn road…

Johnny has participated several times in the Gay Games and was once in a five-year relationship with a woman before marrying her husband. She misses being around queer folk on a regular basis: “I feel at home when I’m in the queer community.”

Barbato credits her sexuality for making her the musician she is. “Being queer makes me feel more relaxed onstage. I don’t have to fit the stereotype of a girl. I can do whatever the hell I want,” she says.

“If I weren’t two-spirit, I think I would feel the pressure to be sexier, that pressure to be the lead chick onstage. It [being two spirit] gives me a kind of power that I think people who aren’t LGBTQ don’t have; they don’t have that kind of energy,” Johnny says.

With a feather hanging off her guitar, Johnny shows her two-spirit identity and culture with pride.

Barbato’s cutoff T-shirts show her chiselled arms and drive the ladies wild.

“The Johnnys, the whole act, gives me that extra push. The music is fast and crazy,” she says.

By Jorge Antonio Vallejos
Jun 14, 2011, 8:00 PM EDT

The Johnnys
Part of NXNE
Cherry Cola’s Rock ’N’ Rolla, 200 Bathurst St
Fri, June 17
nxne.com
thejohnnys.com

This story is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Queer, Toronto - Xtra

The Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards will be handed out tonight in Winnipeg. The awards feature emerging and established indigenous artists from all over North America.

Here are five nominated acts that you should definitely check out.

Samantha Crain: Singer-songwriter from Shawnee, Oklahoma, Chocataw heritage. Up for Single of the Year, Best Folk/Acoustic CD and Best Producer/Engineer.

Crain has released three albums since launching her career in 2004 -- and she’s only 26. Her career is booming and her sweet sound is one-of-a-kind.

J.C Campbell: Winnipeg Singer Songwriter from Norway House First Nation. Up for Single of the Year.

Campbell’s music is a mix of country and blues and he’ll draw you in with his in depth lyrics and winning vocals.

The Johnnys: Veronica Johnny, singer-guitarist and husband Dave Johnny, drummer from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Up for Single of the Year.

This husband and wife duo have been creating stellar music since 2002, influenced by punk and rock and roll. The Johnnys will have you out of your seat with their high-energy songs.

Iceis Rain: Massey Whiteknife AKA Iceis Rain, Mikisew Cree First Nation, from Fort Mackay, Alberta. Up for 5 awards this year, including Aboriginal Songwriter of the year, Best music video,Single of the year, Best Rock CD and Best New Artist.

Whiteknife is one of Alberta’s most successful entrepreneurs but when he hits the the stage this year as his alter-ego Iceis Rain expect nothing less of a powerful performance.

Nitanis “Kit” Largo: Powwow singer from Whitefish Lake First Nations, Ontario. Up for Best New Artist and Best Hand Drum CD

"Singing, music, Pow-Wows and dancing has always been a part of my life." says Largo. .She grew up around music and dance and that’s where her passion comes from. Largo was destined to be entertainer, with her outstanding vocals and a sound that blends traditional and contemporary music. She is definitely someone to watch out for.

By Maggie Moose, CBC News Posted: Sep 12, 2014 7:12 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 12, 2014 7:46 PM ET - CBC News

Sex, drugs and rock and roll used to be the slogan of rebel rock and rollers but as the hard rockers of years ago age, one might say that “If it’s TOO LOUD, you are TOO OLD!”

The Johnnys have abandoned the drug theme but sex, loud guitars, fast and frantic intensity is what drives them to breakneck speeds that will leave more than a few old timers thinking they may indeed be too old. But that’s just real rock and roll.

Veronica Johnny’s exuberant sexy voice and husband Dave’s pounding rhythms are the highlights of the Ramones formatted punk sound though admittedly on this album its more musically complex. Few credible bands can pull off the purity of the legendary Ramones spirit musically but The Johnnys are one of the best with a full repertoire of original songs.

This is their third release with much improved production and song development. The Johnny’s have matured but not aged. This makes this an essential high energy rocker that puts FUN with capital letters back into the music experience as the song Have a Good Time, All The Time emphasizes.

Black leather and motorcycles, non-conforming rebellious in-your-face approach continues The Johnny’s musical path of doing it their way, delivering a fresh rock album purist rockers will celebrate.

Motorcycle Mama is a great example of this musical attitude. The Johnnys capture that innocent sound of both the 60’s and the 70’s punk attitude that rock exploded from and if you are looking for a fun, high energy release from life’s stressors, drop this album into your player, TURN IT UP, hold on tight and get ready to ROCK!

Buy the album from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/rock/id641937253 - AMMSA

Veronica Johnny of The Johnnys band,originally from Fort Chipewyan, held a benefit concert for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Defense Fund at the Rivoli in downtown Toronto on Sunday.

The fund is in defence of the ongoing treaty encroachments and environmental destruction by the Canadian governments forceful hand in the tarsands oil development on their territory.The MC for the night was actor/director Glen Gould (who recently appeared in the film Rhymes for young ghouls) and who also performed some traditional drumming.

Duke Redbird opened the show with a beautiful prayer and several poetic recitations. Kanawake’s own Brendt Thomas Diabo performed a very soulful and well received set. Arthur Renwick musically backed Duke Redbirds poetry recitation brilliantly with Arthur doing some of his own social commentary about positive change and ignoring the negative.

The host band, The Johnnys, tore it up and the crowd was a rocking. The King Beez who were the headliners for the night, did a fusion of surfer, punk, and metal rock instrumentals that were incredible. The use of a highly captivating new light technology performed by ljosio Jj Fryrirrek and Rob Hogarth of Visual Poi was used for the first time in North America. Organizers of Fix our world (fixourworld.ca) were there with a banner for everyone to sign to present to members of parliament.

A viewing of the documentary film “Petropolis” presented by Crystal Sinclair of Idle No More was shown. Petroplis starts out showing a helicopter view of a majestic mountainside forest but then continues onto the bordering tar sands showing this horrendous visual over industrialized wastelands.

For more info on the tar sands defence go to www.drawtheline.ca or email eriel.deranger@acfn.com.

Arts and Culture, Entertainment
January 29, 2014
Tim Reynolds - Two Row Times

They may have to wear a few more layers over top of their signature black leather, but The Johnnys promise they’ll bring their high-energy heat to the Snowcastle Friday night, with a few new twists.
“We’re accepting donations of fur clothing, or some down, even if it’s just a loan for the night... I’m trying to keep my band warm,” laughs lead singer Veronica Johnny during a telephone interview from Toronto.
She and drummer-husband Dave Johnny have been performing their punk-infused rock originals since meeting in Fort Smith in 2001, but this will be their seven-piece band’s debut show at the fabled Snowcastle, and the first time they’ll perform a song in Cree.
“We’re all incredibly excited, Dave and I want to show everyone how much we love Yellowknife and how much we love coming back,” says Veronica. “And we really want to thank the Canada Arts Council and the Snowking Festival for making it possible.” - EDGEYK magazine

The popular music of North America is seasoned with the blood and sweat of every race and nationality: Anglos, Africans, Hispanics, Jews…rockers of all ethnic mixes. But what about the native peoples of North America? Many rock fans know that Cher, Rita Coolidge, and Robbie Robertson have native roots. But when was the last time you heard anything about a rock band comprised predominantly of indigenous peoples from the U.S. or Canada?

Well, they’re out there! Some have been making music for decades; others are new to the scene. And while many aren’t headliners (yet), they’re recording, touring, winning awards, and selling lots of music online. Thanks to YouTube and iTunes I’ve recently become familiar with a number of talented bands that are really catching fire. Here’s a look at some of them, starting with a group you’ll likely recall if you grew up in the 1970s.

Redbone was the first commercially successful band formed predominantly of Native Americans — four members from various tribes. They’re remembered for their 1974 hit, “Come and Get Your Love,” which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Supposedly, it was Jimi Hendrix, himself one-quarter Cherokee, who convinced group co-founder Pat Vegas (née Vasquez) to form a Native American rock band. The lineup has changed through the years, but they’re still gigging. Here’s the original band performing their biggest hit, complete with a colorful dance introduction:


WinterHawk is a San Francisco-based Native American foursome that’s been around since 1983. They’ve released a number of LPs and CDs, and have opened for such heavies as Tina Turner, Santana, Steve Miller, Van Halen, and Mötley Crüe. Leader Nik Winterhawk Alexander, a Cree Indian, says, “I believe in setting an example for young people…We carry high the values our forefathers did: keeping our environment clean, taking care of the creatures, including ourselves…If there’s any music that is close to traditional Native American music, a war dance beat, it’s straight rock and roll.” Check out this beautiful power ballad:


Indigenous is a fabulous blues-rock band comprised of brothers Mato and Pte Nanji, plus their sister Wanbdi and a cousin called Horse. These members of the Nakota Nation grew up on South Dakota’s Yankton Reservation. They’ve shared the stage with such artists as B.B. King, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, and Joan Baez, and also tour as headliners.


The Plateros offer a mashup of blues, rock, and funk, lead by 16-year-old Levi Platero of the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation. His band includes family members from the Tohajiilee Indian Reservation near Albuquerque. They’re busy recording and touring the U.S. and parts of Canada. I love this song and the setting. Why aren’t these guys more famous?


Blackfire is a Navajo (Diné) group of two brothers and a sister – Jeneda, Klee, and Clayson Benally – who mix punk rock with what they call “alter-Native,” delivering music with sociopolitical messages about human rights, government oppression, and genocide. Joey Ramone once called Blackfire’s music “fireball punk-rock.” In fact, the last recording he made before his death was singing backup vocals on the band’s “One Nation Under” CD. Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, asked Blackfire to set music to some of her father’s unreleased and unpublished lyrics. The band’s EP “Woody Guthrie Singles” won the Best Pop/Rock Album award at the 2002 Native American Music Awards (NAMA). Jeneda is my new idol. She rocks!


Black Owl Society was formed in Austin, Texas, in early 2010 by a musician called Buffalo Man. They sing about issues affecting indigenous peoples, set to stirring electric blues music. Good late-night licks here.


Corporate Avengers is a Southern California band headed by members of mixed Native American ancestry. They blast hard-edge, often controversial songs with names like “Christians Murdered Indians,” “Jesus Christ Homosexual,” and “Drug Dealing God.” In fact, they believe that organized religion is one of the roots of all the world’s ills. (Imagine the amount of hate mail they receive.) Their style morphs from electronica/industrial to rap to hard rock. Here’s a video featuring an in-your-face history lesson! Keep raging, boys. Being banned is good for your careers.


Testament is a Native American thrash metal band, lead by Chuck Billy of the Pomo tribe. I don’t particularly care for this type of music, but I admire their energy and social activism. Mr. Billy was featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian exhibit Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture, which was on display through January 2011. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Testament’s “Native Blood” video.


A Tribe Called Red is an Ottawa-based band comprised of members of The First Nations — the Aboriginal peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. They play a mixture of electronic music, instrumental hip hop, house, reggae, and dubstep dance, often accompanied by traditional chanting. They describe their unique sound as “pow-wow-step.” Here’s a must-see video of one of their songs, “Sopranos Azteca,” which features clips of HBO’s Sopranos mafiosi making derogatory remarks about “Indians.” Well, I may be an Italian-American, but I side with Furio: “I never liked Columbus.”


Breach of Trust is a Canadian rock group formed in Saskatchewan, comprised of members of First Nation heritage. The band won three awards at the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, including Best Group and Best Rock Album.


The Johnnys, from Toronto, is perhaps the most unusual and entertaining of all Native American bands, with its six-foot tall, leather-vixen lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Veronica Johnny. She and her drummer husband Dave Johnny churn out frenetic, garage-type tunes that derive from 70s hard rock and pure 50s rock and roll. Their first two releases were nominated for numerous awards at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. Here they are performing “I Like It A Lot,” which is exactly how I feel about this song and their sound. Punk rock lives!


For the record, here’s a list of other popular musical artists, past and present, of mixed Native North American blood:
Jesse Ed Davis: Muscogee Creek, Seminole, and Kiowa
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Canadian Cree
Jimi Hendrix: one quarter Cherokee
Robbie Robertson: part Canadian Mohawk
Cher: part Cherokee
Tori Amos: part Cherokee
Tom Petty: one-quarter Cherokee
Link Wray: part Shawnee
Rita Coolidge:part Cherokee
Elvis Presley: small part Cherokee
Ben Harper: part Cherokee
Carrie Underwood: part Muscogee Creek
Keely Smith: part Cherokee
Chaka Kahn: part Blackfeet

The great guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (1944-1988)

Oct 12, 2015 - Hip Quotient

There’s a lot of tradition in the Cree-language album Nehiyaw Nikamonak: Oyoyowin ohci Nanaskomowin (Cree Songs: Howls from Gratitude), produced by the Northwest Territories Cree Language Program and the NWT Métis Nation. But Kyle Napier, who manages the Cree Language Program, is especially proud of one traditional aspect – it’s free.

“Music and language, prior to colonization, that never cost money,” Napier told the Nation. “Our people do live with Dene principles, and one of the most important principles is to share. While it says, ‘All Rights Reserved,’ because all of the songs are included with permission of the artists, it also says ‘Reproduction of this album as a learning resource is encouraged.’ That’s something I feel sets it apart – our program’s mandate, we’re funded from the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment. We’re not allowed to make a profit, and that’s great!”

The album was made available for free download on National Aboriginal Day, as part of a set of language tools available from the Cree Language Program’s website, which also includes learning tools such as posters, children’s books and calendar.

However, listeners would be mistaken if they are looking for an album as a soundtrack for a summer drive with the windows down rather than a language-learning tool. It covers artists from a variety of genres, including A Tribe Called Red, Veronica Johnny from The Johnnys, the Northern Cree Singers, and blues-rock band State of the Art. But Napier proudly stands by the album’s original goal, which was to encourage people to speak Cree.

“There’s not a single English word on there,” he said. “There are at least two dialects of Cree, predominantly Plains Cree and Bush Cree. Plains Cree is the most widely spoken Indigenous language in Canada. Bush Cree bears a lot of similarities – they’re mutually intelligible. You can speak back and forth.”

Originating from Fort Smith in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, the album reflects that area’s history of pre-colonization Indigenous society in which people had to share languages while travelling rivers and engaging in trade.

“People of our area used to speak between four and seven languages – you had to, if you wanted to travel from community to community through the waterways,” Napier said. “People had such diverse linguistic backgrounds.”

However, growing up in the south – both in Calgary, and much farther south in Philadelphia – Napier did not have access to the Chippewan and Cree languages in his Métis lineage. Only over the last seven months has he begun to learn the language of his ancestors.

“There are a lot of complex reasons that lead to an Indigenous language not being passed through the generations,” he said. “However, we live at the crux of Indigenous language revitalization. Now is the time that our whole communities need to come together – our youth working with our Elders, sharing and trading skills.”

Learning a language isn’t as hard as people think it is, Napier stressed. It’s just something that takes time.

“What we encourage people to do is learn one word a day, and make 200 mistakes a day!” he laughed. “Because as long as you’re making mistakes, you’re trying and you’re learning more than those who are too afraid to make mistakes. You can’t be afraid to make mistakes.”

Learning the Indigenous language of their ancestors, Napier underlined, gives people the opportunity to reimagine the world in an Indigenous context that applies to them, and it doesn’t need to be Cree.

“Cree is the language we work with, but it’s about languages that connect people through their identities,” he said. “Youth can be working on trans-generational projects, even recording off their phones; their grandparents sharing stories, or their mom and dad, and other Elders. As long as they’re breaking bannock and sharing tea and showing their appreciation, I feel there’s a lot to be learned, and now’s the time to do it. Because the languages are strong now, and as young people we need to be the language leaders so that we can pass them down to the next generations.”

BY JESSE B. STANIFORTH / ON JULY 10, 2015 AT 9:03 PM - The Nation

The Johnnys, a rock and roll band founded in Fort Smith by Cree vocalist/rhythm guitarist Veronica Johnny and her drummer husband Dave, brought down the house again on Arbor Live, a music variety TV program on APTN.

Episode seven of Arbor Live’s season three aired Friday, featuring the band, who divide their time between Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario and downtown Toronto, alongside Big Sugar, a Canadian blues-rock band fronted by Gordie Johnson.

“Opportunities like this really increase our profile,” Veronica, who grew up in Fort Smith, told The Journal. “When I come home, friends of mine say to me, ‘I saw you on TV and am so proud of you.’ So a big part of me does it for them too.”

The episode was filmed in November 2011 and marked the second time the band, which Arbor Live host Stevie Salas calls one his “favourites,” belted out their high-energy mix of punk and ‘70s inspired hard rock on the show. They also appeared in season one.

With Oriana Barbato on bass and Tim Bones on lead guitar, the group performed Dona Juana and Bedbug Banquet from their multiple award-nominated second album Louder Faster More Fun, and the single Motorcycle Mama from their forthcoming record.

“Both times we’ve been on Arbor Live have been a bit of a fluke,” Veronica said. “We were at the 2011 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards (APCMA) in Winnipeg and the guys from Arbor happened to catch us live and said they had to have us back again. One week later, they were filming in Toronto, and we made sure we were there.”

The band, nominated for best rock CD in 2011 at the APCMA, will also be featured on The Best of Arbor Live, airing Apr. 26.

“That’s a real honour for us,” Veronica said. “They’ve had so many musicians on the program and to be chosen to be on that episode is a real achievement.”

One of the best things about Arbor Live is how it airs lesser-known Aboriginal acts alongside more established and successful bands, Veronica said.

“They put us in the same category…That really helps lift up Aboriginal musicians and the community. There’s a sense of pride to what we’re doing.”

The release party for The Johnnys’ newest CD, ROCK, is Apr. 19 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto.

“This album slows down the pace a bit, leaves more space in the music,” Veronica said. “It’s diversified and will appeal to more people, I think, but it’s still heavy, still rock.”

Veronica, also a traditional hand drummer and singer, will be back in the NWT this summer to learn more about hand drumming from local elders and work with youth.

To catch the Johnnys’ performance on Arbor Live, visit http://aptn.ca/pages/arborlive. - Northern Journal

2013 was another good year for Native music. Established young talents Derek Miller and Samantha Crain put out excellent albums; Frank Waln, Leonard Sumner and Nataanii Nez Means embodied the bright future of Native hip hop; and DJ trio A Tribe Called Red continued to define their own genre of “pow wow step” dance music. But those are just a few of the reasons listeners had to celebrate. We asked several of the music cognoscenti to offer their selections for the best of the best.

JANET ROGERS’ PICKS FOR BEST OF 2013
Albums

1. Derek Miller, Blues, Vol. 1. Hot, rough, sexy blues (official site)
2. George Leach, Surrender. Twelve years in the making and every note was worth the wait. (official site)
3. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. They have created new territory just for dancing. (official site)
4. The Johnnys, Rock. A generous offering of the Thinking Man’s Metal Music (official site)
5. Patricia Cano, Songs from Tomson Highway’s The (Post) Mistress. Sultry vocals with perfect pitch. (indiepool)

Tracks

1. Wanbdi, “Bones” from Where the Fishes Go. Blues inspired female truth (bandcamp)
2. Ghostkeeper, “Horse Chief! War Thief” from Horse Chief! War Thief! Original! Metis nerd punk (bandcamp)
3. A Tribe Called Red ft. Northern Voices, “Different Heroes” from Nation II Nation. Inspired dance track, commands me like a puppet (official site)
4. Jasper, “Inglorious” from Inglorious (EP). Righteous political rock anthem of our times. (reverbnation)
5. Nick Sherman, “Drag Your Words Through,” from Drag Your Words Through. Back-to-basics good music. (official site)

ICTMN contributor Janet Rogers is host of Native Waves Radio CFUV 101.9fm and Tribal Clefs CBC 90.5fm.

FRANK WALN’S PICKS FOR BEST OF 2013
Albums

1. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. This record is powerful, political and spiritual. ATCR is legendary. (official site)
2. Leonard Sumner, Rez Poetry. These songs are so fresh with a unique blend of musical influence scatted all throughout. Leonard Sumner carves out his own genre with this classic album. (official site)
3. Samantha Crain, Kid Face. Equal parts Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Danger Mouse, this album’s haunting melodies and introspective lyrics will pull you in and never let go. (official site)
4. Dark Water Rising, Grace & Grit: Chapter 1. Heartfelt and dynamic, this album shows Charly Lowry delivering flawless vocals backed by a talented band. DWR mixes southern charm with Indigenous sensibilities in an album that is sure to win your heart over. (official site)
5. Fawn Wood & Dallas Waskahat, Blessings. Powerful, feel good music from one of the best female vocalists out, regardless of genre or ethnicity. (Canyon Records)

Tracks

1. Angel Haze, “A Tribe Called Red.” An aggressive punch to the gut from two of the best Indigenous acts out right now. She honors her Indigenous heritage without exploiting it on this monster of a song. (official site)

2. Tall Paul, “Taurus the Bull.” Channeling sound of classic Midwest MC’s, Tall Paul flexes smart lyrical commentary all over this grim track, proving why he is one of the best Indigenous MC’s to ever touch a microphone. (official site)
3. Scatter Their Own, “Taste the Time.” A beautiful ode to protecting one of the pillars of life, water. Memorable riffs, smart lyrics and a concept that is uniquely Indigenous. The music video rocks too. (official site)
4. Nick Sherman, “Wrong Side of Town.” Nick Sherman is one of the most talented Indigenous songwriters we’ve heard in a long time. This song is warm, relatable and beautiful on many different levels. (official site)
5. George Leach, “Carry Me.” A larger than life sound and great vocal performance push this song into the realm of commercial cross over success. (official site)

Frank Waln is a NAMA-winning hip hop artist.

VINCENT SCHILLING’S PICKS FOR BEST OF 2013
Albums

1. Frank Waln, Born Ready. Fearless story-telling, symphonic hip-hop from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. (official site)
2. Inez Jasper, Burn Me Down. A fun and enlightening mix of traditional sounds with contemporary dance music and uplifting vocals. (official site)
3. Nataanii Nez Means, 2 Worlds. Without holding back Nataanii attacks his hip hop tracks fearlessly and covers topics such as AIM, Rez issues and his own father Russell Means. (Bandcamp)
4. Samantha Crain, Kid Face. Amazing folk vocalist with a powerhouse of emotion for a young artist. Watch out for this one. (official site)
5. A Tribe Called Red, Nation II Nation. An immaculate blending of traditional drum song and electronic beats to include dubstep, electronica and even sirens. (official site)

Tracks

1. Nataanii Nez Means’, “The Radical” from 2 Worlds. A gorgeous hip-hop tribute featuring the words of Russell Means (Bandcamp)
2. Tara Williamson, “Come to Me” from Lie Low. Soft vocals, melodic tunes, #1 artist on Native trailblazers June Jamz (official site)
3. Frank Waln and Cody Blackbird, “Hear My Cry” from Born Ready. Traditional infused with Hip Hop with vocals from Both Waln and Blackbird.(official site)
4. Christa Couture, “You were here in Michigan” from The Living Record. Though the album released in 2012, this track, with a folky and catchy melody, had definite staying power long into 2013. A brilliant song. (official site)
5. The Johnnys, “On the Wrong Damn Side of the Law” from Rock. Fun rockabilly-ish gesture-invoking readily playable great music. (official site)

Vincent Schilling covers entertainment for ICTMN and his weekly Native Trailblazers radio show.

JASON MORGAN EDWARDS’S PICKS FOR BEST OF 2013
Tracks

1. Saving Damsels, “Sweet Girl” from Find My Way. JJ Otero’s signature soul-searching and poetic lyrics really shine through on this particular track from the band’s 2012 release. (official site)
2. Twang Deluxe, “NWO- New Waylon Order.” Pays homage to one of the Navajo trio’s main musical influences, Waylon Jennings. Be sure to look for their debut album in 2014. (facebook)
3. Miracle Dolls, “NeverMind” from Guns n Thieves. The Miracle Dolls solidify their strong foot-hold as the leading Native presence on the alternative/indie rock stage. (official site)
4. Raye, “Drink Me Dry.” This newcomer is lighting up both LA and NYC with her distinctive style and sound. It’s hard not to feel the joys and pains of loves found and lost while listening to this poignant melody of giving all you have inside to that special someone. (reverbnation)
5. The Plateros, “A Motherless Child.” The Plateros continue to lead the charge for classic rock and blues fans. Infusing time-honored riffs with their unique stylings, the Navajo cousins continue to push forward, breaking new musical ground with each performance. This song puts the band’s singing, song-writing and playing on full display. (official site)

Jason Morgan Edwards is a photographer based in New Mexico who writes about music for ICTMN.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/12/23/best-native-music-2013-152778

The Best Native Music of 2013
Posted on December 25, 2013 by Kim Kalliber
ICTMN Staff
12/23/13 - Tulalip News

RPM Podcast #009: “Indigenous Rock”

Our host Ostwelve talks with Cree/Dene vocalist and guitarist Veronica Johnny from the rock and roll couple The Johnnys about it never being too late to live your dream, and just what can be accomplished when you focus on your career; Ojibwe Wayne Restoule – who rocks guitars, keyboards and vocals in progressive rock band Weaselhead - describes how the stories from the band’s family and community came through to create their concept album A Residential School Story, and vocalist and bass player Loren Anthony from the Navajo metal band Bloodline links the warrior in his bloodline to the music he makes today.
Oct 19, 2011 - RPM.FM

The sixth Red Ride Tour, a travelling showcase of Indigenous musicians which crosses the country, kicks off May 4 at Big Medicine Studio, Nipissing First Nation.

Tour founder Kristi Lane Sinclair will be joined by high-energy, beat-driven rock duo The Johnnys and and Cree vocalist Rosary Spence.

“It has been amazing watching the tour grow,” says Sinclair.

This year, the Red Ride Tour is taking a detour and instead of hitting larger cities, as in past years, it is travelling the grassroots road.

Last year, the tour had a stop in Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, that inspired Sinclair to add more stops like that this time.

"It was highly rewarding for the musicians to see the whole community come out and show not only their support but appreciation that we came to their community."

Kristi Lane Sinclair

Fierce and feisty, Haida/Cree singer-songwriter Sinclair is emblematic of a new wave of Canadian indigenous artists who are turning perceptions upside down.

Raised in British Columbia’s backwaters, and drawing more from a DIY/indie aesthetic than traditional or mainstream music, Sinclair’s musical roots create a darkly intoxicating mix of grunge, folk and classical. Her smoky folk is rich and orchestral, underpinned with alternately snarling guitars and warm strings.

Sinclair’s latest full-length album Dark Matter (produced by Derek Miller) was released in May 2015. A brand new EP will be released in the summer of 2016 and a six-part TV series about her musical journey premieres May 10 on APTN. You can watch the trailer at http://facethemusictv.com

http://kristilanesinclair.ca

Rosary Spence

Originally from the coastal Cree community of Fort Albany First Nation, off the coast of James Bay, Spence is an Indigenous singer, steeped in time-honoured Aboriginal rhythms and styles.

Spence has performed at the ImagineNative Film Festival, Planet IndigenUS, and as an opening act for various events and conferences.

Spence prides herself as an established self-taught vocalist, but has also studied at The Banff Centre for the Arts.

Spence's debut album (released May 2015), titled Maskawasiwin, a Cree word for Strength, is dedicated to all of the teachings and teachers whom have provided her with strength thus far in her life's journey. Maskawasiwin brings forward a recording that depicts the range of Spence's musical ability, from traditional vocables, to acoustic rhythms and modern urban fusions.

http://www.rosaryspence.com

The Johnnys

The Johnnys is a high-energy, beat-driven rock duo founded by singer & guitar player Veronica Johnny (of Cree and Dene heritage) with drummer and partner Dave Johnny.

Described as “real, rebellious, swaggering rock’n’roll," the duo formed in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, inspired by early rock’n’roll and the first wave of punk with their commitment to fast tempos, stripped-down arrangements and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

They’ve played across Canada, been featured on TV and film and shared stages with such music luminaries as Geordie Johnson (Big Sugar), Stevie Salas, Bruce Cockburn, Jonny Lang, Keith Secola, Crystal Shawanda and Kinnie Starr. The band’s albums I Like It A Lot and Louder Faster More Fun were both nominated for Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

http://www.thejohnnys.com

Concert tickets are $15 at the door and $10 for youth and elders. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.
Big Medicine Studio is at 161 Couchie Memorial Dr. Call 474-2227 or email aanmitaagzi@gmail.com

Thursday, April 28, 2016 11:18:59 EDT PM - Nugget

MANITOWANING—Haida/Cree singer-songwriter Kristi Lane Sinclair has been described as “fierce and feisty,” an artist who “is emblematic of a new wave of Canadian indigenous artists who are turning perceptions upside down.” Ms. Lane Sinclair founded the 6th annual Red Ride Tour, “a collective of aboriginal musicians whose goal is to showcase the diverse talent of artists across North America in what is described as an eclectic community of culture,” six years ago and it is going stronger than ever.

The Red Ride Tour will be pulling into Manitowaning and Debajehmujig’s Larry E. Lewis Creation Centre on May 12, and this year’s artists are certain to appeal to a wide audience.


“I would call my work ‘grunge electric’,” laughs Ms. Lane Sinclair, a two-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee. She was raised in British Columbia’s backwaters and draws “more from a DIY (do it yourself)/indie aesthetic than traditional or mainstream music.”

“This year’s Red Ride Tour is still keeping in touch with our bigger city market but expanding our stops to smaller and underserved communities in Ontario and British Columbia,” said Ms. Lane Sinclair. “The highlight of last year’s tour was our stop at Debajehmujig’s Creation Centre in Manitowaning, the whole community came out and there was an instant ‘at home’ welcoming feeling. From that energy came a great show followed by a great night spent in the community and the impact of that show on the artists and community really inspired this year’s tour. Usually we drive from Thunder Bay to Toronto and we were missing out on some amazing stops, these guys know how to get down in Red Ride style.”

The roster of the artists on a Red Ride Tour performance changes from stop to stop, with some artists joining in along the route, while others ride the whole way through.

The May 12 performance will feature Ms. Lane Sinclair, along with The Johnnys and Laura Ortman.

The Johnnys are a “high-energy, beat-driven rock duo” founded by singer and guitar player Veronica Johnny (of Cree and Dene heritage) with drummer and partner Dave Johnny.

Described as ‘real, rebellious, swaggering rock’n’roll,’ the duo formed in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, inspired by early rock’n’roll and the first wave of punk their music highlights a commitment to fast tempos, stripped-down arrangements and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Featured on TV and film, the duo have shared stages with Geordie Johnson of Big Sugar, Stevie Salas, Bruce Cockburn, Jonny Lang, Keith Secola, Crystal Shawanda and Kinnie Starr. The band’s albums ‘I Like It A Lot’ and ‘Louder Faster More Fun’ were both nominated for Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

Laura Ortman is a White Mountain Apache and Brooklyn composer, musician and visual artist who “continually collaborates with artists, filmmakers, dancers and musicians from New York, New Mexico, Italy and Canada.” Ms. Ortman has performed, recorded and toured with New York bands Stars Like Fleas and The Dust Dive. She’s been awarded artist residencies at the Rauschenberg Residency in Captiva, Florida, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York. In 2008, Ms. Ortman founded the Coast Orchestra, an all-Native American orchestral ensemble performing the 1914 original score live accompaniment to photographer Edward Curtis’s film “In the Land of the Head Hunters” to sold-out audiences at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The Red Ride Tour plays 9 pm May 12 and tickets are $20 available. For more information, call 705) 859-1820.

By Michael Erskine - May 4, 2016 - The Manitoulin Expositor

The Red Ride Tour is about to hit the road for its sixth incarnation. First conceived as a DIY tour for two friends has turned into a travelling showcase of Indigenous musicians across the country.

“It has been amazing watching the tour grow,” says founder Kristi Lane Sinclair.

This year, the Red Ride Tour is taking a detour and instead of hitting larger cities, as in past years, they are travelling the grassroots road.

“We’ll be visiting reserves and smaller communities that normally don’t get a lot of live music,” says Sinclair.

The sixth Red Ride Tour kicks off May 3 in North Bay, ON, and will make stops across Canada from Nippissing First Nation to Manitoulin Island to Lytton, BC, and ends on May 29 in Sinclair’s ancestral home of Haida Gwaii.

Last year, the tour had a stop in Wikwemikong, ON, that inspired Sinclair to add more stops like that this time.

“It was highly rewarding for the musicians to see the whole community come out and show not only their support but appreciation that we came to their community.”

This year, Sinclair will be joined by the likes of Enter-Tribal featuring Cayuga/Nuxalk MC JB the First Lady; rising Mohawk singer-songwriter Logan Staats; Apache violinist Laura Ortman; Oji-Cree folk singer Nick Sherman; Stō:lo/St’át’imc multimedia artist Ostwelve; Cree vocalist Rosary Spence, Cree/Dene rockers The Johnnys and Vancouver Island hip hop quartet Paint The Town Red.

In a time when Indigenous music is being recognised more and more by the mainstream — just take a look at the Polaris Music Prize, two Indigenous women took home the coveted award two years running, and artists are now being nominated outside of the Aboriginal recording category at the Junos regularly — this is the time to buy a ticket to the show and learn more about what the Indigenous music scene in Canada has to offer.

The Red Ride Tour is a mix of musical genres and a collective of Indigenous musicians whose goal is to showcase the diverse talent of artists across North America in what is described as an eclectic community of culture.

http://redridetour.com
http://www.facebook.com/redridetour

Biographies

Kristi Lane Sinclair

Fierce and feisty, Haida/Cree singer-songwriter Kristi Lane Sinclair is emblematic of a new wave of Canadian indigenous artists who are turning perceptions upside down. Raised in British Columbia’s backwaters, and drawing more from a DIY/indie aesthetic than traditional or mainstream music, Sinclair’s musical roots create a darkly intoxicating mix of grunge, folk and classical. Her smoky folk is rich and orchestral, underpinned with alternately snarling guitars and warm strings. Her latest full-length album Dark Matter (produced by Derek Miller) was released in May 2015. A brand new EP will be released in the summer of 2016 and a six-part TV series about her musical journey premieres May 10 on APTN. You can watch the trailer here: http://facethemusictv.com


Logan Staats

The Mohawk, Turtle clan songster was born on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and raised in the nearby ghost town of Brantford, Ontario. Guitar and harmonica in hand, the twenty-something Staats was also the lead singer of award-winning band Ghost Town Orchestra. Staats’ songs belong to him. His presence says clearly, “Here I am.” Staats realized what music could be by sneaking into local bars as a teen. There, he marvelled at the effect musicians had on their audience. He began to write and performed for the first time as an awkward but earnest 16 year old. Now, the young multi-instrumentalist produces passionate and compulsive music. Sadness and joy animate his performances, and Staats takes stages with an aura of inevitability, capturing not only audiences, but the feeling he had so many years ago watching local artists on stage. Good Bye Goldia, Staats’ first full-length, solo studio album was released on Aboriginal Solidarity Day, June 21, 2015.

Laura Ortman

Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache) is a Brooklyn composer, musician, and visual artist. She continually collaborates with artists, filmmakers, dancers and musicians from New York, New Mexico, Italy and Canada. She has performed, recorded and toured with New York bands Stars Like Fleas and The Dust Dive. She’s been awarded artist residencies at the Rauschenberg Residency in Captiva, Florida, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York. In 2008, she founded the Coast Orchestra, an all-Native American orchestral ensemble performing the 1914 original score live accompaniment to photographer Edward Curtis’s film “In the Land of the Head Hunters” to sold-out audiences at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Ortman releases her third solo album My Soul Remainer in 2016 recorded and co-produced by Martin Bisi.

Ostwelve

Ron Dean Harris (Ostwelve), was born in the Sto:lo Territory of BC in 1979 where he grew up with his grandparents until he was 13, leaving his small town home for Vancouver in order to find hip hop and himself. Music has always been an integral part of his life, with a mother who played percussion, a father who played guitar and many uncles and grandparents with musical love and talent. Ostwelve has been acting, rapping, and film-making, landing a principal character role on the APTN/Showcase drama Moccasin Flats. He has also been travelling the world showcasing his talent, from the Nokia Jam in Johannesburg to the North American Indigenous Games in Duncan, BC and has shared the stage with Coolio, Snoop Dogg, Guru, K’naan, Living Legends, Litefoot, Rez Official, Digging Roots and Kinnie Starr. He is currently writing a new album titled Since Rhyme Immemorial which looks back at the basics of why he got into hip hop and focuses on the craft of lyricism in rap.

Nick Sherman

Singer-songwriter, Nick Sherman, gives new meaning to “the voice in the wilderness,” or rather, the voice from the wilderness. While he still calls his rural birthplace of Sioux Lookout home, Sherman spent much of his youth out on the land, moving between his hometown, the small First Nation community of Weagamow Lake, and his family’s trapline on North Caribou Lake. It was here in the depths of the Northern Ontario forest that his family members would play guitar as they tended their trapline, and Nick found himself soaking in songs and lyrics. His gentle voice is rich with honesty and the vitality of youth, but tempered with world-weariness, atop his strong, simple guitar. Nick’s deeply personal songs are inspired by the lives of people in his community, his own upbringing and life experiences as he now raises his own family in Canada’s north. In this way his Indigenous heritage resonates with soul-brushing candour as he sings the boreal forest blues. Nick released his first full-length album, Drag Your Words Through, in 2012 followed by Knives and Wildrice in May 2015.

Lacey Hill

Lacey Erin Hill – Oneida, Wolf Clan, born and raised on Six Nations of The Grand River Reserve, ON. Lacey always had a passion for music and singing. At the age of 16, she had her first opportunity to see what the studio was like cutting a cover demo, which planted the musical seed deep within her soul. At the age of 22, she joined well-known local group The Breeze Band as a back-up vocalist and toured throughout Canada and the US, eventually earning a nomination at the Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards. After the band split, Lacey has been writing and composing her own music, releasing her debut album 528 in 2013 with another on the way this year.

Rosary Spence

Originally from the coastal Cree community of Fort Albany First Nation, off the coast of James Bay, Rosary Spence is an Indigenous singer, steeped in time-honoured Aboriginal rhythms and styles. Spence has performed at the ImagineNative Film Festival, Planet IndigenUS, and as an opening act for various events and conferences. Spence prides herself as an established self-taught vocalist, but has also studied at The Banff Centre For The Arts. Spence’s debut album (released May 2015), titled Maskawasiwin, a Cree word for Strength, is dedicated to all of the teachings and teachers whom have provided her with strength thus far in her life’s journey. Maskawasiwin brings forward a recording that depicts the range of Spence’s musical ability, from traditional vocables, to acoustic rhythms, and modern urban fusions.

The Johnnys

The Johnnys is a high-energy beat-driven rock duo founded by singer & guitar player Veronica Johnny (of Cree and Dene heritage) with drummer and partner Dave Johnny. Described as “real, rebellious, swaggering rock’n’roll”, The Johnnys perform live as a two-piece to four-piece band and also facilitate music & inspirational workshops for schools, festivals, bands, organizations & individuals. The duo formed the group in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, inspired by early rock’n’roll and the first wave of punk with their commitment to fast tempos, stripped-down arrangements and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. They’ve played across Canada, been featured on TV and film and shared stages with such music luminaries as Geordie Johnson (Big Sugar), Stevie Salas, Bruce Cockburn, Jonny Lang, Keith Secola, Crystal Shawanda and Kinnie Starr. The band’s albums, I Like It A Lot and Louder Faster More Fun, were both nominated for Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

http://www.thejohnnys.com

Enter-Tribal is a refreshingly unique duo coming out of the native community. Chief Rock (Cayuga) & Jb The First Lady (Cayuga/Nuxalk) both bring dynamic energy to the stage demonstrating their passion and love for their music and community. Their fusion of traditional Haudenosaunee sounds with modern Hip Hop beats is seamless.

Tour dates:

May 3 – Capitol Centre Theatre, North Bay, ON
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Laura Ortman)

May 4 – Big Medicine Studio, Nipissing First Nation, ON
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Laura Ortman)

May 6 – Coalition, Toronto, ON
(Rosary Spence, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Laura Ortman, The Johnnys)

May 7 – Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, ON
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Laura Ortman, Lacey Hill)

May 12 – Debajehmujig Creation Centre, Manitowaning, ON
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Laura Ortman)

May 14 – The Foundry, Thunder Bay, ON
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Logan Staats, Nick Sherman, Laura Ortman)

May 20 – Lytton Block Party, Lytton, BC
(Kristi Lane Sinclair, Enter-Tribal)

May 21 – Victoria Event Centre, Victoria, BC
(Enter-Tribal, Ostwelve, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Paint The Town Red)

May 24 – Fairview Pub, Vancouver, BC
(Enter-Tribal, Ostwelve, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Laura Ortman)

May 26-29 – Haida Gwaii Territory, BC (school shows)

May 28 – Mile Zero Pub, Massett (TBC)
(Enter-Tribal, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Ostwelve)

Listen to music here: https://soundcloud.com/red-ride-tour

MUSKRAT is an on-line Indigenous arts, culture magazine that honours the connection between humans and our traditional ecological knowledge by exhibiting original works and critical commentary. MUSKRAT embraces both rural and urban settings and uses media arts, the Internet, and wireless technology to investigate and disseminate traditional knowledges in ways that inspire their reclamation. - Muskrat Magazine

The Johnnys are loud, fast, and fun!

I met The Johnnys last month at the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto. A fun bunch, they are kind, charismatic, and very chill.

Interviewing Veronica Johnny and Oriana Barbato for XTRA!, The Johnnys let me hang in their studio during their practice session for West Fest Ottawa 2011. They were also gracious enough to sing a song for blackcoffeepoet.com. View the video at: https://youtu.be/Ql0MnyN9QBE

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Black Coffee Poet - Black Coffee Poet

If you are looking for high-energy entertainment, grounded in original songwriting, heart and soul, I recommend The Johnnys for a rockin’ good time.

Laurie Sarkadi, editor EDGEYK magazine, producer, singer-songwriter - EDGEYK magazine

Real, rebellious, swaggering rock and roll. Makes you want to fuck or fight. Or fuck, fight, and then fuck again. (LM) Sled Island 2010 - Sled Island Website

When the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards are televised tonight from Winnipeg, East York-area delegates The Johnnys will be there.
The rock group, led by husband and wife duo Veronica and Dave Johnny, were nominated for Best Duo or Group, Best New Artist and Best Rock CD for their debut studio album, “I Like It A Lot.” The CD was released in 2007, and its popularity among friends and fans led to their nominations on the long and short lists for awards.
As grateful as she is for their nominations, singer Veronica Johnny emphasized what good company The Johnnys are in.
“(If we win) for Best Rock CD, I’ll be amazed,” she said. “My jaw will be on the floor because we’re up against such big names.”
The show is being carried live tonight, Nov. 7, on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and on Bell Express Vu.
Drummer Dave Johnny was just as thrilled to be nominated, but stressed the importance of how the awards are chosen.
“It’s exciting to be part of a national event,” he said. “The Peoples Choice is entirely driven by the voting public, so we felt pretty thankful and grateful that friends and family and people took the time to support us and vote for us. That’s pretty special.”
Dave and Veronica first started the band in 2003 when the two lived in the Northwest Territories. Dave explained that music was a good way for them to amuse themselves, but that they didn’t start taking it seriously until they moved to Toronto a couple years ago.
The two seem born to make music, but their roots lie in very different musical worlds. Dave grew up on KISS and AC/DC, while Veronica began her career in traditional folk music.
But shortly after they met, Veronica discovered the rasping rock’n’roller insider her and there was no turning back.
“I wanted to shout,” she said. “I was singing all this soft, flowery music and I really just wanted to shout it out.”
Dave had a more auspicious rock genesis than his bride.
“(Music) has been a big part of my life since I was a little kid,” he said. I was listening to songs when I was too young to understand what the references to booze and women were all about.”
His demands to his parents for a drum set were met with organ lessons and a trumpet.
But eventually he got his first drums – from someone’s curbside trash.

The Johnnys rock their way to music award nominations - By Drew Brenner (East Toronto Observer, Nov. 7/08)

- East Toronto Observer

It’s a very well known fact that rock music in general has always had an anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment, DIY sociopolitical stance, philosophically and lyrically, and it would seem the perfect fit for a musical artist from the Native community.

Raging hard out of the Great White North, The JOHNNYS come at us like a runaway freight train with a sound that has been likened to Joan Jett meets The Donnas, or something between Wednesday 13 with a taste of feminine L.A. Gunns. For some reason, I am reminded of the premier punk husband and wife team from X; John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Arguably the best to have come from that movement.
The JOHNNYS CD title track, "I Like It A Lot," comes on with fast, hard drumming, chunky power chords  and raw, sexual nihilism in the lyrics that is characteristically reminiscent of classic punk.

"I’m Hot (I Get What I Want)" oozes punk attitude all over your CD player, and it’s the raw, sexual nihilism of the sound that is cool. Driving like a freight train straight to your dancing bones there is excellent guitar work in the break to a nice cut and vocal refrain. This is very cool and professional.
"Kon Tiki" is a reference to the ocean-crossing voyage of Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer on a raft made in the New World across the Pacific to the Philippines. The lyric should make the political stance a little bit clearer, but this is an intelligent approach to the craft and shows that The JOHNNYS are thinking about what they’re saying.

The song "Two Steps Forward" is very stark, very spare with a lighter sentiment, but it still rocks hard. These people have studied and they understand the nuances and textures of the genre. This piece has excellent female vocals in the tone of the genre.

"Who’s Your Mama" has an R-and-B inspired intro riff that leads to the feminist rallying cry of the new millennium done with plenty of attitude. This song rocks like a runaway freight train.

Veronica Johnny took part in the Aboriginal Music Lab at Vancouver Community College this summer (2007), where she said she was able to connect with other Aboriginal songwriters and try out something new. "I wrote my first traditional Aboriginal song while I was there...It was a dream come true for me."

This is such an incredible thing about Native American talent. You see we get to do these things. Here is a woman who can rock the house down, then walk down to the lake and sing a prayer song to the Creator for sharing all this beauty with us. "I believe that whatever it is you want to do in life, you should just do it," she said. "Don’t listen to what anybody says, just do it."

So, OK, Nike you better move MJ aside, he’s gonna get run over by VJ and The JOHNNYS.


CD Review: The JOHNNYS - "I Like It A Lot" by Jamison Mahto, Reporter for Indigenous in the News

Indigenous In Music CD Review - www.iicoc.com
- Indigenous in the News

“The Johnnys have been together for only a year, but their sound in live shows display the professionalism and energy of a group that’s been around for much longer.”

Susan White, Slave River Journal
2004
- Slave River Journal

Fort Smith’s own high-energy rock’n’roll band The Johnnys have made the final round of voting for the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, and are calling on their fans to vote online before Oct. 17.
The Johnnys are up for three awards: Best Duo or Group, Best New Artist, and Best Rock CD, for their 2007 debut album I Like It A Lot. The Johnnys will also be performing at the Awards Show, Nov. 7 in Winnipeg, which will be broadcast live across the country on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Bell Vue Express.
The Aboriginal Peoples Choice Awards means a lot to The Johnnys, said Dave Johnny, drummer and backup vocalist, because the awards are entirely driven by the voting public.
“We’re in the running for these awards because friends, family and people who like our music have supported us,” he said, “and we’re very grateful for that.”
He added that on a professional level, winning awards like these are an opportunity to open doors. “We’ve observed others in the industry win awards and go on to play bigger venues, with increased visibility.”
“For the last two years, we’ve not-so-quietly been transforming what was a sub-arctic garage band into a nationally recognized rock ’n’ roll act,” Johnny said. “I’m not saying we’re there yet; it is part of stitching together pockets of enthusiasm we have across Canada and the US and building on that.”
Voting can be done at www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com– anyone can vote. Since this is the final round of voting, if you voted in the first round you can vote again.
Dave and Veronica Johnny are based in Toronto for practical reasons, but have not forgotten their roots in Fort Smith. The band spent this summer recording demos in Fort Smith for their upcoming second album, Louder, Faster, More Fun that will be released in the spring of 2009.
“Last month someone from Fort Smith showed up at one of our Toronto shows,” Dave said, “and reminded us how, a few years back, he and his friends would hang around the end of our driveway in Fort Smith on Fridays, listening to us rehearse. No hassles, no noise complaints. Then we moved south and the neighbours called the cops every time we practiced. I wrote the song “I Like It A Lot” about the driveway kids vs. the uptight yuppie neighbours.”
The Johnnys will be back in the North to play Yellowknife’s NACC in January 2009.

By SHAWN BELL, SRJ Reporter 15.OCT.08

- Slave River Journal

“YOU WANNA ROCK?! Well if you did, you should have been there when Veronica Johnny, through sheer force of will, brought everyone in the place to a crescendo of revelry as only she can.”

Don Jaque, Slave River Journal
Februrary 2004 - Slave River Journal

Veronica Johnny was walking down the road one day in her hometown of Fort Smith when she spotted a man she'd never seen before.
She knew immediately that it was Dave Johnny, a new drummer in town that her friend Richard had been telling her about.
She called out.
"You must be Veronica," he said, having also heard about her from their mutual friend.

It didn't take long before the two started a cover band with some other local musicians called the Whisky Dicks. Though the two got on well, they were both involved in other romantic relationships.
Then it came time for them to play at the Open Sky Festival in Fort Simpson.
"Interestingly enough and weirdly enough, I had broken up with my (significant other) two days before we left for this festival and so had Dave," she recalls.
On the way to the gig, the other band members were asleep in the back of the truck, and the two had some time to get to know each other.
By the end of the trip, they had hooked up.
They kept playing together with the Whisky Dicks until their vision grew into something else.
"One day in Smith he said, 'You know what? I'm not going to play with anyone who plays covers from this point forward. If you want me to drum for you, it has to be an original song,'" she said.
With the few original songs they had already written, they started their current project, The Johnnys. After only two months into the relationship, they decided to get married.

After a few years of jamming in their living room on St. Anne's Street (or Sesame Street as she calls it) the couple decided to move to Ontario, where her husband is from.
"We were gigging and trying to gig in the North, and we just found it really hard to get out-of-town gigs and to get any kind of exposure at all or experience," she said.

Since moving to Toronto, Johnny has been musically involved with many people, but her main focus is ultimately the music of The Johnnys. She said that band alone has had numerous members, with she and her husband at the core, but that lately things seem a little more solid.
"I'm really used to the city and the people and the movements and the craziness that is Toronto ... I'm quite comfortable here now and we've gotten to know a lot of musicians," she said.
"The hardest thing is the money. It's the getting your name out there, getting the publicity and the marketing and just the high quality products now," she said.
Countless unpaid gigs have been played in the city but with the friends they've made, The Johnnys have managed to put out an album of original tunes called "I Like It A Lot," which was produced and engineered by Dave and Veronica, respectively.

She said The Johnnys are at a point now where things are starting to get bigger. She was even featured on the cover of the music edition of Spirit Magazine.
"We feel like we're at a pro level now and now we're actively looking for management and booking agents and we'd definitely love to hear from record labels," she said.
So what's it like being in a band with her husband?
"Some couples go golfing. We rock out," she said. "And we're so lucky we get to do that as a married couple."

The Johnnys aside, the Fort Smith native is disinclined to forget her roots. She makes trips home whenever possible, especially at Christmas, and brings her music with her.

She also took part in the Vancouver for Aboriginal Music Lab at Vancouver Community College this summer, where she said she was able to connect with other aboriginal songwriters and try out something new.
"I wrote my first traditional aboriginal song while I was there ... It was a dream come true for me - I've been always wanting to do that," she said. "I never felt like I was good enough to write a traditional song and just the people that I met and the connections that we made really just gave me the strength to do it."
Johnny said she'd like to get into Cree music on a bigger scale. Something else she'd like to get into, she said, is to become a positive role model for young aboriginal women.

"I believe that whatever it is that you want to do in life, you should just do it," she said. "Don't listen to what anybody says, just do it."


Smith native lives her dream with the Johnnys - by Laura Power,
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 10, 2007 - Northern News Services

It’s like pouring gas on a flame; spontaneous rock’n’roll combustion that’s gritty, fast and fun. These rapid-fire, three-minute anthems by a new band on the scene will make you wanna shake it all over. The Johnnys, originally from the Northwest Territories, feature singer/guitarist Veronica Johnny.

She met drummer Dave Johnny, the two got together, played in a band, and as fast as one of their tunes, they were hitched – in head-to-toe black leather, of course. It’s up-tempo rock with roots in old-school rock’n’roll and classic punk sensibility. Their uninhibited, full-throttle music invites you to forget your worries and let the good times roll.

Now based in Toronto, Veronica and Dave are accompanied onstage by a bassist and lead guitar. Their first full-length album is slated for release in this fall on independent Aboriginal label Slave River Records.

Who are you influences?
Joan Jett/The Runaways, Little Richard, Spinal Tap

Favourite part about making music?
For a lot of married couples, splicing up time can be a chore. Hubby’s doing his thing, the wife’s doing hers, or worse, they both pretend to like golf to have some quality time together. Being in a rock’n’roll group is the best line of work I can think of, and Dave and I get to do it together. As for live shows, I love seeing people cut loose, leave their troubles behind and just have fun dancing.

www.myspace.com/thejohnnysrock

Spirit Magazine - 2006 Arts issue
www.spiritmag.ca - Spirit Magazine