Changing folks' attitudes

Page 7

Who: Laura Vinson and Free Spirit.

What: Launch of a new CD called Point of the Arrow.

Question:

I noticed the new album has a lot to do with Aboriginal issues. Is this something you always wanted to do?

Answer:

I've always been inspired by people like Buffy Sainte-Marie. She was my original inspiration, and Joan Baez and people that do message songs. I've always thought that was important to do with music. And, you know, when I did country for all those years, it was more your commercial country music, except for songs like "Mes amis o Canada", which is very much a message song. This is the first time it has ever been on an album. It was written over 20 years ago, but it's about Quebec separating and unfortunately it is still relevant.

I started doing some writing for film and using the Native imagery and poetry in the lyrics and it was so easy and beautiful to work with and it was like, "Yeah, this is, artistically, what I've been missing as a songwriter." Plus the fact that there is just a lot of things people don't know about our culture and our people and what's happened to them that would bring about a lot more understanding.

Like when we perform "Voices" live on stage, we talk about losing 10 million people in the 100 years after white contact and people don't even know that their was that many people here. And that kind of generational loss has created immense problems for our people and they try and cure it with alcohol and drugs and it doesn't work. It makes it worse. And when you talk about that to a predominately white audience, I've had people come back and say "You know, I never understood that. I didn't know that that many people had died. I didn't know that that created that kind of a problem." And it really turns their head around to looking at if they see somebody on the street that's down and out and it's a Native person, then they go, "oh, maybe that person has a reason to be like that," instead of going "oh, just another dirty, drunken Indian." So its that kind of thing that I think is really important, as well as, our own people don't know some of their own stories and their own histories, and why we are what we are. And what a great culture we have. . . There's lot of messages that can be presented through music, other than, "Oh, have another beer."

Question:

If you were to narrow it down, what would be your favorite song off the album?

Answer:

Well, I guess, my current favorite to do is "Petite Marie." It's such an emotional tune and it just came off so good, I enjoy singing it. I probably will always love "Voices on the Wind." It will probably be one of my favorites songs forever, but it's always your newest, freshest ones that are your favorites. It's hard to be objective and pick one. They're all my babies.

Question:

Any plans for the new year?

Answer:

We're hoping to get things rolling in Europe, 'cause that's a really great market for us. All of our things abroad are a little more well received than here, because of the novelty. People see Native dancers and everything here all the time and its kind of "Oh, ho, hum," but when you do something over there, they are just blown away. They are just fascinated by anything you can tell them.

Question:

Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years from now?

Answer:

Well, it would surprise me if I wasn't still writing songs and I hope to perform as long as I can. But it's very hard work to sell yourselves, and right now we're doing that, and go out and hussle gigs. The market is very small and, like even the festivals don't have a lot of money, so to try and bring a seven piece show along it makes it quite difficult. What I would really like to see in the next few years, I'd love to see what's happened with an African band in Europe. They spend 200 dates in Europe in one theatre and they do their shows every night for 200 nights, and it's jammed every night and then they go back home to Africa for a little holiday and then they come back ad they do it again the next year. And I thought "Wow, would that ever be fabulous."