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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2009)
Smoke Signals 9 OCTOBER 15, 2009 'I can't thank everyone enough tfoir this honor' NAMMY continued from front page can flute garnered him the Native American Music Award's Artist of the Year honors on Oct. 3 when the 11th annual awards were an nounced at the Seneca Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y. "I can't thank everyone enough for this honor," Reibach said from his McMinnville home on Friday, Oct. 9. " 'The Looking Wolf Project' CD took over a year to record. We really put our hearts into it. The Native American Music Awards have become a healing force to Na tive communities across the nation by providing recognition of Native artists and through their programs that outreach to impoverished res ervations." Reibach, last year's NAMMY Flutist of the Year, received three nominations for "The Looking Wolf Project" Artist of the Year, Re cord of the Year and Best Instru mental Recording. In addition, Reibach's appear ance in "The Legend of Tillamook's . Gold," a family movie filmed in Or egon in 2005, received a Best Music Video hod. Reibach appears in the video with Floyd Red Crow Westerman ("Danc es With Wolves"), who walked on in 2007, and plays flute. "The Looking Wolf Project," re leased in 2008, was produced by Keith Sommers with contributions from Grammy Award-winning song writer George Noriega. It features Native flute-infused rock, as well as Reibach singing on several tracks, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin On Heaven's Door." It has sold more than 100,000 copies since its release, a considerable number for an independent, Na-tive-themed release. In the Artist of the Year category, Reibach was joined by Arvel Bird (Southern Paiute), Jana Mashonee (Lumbee), Jim Boyd (Colville), Kevin Locke (LakotaHunkpapa Sioux and Anishinaabe) and Tony Redhouse (Dine). This is the first time a Native American flute album has taken Artist of the Year," Reibach said. The reception from fellow NAMMY members and artists has been great. The academy really liked it and a lot of Grand Ronde Tribal members worked to get the vote out." NAMMYs are awarded on a formula that includes 35 percent public voting. Reibach experienced a few tense moments at the NAMMY Awards ceremony. After losing in the other three categories, his only chance to win boiled down to the Artist of the Year cntegory, which he thought Mashonee had a lock on. He had Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. sitting with him and knew nbout 40 Tribal members, in cluding his father, Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council member Jan Reibnch Sr., were at co-worker Ann -Ie wis home watching the event. "I was starting to sweat," he re calls. "Jana had just given a spec tacular Beyonce-like performance. When they announced my name, for r- lb j tM4( V Hwfi V LmK 1 a I KM Looking Wolf to perform Grand Ronde Tribal member and recently crowned Native American Mu sic Awards Artist of the Year Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at the Historic Grand Theatre in Salem. He also will lead a workshop from 4 to 6 p.m. that day for aspiring flut ists to learn techniques, flute history and style. Players from novice to very experienced will benefit from the session. Reibach has taught more than 1,200 people how to play the flute and taught accredited courses for four years in Native flute technique and his tory at Oregon State University. Tickets for the performance and workshop are available at the theater office, 1 87 High St. N.E., Suite 400. Salem, or call the theater at 503-362-' 9185 or e-mail managerhistoricgrandtheater.com for more information. Tickets are $1 00 for the workshop and a flute, or $30 for the workshop if you have your own flute; and $15 in advance for the concert or $20 at the door. Concert tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door for children under 1 2 and Elders 55 and older. the first time I was speechless ... I lost motor function for a moment." Upon his return to McMinnville, he faced 800 congratulatory e-mails in his Internet in-hox. "I'm still in shock," he says. However, Reibach knows what he wants to do with the NAMMY Art ist of the Year award translate it into a project that helps Native youth fight drug and alcohol addiction. He is working on a multimedia project that will include a remix of the "Looking WoIT Project" song "Ad diction." It will include a video, the new song "One tast Sunrise" and an as-yct-unnnmed instrumental. The video, which will be shot in early December in Salem, will fea ture Reibach and his band telling Native youth that for them to rock hard, they need to stay clean and sober. The credits will list contact information for organizations that help Native youth battle drug and alcohol addiction. "I thought, 'How can I use this award?' Book a bigger concert? Yes, but I can use the popular ity and credibility to reach out to Tribal youth and do something on a national level. ... I want to do something good and serve the title Artist of the Year in a really honor- Above, Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., left, and Tribal member Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach, right, present an award with Marshall Tall Eagle (Apache) during the 1 1th annual Native American Music Awards. Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach, Tribal member and the Tribe's Lands Manager, accepts his award for being named Artist of the Year for his album "The Looking Wolf Project." Submitted photos able way." Reibach, the Tribe's Lands Man ager, is a Kalapuya Native. He has released 14 recordings and gar nered more than 30 music award nominations since 2004. This is the first time he has won the pres tigious Artist of the Year award at the NAMMYs. Rejbach attended and performed, and Bobb Sr. attended to help pres ent the Best Traditional Recording award. Bobb paid for his own trip . to the event. Although he was pondering re tirement last year, Reibach now says the Creator keeps opening doors for him centered on playing Native American flute. "None of this has been contrived," he says. "I didn't plan it out. If you give me the key to a door or an open door, I will walk through it. But I won't knock down any door. "It looks like I'm in it for awhile. I'll take it one day at a time, one gig at a time, one note at a time and one breath at a time." On another awards front, Reibach's new CD "Diversity" is a finalist for Best Traditional Flute Recording in the Canadian Aborigi nal Music Awards, which will be held Nov. 27 at the Hamilton Place Theatre in Ontario, Canada, as well as being considered for a Grammy Award nomination. D
