A Encounter of Indigenous Alaskan Native musicians from the northern most tribes in the US. Your journey into the Mysterious and Enchanted land of the Athabascan Gwich'in Indians brings Fantastic beats, rhythms and rich harmonies of Native
Rock and Soul

8 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Roots Rock, WORLD: Native American



Details:
Singer/songwriter Pete Peter is one of Alaskaâs most unique artists and a leading voice in Athabascan Gwich'in Indian music. He blends the Gwich'in and English languages with Rock and Soul music arrangements to tell the stories of his people, the Athabascan Gwich'in the northern most tribe in the United States.

It was also an honor to play music with Athabascan legendary fiddler; Bill Stevens when we went on a tour in KY, VA, and OH at the Whitesburg, Kentucky; Mountain Heritage Festival, Seed Time on the Cumberland Festival, and the Honey Festival. Observing so many diversity of music there had tremendous influence on my style for Athabascan Gwichâin music writings. I hope you enjoy our ancient languages and Native American chanting of Alaska.

REVIEW from the Fairbanks,AK Daily News Miner:

Indian Pete' attracts national attention!

By Jeff Richardson
Published November 16, 2006

Pete Peter has never had a wake-up call quite like the one he got last Friday morning.

Peter, a sergeant who has served in the Alaska National Guard for the past 22 years, got an unannounced Veterans Day call from National Native News, a radio program based in Albuquerque, N.M. They wanted to discuss âNative American Soldier,â his new album, which salutes his heritage as both a Native Alaskan and member of the military. The show was broadcasting live at the time.

âI had to skip the coffee real quick,â Peter said with a chuckle. âI had to wake up fast.â

Peter, who was raised in Venetie and lives in Fairbanks, has needed to get used to that kind of attention since his âAthabascan rock and soulâ album was released a few months ago. Its unusual blend has attracted enough praise that heâs hopeful it will be considered for a Native American Music Award next year, and has provided samples of the title track and âGeronimoâs Point.â

Itâs a big step for Peter and his band, Indian Pete and the Band of Brothers. Although heâs âpushing 40,â he said with a laugh, heâd never considered making an album until playing the drums on a CD his uncle made in 2002.

âI was like, âhey, I can do this too,ââ he said.

The title track, âNative American Soldier,â is dedicated to Alaska Army National Guard 297th infantry company, which is currently serving in Iraq, along with the memories of Sgt. William Brown and Sgt. William Dauma, who died in a vehicle accident while training in Mississippi.

Other songs have gained praise because theyâre sung in the Athabascan Gwichâin language, which is in danger of fading away. Kathy Sikorski, a Gwichâin instructor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said that including languages in popular music is a good step toward preserving them.

âThereâs a big movement for Native language revitalization in the state right now, because weâre losing them,â she said.

Although Indian Pete and the Band of Brothers played at the Arctic Bar through the summer, Peter said it was hard to find time to record their CD locally at 10th Planet Records. The band members came from Barrow, Nome, Allakaket and Pelly Crossing in Canada.

âThatâs the hard part,â he said. âItâs like trying to round up your dog team to get everyone to work together at the same time.â

Songs from his CD are being played on radio stations in Nome and Barrow, along with KNBA in Anchorage, Peter said. He also has landed attention at the Athabascan Fiddlers Festival and the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. Itâs selling locally at Beads ân Things, among other spots.

The band is currently working on its second album.

Mah siâ cho- Pete J. Peter,
http://www.myspace.com/venetie

"If you have good dreams, obey them in your heartsâ Spoken by the Late; Nena Roberts (Shih Ts'u Choo) (Venetie Indian Reservation-Tribal healer)