NAMA to be broadcast on Satellite TV

On Sunday, June 1st, at 2:00PM, the highly esteemed Native American Music Awards will be broadcast in over 18 million households as a featured two-hour televised special on CoLours TV. CoLours TV can be found in all 50 states in the top 100 TV markets through the EchoStar/Dish Network channel 9407 and on local cable affiliates, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A rebroadcast of the Awards program is scheduled for Sunday, June 8th from 2:00 to 4:00PM. The Awards program can also be viewed live through CoLours' online presence at www.colourstv.org.

CoLours TV was created by Black Star Communications (BSC), a non-profit corporation organized to operate exclusively for civic, charitable, and educational purposes. The CoLours TV network has set out to be a voice of authority for America's multicultural community. Today, they are in over 18 million television households which accounts for more than 40 million viewers. CoLours' technical information is Satellite Intelsat Americas 13, Transponder 6.

The Ninth Annual Native American Music Awards show was recently held at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York, and taped in front of a live audience. This two hour broadcast program features award presentations, special guest appearances and live performances in all genres of music by leading artists of Native American heritage from North America. Featured performers include; Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Joanne Shenandoah and Bill Miller, South Dakota's Brule' & AIRO (Group of the Year), Buffalo's own Tonemah (Best Folk Recording), Upstate New York's Corn Bred (Best Blues Recording) Lumbee pop artist Jana (Best Pop Recording), Gary Small & the Coyote Bros (Best Rock Recording), Drum group Pipestone (Record of the Year), Nightshield with Maniac the Siouxpernatural (Best Rap Recording), the traditional Iroquois Dancers, nominees Digging Roots, and Jan Michael Looking Wolf with renowned Latin music producer, George Noriega. Other special guest presenters include; Beth Wray Webb (Daughter of the late Link Wray), Keith Secola, and Wayquay among others.

Founded a decade ago in May of 1998, the critically acclaimed Native American Music Awards is the country's leading membership based association consisting of music industry professionals directly involved in the recording and distribution of traditional and contemporary Native American music initiatives.

Support for the Ninth Annual Native American Music Awards' broadcast was received by the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI), the Shokopee Mdewankaton Sioux Community and The Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel is a premiere entertainment destination and features the largest hotel in Western New York with breathtaking views of one of the most incredible natural sites in the world, Niagara Falls.

A DVD of the Ninth Annual Native American Music Awards is available for purchase on the Music Store Page at www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com .

Weekend Events: May 23 - 25

You can alway check out the Northern California Flute Circle Calendar to see what's happening further out, but I encourage you to login every week to review what's coming up for the weekend events!

Native American Flute related events and other World music events happening in Northern California are posted on the Naflute calendar.

NOTE: If I missed an event for the weekend, please add a comment with event info so that others can know!

Saturday, May 24

• Valley Clan Flute Circle, 3-5PM, Napa, CA

Sunday, May 25

• Joaquin Clan Flute Circle, 2 PM, Modesto CA

Weekend Events: May 16 - 18

You can alway check out the Northern California Flute Circle Calendar to see what's happening further out, but I encourage you to login every week to review what's coming up for the weekend events!

Native American Flute related events and other World music events happening in Northern California are posted on the Naflute calendar.

NOTE: If I missed an event for the weekend, please add a comment with event info so that others can know!

Sunday, May 18

• Loping Wolf Flute Circle, LOP Clubhouse 1 - 3:00 PM
• Bay Clan Flute Circle2 - 4 PM, San Jose, CA

Microsoft Worldwide Telescope Launches today

This is a software telescope, but it might just as well be the most powerful telescope in the world. If you love looking at the stars, like I do, then you'll appreciate this project. It's a new technology out of the Microsoft labs and this is the first time it's been made available to the public.

The software provides an interface which shows you the night time sky. You are able to navigate around the universe and see all of the stars, constellations and planets as they would appear in the sky. You can fly light years across the universe to see far away objects. All of the stars and galaxies are in the appropriate configuration relative to each other. It's like being on a spaceship that you can fly anywhere in the universe!

The interface is intuitive to use and takes little time to get the hang of navigating around. All of the images displayed are public images taken from the most powerful telescopes (Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra). The key differences between looking at the image on the various telescope sights is that you get an appreciation for how detailed the images are and how far away the objects are, as you fly out to view the various objects.

The installation of the software is not for the timid. Unfortunately this is still a 'lab product' so you'll need to install several additional components on your computer to make it all work. (e.g. Microsoft .NET Framework plus other stuff) I was fortunate that my computer already had all of the prerequisite software installed for work. But if you have a powerful enough computer (check the requirements) and a few PC skills, it should be easy enough. You won't be disappointed!

You'll also need a fast internet connection as it downloads the high quality images of the various objects.

If you're not up to downloading and installed this first version (I am sure it'll get easier with each release...) then at least check out the videos that they have posted which show the software in action.

Link to download: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org

Valley Clan Flute Circle this weekend

Just a quick note to remind the wine country folks that there will be a Valley Clan Flute Circle this weekend.

What: Valley Clan Flute Circle
When: May 24, 2008
Time: 3-5 PM
Location: 1388 Mt. Veeder Rd., Napa Valley, CA

We'll break for dinner at 5, so bring a dish to share and continue jamming for those who want to stay

Complete details here: http://www.naflute.com/Valley_location.html

Bay Clan Flute Circle this weekend

Just a quick note to remind bay area folks that there will be a Bay Clan Flute Circle this weekend.

EVENT: May Bay Clan Flute Circle
DATE: Sunday, May 18th, 2008
TIME: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Trinity Lutheran Church 1500 Leigh Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125
HOST: Julie Ryan
ORGANIZER: Frankie Sierra, f dot sierra at comcast dot net

SCHEDULE:
2:00 PM: Arrival, setup and social
2:15 PM: Talk about recording the flute
2:30 PM: Open Mic Playing
3:00 PM: Snacks and social
3:15 PM: Open Mic Playing
3:50 PM: Wrap up and Cleanup

More details here: http://www.naflute.com/bayclan_location.html

New Online Guitar, Keyboard and Drum lessons from iVideosong.com

I just discovered this very cool, online music lesson site. They offer guitar, keyboard and drum (drumkit) lessons. It's all pop music, but I love the concept. They are compiling a catalog of video lessons for songs, where you learn the song by watching how the chords are played. It's ingenious, and it looks like its got some really good backing. If you've every struggled to learn to play a song by listening to the CD, this will be a huge help. The lessons are well thought out and presented.

http://www.ivideosongs.com/songs/tutorials/acoustic-guitar.aspx

Here's a like to their Acoustic Guitar lessons feed: http://stream.ivideosongs.com/podcasts/itunes/ivs_acousticguitartechniques.xml

If you have iTunes and listen to podcasts, then you can subscribe here: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=278942067

Please let me know what you think about this idea by posting a comment.

The Flute Portal

Hey, if you haven't checked out the Flute Portal in a while, you need to hop on over and check out all of the great contents in the Forums. I think that the Flute Portal is finally reaching critical mass with the number of folks online and contributing. There is a ton of information already online, and it's a great place to find answers to your questions.

Weekend Events: May 9 - 11

You can alway check out the Northern California Flute Circle Calendar to see what's happening further out, but I encourage you to login every week to review what's coming up for the weekend events!

Native American Flute related events and other World music events happening in Northern California are posted on the Naflute calendar.

NOTE: If I missed an event for the weekend, please add a comment with event info so that others can know!

Friday, May 9

• Stanford Pow Wow, 5 PM - 11 PM, Stanford Campus, Palo Alto CA

Saturday, May 10

• Valley Clan Flute Circle, Noon - 5 PM, Napa Valley CA
• Workshop with Scott August, 1 - 2:30 PM, Napa Valley, CA
• River School Benefit Concert with Scott August, 7:30, Napa Valley
• Stanford Pow Wow, 8:30 AM - 11 PM, Stanford Campus, Palo Alto CA

Sunday, May 11

• Call your MOM!
• Stanford Pow Wow, 8:30 AM - 6 PM, Stanford Campus, Palo Alto CA

Hawk Littlejohn G Flute for auction on eBay

There's a really nice Hawk Littlejohn flute for sale on ebay. It's in the key of G from 1994 and looks to be made from cedar. I can't vouch for the seller, but this is an excellent opportunity to own a piece of history. Hawk was far and away one of the most influential Native American flute makers of the 20th century.

Also, the picture above shows the Cherokee Wrap that Hawk fashioned on some of his flutes. Mac Lopez also does this same style of wrap. He learned it from Hawk.

Auction link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120259007464

Mary Youngblood Retreat hosted by Loping Wolf

I just heard from Dan and Sheree this evening about the success of the Mary Youngblood Retreat that they sponsored this last weekend. It was a huge success! There are two dates left at the Loping Wolf Ranch on the calendar and space is going fast. To RSVP: fill out this form: http://www.maryyoungblood.com/Retreat/regformhtml.htm

Folks who attended, had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Mary Youngblood . Here's an outline of the workshop:


11:00 am to 12:00 pm ~ Arrival and Lunch - (Bring your favorite potluck item)

12:00 pm ~ LOPING WOLF
Welcome and Introduction Theme Song ~ “The LOPING WOLF Lope”

Mary Youngblood ~ Welcome Performance

12:30 pm to 1:15 pm ~ Beginning Workshop


Work on your beginning skills with the “First Lady of the Flute”. Breath control, embellishments and techniques. ( Mary will collect your written questions before the workshop.)

~Break ~

1:30 pm to 2:00 pm ~ Intermediate Workshop - Tips on vibrato, improvisation , and embellishment details will be discussed and demonstrated

~Break ~

2:30 pm to 3:00 pm ~ Advanced Workshop - Advanced techniques such as how to duet with another player, composition, phrasing, timing, plus performance and recording readiness will be shared

~Break ~

3:15 pm to 4:15 pm ~ This open mic hour will be “your” opportunity to duet with Mary and learn how Mary takes a player to the “next level”. Sign up to have your duet with Mary recorded on DVD with “you” for an additional fee as a keepsake of this unforgettable day! Autographed pictures of you playing with Mary at this special NAF musical retreat will be available for purchase before you leave!


The next dates are: June 7th and July 5th
Cost: $45

There may be future dates after this, but they have not been confirmed yet!

For more details: Mary website: http://www.maryyoungblood.com/Retreat/music_workshops.asp
Or the Loping Wolf website: http://www.lopingwolf.com/

Stanford Pow Wow May 9 -11, 2008

It's almost Mother's Day 2008, and that can only mean one thing: the 37th annual Stanford Pow Wow! (sorry mom). If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, then you have to attend the Standford Pow Wow. It's one of the biggest Pow Wow's on the west coast, and always has good representation from Flute Makers. I am not sure who's planning to attend this year.

Grand Entry is at 7 PM on Friday evening, but most of the dancing will be on Saturday and Sunday.

Here's the link to the poster: http://powwow.stanford.edu/documents/PosterColor2008.pdf

Video: Blogs in Plain English

Are you curious about what blogging is all about?

I found the perfect explanation of how blogging works, if you're curious.

This short video explains it all, in the simplest terms I've found yet.
(the video is entertaining by itself...)

http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Scott August Concert and Workshop, May 10, 2008, in Napa

Scott August will be performing in Napa, CA on May 10th, 2008 for a benefit fund raiser for the River School Music Program. This event will include August's multi-media presentation, a silent wine & flute auction and more.
This is a rare Bay Area appearance by Scott August not to be missed!

Concert Information

When: May 10, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM
Tickets: $20 for adults $10 for children under 12
Location:
Napa High School Little Theater
2475 Jefferson St., Napa, CA 94559

More Info:

(707) 363-2915

Workshop Information

When: May 10th, 2008
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Cost: $40
Location: 793 La Salle Way, Napa, CA, 94559

Details: Class size is limited. To reserve your space send an email to Cedar Mesa Music or take your chances and just show up. For more information please call (707) 363-2915

If you feel you've reached a plateau with your Native American flute playing this workshop is perfect for you. Learn the secrets to spicing up your NAF playing and improvising. Make the leap to the next level. Learn the tricks that make you sound like a pro!

• Vibrato control
• How to make your flute chirp
• Advanced ornamentation including trills and turns
• Tonguing techniques for more expressive articulation
• Flutter tonguing
• How to improvise like a pro

UPDATED: Here's a link to the latest on the NCFC webpate: http://www.naflute.com/valley_august_concert.html

Weekend Events: May 3-4

You can alway check out the Northern California Flute Circle Calendar to see what's happening further out, but I encourage you to login every week to review what's coming up for the weekend events!

Native American Flute related events and other World music events happening in Northern California are posted on the Naflute calendar.

NOTE: If I missed an event for the weekend, please add a comment with event info so that others can know!

Saturday, May 3

• Loping Wolf presents: Retreat with Mary Youngblood