Willie Lowery's Plant and See Album to be Reissued

Lumbee musician, songwriter, mentor and visual artist Willie Lowery passed away two months ago after a career of over four decades in art, music and community involvement. The psychedelic swamp rock, eponymous LP from his 1969 band Plant and See, is now set for reissue by Paradise of Bachelors.

From Indian Country Today Lumbee Rocker Willie French Lowery’s 1969 Psychedelic Album to Be Reissued:

...some music experts consider [Plants and See] a lost (or at least hard-to-find) classic of psychedelic swamp-rock. On July 3, Carrboro, NC-based record label Paradise of Bachelors will give the album its first proper re-issue, on vinyl, in a limited edition of 1000 copies. Plant and See dissolved soon after the album came out, then largely reformed as Lumbee, which also put out just one album, Overdose.

Interviewed for an article in Indyweek.com written soon after Lowery’s death, Brendan Greaves of Paradise of Bachelors offered his thoughts. “What’s really fascinating about him,” said Greaves, “is that he put out these two LPs that are classic to the canon of psychedelic music, if little known beyond that, but then turned his career into a vehicle for articulating American Indian identity and politics.”

The band Lumbee also was short-lived as Lowery's muse took him in varied directions. Lowery published over 500 songs that have been recorded by acts as diverse as gospel, country and R&B artists.

Paradise of Bachelors has not only reissued Plant and See but has plans to release more of Lowery's catalogue, including recordings from Lumbee, his later solo work and previoulsy unreleased recordings.

So if you weren't tuned into the work of Willie Lowery before now, there will be opportunity to delve into more! You can order Plant and See here, and stream the track  below. Dig it.

STREAM: Plant and See - "Put Out My Fire"

Jana Mashonee Is Not Just About The Music

Today Lumbee singer-songwriter Jana Mashonee released a new single, Stay With Me Baby. In this exclusive audio interview, Jana chats with RPM about her career path as an Indigenous female musician and her dedication to promoting her culture in this audio interview.

Jana also speaks about her work as a mentor and the creation of her non-profit organization Jana's Kids, which you can read more about in our feature Music Mentor: Jana Mashonee, Lumbee Musician.

Get her new single Stay With Me Baby on iTunes.

Listen to the Jana Mashonee interview here:

The Indigenous Artists of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time

Among the greatest of guitar legends in the history of Rock N' Roll - according to the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine - are a number who are of Indigenous ancestry.

Rolling Stone's list "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" includes Robbie Robertson, the legendary creator of the electric distorted power chord Link Wray, and Kiowa legend Jesse Ed Davis.

From Indian Country Today's Rolling Stone Picks Hendrix, Robertson, Wray—and Jesse Ed Davis:

Davis was one of the great guitarists for hire in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing on records and on stage with true rock royalty. After touring with Conway Twitty and playing on Taj Mahal’s first three albums, he went on to work with George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Leonard Cohen, and Keith Moon, among many others. When it came time to record his own albums, the friends who showed up to play along told the story of just how essential Davis had become: Contributors to Jesse Davis (1971) included Eric Clapton, Gram Parsons and Leon Russell.

Indeed, each of these three of our guitar-slaying brothers are iconic in their own right and are well-deserving of the recognition!

Here's Robertson's classic Somewhere Down the Crazy River:

RPM YouTube Playlist - Indigenous Rock

As always, to accompany our RPM Podcast we bring you a YouTube playlist of Indigenous Rock music videos.

This week were are very excited to bring you our first Indigenous rock music podcast, and as a sidekick to that, we have put together a playlist on our YouTube channel of Indigenous rock music videos from artists across Turtle Island.

To download or listen to the podcast, check out this link: RPM Podcast #009: “Indigenous Rock”

The Johnnys - I Like It A Lot Link Wray - Rumble (LIVE 1978) Stevie Salas - Tell Your Story Walkin Breach Of Trust - Complicated Joe Maxim Band - Weight Weaselhead - A Residential School Story pt.1

Music Mentor: Jana Mashonee, Lumbee Musician

Lumbee singer-songwriter Jana Mashonee uses her musical talent as a springboard for her non-profit organization, Jana's Kids, and this year she was recognized as the "2011 Woman of the Year" by yearofthewoman2011.com.

Moving into her tenth year as a professional touring musician, Jana admits to her humble beginnings playing in bands in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina until she was discovered by a Motown Records representative, moving on to becoming a Grammy nominated and eight time Nammy winning artist.

With this kind of success and momentum, it would be easy for Jana to move into a commercial business model and continue onto a mainstream career of videos and overt marketing and promotional campaigns of material and sexual nature. For Jana Mashonee though, this is not the case.

Using her identity as an Indigenous woman, she has broken down the barriers of what industry standards are for women in this sometimes amoral society of commerce-based artistry called the new music industry. Readily experimenting with the times, Jana has honed herself in many genres of music, and collaborated with a wide variety of artists and producers including Six Nations Blues-rocker Derek Miller.

Alongside being a prolific singer and songwriter, Jana has spent much of her time giving back to communities by way of workshops and her non-profit organization, the Jana's Kids Foundation, offers scholarships to Native students looking into post-secondary education. Her Triple "A" Scholarships offer athletic, academic and artistic students, an opportunity to apply for funding for further schooling.

This program has been in effect since 2006 and teamed with her "Native Youth Motivational Presentation", she has been able to meld her artistry with philanthropy and give back to communities and support youth, something she holds as an important element of her career path.

Being a college graduate herself, Jana encourages youth to get educated in her motivational presentations, as well as raising awareness about drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse, Indigenous cultural pride and identity, and the dangers of gang involvement. Her workshops are interactive and multidisciplinary, using music and movement and encouraging dialogue with youth.

Alongside her work in youth empowerment and education, Jana also heads the "Reading For Life" program which helps provide culturally relevant reading materials to Indigenous youth in schools. Aiming to bring culturally based literature into schools for Native youth, Jana's Reading For Life Program takes groundbreaking steps into reassuring that Native children are able to have access to reading materials that are familiar and comfortable for them, setting a foundation of literacy they can count on in the future.

Due to her work and unique business model as a woman in the music industry, Jana was recognized by a Miami based women's group "Year of Woman 2011" with the award of "Woman of the Year 2011". The award focuses on women in business who lead successful careers and still balance home and family life.

This movement of empowerment for women in business became a worldwide initiative with nominees from all over the globe in a variety of different disciplines in business. For an Indigenous woman to win this awards reflects highly on both Jana and the movement to empower Indigenous women across Turtle Island and beyond.

To learn more about Jana Mashonee and the Jana's Kid's Programs visit Janamashonee.com and Janaskids.org.

DOWNLOAD: Dark Water Rising - "Hooked"

Lumbee/Coharie band Dark Water Rising took their name from their home near the rich, dark swamplands of the Lumber River in North Carolina. Apropos for a band whose music is an intriguing and inviting mix of soul, blues and indie-rock with depth, character and emotion. The lead vocals of Charly Lowry drive the music with fervour and passion, woven with old-timey gospel harmonies. It’s like if The Commitments came out of Indian Country writing original tunes and pulling in a little country and alt-rock along the way. It’s like nothing else. Get hooked. DOWNLOAD: Dark Water Rising - "Hooked"