{"id":1646,"date":"2019-09-01T21:14:22","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T21:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1646"},"modified":"2019-09-01T21:18:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-01T21:18:21","slug":"ftv-burton-guibord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1646","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Burton Guibord"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Who is <\/span>Burton Guibord<\/b> and why haven\u2019t we heard more about him?\u00a0 It turns out that he is a Native American musician with roots in northern Wisconsin.\u00a0 When our good friend <\/span>Gary Tanin<\/b> at <\/span>Daystorm Records<\/b> in Milwaukee sent us a preview of Guibord\u2019s record, <\/span>Are We Free?<\/i><\/b>, I was eager to learn more about him.\u00a0 I had time for a couple of listening sessions with the album before heading to the <\/span>WOAS-FM<\/b> West Coast Bureau in Eugene, Oregon.\u00a0 I wrote a few notes about each track but wanted to know about Burton\u2019s story to put more meat on the bones of the skeletal history I had learned from his songs.\u00a0 Trusty Google provided me with a wonderful summary by <\/span>Marcella Jones<\/b> on a site she set up to help fund the <\/span>Are We Free? <\/span><\/i>project.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, the story of the CD being produced stretches back more than twenty years and my thanks go out to both Marcella and Burton for the background material quoted here.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0According to Jones, she started a venture called <\/span>Native Voices Booking and Management<\/b> in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1995.\u00a0 Her husband <\/span>Ron Jones (Hochungra)<\/b> and <\/span>Andy Connors (Bad River Ojibwe) <\/b>started a Native American music duo called <\/span>Acoustic Warriors<\/b>. Their first gig was\u00a0 at the <\/span>Indian Summer Festival <\/b>in Milwaukee and NVBM was started to arrange more gigs for the duo.\u00a0 When Jones heard Burton Guibord, his powerful lyrics and songs told her he needed to be heard by a wider audience.\u00a0 With NVBM\u2019s help, Acoustic Warrior, Guibord, and other artists managed by Native Voices recorded albums at their home studio or professional facilities (when money allowed).\u00a0 The original recording of <\/span>Are We Free?<\/span><\/i> was produced in 1996 and not long after, Jones recalled, \u201cBurton moved home to the Bad River rez in northern Wisconsin and I lost track of him.\u00a0 Life rolled on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The cassette insert from the 1996 cassette version of <\/span>Are We Free?<\/span><\/i> written by Burton filled in the pieces of his earlier history and why he began writing and performing his music:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBooshoo.\u00a0 (Greetings) I am Burton Guibord (Ozhaawashkoginiw – Blue Eagle) of the Bear Clan of the Bad River (Musk ka zibi) Reservation.\u00a0 Born in Chicago, my parents moved to Odanah village when I was 13. As a child I was told I had a talent for music, but that never stuck with me till recently when asked to put my songs and music in a recording.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0These songs I bring to you are from stories that were told to me and also from my real life experiences.\u00a0 From the lives of our people in the city to the protesters on the river banks, from the clear cutting of our trees to the clearing of the graves of our ancestors, I speak from my heart and the truth of my people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it is hard to hear the truth.\u00a0 I bring these songs to you in a good way so that maybe someday we can walk together as real brothers and sisters,\u00a0 Mil-gwetch. (Thank You).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jones picks up the story twenty years down the road (2016) when she received a phone call from a woman who inquired if she remembered Burton.\u00a0 Jones continues: \u201cOf course I did. Then [the caller] asked, \u2018Do you still have the original recording of <\/span>Are We Free?\u2019<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 She said, \u2018Burton has been carrying around his LAST cassette of his music.\u00a0 Is it possible you could make some cds from the original for him?\u2019 Thrilled and energized by this reconnection with the past, Jones contacted her friend (and ours) Gary Tanin at Daystorm Music to see if he could perform the tape to CD transfer.\u00a0 Jones was overjoyed to hear Tanin agree that Burton\u2019s music was important. Gary said he would aid spreading Burton\u2019s message by remastering the whole album. Tanin says, \u201cBurton\u2019s music is genuine, organic, from-the-heart storytelling. He speaks from a narrative and subject matter that\u2019s in desperate need of a voice. Burton\u2019s songs provide that voice and must be passed to the generations to follow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Following are my observations on ten of the eleven tracks.\u00a0 For some unfathomable reason, I had a devil of a time downloading the track\u2019s I received from Gary (something that has never happened before).\u00a0 In my rush to hear them before hitting the road, I bungled my own transfer, there by dropping the track <\/span>I\u2019ll Be Back<\/span><\/i> entirely (for which I do apologize).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Watching Over You – <\/i><\/b>If <\/span>Gordon Lghtfoot<\/b> wasn\u2019t a bit older than Burton Guibord, it would not be far off the mark to say he copied some of Guibord\u2019s vocal inflections.\u00a0 There is also a noticeable Native American tenor to Burton\u2019s voice and he is more of a guitar strummer\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(compared to Lightfoot\u2019s guitar picking style).\u00a0 With that said, the lyrical content of Guibord\u2019s songs also echo backwoods sentiments circa early Lightfoot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Madeline Island <\/i><\/b>– To bang the Lightfoot drum once again, this could be Guibord\u2019s <\/span>Canadian Railroad Trilogy – <\/span><\/i>a history song about this important center of Native life in western Lake Superior.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Why Can\u2019t They Comprehend<\/i><\/b> – A powerful narrative backed by laid back strummed guitar.\u00a0 If <\/span>Jack Tempchin<\/b> put this out, no one would think that he hadn\u2019t written it (and imagine what The Eagles would have done with it?).\u00a0 Like Tempchin, Burton sings his songs with his own easy listening style.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Freedom<\/i><\/b> – A talking blues told over more mellow strumming – but there isn\u2019t anything mellow about the story Guibord tells.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t a rant, it is just the sad truth about how Native peoples were pushed aside during the westward expansion of the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Bluecoat <\/i><\/b>– Upping the tempo, Burton continues telling the history of his people.\u00a0 This time centered around the so called \u2018Indian Wars\u2019 that left a spreading stain of Native blood on the land as the Bluecoats laid waste to the western frontier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Ever Wonder Why<\/i><\/b> – Burton leaves no stone of racial injustice and environmental catastrophe unturned.\u00a0 After the white men are gone, will the damage done to the Earth be restored? Who is to blame for the way things are?\u00a0 Burton wants to remind everyone it wasn\u2019t \u2018us\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Hey Buddy<\/i><\/b> – A laconic song about being down and out.\u00a0 A conversation turned into a thought provoking song about those living without in the land of plenty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Northwinds<\/i><\/b> – Supported by a nice bass note strum and a little connecting guitar riff, one can hear the wind whistling through the night.\u00a0 A campfire song for the olden days. Again, something Lightfoot could have written about life in Canada instead of northern Wisconsin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Your Heroes <\/i><\/b>– A little more country flavor slips into Guibord\u2019s guitar and voice.\u00a0 The lyrics connect a certain yellow haired \u2018hero\u2019 to others who contributed to the destruction of the Native American ways.\u00a0 Can you say \u2018Columbus\u2019 boys and girls? <\/span>Jerry Jeff Walker<\/b> couldn\u2019t write a better social commentary than Guibord presents here with <\/span>Your Heroes<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Topically, the line reminding people \u2018if you don\u2019t like it you can leave here\u2019 sounds like it was pulled out of today\u2019s news.\u00a0 History repeating itself?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>Chi-Mookomaan<\/i><\/b> \u00a0– <\/span><\/i>The chant that leads into <\/span>Chi-Mookomaan<\/span><\/i> and the song chants embedded in the middle reminds me of the Native gatherings held in Baraga, Marquette, and other northwoods centers of Native American culture.\u00a0 The lyrics continue the story of Native peoples being decimated by the whites that pushed into their ancestral homelands. The most \u2018Native\u2019 sounding off all the tracks and another chilling historical tale of the Native experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Anyone who does not enjoy <\/span>Are We Free?<\/span><\/i> would probably fall on the side of the line with the others who choose to deny history.\u00a0 Burton Guibord hasn\u2019t written a preachy album here, it is, as they say \u2018just the facts\u2019. North American history has many tales of tragedy and triumph; \u00a0 woe be it if we ignore what happened to the Native People in the name of westward expansion. <\/span>Billy Joel\u2019s<\/b> We Didn\u2019t Start The Fire<\/span><\/i> was used to jumpstart kid\u2019s interest in World History and I would suggest that <\/span>Are We Free? <\/span><\/i>could be used in much the same way to expand the way Native American history is presented in our schools.\u00a0 With Burton currently residing in Ashland, Wisconsin, it would be great to see him on a future bill at the Porcupine Mountain Music Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Topical talking blues from Ashland, Wisconsin’s Burton Guibord (album\u00a0Are We Free?<\/em>)