Indigenous CKCU
Sunday November 5th, 2017 with Steven Price
Weaselhead - A Residential School Story

Good morning & Welcome to Aboriginal CKCU Radio 93.1FM.... *I'm Steven Price, today's host and here on today's show on Aboriginal CKCU 93.1FMs...I'm pleased to welcome very good friends of mine and the community of Ottaw-Gatineau "weaselhead"*... Formed in 1995, "weaselhead" is an Ottawa, Ontario based band that plays a unique brand of melodic alternative/progressive rock. The music of weaselhead contains a variety of influences and styles, from electronic to classical, blues to guitar rock, that are fused together to create the distinctive weaselhead sound. The band has released three CDs, A Residential School Story in 2011, refugees of romance in 2006 and distress signals on random frequencies in 2003. In 2006, weaselhead was a final nominee for Best Rock CD for the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. At the 2006 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards weaselhead was nominated for Best Group or Duo, and Wayne Restoule was also nominated for Best Producer/Engineer. In 2007 weaselhead was nominated for their album "refugees of romance" in the Indian Summer Music Awards in Milwaukee, Wisconson. weaselhead’s latest release, A Residential School Story, is a concept album which tells the story of a First Nations family through 4 generations and the legacy of the Canadian Indian Residential School experience. In 2011 A Residential School Story was nominated for “Best Rock CD” and “Best Album Cover Design” at the Aboriginal Peoples’ Choice music Awards. The album was also nominated for Best Rock Album, Best Group or Duo, Best Song Single at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Wayne Restoule was also nominated for Best Producer/Engineer. In 2012 A Residential School Story was nominated in the Best Rock Song category at the Indian Summer Music Awards in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Playing live - An acoustic version with Mathieu Courchenes & Wayne Restoule from weaselhead here live performing live here for you listeners of Aboriginal CKCU 93.1 FM....my bride....** ** Matt and Wayne are both Carleton University alumni and went to the Audio Recording Academy at Raven Street Studios in Ottawa. weaselhead’s first album, distress signals on random frequencies, released in 2003, was recorded at Raven Street Studios. The album is about the marginalized people in a major city, specifically Ottawa. weaselhead’s second album, refugees of romance, tells a story of a young Indigenous girl in an urban setting. Her parents are both drug abusers. The album tells a story about how she deals with her situation and perseveres.** from the album "refugees of romance" here is "she’s still the same girl" from weaselhead on Aboriginal CKCU FM 93.1** weaselhead’s third album, a residential school story, is a concept album. Every once in a while music listeners are treated to something called a "concept album", where a particular thought and theme makes its way across the entire musical and graphic landscape. The Residential School legacy inspired such an album. In March 1945 a Canadian soldier was killed in Holland. His two daughters, living with their newly widowed mother on an Indian reserve, were taken away to a Residential School. These songs tell the story of their experiences at the school, and the impact it had on four generations of the Soldier's family. Having lost their language and culture they try to fit in to society and live their lives as best they can. One sister is able to move on by never speaking of what happened to her again. The other sister cannot get past it, and lives a life of mental illness, alcohol, physical abuse, and eventually suicide. Their children try to break the cycle and reconnect with their culture, and to teach their own children. The story ends with the Soldier's great-granddaughter praying at his grave in Holland, in his own language. The story in this album is a reflection and a recounting of the realities of lives lived and lost. This song is about the abuse that happened at the residential schools: https://weaselhead.bandcamp.com/track/teachers-pet This song is about a survivor of residential schools: https://weaselhead.bandcamp.com/track/irene This song is about reconciliation: https://weaselhead.bandcamp.com/track/our-father-part-2