gahzundteit

so for the people that attended this year what did you think about the drum contests?
for me the biggest question is "what happened to Blackstone? they didn't even place .....just wondering waht everyone else thought about GON

LV2dance

i sadly could not make it to GON, but i've been hearin' lots of 'it was good but...'
from friends who went to dance and drum. I too am very dissapointed Blackstone did not even place...c'mon people, it's Blackstone for crying out loud!I did hear they had several new faces wit them...anybody have any input on how good the sounded? ;)

powwow_playa

Blackstone did not set up until Saturday. I think some of them had car trouble. They still sounded pretty good but it wouldn't be fair to the other drums who were there all weekend if they placed.

fancyshamancy

Yes, Blackstone had some car troubles, they broke down in a small town in Utah. Yes, they sang all day on Saturday. The committee asked all the drums groups if they had a problem with letting Blackstone in the contest late, they all agreed to, because they themselves have had car problems before and know what it is like! And I agree with the powwow committee's decision. And I also feel that they were cheated again, for the second year in a row! :p

Big Chocolate Thunder

Black Stone was allowed to compete and they were judged as everyone else was and they didn't win. Simple as that. Don't get me wrong I thought they sounded pretty tough but Bear Creeks' win was justified. However, I am sure the fact that they were a day late might have biased some of the judges opinions but we all gotta roll with the punches right?? It is for that reason, I think, that they didn't place at all. Peace fellow chocolates in the chocolate box.

TOKA

I'll have to agree with everyone else. Blackstone sounded pretty good, but arriving and setting up late probably caused a few problems as far as placing goes. I feel if they would have set up on time they would have given Bear Creek a run for their money. I thought Mountain Souls and Noon Express sounded real good, Sage Point too. But Whitefish Jrs. second? Come on I get so tired of their monotonous 3 word Cree songs with the same leads. Come with something different!! Mesquakie Nation sounded good with a skeleton crew.

Carwash_moves

Blackstone sounded real good. As usual. They are really respectful towards other drums and singers at other drums. I have never heard any horror stories of them talking bad or doing anything bad to disrespect anyone. And I believe that all comes back to you. That is why noone had a problem with them joinging the contest late. If it were some other drum who knows, maybe they wouldn't get the same treatment. I think they sang good enough to win first but it really wouldn't have been fair towards the other drums who were there on time. God works out in these kinds of ways. If they deserved to win and didn't, that will all come back to them in one way or another down the road. Anyone could have won that singing contest. Noone dominated. Everyone sounded good. Mesquaki Nation sounded tough with only 6 regulars and 2 Eyabay singers. Mandaree, Mountain Soul (I think they missed a drum roll call?) Walking Buffalo, The Horses, Tha Tribe, Tha Bucks, Bear Creek, and Stoney Creek. Hey Stoney Creek! Keep going. You sound just as good as the best. You just have to be patient and put in your time. Travel west more. Even if you don't win, the people wll hear you. They will know who Stoney Creek is and how they sound. They won't get that if they only hear you once a year at Schemitzun. They're are a lot of politics involved. You can't just show up with a good sound and expect to beat the best. There are a lot of intangible things involved. But if you can jam, the intangible things will come.

Peace

TOKA

Hey Carwash, I appreciate the comments and the advice. We have known for a long time that we should travel out west. Right now we are trying to get into a position that we can go to at least a few western powwows a year. I want to hit some of those big reservation powwwows like Rocky Boy or Red Lake.

just hangin'

Hello there! I think Whitefish Jrs. was the bomb and should have even won first! Their lead is always beautiful and their songs a real joy to dance to... Now THEY have the beat and have proven themselves in the powwow world as the best of the best many times. Guess you can't beat a good ol' Cree tune!

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Kiwehnzii

Toka - I know Harvey personally and I take exception to your assumption that he knows only 3 words in the Cree language. He is fluent in his language. Are you fluent in yours? From the sound of your posts, I assume that you are Haliwa-Saponi Nation or Cherokee Nation. Are one of the fluent language speakers who composes the songs for the Stoney Creek Singers? Are you also fluent in the Cree language? If you are all of the above , then excuuuuse me. I'll say no more. Oh yeah, he reads the stuff on this web board.

just hangin'

Thas right DWA...

Hey Toka - Do all of the Stoney Creek singers dis Whitefish Jrs., or just one member of their group (you) ?

You won't get far in the powwow world if you rely on badmouthing the experts and going to one powwow per year.
Hope you have a change of heart!

travelingmocs

I am not the bigest fan of Whitefish Jr.s, but they have been around for a while and for a good reason. They make good songs and win contest. Bad mouthing drums is not the way to go. So becarful on what you say.................TMS

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hoksila

Well Toka, I guess you just don't have any respect for well made songs, and good singers. Maybe you should think before you post things on here, because they could easily get you into trouble. A lot of things are better off left unsaid.

Aho!
~AJP~

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Kiwehnzii

Toka has made a big mistake. Posting stuff like he did on a public forum can only " [b]stir up a big mess[/B". We say Chi naat cum giz" He makes it difficult for other members of his drum group. People who read this forum will be wondering which one of them posted it. Izzit this one? Izzit that guy? The Stoney Creek singers should straighten out this mess he got them into. I'm sure he doesn't speak for the whole group. Dissing a respected drumgroup is bad news.
By the way, all the judges in any contest have their own preferences. In our own minds, there is only one way that we would have scored a certain drumgroup in competition. The judge next to us could have heard or seen something entirely different than what we did. That is the whole point of switching judges for each round or sessions. That way the contests are judged by a good cross section of people. Ideally, the judges should be from different nations. Everybody knows how clannish we native people are. You can tell by reading the posts. Most of the southeast people pick southeast people as their Fav. dancers etc. and the folks from the prairie area name dancers from that area as their favs. That's just the way it is people. Any good AD, head drum or dance judge knows enough to be careful in their selection of judges so they are not all of the same nation or area. That's as close to real fairness that we're gonna get folks!

fancyfingers

hey i could see there is a big stir up going on, i feel pretty bad for what was said, and i think i can speak for my son who sings with stoney creek singers, some people feel that their in the middle because on one side there is family and the other is close friends, this was not said from the whole drum, and im pretty sure the individual didnt realize how bad it sounded hopfully he will respond on his behalf to clear this matter, as for both drums they are both respected from where they are from, personnally i think they are both damn good drums, i hope this will help any bad feelings towards stoneycreek, it was not the whole drum, cant we allllllll get alongggggggg :( :D ;)

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Smokin' Ace

The boys on Stoney Creek are my fam and frens - including Toka - but not all of them feel this way at all - I feel that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but maybe somethings are better left unsaid? ;)

Dontwannaargue - I sent you a pm - did you get? I want to reiterate that not all people from this region feel that way at all - most that I have met have a great deal of admiration and respect for Harvey.

I know that other members of Stoney Creek also cruise these boards - maybe one of them, or even Toka, can offer a better explanation of the comments? (wink, wink, nod, nod)

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