inez: News

So I'm visiting my second home again, the Calgary airport waiting for my connection back to Vancouver.

I'm reflecting on my show in Beardy's and how awesome it was!

Beardy's put up a Youth Wellness Day and hosted:

Manik1derful & Hellnback
Lindsay WIllier - 2nd Runner up, Canada's Next Top Model
James Jones (So you think you can Dance)
DJ Hynx
Crown P
Conway Kootnay
DJ Creeasian

This show was off the HEEEZY!!! EVER LUCKY!!! I got to meet some new people and there's some great things happening in ndn country! Lots of good music and awesome people doing their thing!

Thanks to Bryce and all the other peeps from Beardy's for their hospitality. I hope to come back to Saskatoon and Beardy's again in the future!

Late nites...long flights....

After a flight to Toronto, a connection to Sudbury and a 2.5 hour drive I arrived in Wikwemikong thanks to Sharlene :)

When I landed in Toronto, I turned my phone on and found out I was nominated for a JUNO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I was travelling along, you can just imagine how it just ate me up that I had nobody to celebrate the news with. So, the guy who sat next to me on my flight to Sudbury got to hear all about it. hahahha! Turns out he was a Police Officer coming home from working at the Olympics! He was excited to get home to visit his triplets. YIKES! Three at a time! That's intense....

Sharlene gave me the royal tour of the rez (even though it was dark) and I got a sense of how big this community really was! Wiki is a big place with lots of great things going on. I was feeling good about making the trip there to share my music...especially since since it's Steven "Magic Touch" Pitawanakwat's home community! I was really wishing he was able to travel out there with me! I got to meet many of his friends and family.

I stayed at a beautiful B&B named Medora's. I def. recommend staying there! The bed was AWESOME and Medora has a beautiful home. She also cooked me the most magical scrambled eggs I ever ate!

Today, I went to the high school to make my NARMP presentation and perform. It was so rad to chill with some of the youth and visit. I got to connect with some youth doing music....naomi girl...keep doing your thang!


RIght away, I went straight back to Sudbury to fly out to Saskatoon for another show at Beardy's First Nation.

Now I'm waiting to fly out and I can't get that Juno off my mind :)

After my busiest tour schedule ever, I'm so happy to be home to get some R&R.

Last nite I performed at the Aboriginal Pavilion and I shared the stage with Beaver Thomas, Shakti Hayes and Jason Burnstick.

This wraps up the stretch of 14 consecutive shows in and around the Olympic events. This has been an amazing experience and opportunity for me to share my music on a larger stage and meet some of my fans!!!

This Wednesday I head out to Wiki and then over to Saskatoon for shows.

Maybe it's time to hit the studio again and work on another album ;)

hey yall....so its one of those late nights where I'm catching up on music work after an evening with my family.

I'm really thinking about the future. Where can I bring this music career? How can I create change with the opportunities in front of me? Basically, i think it all boils down to hard work and perseverance. I gotta keep moving, I gotta keep assessing my needs to grow as an artist and a nurse and maintain inspired action. So far, I can't say enough about how much support my family and friends have offered me to help my career. It's amazing how much you can accomplish when you use your supports!

This year I submitted to the Juno's, so stay posted for the nomination announcement that will come out on March 3rd!!!

Thank you to my fans for showing so much love and support!

I'll keep you posted when any new comes up ;)

So....now that I'm back to work full-time at Sto:lo Nation Health as a Community Health Nurse, it's made me step up my game in terms of taking care of home, taking care of my family and still juggling my music career. Needless to say, I've outsourced for even more support! Big thanks to the fam for holding it down for us while we chase our dreams...and dreams become reality :)

Tuesday I put in almost a full day at work then left an hour early (thanks Jeanine) to get ready to head into the city for my gig with Tourism BC. Of course, they are super stoked that the Olympics are being held in BC so it's kind of a big deal...this party tonight.

When Ry (my manager) first told me I landed this gig, I didn't really get how awesome it would be.

Nick drove me into town that evening and we picked up Tommy from the Friendship centre on Hastings. He dropped us off at the Art Gallery and we ran in to meet Ry for soundcheck at 5pm: People were already waiting to get in the doors!

We opened the nite with a traditional song to welcome the people then led right into Stick Game Jam. The crowd LOVED IT!!! After that, the Minister of Tourism welcomed the crowd and reintroduced me to sing another song. Ry and I performed "Sto:lo Strong" to close my set.

After that we headed upstairs for the social and ate some food. We checked out the fireworks show on Robson Square then looked around the BC Pavilion on the 4th floor of the Art Gallery.

THis was a GREAT gig for me to connect with all kinds of people and rep to the fullest!

Tomorrow....back to the day job...which isnt so bad :) I love to be a nurse cause wednesdays is babytime drop in!!!!

THE BIG SHOW>>>>>>>>>
So this was the bigggg show we were gearing up for with the band...and holay was it ever fun.

We had to leave super early to head up to Whistler to arrive for our soundcheck and load in. We left at ~730am with the band and cruised right through the security check point with our pass (i immediately posted on my facebook that we passed security yahoooo!)

We arrived on site and hung out in the green room which was pretty cool: they had committed to being a super green project so they had recycling, compost and reusable water bottles for everyone.

After a quick look around the village it was easy to see that there were tonns of people from around the world there to take in the events! I bought a signature pair of red mittens that had a canada flag and "Whistler" embroidered on the knuckles. It was pretty cold up there and I forgot to bundle up!

Before my performance, I was invited to do an interview with "WHISTLER LIVE!", a live broadcast across the Whistler Village about events, people, performances surrounding the olympics. I was happy to state that I was from the "Unceeded Sto:lo Territories" and I'm pretty sure the entire production crew and Whistler village had no idea what that meant. Oh well....still pretty sad that nobody caught on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unceded_territory
But I was there, and reppin my people to the fullest! I felt good to bring my native talents to the HUB of the Olympic action on the mountain. I was really thinking about all my brothers and sisters who are working hard to bring the issues of our people to the conscious of the world. I stand strong in my belief that everyone must be heard!!!

After sound check, we got on the main-stage and opened up for George Leach and another band named, "Misteur Valaire"

After the show we went to hit up the Much Music epicentre in whistler where they broadcast MOD (Much on Demand). We got to see some of the hosts and production crew doin their thing live!

Later we took the bus down the mountain and got some must needed rest. These last few days had been a whirlwind!

It was a good day to be Sto:lo....but most days are :)

It was the Sto:lo take-over at the pavilion on Feb. 14th with performances by the cultural dancers, Rapsure Rising and myself!

Both shows were opened by the Sto:lo Chiefs and the Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable Steven Point (aka Uncle Steven :)

Good times all around!

Later that day we went over to the Aboriginal Biz Showcase and I performed a short set. Later I attended the Manitoba Metis Social and signed autographs at the SAY Youth Magazine table. This special olympic edition of the magazine has a feature about MOI! Check it out if you can!

After the Youth Day, I returned later that evening for the evening shows at 9:30 and 11pm at the Aboriginal Pavilion.

I performed a short set for ~200 people per show with tracks and guitar accompaniment by Ry Moran for Sto:lo Strong.

Good crowd, fun shows!

On Sat. Feb. 13th, I was asked to MC the Youth day at the Aboriginal Pavilion for the participants of the 2010 Indigenous Youth Gathering.

The youth were spit into 2 groups and the first group arrived late in the morning. We presented various performers and presented the "We are Here" signature show, which is projected on the inside of the pavillion dome by 4 projector (very very cool show that i HIGHLY recommend you see...you'll feel so proud to be native for SHIZZLE).

Many presenters graced the stage:

-Kaiva: a super dope Inuit b-boy/b-girl group that performed songs to tradish inuit fusion music acting out all sorts of really cool dance scenes
-John Bennet-Harrington: NASA Astronaut who shared his story of his career and space travel
-Metis Jiggers: originally from Alberta, the brother and sister duo performed the red river jig and (my personal favorite) the orange blossom special!
-KASP: Award winning hip-hop artist shared some poppin songs
-Turanga Ararau: Maori dancers and singer who blew the roof off with their powerful vocals and strong cultural flavour

It was a fun day, and I got to see many of the youth that I first saw on Feb. 6th!

These were the youth who were presented to the world as the featured dancers for the opening ceremonies for the Olympics! I am friends with many of the participants and it brought tears to my eyes as i watched them on the international broadcast for TV. For once, I beamed with pride as i watched our culture presented to the world by our own future leaders. I felt a strong sense of hope knowing that our own people were consulted on how they wanted to be involved in the olympics...and HOW our culture would be presented. This very event will be remembered forever and will challenge the stereotypes that exist about our people.

In short, I was honored to have MC'd the event :)

My next big show was on the North shore of Vancouver for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (aka Burrard). Although the day threatened rain on and off, people still came out to watch as the torch arrived by canoe to the shores of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.

I performed a 20 minute set before the torch arrived to the site. A few hundred people attended the celebration and heartfelt speeches were delivered by a local elder and the chief, Justin George. There was a strong feeling of hope and peace that hung in the air as the torch burned on stage. I could sense that the Tsleil-Waututh people were proud to host the torch on their Territory!

A traditional performance closed the celebration and the torch crew moved on to the next community celebration :)

HOLLLAAAAA!

This was by far one of the dopest shows I've done in a long time! With such a big crowd and all the hype, there's nothing like rocking a big stage with big sound!

I was the headlining act for the torch show hosted in my hometown where there were hundreds of people who showed up to welcome the olympic torch to Chilliwack. I was pleased to run into my Uncle Steven and Auntie Gwen who were also backstage to take part in the event. We also saw some of the local chiefs and Gino Odjick backstage.

Tommy Ritchie and I opened my set with "Stick Game Jam" and then I performed "Breathe". Right after, the torch arrived (perfecting timing!) and the crowd went nuts!!!

I had a blast.

These next few weeks will be soooo busy with shows for the olympics. I have ~12 shows in total! I'm really excited to share my music with everyone who will be watching!

I did my first show related to the olympics on Feb. 6th for the participants of the 2010 Indigenous Youth Gathering.

Over 300 Aboriginal youth (First Nations, Metis & Inuit) were selected from across Canada to attend this olympic related gathering. Many were selected based on their connection to their culture, leadership and commitment to healthy living.

I performed a 20 minute set for them as they ate lunch and signed a few autographs before they had to take off to their next scheduled event.....WHICH IS TOP SECRET!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, so another school visit but this time up at Yarrow Elementary. I presented about the National Aboriginal Role Model program and shared my powerpoint presentation. I showed lots of pictures of my journey through school and music...particularly people in my family who have helped me reach my goals and set new goals :)

Lots of fun...i got to meet most of the students after the presentations and sign autographs.

HEY HEY HEY, been a long time since my last show!

Been gearing up for a long time for a hometown show and we hosted one at our very own Tzeacten hall!

WHat a blast we had when over 400 people showed up and we performed with a full band!

Special thanks to Otis and Ry for coordinating the show.

Thanks to guests:
-os12 (MC and opener)
-BIG PHIL
-numinous!
-tha band (ry, marty, jean, shane & EV)

It was so good to see all the kids out with their families and even some elders too! party on guys!

I went to visit Tyson Elementary yesterday to do a presentation about the National Aboriginal Role Model Program!

It was so cool to speak to all the students about my journey through school and how I am pursuing a career in music! Afterwards I spent a long time chatting with students and signing autographs!

On Thurs, Dec. 17th I performed at the Rickshaw Theatre to support the Street Sisters Project in the Downtown Eastside. I shared the stage with others such as, Leela Gilday, Sandy Scofield, Rex Smallboy, and Curtis Ahenakew. It was a great turnout with Tina House from APTN on site to cover the event.

So my quickest trip to date was to travel to Ottawa and back for the Assembly of FIrst Nations' Christmas Party in Ottawa. Actually the event was hosted on the other side of the river in Gatineau, Quebec at the Hilton Hotel. With a crowd well over 400 people, it was so much fun to meet all kinds of leadership from all over Canada! I was excited to see Shawn Atleo and his entourage who hosted a beautiful event.

My friends from Digging Roots were there as well as Murrey, Elaine, Neegann, and some others. It was exciting to meet Tantoo Cardinal as well as Lorne Cardinal from Corner gas. Great people!

I hope to perform for this event again...good times :)

I flew in on Thursday morning, performed thursday nite and flew home the next AM. PHEW!

I stayed in Vancouver 1 extra day to perform for a benefit for HIV/AIDS at the Roundhouse downtown.

It was a small intimate crowd and I was pleased to be supporting such a worthy cause in my community.

Good to see some new friends, old friends and make some new friends :)

NO rest for the wicked! As soon as I returned from Toronto, I unpacked and repacked to head to Vancouver to catch the morning flight to Nanaimo to perform at the Stz'uminus Health Career Fair! It was really nice to perform for a Coast Salish crowd since most of my performances have been east of BC.

I hope to do more performances near home!

After the reunion in Ottawa, we travelled over to Toronto and we drove into Hamilton for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA's). It was a busy trip because as soon as we arrived, I had to go to the theatre for both days to practice with the house band for the CAMA show. Thursday night after the house band rehearsal, I left to attend the Gala dinner where some of the awards were presented.

The next day was house band rehearsal again all day until the show started! I quickly got ready for my performance of "True Love" with the dancers and the show right away. Our performance was early in the show and we were so excited to present our new choreography to the crowd. We pulled it off, with only 11 days preparation! SOOO MUCH FUN! I LIVE TO PERFORM!

That night was a blast as we celebrated the evening at the after party hosted by Manitoba Music and Digging Roots. I performed again with the band and the dancers.

Can't wait until next year!

The next morning we got ready to head to Toronto to film for Arbor live!

Monday Nov. 23rd Zane and I flew out to Ottawa for the National Aboriginal Role Model reunion hosted by the National Aboriginal Health Organization. We had a bit of a detour when our plane couldn't land in Ottawa and was re-routed to Montreal! We ended up hiring a car to drive us to Ottawa that night.

The reunion was a great time! I was able to see the role models from the 2008 year and from many of the other years as well. My good friend, Nadine Gagne also was there with her daughter Alexis. I performed towards the end of the evening and we took a group photo.

I stayed another night and attended the Health conference banquet and joined my cousin, "Wolfman" on stage for his cooking demonstration of the Rabbaboo stew! Later, I performed Sto:lo Strong with my manager, Ry Moran.

Next...off to the CAMA's!

I was honoured to be invited to perform at the Sto:lo Nation Health's Women's Conference for Breast Cancer. It was hosted at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and I performed in the St. Alice Banquet hall for the conference delegates.

SO, where do I start when I try to explain how exciting it was to travel to Winnipeg to the Aboriginal People's Choice Awards....

We arrived in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Nov. 4th and my mom arrived later that day. I was able to attend the Manitoahbee Gala at the Fairmont Hotel and I got to see Joey Stylez win his award for "Best Music Video"!

The following day we prepared for the big show and later got ready and headed out to the VIP Gala where the industry awards were handed out. I was honored to win, "Best Album Cover" that evening!

Later we took in the "Rising Stars" show at the Pantages Theatre. I was seated with Lorne Cardinal (Corner Gas) and Buffy St. Marie's entourage (her manager and her band, "Gathering of Flies"). The show was amazing!!! Co-hosted by Crystal Shawanda and George Leach, it was an excellent presentation of Aboriginal Talent. Watch out for it later this year when it is played on APTN.

We left a bit early from the theatre to get ready for my showcase at the Reagle Beagle. I played an acoustic set with Jason Burnstick and tucked in early so I could get ready for the BIG DAY.

Rolled out early on Friday to head down to the MTS centre for rehearsal. Transport drove us into the back of the MTS centre where other tour busses and vans were parked with some of the other acts featured on the show. We did a full dress rehearsal before heading out to the mall to do some shopping and grab lunch.

After makeup and hair, our entourage left for the MTS centre for the VIP party, red carpet, and the show!

BAM...first award of the night came fast as they presented "Best New Artist". Everyone joined me up on the podium and after a short thankyou, we headed to the back to get ready for our performance.

The night was so amazing and I was so excited that my mom and son were able to join us at the event. 4 people's choice awards....I can hardly believe it!

The following evening I performed at the "Red Carpet Affair" hosted by Amberae and Thosh. Wow what a great show! Check out Isqwe, Quetzal Guerrero, and Bethany Yellowtail Designs.

We flew out the next morning and holaaayyyy was I happy to get home :)

Many thanks…


Wow….what can I say!

My hands are up to everyone who cast their votes for the Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards!

I am so honored to have brought home:
-Best Album Cover
-Best New Artist
-Best Pop Album
-Single of the Year

We returned home on Sunday from the awards and I really would like to thank the following people:

Ry Moran, Yellowtilt Productions - Manager
Steven Pitawanakwat aka Magic Touch – Beat production, featured artist and visionary
Hussein Alidina of a-slam.com Productions – Music & Vocal arrangement, Mixing & Mastering
Carrielyn Victor aka Numinous! – featured artist
BIG PHIL from Skowkale – Featured artist
Jason Burnstick – Mentor and featured artist
Ron Dean Harris aka Ostwelve – Mentor, graphic artist and featured artist
Nadya Kwandibens - Photographer
Our parents – Mark & Brenda Point + Brenda & Lee Jasper – Custom album art and endless babysitting
KAYA & Derek “Manik1derful” Edenshaw – First Recording
DJ Sichuan – Beat Production
First Peoples Heritage Council
Sto:lo Dev. Corp.
CD Plus Chilliwack
C-Weedband.com – Distribution
CD Baby
Tzeacten Gas Bar
Sto:lo Nation Gift Shop
Alan Greyeyes - Aboriginal Music Program
All my AMP Camp cuzzins…
D’arcy – First Sto:lo Strong Beat Production

An of course all my fans, family and friends who provide endless support to my music!

A special thank you to Okaloni Leblanc for styling the clothing for the shows and offering custom work and pieces from her most recent collection.

Thanks to Nadine Wilson for her beautiful choreography and thanks to Maddy McCallum: both joined me out at the APCMA's to dance as Magic Touch and I performed Breathe.

Last but not least, my husband Otis Jasper for his endless support and love.

What’s up next…..check us out at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards hosted this year in Hamilton, ON.

Sto:lo Strong INEZ sweeps Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards
Pop sensation Inez swept the 2009 Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards on Friday night in Winnipeg Manitoba. Facing stiff competition from outstanding aboriginal artists across North America, the impressive number of wins confirms what many already felt – she’s an artist on the rise – big time.
Inez took home the trophy for Best Album Cover, Pop Album of the Year, Best New Artist and Single of theYear for her hit song Breathe beating out legendary artists such as Buffy St. Marie in the process.
Winning four awards is something few other artists have accomplished at the APCMAs. The victories place Inez in an elite category of artist; an honor shared with other well- known aboriginal artists such as Crystal Shawanda who swept the awards last year.
A highlight of the evening came when Inez was presented with Single of the Year. Inez brought her 9 month old son Zane to the podium with her. “It was completely natural for me to bring him with me to accept the award” states Inez. “He travels everywhere with me.”
During her acceptance speech Inez acknowledged the challenges moms face when balancing work and career and encouraged women to follow their dreams. Her husband and mother, who serve double duty as baby sitters while Inez is thrilling audiences on stage, were in the audience to cheer her on.
These wins build on an already impressive string of nominations and victories for the Chilliwack local. She already picked up a nomination at the Western Canadian Music Awards this year, won the $10,000 top prize at the National Aboriginal Day Talent show in Ottawa in 2008 alongside being recognized as a National Aboriginal Role Model in 2008.

Inez is an artist to watch.

http://www.inezmusic.ca