First Nations Voice

JULY 2015 • PAGE 9 WAYWAYSEECAPPO FIRST NATION TheChief&Council, TheChief&Council, TheEducationStaffand TheEducationStaffand CommunityMembers CommunityMembers Wishto Wishto C on g r a tu la te a ll of t he 2015 G raduat es! Easyfinancingavailable, greatselectionofbothnewandused, hugeselectionofparts, yourallpurposedealer. Shane Lachman (204) 895-8882 shane.lachman@canamrv.com www.canamrv.com With the release of sophomore album Knives & Wildrice, Ojibway singer-songwriter Nick Sherman gives new meaning to the phrase "the voice in the wilderness." Perhaps more fitting, the phrase should be "the voice from the wilderness." While Sherman still calls his relatively rural birthplace of Sioux Lookout home, he spent much of his youth moving between his hometown, the small First Nation community of Weagamow Lake, and his family's trapline on North Caribou Lake. It was here, out on the land, in the depths of the Northern Ontario forest, that Sherman was introduced to music. As family members played guitar to pass the time while tending their trapline, he found himself soaking in songs and lyrics. He eventually bought his own guitar, and taught himself to play. Today, Sherman's songs are inspired by those memories of his grandfather strumming guitar. Nick Sherman's first musical attempts as a teenager were fueled by hardcore punk, adolescent rage and confusion as he tried to find his place in the world. All the while, his raspy rootsy voice rang rich with gentleness, honesty and vitality, and was tempered with strong yet simple guitar. The lives of people in his community, events in the world around him, and his proud Aboriginal heritage resonated with soul-brushing candour as he found himself singing the "boreal forest blues." For the past eight years, Sherman has been a perennial act at Sioux Lookout's annual music festival, the Sioux Mountain Music Festival. He is also a trained audio engineer whose work experience began at Wawatay Radio in Sioux Lookout, before securing an internship at CBC Radio in Thunder Bay. Sherman's first full-length album, Drag Your Words Through, introduced the world to his contemporary folk sound. His latest recording, Knives & Wildrice, was released this summer. A 13-episode podcast of the same name takes fans behind-the-scenes of the making of the studio album, giving a candid and unfiltered look at the successes, failures, challenges and victories of an emerging talent on the rise. Watch out for Nick on the road this summer supporting Knives & Wildrice – and undoubtedly making beautiful music wherever he goes. entertAiMent beAt RoseAnna Schick. RAS Creative

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