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May 18, 2004

Arigon had a great afternoon at the American Indian Culture Days Pow-Wow in San Diego last Sunday. She premiered a new track -- "Please Do Not Touch The Indians," which is loosely based on the play of the same name. [That's Arigon with the American Indian Community House's Executive Director, Rosemary Richmond in New York City]. Plus, she once again sang with Floyd Red Crow Westerman on "I Still Miss Someone" and "Zapatista." Floyd also "borrowed" Arigon's guitar "Johnny" for his set. "Floyd was on top of his game -- and it was cool to see him work the crowd. He is a man who tells it like it is about being Indian," said Arigon. "Red Crow" is working on a documentary called "Exterminate Them: America's War On Indian Nations" that should be ready for release soon. (Check out this link for more information about the project.) Arigon also saw her friend Randy Edmonds, who was the event's pow-wow MC. "He had some good Navajo jokes....even one about a Navajo radio," she said.

It was a beautiful, calm sunny San Diego day -- and we thank those of y'all who came out to see the show. Arigon also performed other newer tracks like "The Red Road" and "A Trucker's Widow." Arigon's sister Gay also provided Bluegrass-styled back-up vocals to "Please Do Not Touch The Indians." "She has really gotten into bluegrass music these days and I think we sounded like the Carter Family with Braids! AAAY!," laughed Arigon.

AMERICAN INDIAN AIRWAVES!! -- KPFK's American Indian Airwaves has rescheduled Arigon's pre-empted performance from last month for WEDNESDAY, MAY 26th at 3:00 PM. If you're in Los Angeles you can find the show on your FM radio dial at 90.7, and if you're listening online, you will find a webcast at http://www.kpfk.org. Be sure to tune in for some brand new songs!!!

May 14, 2004

The hot news is that she just booked a last minute performance for this weekend. If you are IN the San Diego area this weekend, you can catch Arigon performing at the American Indian Culture Days Pow-Wow on Sunday, May 15th at 11:00 AM. There is free admission to the pow-wow -- so come down early and join in on the fun. More information is available on the Diva Live Calendar.

Just to give you an idea of her schedule for the past month -- Arigon has been auditioning for acting jobs and working on scenes for her acting class at the Howard Fine Studios (with instructor Heidi Davis)......Saw two performances of pals BR549 at the Casbah in San Diego and LA's The Derby.....Checked out acting scene partner Jana Bozeman and her star turn as "Phoebe" in "Romantic Comedy" at the Palisades Theater......Performed onstage during the California Indian Education conference in Los Angeles with the Creek Divas, Carolyn Dunn and Joy Harjo (pictured above) on some of their new tunes. Joy has a new CD out ("Native Joy" available on her website at www.joyharjo.com) and Arigon recently helped out with a reading of Carolyn's play "Ghost Dance".....Picked with her heroes Floyd Westerman (who borrowed Arigon's guitar!) and Charlie Hill (who played a mean harmonica on "The Red Road")......Traveled to Oregon with friends to celebrate her birthday at Forest Grove's Grand Lodge.......Performed in a staged reading of Mary F. Casey' s new play "Wide Open Spaces" at the Autry National Center.......Hung out with the California Creeks at their monthly meeting in Los Angeles..........Traveled up and down the I-5 in Southern California to visit with her ailing father Ken Wahpecome in San Diego (he's feeling better -- thanks for the prayers, y'all!)......Attended an amazing dance performance during the Red Rhythms conference at the Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, CA featuring such dancers and performers as Vince Whipple, Santee Smith, Rulan Tangen, Kalani Queypo, Rosalie Jones, Abel Silvas, The Earth Dance Theater and Marla Bingham -- plus found out she has a bunch of fans at KUCR-FM's "Indian Time" radio program.......Visited with noted Cherokee historian and writer Robert J. Conley and her Cherokee pals in Orange County......Caught up with friends Irene Bedard and Deni, Brian Wescott and Marjorie Tanin at the UCLA Pow-Wow........AND she just played live at Just Java in Chula Vista, where she premiered a new song just last night. Arigon and Wacky Productions CEO Janet Miner have also been busy booking more shows for summer, while Arigon continues to write songs and work on writing her one-woman show.....WHEW! That's just the short list, folks.

"One of my favorite stories was from Charlie Hill," said Arigon. "He told me that Buffy St. Marie is still a really big fan of mine. 'We were talking about you the other day,' Charlie told me. 'Buffy gets a lot of tapes and CDs and is sometimes apprehensive about listening to them, as the quality of the work isn't always good as it should be. She really likes your stuff. Buffy told me she still had MY comedy audition tape, from back in the 70s, that I had given to her to evaluate. The great thing about her is that she really has an ear for talent. She heard something in that five minute audition tape that made her call me and really encourage me to pursue my stand-up comedy.'" For those of you who don't know Charlie Hill's work, he has performed his comedy all over the US, including stops at the Comedy Store, The Tonight Show and most recently on Late Night With David Letterman. Charlie even had a stint as a staff writer on the "Roseanne" comedy series! "Charlie told me that he asked Buffy St. Marie to mail him that original audition tape back. He said -- 'I listened to again -- and it was TERRIBLE! But that made me appreciate the fact that Buffy heard my potential anyway -- just like she heard yours!'"

TRIBUTE TO A MENTOR-- Arigon has been blessed with many mentors along the way -- and she lost a very important one last week. 78-year-old actress-singer Virginia Capers passed away on May 6th in Los Angeles. Miss Capers graduated from Julliard and was the first African-American woman to win the coveted Tony Award for her work in the musical "Raisin" in 1974. Arigon met Viriginia on the set of the TV show "Frank's Place" back when she was publicity assistant at Viacom Productions. "She took me under her wing and gave me voice lessons in her home. She was the original Diva, I tell you what, " said Arigon. Arigon attended her memorial service on Wednesday, May 11th which was attended by well over 300 people and included performances by Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dawnn Lewis, Freda Payne and James Avery. She also saw her friend Kevin Brechner, who recently directed the First Americans in the Arts award show and produced and directed a documentary on Miss Capers' amazing theater group, The Lafayette Players West. "During their tribute, they asked anyone in the audience who had had singing or acting lessons from Virginia to stand up -- and there must have been a hundred of us standing and applauding," said Arigon. Virginia will be missed, but we are sure her legacy will live on through her many friends, family and protegés, including one Arigon Starr!