Aussie rules country USTRALIAN ABORIGINAL “& singer-songwriter Archie Roach appeared last month at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Earlier this year he released an honest cut-to-the-bone affair. He once lived on the street, alcoholic and culturally dispossessed. Char- coal Lane, the debut released on Oakland, California-based Hightone Records, is a country fmausic-inspired stunner. It is also about healing. Music Now met with Archie Roach at the festival. ARCHIE ROACH... names Kris Kristofferson and Sam Cooke as influences on his own music. Music Now: Could you tell us about your background, how you got into music? A.R. : “I first got into music a long time ago, about when i was 13. { was very involved in music in the foster home that | was in. “My foster sister played the Hammond organ. A friend asked me along to a church and I really wasn’t interested, but because he was a good friend |} went along. And this lady got up with just an acoustic guitar and bang — it moved me that much that | thought | wanted to play the guitar and sing songs and write about my own experiences, even at 13. “‘Y wasn't aware of what my experience was at that time, but } just wanted to write about my Michael Becker RECORD REVIEW feelings. | picked up the guitar, and I'm basically self-taught on the “guitar, and { just love to sing. Music Now: To North Ameri- can ears, what struck me as 1 first heard your songs were the country music influences. ALR. : “Oh yea, very much so. | was influenced a lot. Whether you consider Kris Kristofferson country or not 1 don’t know, but t liked his lyrics. And as | was growing up in Australia, we never really had an identity as far as music goes. Everybody was doing covers of American songs. “We started to pick up later on in the ‘60s to 70s when I suppose the Beatles hit the airwaves: Australian musicians decided to find an identity of their own. “So the influences i had as a child were country, and {| was a fan of Sam Cooke, things like that.” Music Now: Can you tell us SIMPLE ATMOSPHERE 6 Teriyaki Shrimps Teriyaki Chicken Teriyaki Chicken Skewer Teriyaki Pork Curry Chicken Teriyaki Beef Skewer Teriyaki Combo SIMPLE PRICES! 5.50 4.50 4.75 4.50 4.50 5.00 5.00 (1 Chicken & 1 Beef Skewer) * All above items served with fluffy Japanese Rice & Salad HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 1]am-9pm FREE DELIVERY - 5 km radius/TAKE-OUT 2045 Lonsdale, N. Van. 988-1868 how you got involved with the political side cf your music? AR. : “t have to go back a way. ! lived in the streets for a number of years after | left my foster parents because of what happened to me. There's a policy called the assimilation policy, where they try to assimilate us — including, un- fortunately, aboriginal children in- to the mainstream of society. “They (the assimilated) have no knowledge of or have any desire to have anything to do with their own aboriginal culture. It wasn’t until f started coming out of my rut — my uncle told me one time, he said, ‘Why don’t you write songs about what happened to you, being taken away, and drinking down the alleys and that.’ “So ( did. | didn't really loak at it politically. There are so many things in life that are political without really thinking about it. So \ started reatly to write about my experience, life in general in Australia amongst aboriginal peo- ple.” Music Now: Part of the wonderful thing about this fes- . tival is the contact between entertainers of various musical backgrounds. This year there was a Strong indigenous peo- ple’s contingent. It seems everyone is coming from a similar place. Have you had any revelations here? ALR. : “‘It seems it is pretty much a universal thing and it affects real- ly everybody as far as I’m con- cerned. How indigenous people of a country are affected really affects what happens to everybody else. “It doesn’t have anything to do with black or white or aboriginal or non-aboriginal: it’s got to do with how people treat each other and why they feel the need to want to conquer somebody else. HARRISON GALLERIES Selected Works VICTOR SANTOS Throughout August Park Royal South Mall West Vancouver 926-2615 GALLIRY ALSO LOCATED at 2232 Granville Street, Vancouver Still Life with Pruit MON-THURS. 9am-12am FRI-SUN. Tam-Spm 1 fo September 7/92 Only At Brunswick Recreation Coaters! Brenswic& Liens Gate laxes 1080 Park Reyal Soutle Vest Vancouver 926-7333 §2 WEEKS ONLY - ENDS AUGUST 15/921 4 K.S., HEIDEMANN, SUNNYCHOI, JEAN CLAUDE, AFTER FIVE, JOAN VASS, CHACOK, LAGERFELD Pants Reg. to $249 Skirts Reg. to $350 Blouses Reg. to $250 LADIES’ DESIGNER CLOTHING JACKETS, DRESSES, EVENING WEAR 50-80% off HEATHERINGTONS PARK ROYAL SOUTH 926-0090 f teat .