Garage bands or basement bands have a natural progression down south. You get a guitar, get some of your buds together and start a band with dreams of stardom and filling stadiums full of screaming and swooning fans, but you are brought back to reality by your mom stamping on the floor telling you to keep it down. Down south, for bands to get signed on there is a process called paying your dues. You pay them by playing in every club or bar that will have you. And then you hope that there will be an agent in the audience ready with a contract for you to sign. Up north it isn’t as defined as it is down south, there are no clubs to play and hardly any agents come to sign if any. As reported in an earlier issue by our stouthearted Rez Notes dude Neil, the Youth Talent Enrichment Program under the auspices of the Cree Nation Youth Council (CNYC) is on its way to completing a compact disc featuring musicians and singers from the various Cree communities. Bertie Wapachee Co-ordinator for the project said he was happy about the way the recordings went. He went on to say that the youth need support from the community to “push them on… People see and hear them but a lot of times they don’t say anything to encourage them.” He adds that one of his goals besides giving the youth a chance to express themselves is to make at least “one parent proud of their child.” The featured artists are Chiistin from Waskaganish, Blue Thunder from Chisasibi, Black Eagle from Wemindji, Miigwin from Nemaska, Pakesso and Band (they are looking for a name) from Whapmagoostui. Francine Weistche from Waskaganish. The David Cox Memorial Singers from Chisasibi. Myobin also from Chisasibi. And Joshua Iserhoff from Nemaska. Bertie expects the CD to come out “Before the 1st goose.