Chuck
Scribe (drums), Percy Tuesday (guitar),
Martin Tuesday (guitar), Angus Monroe
(bass), Morris MacArthur (vocals)
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While their contemporaries
preferred country music, guitar-playing
brothers Martin and Percy Tuesday came to
Winnipeg from Big Grassy River First
Nations in Northwest Ontario and formed
The Feathermen in 1967 to play rock 'n'
roll. Boldly billing themselves as
an "All Indian Band", the quintet - Martin
and Percy plus Chuck Scribe, Morris
McArthur, and Angus Monroe - became the
house band at the Indian and Métis
Friendship Centre.
Their repertoire of Rolling Stones and
Yardbirds cover songs went over
well. "We played rock 'n' roll, no
country music," explains martin. "We
played songs from all the top bands from
England. My favourite to play was
'Keep On Running' [by the Spencer Davis
Group]. It had a great beat.
We had a strong singer in Morris
McArthur. He could sing anything."
As for their name and billing, "We were
very proud of who we were. It would
have been great to play for white people,
but we didn't get to."
NCI Communications 1
General Manager David McLeod recalls the
late Percy Tuesday telling him how The
Feathermen played a mixed rural gig only
to be told afterwards by one of the white
patrons, "You guys play pretty good for a
bunch of Indians."
Billy Joe Green joined The Feathermen in
1968 2,
in time for a prestigious gig at the
Winnipeg Auditorium performing at a
Liberal party rally for Prime Minister
Pierre Elliott Trudeau. "I was
really glad he asked for the Feathermen,"
smiles Martin. "We didn't know he
knew who we were. I remembered
asking Trudeau for his autograph and he
replied, 'I should be asking you guys for
your autographs.' That was a pretty
special moment."
"We had really good equipment," notes
Martin. "Vox and Fender amps and
later Marshall amps. We were the
first to have Marshall amps in the
city." Martin played a rare British
Hank Marvin-model Burns guitar.
"Then all our equipment was repossessed at
a Friendship gig. They came in and
got our equipment right off the stage
while we were playing. We thought
our manager was looking after the
payments. So the C-Weed
Band went home, got their guitars
and amps, and brought them for us and we
finished the show. I'll always
remember them for that."
"We thought playing for Trudeau was our
ticket to being discovered and getting a
record deal," Billy Joe recalls.
"But it was not to be and the band broke
up the following year.
"The Feathermen brought a Native soul to
rock 'n' roll and were real
groundbreakers," notes David McLeod.
They also helped to foster a strong
Indigenous music scene centered around the
Indian and Métis Friendship Centre.
For many young Indigenous teens, the
Centre was an oasis to enjoy the music of
their peers. "It was the nerve
centre for Indigenous community in
Winnipeg," states David McLeod. "It
was great to have all our people there,"
recalls Martin.
The band didn't play the Main Street pub
circuit, preferring to play the Friendship
Centre.
"It was so much fun playing the Friendship
Centre," states Martin. "A lot of
bands played there but we were the most
popular. It was a great place to
play. The young kids wanted rock
music. We packed the place every
weekend for two years."
John Einarson
Excerpt from Heart of Gold, A History
of Winnipeg Music, published 2021
1. Native
Communications Inc. (NCI) operates in
Manitoba as a public broadcaster.
NCI is an Indigenous
service organization offering radio
programming throughout Manitoba,
designed for and by Indigenous people.
2. Billy Joe Green
replaced Percy Tuesday.
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L
to R: Martin Tuesday (guitar), Frances
Paul (bass), Billy Joe Green (guitar),
Morris McArthur (vocals)
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No recordings of the band were
ever made, although Burnelda Wheeler, host
of Our Native Land that aired on
CBC offered us some studio time to
come up with some music. We did a
rendition of Chuck Berry's 'Bye, Bye
Johnny'. She quickly told us to go
write some original music and to come back
when it was ready.
The Feathermen
As posted on the THE
FEATHERMEN FACEBOOK PAGE,
September 27, 2019
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