Chris Ferree

Christian Myspace Layouts - Salvation MySpace Layouts- Inspired by his Cherokee heritage, North Carolina singer/songwriter Chris Ferree released his first Native American CD in 2007 titled Invocation. Influenced by Robert Mirabal, Bill Miller, and Mary Youngblood, among others. Invocation was rooted in the traditional, while balancing on the edges of world and classical.------------------------------------------- - A combination of strong traditional Native American flute, drums and percussion, fused with contemporary instruments and various ethnic sounds. The result was a ten song collection of diverse instrumentals that ranged from haunting and meditative to spontaneous and moving, reflecting the spiritual journey of a man looking into his past trying to find a way of understanding the present.---------------------------------------------------- ----- Chris’s second Native American offering Overflow is a spiritually charged outpouring intended to at once lift the spirit and calm the soul, a fusion of sounds and influences breathed in over the years and released like a flood, full of power and passion.---------------------------------------------------- --------------------- Drawing inspiration from historical events and the stories of yesterday joined with a hopeful vision of what tomorrow. Overflow is an act of worship filled with resonating drums, stirring percussion, and soaring flute, cascading through lush strings and pads, with flourishes of piano and strumming guitar, creating an emotional and melodic atmosphere of sounds.----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- Overflow and Invocation, pushes the boundaries of the traditional, blending jazz, folk, world, and classical, bringing a familiar sound into the future. But if you listen closely you can hear echoes of the past and a deep admiration for the heritage from which this beautiful music was born.-------- “I hope you enjoy and embrace these songs as much as I hope they honor and respect the Principle people of this land, those who walked the red road long ago and those who long to walk it now.”----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------Walking the Red Road--------------------------------------* Step 1: Observe nature with awe and gratitude. and a sense of love and respect for all creation will begin to grow within you.--------------------------------* Step 2: Learn to trust Creator, and accept your circumstances. Overcoming adversity will produce spiritual growth within you.---------------* Step 3: Seek for truth within yourself, that you may remove hypocrisy and evil intent from within your heart.---------------------------------------------------* Step 4: Repent and humbly surrender your will to the Creator, that you may become one with the Great Spirit.----------------------------------------------------* Step 5: Communicate with the Great Spirit from your heart. Listen, and live with the insight you receive.---------------------------------------------------- --------* Step 6: Learn true abstinence. It is in serving others, with an attitude of loving-kindness, so that you create a flow of living water that will purify your heart.------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------* Step 7: Attain complete, joyous harmony with the Great Spirit. This requires that I totally surrender your will to the will of the Creator, and love others unconditionally without judgment because that is who you are.-------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ -------The Circle from the Cd Invocation-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------Dance of The Blue Blanket----------------------------------------------------- ----------by Barbara "Shining Woman" Warren--------------------Nadia was four years old...and she loved Indians. Everything about Indians excited her. One day Nadia's grandmother came for a visit. Grandmother recalled those old stories the family told of Cherokee blood. So Grandmother decided to take Nadia, along with Nadia's mother and baby brother, to her first pow wow.Little Nadia stood at the edge of the Circle. She watched with awe as the dancers passed by her dressed in their beautiful clothing. She listened intently to the drum, her knees dipping with the beat and Nadia knew she wanted to dance. But there were so many kinds of dances going on. She watched the men; then the women. She lifted one foot, then the other, puzzled about just what she should do with her feet.Nadia felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking up she saw a smiling woman dressed in beautiful clothing holding out her hand toward Nadia. Nadia hesitated and glanced at her grandmother for approval. Grandmother's eyes smiled, "Yes."So Nadia accepted the hand of the stranger and together they danced and danced around the Circle. After a while, Nadia began to dance on her own. As Grandmother watched, Nadia started to twirl and whirl holding her arms up high in the air in imitation of the lovely fancy shawl dancers.Grandmother beckoned to Nadia. She gave her a small blue blanket belonging to Nadia's baby brother. Nadia placed the blanket around her shoulders and began to dance with it in the Circle, the blue blanket twirling and whirling about her like the wings of a butterfly.She felt another tap on her shoulder, and there stood a different woman, and in her out-stretched hand she held a child-sized fringed shawl. Nadia glanced at Grandmother for approval. Grandmother's eyes smiled, "Yes."So Nadia accepted the gift from the stranger. She placed the fringed shawl about her shoulders and then began to dance, the fringed shawl twirling and whirling about her like the wings of a butterfly.Nadia danced in honor of all those ancestors who had come before and with the pure joy of being a little girl at her very first pow wow.-------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------
-----------------------------------------Bill Miller Quotes------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------* "Songs are healing to the soul and can be used in reconciliation between people of all races."----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------*"I don't want anyone to carry around this guilt. All we need is to be allowed to speak, to mourn, to express anger, then be allowed to forgive our oppressors. This could lead to a deeply powerful spiritual change in the U.S. and the world. It could be a statement about peacemaking that comes with courage."--------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------*"My faith in my Creator leaves me content with the gifts I have and I use them to enrich the world through His blessings. I choose to bless people rather than curse them, to be a peacemaker rather than a warmaker." ------*"I've been given a lot of second chances in my life. I've been through alcoholism and other problems. I was lifted out of the ditch, and I still see a blue sky above. After years of living against the grain, I see things as rivers, creeks and rainstorms, as the liquid layers of my life."---------------------*"It reminds me of a cocoon," he says of Indian music. "First you see the webs in the trees, then you can see the chrysalis. We've metamorphosed into a beautiful thing. I really feel strongly that we're going to be embraced by world music. We're the blood in this country's veins."----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------Bill Miller - Ghost Dance------------------------------------------------------- --------Native American Words of Wisdom-------------------------------