00:00 Welcome back to Urban Rush, I'm Patrick Maleha filling in for Michael Eckford who is sick
00:07 with the old-fashioned flu.
00:09 That is right and I'm Fiona Forbes and you just got a chance to hear her sing that beautiful
00:13 song A Change is Gonna Come and we're joined now by Jana Michoni.
00:17 How are you Jana?
00:18 I'm good.
00:19 So tell us about that song, everybody's heard it, but why did you choose to perform it and
00:24 put it on your album?
00:25 Well I performed at the American Indian Inaugural Ball January 20th in the States and it was
00:30 a song that exemplified what my album was representing at the time which is about change
00:36 and I just thought it was a great song to open up the album and I'd already finished
00:41 the album and I was done in the studio, I was exhausted and I said I have to do this
00:45 song.
00:46 Really?
00:47 Yeah so it's kind of like I grabbed Derek Miller and we just did it.
00:50 Now when something like that happens I know that as a person you say oh this is a beautiful
00:54 Sam Cooke song I want to do it but as we all know it is a business so how do you go about
01:00 doing that?
01:01 You can't just say I'm doing Sam Cooke music.
01:02 I sold the song seriously.
01:03 Oh wait, oh we don't count, okay.
01:04 This is on the air?
01:05 Oh wait, oh my god that was personal.
01:11 No I mean well it was already a challenge just to be able to do the song because there
01:16 are certain songs you don't want to touch.
01:18 People say you shouldn't do a Beatles song, you shouldn't do blah blah blah and for me
01:22 I just felt this was something so emotional of the song that I just I had to do it and
01:28 you know I've obviously practiced it a lot and I got some feedback.
01:31 Is it a tough song to sing?
01:32 I mean I'm not a singer at all so I have no idea.
01:35 It's tough for me.
01:36 Yeah.
01:37 I know, yeah.
01:38 It sounds challenging.
01:39 It's challenging but the words that he wrote in the 60s in the Civil Rights Movement actually
01:44 is from my hometown in North Carolina he wrote it.
01:46 Oh really?
01:47 So it's kind of like I had a connection and then I just felt good singing it.
01:51 Can I change for you why that is a theme or something in your life?
01:55 Well it was a time right now stylistically I did an album before American Indian Story
02:00 which is more traditional native and this one's more like pop R&B so it's a completely
02:04 different style for me and just a change in my life.
02:07 I mean I'm just growing up and I'm now like 12.
02:10 I'm now almost a teenager.
02:13 She's almost a teenager.
02:14 I was going to say you're like 17.
02:15 I'm not legal yet.
02:18 Now you've been incredibly successful in a certain genre of music and Grammy winner
02:24 nominated?
02:25 Grammy nominated.
02:26 Grammy nominated.
02:27 Winner hopefully.
02:28 And I always get confused because Grammy nominated which is in and of itself that's unbelievable.
02:34 No I was I think as any artist you want to be nominated for especially I don't know in
02:39 the world whatever.
02:40 Grammy is like the big thing.
02:41 Oh it's the biggest thing you can achieve in music.
02:43 Yeah.
02:44 And you were nominated in?
02:46 Best Native American album and it was just an honor.
02:49 I mean just like Mary J. Blige was there and John Mayer, Christina Aguilera.
02:53 I mean just all these people I'm just like in awe and I can't believe I'm like standing
02:57 next to these people so I was it was pretty amazing.
03:00 And you're very involved in the Native American community and you do a lot of charity work.
03:04 Why is that important to you?
03:06 I think every artist should give something back.
03:09 I think that you know artists say well I'm not responsible for what I say.
03:12 I'm not you know like I don't take care of the kids but I think you have a responsibility.
03:17 Everybody has you know you're in the spotlight so you know people are going to be looking
03:20 at you and I think it's important to make a positive impact.
03:24 Absolutely.
03:25 Because why not?
03:26 I mean why go out there and try to have something that's negative.
03:29 You want to be something that's important and positive.
03:31 And speaking about kids.
03:33 Yes.
03:34 Something that's positive.
03:35 Tonight.
03:36 Yes I'm performing at the Chief Joe Mathias Center for the Squamish Nation.
03:40 Kids welcome to come if they want to come out and hear me.
03:43 Can you stand up if you want to?
03:44 Sure.
03:45 That'll go along well with the kids.
03:46 I don't know if you've ever seen him stand up.
03:47 Stand up for the children.
03:48 That's what I'm doing for it.
03:49 Keep it you know calm down.
03:53 Yeah.
03:54 So you also just had your first opportunity to be in a movie.
03:57 It sounds like it has a very interesting concept about dinosaurs.
04:00 It's called Raptor Ranch.
04:01 It's called Raptor Ranch and I fight dinosaurs in Texas.
04:05 I wouldn't guess that about you.
04:08 I mean it's kind of like Angelina Jolie.
04:12 I'm pretending.
04:13 But I say I have to do you know it's my first movie and it was fun making it and it's gonna
04:19 be released next year.
04:20 Is it something that you'd like to do again?
04:21 I would love to.
04:22 I would love to.
04:23 Let's hope that.
04:24 I think it's like it could be it's like CB level.
04:27 Hopefully it'd be A level.
04:30 Maybe a big DVD release.
04:31 Well it sounds great.
04:32 But it was great.
04:33 It was a great exposure.
04:34 Well thank you so much for joining us Jan.
04:35 Thank you.
04:36 And for her album it is a must have.
04:38 New Moon Born is the title of the album.
04:40 You can meet Jan tonight as she just mentioned.
04:43 She will be at the Joe Mathias Center in North Vancouver from 6 till 8.
04:47 And Patrick Maliha will not be doing stand up.
04:51 Trust me that is a good thing.
04:53 Stand up is great but it's not for the kids.
04:56 Not for the kids.
04:57 No.
04:58 Not G rated.
04:59 Not at all.
05:00 The opposite.
05:01 Sorry that I mentioned it everybody.
05:02 We're going to take a quick break and when we return we're going to be talking to one
05:05 of the stars of Less Than Kind right after this.
05:07 See you next week.
05:08 You're tearing me apart.
05:09 Hey guys.
05:10 Guys.
05:10 Hey guys.
05:15 Guys.
05:17 Guys.
05:19 Guys.
05:21 (upbeat music)
05:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments