The Jerry Cans: Blending English and Inuktitut
The Jerry Cans, also known as Pai Gaalaqautikkut were originally founded as a blues rock trio in Ontario before the three founding members, Andrew Morrison, Brendan Doherty, and Steve Rigby moved to Iqaluit, Nunavut once they finished college. The band is named after Rigby’s use of jerrycans (gas cans) as drums before the band officially came together. Once they were there, they added Nancy Mike, an accordionist from Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Mike also throat sang in many of their songs. They also added Gina Burgess and Avery Keenainak. The band released their first album, Nunavuttitut, in 2012 (Spotify says 2013).
Their second album, Aakuluk, followed soon after, in 2014. Their music features, most notably, guitar, bass, and drums reminiscent of American alternative music. Many songs are also reminiscent of folk music, with their use of violin (Mamaqtuq is a great example). Most of the songs carry a happy rhythm, though many of the band’s messages in these early years focus on changes they want to see in the community, whether that is protesting PETA or the prices at the local store. “Dear Peta” is a request to PETA to stop telling people how to think, to stop “lining their own pockets with lies.” The message focuses on hunting practices and how restrictive it can be. “Northmart” is about how overpriced goods are in the far north (“Northmart is ripping us off”). These prices, compared with the restrictions on hunting creates a trap in which the community can neither get their own food or buy it. (he songs are usually either in English or Inuktitut, though some combine the two, like Suqutaunngilaq. The more serious songs are almost entirely in English, perhaps so the intended audience can understand. “Northmart,” portrays its serious topic in a comedic way “I’m surprised I could even walk there because they charge me an arm and a leg.” With the final song in their first album, the band introduces Mike’s throat singing. Her throat singing becomes more prevalent in their second album, featuring in songs like “Iqqaumattiaqtugut” and “Qujannamiik.”
After their first two albums released as local successes, The Jerry Cans’ third album, Inuusiq, and their final album, Echoes, gained widespread attention. Most of the band’s most popular songs come from these two albums. Among them is “Ukiuq,” which they released both in Inuktitut and English (called “Northern Lights”). The video is prefaced by a message, stating “If you find yourself traveling among the northern lights, never forget the ones who live there.” The song opens with Mike’s throat singing before the rest of the band begins to play. The lyrics are hauntingly beautiful and revolve around the landscape of the distant north. Nancy mike stated “I look to the land and the northern lights in order to find balance in dealing with the more challenging issues up here like high suicide rates, poverty, and high cost of living we face everyday in our communities” in an interview with Exclaim magazine.
With their growing success, The Jerry Cans won awards, such as the Canadian Folk Music Award (Won by Nancy Mike) in 2013, two nominations at the 11th Canadian Folk Music Awards, and two Juno Award nominations in 2018. They formed Aakuluk Music, from which has released music by Aasiva, FxckMr, Northern Haze, Riit, Terry Uyarak and The Trade-Offs. The band also wrote a Childrens’ book called Mamaqtuq, based on their song of the same name in 2017. In 2020, prior to the release of their final album, singer Nancy Mike left the band.
Works Cited
Band Overview: “The Jerry Cans.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerry_Cans.
Exclaim magazine article: “The Jerry Cans: Exclaim!” The Jerry Cans | Exclaim!, exclaim.ca/music/article/the_jerry_cans-ukiuq_video. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
Native hunting rights/laws: “Harvesting Rights.” Harvesting Rights | Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC, aboriginal.legalaid.bc.ca/courts-criminal-cases/harvesting-rights. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
and
“Fishing, Hunting & Gathering The Rights and Responsibilities of First Nations People in Manitoba.” Canada Energy Regulator, docs2.cer-rec.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90464/90548/140190/3116766/3421803/3466508/3560809/A91743-6_WNST_-_MMTP_-_Fishing%2C_Hunting_-_Gathering_the_Rights_and_Responsibilites_of_First_Nations_People_in_Manitoba_-_A6E1A8.pdf?nodeid=3561244&vernum=-2. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.
I found The Jerry Cans very similar to the band I chose (Digging Roots) due to the fact that despite both making very upbeat and “happy” music, their songs have somewhat negative messages that push indigenous activism. Similarly, Digging Roots also sings their songs in English and I think that is for a similar reason as what you mentioned (to reach their non-indigenous audience). I found this interesting because many indigenous artists make their work purposefully inaccessible to non-indigenous peoples as a way to maintain a close bond with their indigenous audience. One such artist that comes to mind is poet Sherwin Bitsui who writes poems that are often indecipherable to non-indigenous peoples as they contain many hidden references to indigenous culture. However, I think this relates to the fact that both Digging Roots and The Jerry Cans write activist music and are trying to invoke change through their music. When I listened to Ukiuq, the throat singing stood out to me. I liked how it was the focus of the beginning but then faded into the background. Since it is such a distinct sound it is easy to pick out and has a kind of haunted quality while still being very catchy and upbeat.