John
Trudell |
John
Trudell is a man of many talents. He is a political activist for native
american causes, a poet, songwriter and actor, to name just a few...Growing up
on the Santee Sioux reservation in Omaha, Nebraska, Trudell traces his native
heritage to the Santee and to Mexico. Trudell's poetry comes from the
heart of a warrior. He has had much more than his share of pain in life,
and yet his interminable spirit still shines brilliantly. He has survived
the poverty, hardship and hopelessness of reservation life, the early death of
his mother and war. He was quickly exposed to racism both at home and
while serving during the Vietnam war. |
| After Vietnam, Trudell began to publicly
speak out. He was the national spokesman for the Indians Of All Tribes
Occupation Of Alcatraz Island protest and the national chairman of AIM (American
Indian Movement) between 1983-1989. While this consciousness brought native
issues to the "American" people, it also began the clandestine
harassment of the FBI into Trudell's life. |
|
| Many issues and injustices surround After
taking part in a protest outside the J. Edgar Hoover building (headquarters of
the F.B.I.) Trudell's house on the Shoshone Paiute reservation in Nevada was
burned down with the resulting deaths of Trudell's wife, Tina, her mother, and
the Trudell's three children. The fire was officially ruled an accident. Trudell
retired from public office for a time, until after several months he began to
write poetry as a form of therapy. His first book of poems, Living In Reality,
was published in 1981. However, his friendship with Jackson
Browne opened his mind to the possibilities of music and the recording
studio. Their first experiments resulted in a tape titled Tribal Voice, which
consisted of Trudell's readings over a platform of primal chants and drum beats.
Still not quite content with the results, he discovered another musical ally in
Jesse Ed Davis, also of Native American descent, who had worked with Browne, Bob
Dylan and all the former Beatles.
The duo instantly found their styles and outlook compatible, and started
performing and recording as the Graffiti Band. AKA Graffiti Man was initially
released on cassette only and sold through mail-order and live appearances, but
its impact was still great enough to see Bob Dylan name it 'the best album of
1986'. Other high profile supporters included Kris
Kristofferson, who wrote the song 'Johnny Lobo' in tribute to Trudell's
life. His second album with Davis was Heart Jump Bouquet, but the collaboration
suddenly ended when Davis died in 1986. Trudell began to work with the Graffiti
Band's bass player Mark Shark instead, with Fables And Other Realities the
result. Afterwards the group set out on tour as support to the environmentally
conscious rock band Midnight
Oil. Trudell's recordings were then reappraised with a career-spanning
compilation of 1992 which confusingly shared its title with the Graffiti Band's
debut album. This serves as the best introduction to his work, a style which
measures profundity against irascible humour ('Bombs Over Baghdad', 'Baby Boom
Che' and his harrowing tribute to his wife, 'Tina Smiled'). This activity
combined with much greater visibility within the mainstream media, including
appearances in the major film, Thunderheart, as well as contributions to
documentaries on Native Americans.
Hmore
from John Trudell
Rockin'
The Res (single)
Incident
At Oglala (documentary)
HCompilations
Born
to Choose
Honor
- A Benefit
If
A Tree Falls
Songs
of Peter Seeger
Vol.
5. - Best of Mountain Stage
|
|
|
|
