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There is NO WAY that I could say enough about John Trudell!  Suffice to say, that when it comes to the Baby Boomer generation of natives, he is IT!  One of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), served as it's leader in the volatile 1970's, lived through the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, dealt with the aftermath of the Jumping Bull shooting and numerous other murders, including the death of his friend and fellow activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash (for more on her tragic death, please click here).  He lost his entire family on the Duck Valley reservation to a clear case of arson, and still came through for others, such as down on his luck world famous Kiowa guitarist Jessie Ed Davis.  He has always been a poet, but has never liked the beat poetry movement, so he founded his own style of musical poetry--this is one is his earliest efforts released originally on cassette in the mid-80's.  To know more, watch the nearly 80 minute documentary below.  

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Alejandro Escovedo comes from one hell of a musical family.  Not only is he an extremely prolific solo artist, singer/songwriter and terrific live act, but he got his start in numerous punk bands, most notably Rank and File.  His family includes the late Coke Escovedo who was a member of Santana and went on to found his own group Azteca (which was revived by his son and another brother Pete).  Pete also has a solo career and makes big band type recordings with a Chicano bent (good stuff BTW!).  Younger brothers Mario and Javier were in notable bands of their own, with Javier being in the punk band The Zeros, with yesterday's featured artist Robert Lopez AKA El Vez.  Finally Sheila E. is Alejandro's niece (she is the daughter of Pete).  That's a lot of music for one family!!  I've never had the pleasure of seeing him live in person (something I'd love to remedy someday!), but I have seen numerous performances of his, most via YouTube, and can attest that he ROCKS!  Below is a live performance of "Notes On Air" from the Air City Winery in NYC, January 2013.

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Robert Lopez AKA El Vez--The Mexican Elvis is a lot more than just an Elvis impersonator.  Hard to explain what he does with words--much easier to just listen.  He actually got his start in a punk band, The Zeros, as a guitar player; a band that had a member from the ultra-famed Escovedo clan (more about members of that family later).  The song featured here is from his 1994 parody of the famous Paul Simon album "Graceland" (obvious from the cover--also somewhat referencing conquistadors at the same time).  The song, which is hard to get out of your head once heard, is about the last Emperor of the Triple Alliance, better known as the Aztec Empire:  the much sung about, even to this day, Cuauhtemoc, whose name roughly translates in English to "descending eagle."

Something New: Music Video Of The Day

I have a huge Native American music collection and have a playlist on my iTunes that currently features over 2900 items of and pertaining to Native music of the New World and South Pacific.  I used to have Yahoo list many, many years ago the topic of which was Native music.  I wanted to share some this, but short of starting another blog right now (I barely have time for the one's I have) I thought I would share some of it here.  First up is a traditional ceremonial beginning to Danza gatherings.  It comes from the above featured album, picturing Maestro de los Maestros Lazaro Arvizu of the Los Angeles famed Xipe Totec Danza Azteca.  Copal is a native incense that comes from southern Mexico and is extremely sacred.  Xavier, who is a leading expert on Meso American pre-contact instruments (he makes them), is of Huichol ancestry.

Speaking of sacred; eagle bone whistles are extremely sacred both here in the US and Canada, but also in Mexico as well.  Here's a cool little clip on their manufacture and how they sound (as well as substitutes made from copper) hailing from Jemez Pueblo down New Mexico