John Trudell

John Trudell, a Native-American poet and activist, entered the world and grew up on the Santee Sioux Reservation straddling the line between Nebraska and South Dakota. Throughout most of the 1970s he served as national chairman for the American Indian Movement (AIM). In 1979 he stepped away from Native-American political activism when his wife, mother-in-law, and three children perished in a blaze that destroyed their Nevada reservation home. Convinced the incident was deliberate, the tragedy struck merely 12 hours after he had ignited an American flag outside the FBI Building in Washington D.C. He commenced delivering his poetry during live appearances, and with encouragement from musician acquaintances including Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, he eventually issued a cassette featuring his verses accompanied by traditional Indian chants and drums. Encountering guitarist Jesse Ed Davis provided the musical partner necessary to create compositions supporting his spoken words. The year 1986 brought the self-produced cassette Original A.K.A. Grafitti Man, recorded alongside Davis, which Bob Dylan deemed the finest release of that period. Trudell's musical pursuits paused two years afterward upon Davis' passing from a drug overdose, until he partnered with guitarist Mark Shark to produce another cassette blending rock & roll with poetry titled Tribal Voice (Beautiful Fables and Other Realities). Rykodisc offered Trudell a contract in 1992 after he toured as an opener for Midnight Oil. That resulting album, bearing the same name A.K.A. Grafitti Man, incorporates newly recorded versions of tracks from his independent cassettes while retaining Davis' original guitar contributions. It includes joint efforts with Davis, Shark, and Native-American vocalist Quiltman, with Jackson Browne handling production duties. Assisted by Shark and Quiltman, Trudell delivered the 1994 Rykodisc follow-up Johnny Damas and Me. He adjusted his poetic approach five years subsequently for Blue Indians. Composed entirely of conventional vocal chants and pulsating worldbeats, Blue Indians earned widespread critical praise. Trudell's ongoing examination of his Native-American roots persisted into the new millennium. Daemon Records, Amy Ray's label, released Bone Days in 2002, presenting further intense and probing compositions addressing political and societal concerns.