|
Enjoy Music from
Young Kingbird's
"On the Warpath" Cd
|
CONTACT YOUNG KINGBIRD |
|
Home Town: Ponemah, Minnesota
Myspace: Click Here |
|
Indigenous in the News Featured Artist Review
Young Kingbird - On The Warpath
By Jamison Mahto
I smudge my bike and myself as the sun peaks over the eastern horizon. Mitakuye wyasin. The energy of the young singers on the CD On the Warpath is infectious right from the start and it moves me to pump hard from the very first crank on the pedals and I move quick down the street to the Midtown Greenway bike path, moving east to renewal and rebirth. I don’t need any stinkin’ pledge to dedicate this ride to Juanita and her daughter.
There is much that can be said about the Kingbird name. First of all there are a lot of them. I was blessed to be able to work with Oona Kingbird, the matriarch and storyteller that has continued keeping the culture constant and vibrant almost single-handedly. One of the results is the Young Kingbird Singers.
When I read the recording company’s name, War pony Records, I am reminded of Filbert in Smoke Signals going to the auto salvage yard to purchase his War pony. In the music I see Filbert laying down a bag of weed, some cash, a half full bottle of whiskey and a book of food stamps to purchase the pow wow jumper. Damn if it doesn’t start and the radio works. We’re rollin’ down the Pow Wow highway now.
The CD On the Warpath is a long sixteen-trac recording filled with everything I need to have my own pow wow. There are several Fancy Shawl, Intertribal, and Contest Songs. As well as a Grass Dance song and a Jingle Dress Song.
Why the title? On the Warpath? Who? And Why? Maybe it will be enough to just say, “It ain’t ovah!” Ask anyone from my community that knows and they’ll tell you who our common enemies are and that they aren’t as yet vanquished. Those enemies have nothing to do with race. Greed, nepotism, recidivism, corruption, jealousy, vanity, lust and ignorance are as rampant as ever.
The Young Kingbird Singers are eleven strong including the following members of the Kingbird family. The singers include Mark, Dallas, Jr., Randy, Mr. Matt, Naygawa, James and Montana Kingbird as well as Sheldon Smith, Elbert White and Mike Needham.
These singers sound young and strong. As if they’re ready for the stuff to hit the fan. By the time I get to the Minnehaha Blvd. bike path, I am remembering how it felt to be young and strong. I am reminded of battling my way down streets that are a long approximation of something that slightly resembles a life. I feel that youthful enthusiasm from the singing and it makes me feel good. I push harder but it gets easier because I’m no longer nearly sixty years old and an elder but, I am a fine tight specimen of the age of 22 in the prime of his life, riding like time depended on it and with a dream song in my heart I move toward a better version of myself.
It is amazing what this does to my grief and pain. Everything gets cut loose out here because there is no time between running that last red light and dodging the graceless pedestrian that tries to guess which side of the sidewalk they think is the safest and no matter which way they turn, I’m around them anyway when they could have just stayed where they were. But, no they think I can’t see them, or I can’t steer around them or shit, just don’t panic people. No need to panic! I’ve got this. This CD has the song line-up of a drum group that intends to travel the pow wow highway singing their way into the hearts of the enemy, enticing them, and seducing them to the ways of peace with music that means business. When you run into Filbert, tell him for me that it ain’t cool to eat the chocolate bar at the top of Eagle Butte. He’ll know what I’m talkin’ about. |
