My Solo Set: Jackson Browne, Indigo Girls, to Bill Staines

Blame it on Bill Staines.
It’s because of him that I may miss or be late for class tomorrow. It’s because of him that I may be tired as I make that 3 hour drive south with two of my sons. Hey, but that’s what friends are for, to give you that little detour from your everyday (or every night) patterns. How could I say no to a few of my favorite things, reading, storytelling, and music. He gave me all three in the form of his book or autobiography. So I’m up late reading and now starting to do another favorite thing, write.
I came to K-town (Keshena) to play for another benefit. I had $15.00 to my name and an empty gas tank as I rolled in with hopes to sell a few CDs so I could make it back home. It was billed as the Winter Folk Fest at the Menominee College and proceeds were to benefit Habitat For Humanity, or a home built in the Menominee and Shawano areas.
The line up included friends and friends-to-be such as Dorothy Zerbe, Clif Ebertson, Patchouli, myself, and the headliner Bill Staines.

Most people that knew me as a musician up in the rez area, knew me as an electric guitarist with a band. This was a folk concert. I’ve only done a handful of solo performances, but I really do enjoy them. In fact my first real solo acoustic performance came as an opening act for Jackson Browne and The Indigo Girls in 2000. My friend Annie Humphrey was also on the bill so I guess I opened for her too. It was also my 2nd gig playing original music. I remember being a little confident until it got to be around show time. Then I began to feel the ice in the pit of my stomach. Nerves were getting the best of me and internally I began shaking more than Elvis’s leg. Just as I was about to walk through the curtain and out on to the stage there was Annie standing in front of the curtain with a remedy, she made this goofy face, and said Yooooouuuu! It shattered my icicles and I walked out on stage pretending to tear open an envelope saying, “And the MeNominees are….” The predominantly Menominee audience shared a belly laugh and I was set to go. I played Cages, Baby Wade, Blues For the River (almost debut), and two songs I wrote influenced by the life of a great friend of the family, Opeqtaew Metamoh or Ingrid Washinawatok. They played footage of her as I sang my songs. Ingrid was a strong Menominee woman who did a lot for indigenous people around the world and was executed in Columbia while working with the traditional Uwa people. Her death affected me deeply. I felt something, some kind of strong connection to her passing that turned into two songs on my debut CD. I played them for her mom, Gwen and sister, Gina after I wrote them and to make sure it was okay with them for me to put them on the CD. I remember they cried and said it was a good thing for me to do this. It was powerful. In fact the whole process of that CD was like a heavy spiritual experience.
It was because of Gina that I played with Jackson Browne and the Indigo Girls. The Honor the Earth Tour was making its final stop in Keshena, a town on my reservation. They chose our reservation because Ingrid was a good friend of theirs and they wanted to honor her.
I remember after my set, Jackson Browne asked if I would like to set in with him. I jumped at the opportunity because just being a guitar player was like my home turf, I felt I could hang with almost anybody and be able to compliment there music. I’m not saying I’m better than anybody else or a technical monster at all. I just like to add some sweetness or some snot or some splashes of speed, but only if and when the music calls for it. That’s what gets me off. It’s all about the music. Anyway, here I was jamming with one of my big influences in front of my home crowd. One of my favorite slide guitarists, former Jackson Browne sideman, David Lindley, used to be doing the same thing I was doing up there on that stage.
After Jackson’s set the Indigo Girls came on. I had never met them before but Amy & Emily are so cool and genuine, I would love to do a tour with them more than most anyone. We continue our friendship today. They invited us all up to jam with them, Jackson, Annie, a member of Ulali, and we did Rock Me On the Water. I got a nice guitar solo in that one. It was really a great spark at the beginning of my career as a singer/songwriter.
20 feet from that stage was the practice rooms of my old high school. The place where I would get out of study hall so I could go and play guitar. The tiny practice rooms that were packed with students requesting songs for me to play until the music teacher would catch them and kick them out.
I would return several more times to that stage, speaking and/or performing for the school and the Menominee community and I probably always will until I’m too old to make it up on that stage.

At the benefit I first did a songwriting workshop along with Bill, Dorothy, and Patchouli. I chose to do a song called, Gift For You, that I had written the night before and I surprisingly remembered most of the melody and chords. I didn’t even try to remember the words, but I had it typed out and had my eyes glued to the page. The response was nice and I thanked them for letting me ‘practice.’ When my turn came back around, I did “When It’s Time” another song that is very young.

7:00 I did my set.
Later I sat in with Bill Staines. I played the cedar flute on a couple of his songs. I met him at the Shawano Folk Festival last August. We hit it off then and he had me join him onstage once on guitar and once on flute. I remember afterwards when I mentioned him to a few people, they were like, “You played with Bill Staines?” I’m so new to the folk scene that I had no idea that he was a held in such high regard in the folk world. I just knew him as a friend.

I think it’s true that you can become successful by who you know. But I believe that real success comes from the internally rewarding friendships you develop with who you come to know. I really don’t care too much for the superficial relationships that some people develop to get “success.” In fact I am terrible at being fake. When I’m in a room with a bunch of people that are all either thirsting for success or looking to find the next Elvis, I just want to go back home on the rez and play guitar or sit by the river. For example, I was in LA once at the Kodak Theatre for a party for the Native American category of the GRAMMYs. This one slick agent with a painted on smile was introduced to me, he grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically saying, “Man I love your stuff. I’ve got all of your recordings (I only had one CD at that time)! Come and see me in my office tomorrow.” Fortunately for me, he suddenly saw a bigger fish walk in and his bullshit was gone just as quick as it came. The saving grace of that trip was hanging in LA with my good friend and big bro’ Adolphus. Real people are what inspires us to really live as we walk among those who only pretend to live.

On Motivation
I used to listen to self-help tapes and read the books when I was young and it helped me in different ways. The only problem is that you have to think of it like exercise. First you learn how to do it and then you must exercise it every day. Also remember, it's not how much you know, it's how you really use, what you know. So in other words, don't try to read every book or tape on the subject. Just take one good method or idea and put into daily practice. Then you can build from there. Like exercise, you can't bench 300 lbs. the first day, you start with one push up and then build up to where you need to be.
You have the ability!

When we acknowledge our demons and expose them, they lose their power, and our potential becomes limitless. Especially, when we direct it in a good way.
Your spark is about to roar!