Post by blackcrowheart on Aug 23, 2007 11:34:26 GMT -5
A tribe called Sioux:
Indian rock band bridges two cultures
Sunday, August 19th 2007, 4:00 AM
www.nydailynews
com/entertainment/2007/08/19/2007-08-19_a_tribe_c\alled_sioux-1.html?ref=rss
[The American Indian Rock Opera
incorporates Lakota music and dance.]
The American Indian Rock Opera incorporates Lakota music and dance.
It's only a few hundred miles from Minneapolis to the Sioux reservation
in Lower Brule, S.D., but it might as well be measured in light years.
For Paul LaRoche, it's a journey that changed his life.
Married with two children, LaRoche was an engineer when he suddenly
turned his back on his profession because it left him unfulfilled. He
tried his first love, music, bouncing from rock band to rock band with
modest success. But that, too, left him empty.
Then, in 1993, it all came together: LaRoche learned of his Sioux
ancestry.
He had been known for most of his 52 years as Paul Summers when his
wife, Kathy, discovered his adoption papers after his parents' death and
they revealed that he was a Lakota, the ancient name of the Sioux.
Paul, his wife and children left Minneapolis in 1995 and moved to the
reservation - a step they all endorsed - where Paul embraced his
heritage, nurtured it, began studying ancient Lakota chants and
traditions and formed the American Indian Rock Opera.
He also adopted his Indian family name, LaRoche, which he says has been
with the Lakotas "since the French came down from Canada and influenced
our culture."
Friday and Saturday, LaRoche, who performs under the name Brule, and the
AIRO singers, musicians, drummers and dancers make their first foray
into the Northeast to play Foxwoods, home of the Mashantucket Pequots.
The irony is not lost on him.
"There is no question that this will be an amazing experience," says
LaRoche. "It's a good feeling to see how some Indians have experienced
great success from gaming. But there is also this illusion among
Americans that many of the tribes are now wealthy. That is simply not
the case.
"There is one Sioux tribe, the Mdewakantonwon, that has a casino and is
very wealthy. But the rest are relatively poor," says LaRoche.
Working with the music from two different worlds, he has melded them
into a seamless sound that has now produced 10 CDs, the most recent
being "Tatanka" ("Buffalo"), released in 2005. It has sold over 1
million copies, says LaRoche. "These are contemporary Native American
sounds, infused with mainstream music - like classic rock, a little
metal, some country, blues and jazz," he says. "We added native
costumes, dancers, chanters and drummers to form a show we hope is both
thrilling and inspirational.
"It's sort of a Native American version of 'Riverdance,'" he adds with a
laugh.
How has the transition been from suburban Minneapolis to the
reservation? "Amazing," he says. "First of all, I had the support of my
family. I couldn't have done it without them. In fact, Kathy now runs
the business, while Nicole, 27, and Shane, 29, perform with AIRO. So, we
are always together. Secondly, I was embraced by my Indian family and
the culture. Totally.
"We may live in a two-bedroom rambler house, which is very typical, very
humble and very modest [compared] to what we had. But it is situated on
a beautiful bluff overlooking the Missouri River, and the views are
breathtaking, the lifestyle relaxed. There is no other place where I
would rather live."
Indian rock band bridges two cultures
Sunday, August 19th 2007, 4:00 AM
www.nydailynews
com/entertainment/2007/08/19/2007-08-19_a_tribe_c\alled_sioux-1.html?ref=rss
[The American Indian Rock Opera
incorporates Lakota music and dance.]
The American Indian Rock Opera incorporates Lakota music and dance.
It's only a few hundred miles from Minneapolis to the Sioux reservation
in Lower Brule, S.D., but it might as well be measured in light years.
For Paul LaRoche, it's a journey that changed his life.
Married with two children, LaRoche was an engineer when he suddenly
turned his back on his profession because it left him unfulfilled. He
tried his first love, music, bouncing from rock band to rock band with
modest success. But that, too, left him empty.
Then, in 1993, it all came together: LaRoche learned of his Sioux
ancestry.
He had been known for most of his 52 years as Paul Summers when his
wife, Kathy, discovered his adoption papers after his parents' death and
they revealed that he was a Lakota, the ancient name of the Sioux.
Paul, his wife and children left Minneapolis in 1995 and moved to the
reservation - a step they all endorsed - where Paul embraced his
heritage, nurtured it, began studying ancient Lakota chants and
traditions and formed the American Indian Rock Opera.
He also adopted his Indian family name, LaRoche, which he says has been
with the Lakotas "since the French came down from Canada and influenced
our culture."
Friday and Saturday, LaRoche, who performs under the name Brule, and the
AIRO singers, musicians, drummers and dancers make their first foray
into the Northeast to play Foxwoods, home of the Mashantucket Pequots.
The irony is not lost on him.
"There is no question that this will be an amazing experience," says
LaRoche. "It's a good feeling to see how some Indians have experienced
great success from gaming. But there is also this illusion among
Americans that many of the tribes are now wealthy. That is simply not
the case.
"There is one Sioux tribe, the Mdewakantonwon, that has a casino and is
very wealthy. But the rest are relatively poor," says LaRoche.
Working with the music from two different worlds, he has melded them
into a seamless sound that has now produced 10 CDs, the most recent
being "Tatanka" ("Buffalo"), released in 2005. It has sold over 1
million copies, says LaRoche. "These are contemporary Native American
sounds, infused with mainstream music - like classic rock, a little
metal, some country, blues and jazz," he says. "We added native
costumes, dancers, chanters and drummers to form a show we hope is both
thrilling and inspirational.
"It's sort of a Native American version of 'Riverdance,'" he adds with a
laugh.
How has the transition been from suburban Minneapolis to the
reservation? "Amazing," he says. "First of all, I had the support of my
family. I couldn't have done it without them. In fact, Kathy now runs
the business, while Nicole, 27, and Shane, 29, perform with AIRO. So, we
are always together. Secondly, I was embraced by my Indian family and
the culture. Totally.
"We may live in a two-bedroom rambler house, which is very typical, very
humble and very modest [compared] to what we had. But it is situated on
a beautiful bluff overlooking the Missouri River, and the views are
breathtaking, the lifestyle relaxed. There is no other place where I
would rather live."