Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 15:36:02 GMT From: "E. Church" (brcs@U.WASHINGTON.EDU) Subject: Re: Dylan Digs Forbert peter (72002.772@CompuServe.COM) wrote: : Q:What does BD toss on the CD or cassette player these days? : A:Ever heard of John Trudell? He talks his songs instead of : singing them and has a real good band. There's a tradition to : what he is doing. Craig wrote: >John Trudell the native rights activist? Absolutely. The AIM (American Indian Movement) activist who has a band called Graffiti Man and several records, AKA Graffiti Man, This Isn't El Salvador, Me and Johnny Damas. The Graffiti Man record was recorded with Jesse Ed Davis in 1986 and rereleased not long ago, and includes some heavy talk/poems about injustice and Native history in the US as well as a song about Elvis (Baby Boom Che) that really rocks. Dylan loved the album, said it was the best one of the year, and used it on the house PA when I saw him play on the Tom Petty Tour. Trudell is intense and political and very comitted. When the FBI cracked down on AIM around the time of the Wounded Knee occupation, and Trudell was a Native leader, his house "caught" fire and his wife and two children burned alive inside. Trudell never shut up, though. And these albums fit into the context of his life in the political world in violent times. The songs are part of a long tradition of protest songs and testimony songs, a record of a people's history. Bob in Seattle
Subject: Re: John Trudell, Dylan's favorite musician Motie2 wrote: Every time Dylan is asked (twice in the newly published "Bob Dylan Companion"), "What do YOU listen to?" he answers, "John Trudell." Have you ever checked the man out? His CD recording, "AKA Grafitti Man," featuring guitar work by Jesse Ed Davis, is incredible.
Dag (dageb@online.no) wrote: I bought the AKA Grafitti Man at a record fair on Saturday, in the thank you-section is the booklet it says "...Bob Dylan for shining a light" Jackson Browne is credited as executive producer and Kris Kristofferson and Steven Soles appear on it. like it a lot. Dag
From: Seth Kulick (skulick@linc.cis.upenn.edu) Date: 21 Dec 1998 16:13:09 GMT Organization: University of Pennsylvania > Grafitti Man is also the title of his independently-released cassette, which was released before the CD. The CD has a somewhat different selection of songs. When Bob first praised Trudell's stuff, only the cassette was out. As I recall, the CD doesn't have Trudell's tribute to John Lennon (sort of), "May God Bless and Breed You All", which makes the cassette an essential purchase. It's still available, as are Trudell's other cassettes, from a web site whose address I don't have on hand, but should be findable through a web search. Great stuff. Trudell was also in the recent movie "Smoke Signals", btw.
