Meet the Team

The Ensemble

by Bobby Bridger

I met Vine Deloria Jr. in July, 1975 when I was in Denver with the late, great western character actor,Slim Pickens and the Lost Gonzo Band recording my prototype epic ballad Seekers of the Fleece. Vine and I immediately became the best of friends, a relationship that only grew stronger through the years until his death in November, 2005. During those three decades Vine wrote numerous essays, forwards and prefaces about my epic trilogy, A Ballad of the West. He urged legendary western historians and authors to listen to my ballads and write endorsements of my work. He was such a strong supporter I can say with certainly it is unlikely A Ballad of the West would  exist without his support. Instead, with Vine’s help in its infancy and throughout the life of the work, I performed it all over America and the rest of world for nearly four decades. During all this time my relationship with Vine’s family also grew richer and I was blessed to watch Vine and Barbara’s children grow into splendid adults. Thus I am so very pleased and honored that Philip Deloria read his insightful and poignant Preface to the 2006 print edition of The World We Used to Live In for this audiobook. I am so proud of the sterling career Phil has built for himself as a renowned scholar, historian, author, and professor. His books Playing indian and Indians In Unexpected Places were a major inspiration on the themes of my book Where the Tall Grass Grows, and I was honored that Phil helped me create a clearer structure of several of the themes I was exploring in that book.

Truly, from Barbara and Phil Deloria, and Sam Scinta forward, the involvement of an “extended family” has blessed the development of this entire audiobook project. I assembled the ensemble for the audiobook production the same way I might produce and cast a play; indeed, theater played a vital role in the casting. I first met Wes Studi in 1983 in Tulsa when we were both cast in the American Indian Theater Company’s production of Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of John G. Neihardt’s Black Elk Speaks. Later, in 1988, Wes created the role of the “Blackfeet Warrior” in the debut of my full-company musical production of Seekers of the Fleece in Cody, Wyoming and Austin, Texas. Two years later, Wes broke through in Hollywood as the “Bad Pawnee” in the landmark, Academy Award-winning film, Dances With Wolves, and quickly followed that role with a major role in the smash hit Last of the Mohicans, and in the title role, Geronimo: American Legend. Over the past three decades Wes Studi has worked alongside some of the most important actors of our times, and, doing so, become  a highly-respected legend in American film and television. I was delighted when Wes agreed to read The World We Used to Live In and I am pleased that we had the opportunity to renew and deepen our friendship during the recording sessions as he brought his considerable talents as an actor to this important book.

I first met the great Kevin Locke back in the early 1980s as our paths crossed on the school performers circuit. He was already a renowned traditional Lakota musicologist, hoop dancer, flutist, and recording artist, but I was most impressed that, like myself, Kevin often chose to perform for audiences in rural areas throughout the American west. Later, in the late 1990s I was in another production of Black Elk Speaks - this time with theater students at St. Edwards University in Austin. I had done my best as a non-Indian to acquaint students with Lakota culture when someone made me aware Kevin happened to be performing in town. I called and, even though he was about to depart for South Dakota, Kevin came to the university and did a quick performance and lecture on Black Elk and Lakota culture for the students -a generous act that impressed me greatly. When I started searching for traditional flute music to use as transitional underscoring for The World We Used to Live In I sought out Kevin to see if I could license his work. His incredible album Earth Gift proved to be perfect for this aspect of the audiobook, but I was surprised to learn Kevin was deeply connected The World We Used to Live In. Much of Vine’s materials for the book came from early anthropologist Francis Densmore’s classic, Teton Sioux Music and much of Densmore’s field work came from Vine’s home reservation at Standing Rock. In the late 1980s the Library of Congress digitally transferred Densmore’s recordings from their original wax cylinders. Kevin Locke was among the Lakota authorities who brought it to the Library of Congress’s attention that the speed of the transfer was too fast. This of course initiated a quick correction of the error. But, as many of the medicine men presented here were from Kevin’s home at Standing Rock, so he was very aware of the background of The World We Used to Live In.

And last -but certainly not least- of this extended family effort is my dear friend and frequent accompanist of nearly half a century, John Inmon. Most know John as the guitar wizard whose soulful licks and riffs has burnished the careers of legends like Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy LaFave,Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Delbert McClinton, Eliza Gilkyson, Michael Martin Murphy, and scores of others. But John is also a skilled recording engineer, sonic explorer, and record producer, and won the Texas Music Awards coveted Producer of the Year award in 2012. Having worked with John for years I knew he was the person to ask to engineer the recording of the audiobook. Deep into post-production with the  project, John also proved to be as skilled at editing audiobooks as he is is at mixing and mastering musical recordings.