Bigcityindians

Big City Indians

Native Heart - American Soul

by Amy Edglerly

The Big City Indians contacted me first a few months back in an email from their leader and singer, Wolfsheart, a/k/a Bernhard Weilguni. He invited me to explore their website, www.bigcityindians.com, which I promptly did, and was at once intrigued.

I’m sure any of you would be, too, especially the ladies. I admit my shallow shortcomings, one of the first photos of the band under the “Photos” link was of a very (ahem) striking, long-haired, bronzed and bare-chested man who I of course at first assumed must be a very talented, intelligent and spiritual person whom I would be interested to get to know better.

Oh, all right! He was a hunka eye candy, so what? No matter my motivations, I did write back to Bernhard and told him of my interest in the band and asked if he’d care to send a CD/press kit. Which he did. And thanks to the Great Spirit for that.

The title of the album honestly did intrigue me. So did the fact that this band was in Austria, of all places. It didn’t fit – Native Americans in the land of Aaarnold? How did they get over there? What are they doing there? Native Heart, Urban Soul. Photos of their stage show including beautiful men in beautiful native costumes, playing an array of traditional and modern instruments, I was ready for a very percussive, groovy, loud and perhaps, spiritual experience. Well, I popped the CD in the player and cranked it up and was surprised by the sound of wind and water, acoustic guitar and rainstick, and a whispering voice. This wasn’t riling me up, it was calming me down. I looked at the jacket, the song was “Qujaka Wunkaiki Waki” and the lyrics were a repeating chant in a foreign language I could only assume to be a Native American tongue. The second song, “Memory of a Warrior” did start out with wonderful percussion and loud chanting, which got me sitting up. (By the way, the lyrics which are not Blackfoot are English, not German.) But the thing I was expecting – I don’t know what to call it without sounding ignorant and bigoted – the raucous war dance or rain dance perhaps? – wasn’t really what I got. What I got was unexpected and truly delightful.

Only two members of Big City Indians are actual Native Americans.  White Buffalo who performs spoken words, both English and Blackfoot, and traditional dance; and Lee Lostflower, Sioux, another traditional dance performer.  The remaining 4 members are all native Austrians, who feel themselves to be kindred spirits with the Native American way of life, thought and philosophy.  I was curious about the connection – Austria to Native America, and asked Wolfsheart all about it in an email interview.  I’ll leave to you to read the explanation in his own words.  But like he says, we as bikers can certainly understand and empathize with a way of life that accentuates freedom, human dignity, respect for nature and a distinct group individuality.
Big City Indians describe their sound as “Native Indian Power Groove” and to be more specific, in Wolfsheart’s own words as quoted in the band’s newsletter/bio, “we have stuck with the Native intertribal basics, but added some more ethnic sounds, tribal beats, mystic ethereal keyboard sounds, rocking riffs, Native American flute, meditative sounds and a grooving guitar.”  As you can imagine by that description, the collection of songs on NH-US is a peppered, dotted tapestry of blended elements which make up a new creation that is difficult to separate and isolate and deem “this” or “that” kind of music.  Soulfully performed and beautifully mastered, NH-US is a proud accomplishment for Big City Indians, and a welcome addition to my CD collection.

The Big City Indians are:

Wolfsheart (Bernhard Weilguni): Lead vocals, native flute, native drum Chris Pogats: acoustic and electric guitars Firefly: bass guitar, percussion Gigi Skokan: keyboards, backing vocals Roli Reiter: drums, native drums White Buffalo: spoken words, traditional dance Lee Lostflower: traditional dance

To learn more and purchase their CD’s, please Visit their website