“Over there, over there I hear that music strumming
In the air, in the air like everything’s alright
Even though half is the world burning
I can still see the truth burning in the night
And everything is beautiful, everything is good”
Even though we’re dedicated to music from the Bay Area, it’s rare that we get to write about music by the original people of this land. This is one of those opportunities. However, as often is the case with these things, it’s complicated. Like most of us in the Bay, Goodfeather is not descended from the Ohlone. His father was a Mohawk from New York and his mother was a Mexicana from Texas, so he has a great deal in common with the diverse people of the Bay, who largely arrived here in the last century. Perhaps that in of itself is an important lesson for non-Native people here. According to Goodfeather: “Many people might not know it but there is a large Native American population right here in the Bay Area. They were lured here off of the reservations with the promise of jobs in the 1960s.”
I give all this as context because we often think about people and place, but the truth is that you could listen to the whole album without noticing the artist is Native American. More likely it would remind you of the classic singer-songwriter work of the 1960s-1970s, except this one is impeccably produced by SF-born, four-time Grammy®-nominated producer Greg Landau, who released the album on his label Round Whirled Records. Perhaps it’s cliche to say, but it really sounds like Goodfeather is singing and strumming his guitar right in the middle of your living room. Simple and true words, simple and sweet acoustic guitar, and a simple, singular voice, heart forward.
