Biography

Native Americana & Alter-Native Music
Folk & Blues Rock & Native Contemporary
Featuring Traditional, Contemporary Sounds & Expressions of Indigenous People

Native Folk & Blues Rocker Keith Secola is an accomplished artist: award-winning musician, master guitarist, Native flute player; singer, songwriter, composer and producer. His music is familiar to thousands of fans across North America and Europe, where he's been playing his brand of progressive music in concerts to a cult following for many years.

Dubbed by critics both the “Neil Young of the Native Rock World" and the “Native Bruce Springsteen", Keith Secola has in many people's viewpoints achieved legendary status for his "NDN Kars" ("Indian Cars"). Through the years “NDN Kars” has been interpreted in many different ways including as an anthem song about the rundown cars that cruise the reservations. Jim Purdy summarized in the Arizona Daily Star, "The cars are old, worn-down and tired, but they've got spirit...."According to Natalie Y. Moore in the Minnesota Pioneer Press, the song also decries police brutality. According to Moore, Secola himself maintained that the song concerns "the richness of being poor."

However one interprets "NDN Kars," the song's enduring appeal helped cement Secola's status as a cult hero and took on a life of its own. “NDN Kars” was adopted at a protest rally in 1988 and is on the soundtrack for the feature film “Dance Me Outside”, starring Hugh Dillon, Ryan Black, Sandrine Holt and Adam Beach. "NDN Kars" is the longstanding “Contemporary Native American Anthem” and is the most requested song on Native radio in the US and Canada

Secola and the Wild Band of Indians earned the opportunity to play before a large international audience when they were asked to perform on the main stage at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Secola was the musical director for a feature performance at the Olympics as part of the Navajo 2002 Festival of Nations stage. The performance combined the talents of Native Americans from many different tribes.

Secola explained in a press release available through his website, "I envision the musical production as a Native American rock opera, what I call “Native Americana” music or “Tribadelic.” This music represents the diverse roots of American music that includes the traditional and contemporary sounds and expressions of the indigenous people. It's the type of musical theater I've performed in my live shows across the U.S. and overseas for the past ten years. The 'opera' incorporated singing, music, storytelling, PowWow, and traditional dance."

Secola’s "Native Americana" album won three Native American Music Awards (NAMMY) when released and was voted “Best Folk /Acoustic Album of the Year” by the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Awards. The album features Doors drummer and longtime friend John Densmore. Upon release of the album, Brendan Joel Keeley of the Phoenix New Times wrote, "Native Americana" is just further proof that Keith Secola is far more than a niche artist; he's an amalgamation of this country's musical heritage."

Keith Secola is Anishinabe (Ojibwa) originally from the Mesabi Iron Range country of Northern Minnesota and Southern Ontario, Canada. He is a seven-time Native American Music Award winning artist with numerous nominations in various categories. He has been a long-standing proponent of world music throughout his career and is one of the most recognized promoters of Native American and Independent Artists worldwide.

He has shared the stage with such well known, international artists as David Bowie, the Indigo Girls, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, the Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, John Densmore, Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, Jim Boyd, Joanne Shenandoah and many others. He is the owner of AKINA Records, Tempe, Arizona and the Co-Founder of All Indianz Promotions, one of the world’s largest promotional companies for Native American, Independent and Unsigned artists. On October 7, 2011, Keith Secola was inducted into the “HALL of FAME” by the Native American Music Awards receiving a “Lifetime Achievement” award.

His new album "Life is Grand" was released in 2012.

Myra Chapman / All Indianz
Publicity / Promotions / Media Relations
All Indianz Promotions
LRT / INGrooves Fontana / Universal
myra4078@aol.com
myra4078@lrtentertainment.com
864.898.0376 Office
864.404.0338 Cell
www.Secola.com
www.ReverbNation.com/KeithSecola
www.facebook.com/secola
www.myspace.com/keithsecolawildband
www.Allindianz.com