Brule rocks the park

Contemporary Native act to play in Spearfish

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff | Thursday, July 17, 2008

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Expect a new wave of music when Brule and AIRO hit the stage at the 31st annual Festival in the Park in Spearfish. On July 18-20, the groundbreaking family of contemporary Native American music will showcase its talent along with that of its youngest band member, Nicole LaRoche.

Standing at center stage, Nicole LaRoche follows Brule’s musical lead, but it is often her trilling notes and haunting melodies that draw the crowds to hear what this unusual band has in its catalog of music. The youngest LaRoche has taken the next step in creating her own solo career by producing and writing her latest project, “Deep Dreams.”

“It’s much more electronic and has a heavy feel to it,” she says of the CD.

Released in November, it is a perfect blend for the traditional, contemporary music performed by Brule.

Last week, frontman Paul LaRoche stepped away from a crowd of fans at Mount Rushmore National Memorial to talk about the upcoming concerts. The band’s newest release, “Concert for Reconciliation of the Cultures,” drew many fans over the Fourth of July.

LaRoche says that he and AIRO, or American Indian Rock Opera, have had plenty of time to perfect their concerts after 10 days of appearances on the Xanterra Stage at Mount Rushmore, beginning July 3.

“It’s a chance to get that taste of music,” he said.

It’s not what Top 40 radio stations will play, but once heard, it imprints on the memory. Along with performances, LaRoche has been putting together his ideas for a full rock opera to be finished sometime this fall.

“We plan to write a full rock opera as a full show. It’s ambitious, but I hope we get it done in time,” he said.

The concerts will feature a mix of the new CD’s tracks with that of “Kinship,” which earned Brule Nammy Awards (the Native American version of a Grammy) for best group and best new age recording. They’ll also add in a heavy rotation of Brule favorites as well, he said.

“We’ll showcase the best of Brule at the two-day show before taking a few things off Nicole’s CD. We’ll have plenty of new material,” he said.

Nicole LaRoche, 28, has been the second half of Brule from the beginning.

Classically trained in flute from the age of 10, she had taken private lessons and played in band, orchestra and even marching band. She eventually put her music aside as her life became busier. Yet, when her father decided to enter the music scene with a different genre of music, she packed up her flute and readied herself for the road.

“I had actually quit in this time when my dad found his family,” she said.

But as he wrestled with the decision to go for a music career, she supported his decision.

“I told him, ‘I’ll go with you,’” she recalls. “I’ve been along ever since.”

Paul LaRoche — along with the rest of his family — rediscovered his biological family after his adoptive parents died in a tragic car accident. They had never told him of his Native heritage as a member of the Lower Brule Tribe, let alone that he had been adopted.

To support Paul, the entire family moved from Worthing, Minn., to Lower Brule as they met and formed bonds with newly discovered family and friends.

“We started with nothing,” said Kathy LaRoche, Paul’s wife and Nicole’s mother.

Music is what kept Paul alive, Kathy said. “As a family, we had to take his leap of faith,” she said of their becoming the band, Brule.

Their son, Shane, 30, followed his father’s musical roots and joined Brule after finishing college. Self-taught, he plays guitar by ear — like his father, she said.

“We asked him to finish school, just to be sure,” she added.

Each year, they travel to the 150 shows and festivals in South Dakota, California, Nebraska and Wisconsin. In the meantime, Brule continues to evolve. Moses Brings Plenty, an Oglala musician and actor, came on board nearly four years ago to add his talent of traditional drumming to the band. Newcomer Dedric Thomas, a Santee dancer, floats through the steps of Native traditional grass dances in perfect harmony to Brule’s contemporary music.

Kathy LaRoche said the reception to the band’s diverse music has been overwhelming from all ages and walks of life. When asked if she thought this would be her life when she first met Paul in the summer 1972, she grins at the memory.

“This was a total surprise. Something we would never have planned,” she said.

If you go

What: Brule and AIRO concerts

When: 4 p.m. Friday, July 18; 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19; 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20.

Cost: $5 for sneak peek from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; free on Saturday and Sunday

Where: 31st annual Festival in the Park, Spearfish City Park in Spearfish

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.