'Metal from the Dirt' - Cool profile of Navajo metalheads, and Din metal shows on the rez
There's a not-to-be missed profile in High Country News on Din heavy metal bands on and around the Navajo Nation in Arizona, with incredible photos by Clarke Tolton, who also directed the video above.
Snip:
Read the restOn the drive through the Navajo Nation, twirling the radio dial yields country station after country station. The genre warbles about the American Dream, lifes struggles paying off, and frustration, loss and regret. Scan long enough though, and you might stumble upon Laydi Raynes weekly metal show on KSHI out of Zuni, New Mexico. Its one of the only shows in the area that caters to the genre, which is popular on the nation.
Metalheads on the nation have long been making the style their own through rez metal, short for reservation metal. Bands record in abandoned houses, and host shows in backyards and empty parking lots. The musicians have embraced ingenuity and teamwork to create a scene reflective of their identities. And now, a generation of Din youth who grew up listening to metal are shaping the scene themselves.
The heavy metal genre was born in 1980s England, but has translated easily to the Navajo Nation, said Jerold Cecil, band manager of I Dont Konform. Metal is disenchantment with everything, said Cecil, a Navajo citizen. Establishment, society, the frustrations you have in your life, socio-economic problems, family problems, not being provided the resources or the opportunities that most people are given everyday, just because youre on the rez.
Cecil jokes that the only difference between rez metal bands and other metal groups is that even if theyre not getting paid, rez metal bands will drive five hours or more to a show.
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/FWpAiC5-iUw/metal-from-the-dirt-cool.html