Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaz Wagner.
Hi Chaz, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up on an Indian Reservation (Bois Forte) in Nett Lake, MN – the world’s largest wild-ricing lake. It was there at a young age I discovered my Native American heritage. I grew up singing and dancing at Pow Wows. During my adolescent years, I took up playing the electric guitar. I learned and played cover songs (other people’s music), which helped hone my craft. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and my family was supportive – my father would take me to local music shops and would let me buy whatever kind of music I wanted! I remember he had an amazing LP collection that consisted of Queen, The Beatles, and everything else. Fast forward to today, I noticed there wasn’t much for ‘indigenous sounding’ music – all the Native American musicians sound like something else: like blues, folk, and rap. I wanted to blend the traditional Native American Pow Wow with modern instruments like guitars, drums, and keyboards. War Bonnet reverentially explores and reinterprets the darker, more recessed ancestral music created by North America’s indigenous people. In 2016, Chaz Wagner (Bois Forte Ojibwe) and Tony Parson (Leech Lake Ojibwe) formed the band War Bonnet.
War Bonnet is a legendary Native American rock band; War Bonnet brings awareness to Native American rock music as a genre, historical events, and current events in Indian Country. War Bonnet released the single, War Horse, following their first full album, The Ghost Dance (February 2019). On May 2, the Native Report featured War Bonnet and their song, “Ikwe,” which brings awareness to the #MMIW movement — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (children and peoples). Ikwe appears on their second album, “Ancestral Legacy,” released on November 27, 2020 (Native American Heritage Day). In late 2020, the band collaborated with accomplished vocalist – Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Ojibwe), and has since been added as a composer to the WB team. The band is working on their 3rd & 4th musical masterpiece – the new music dives even deeper into the creativity of their tribal roots. The band was Nominated for 2 Native American Music Awards in 2019. Best Rock Recording for “The Ghost Dance” album and Group Of The Year, and is currently nominated for another 2 Native American Music Awards for “Best Rock Music Video for the song “Ikwe” and Best Rock category.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Fortunately, we’ve had no real struggles other than the Covid Pandemic taking 2 years of playing to our audiences.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a musician specializing in Native American-sounding music/themes. I’m known for being a musician, a Pow Wow singer, and an Indian Educator at Hibbing and Chisholm Public School Districts. I’m most proud of being a Native American! I’m proud of the music I created to honor my ancestors and instill education and pride in people. This has never been done by anyone – this sound. We are pioneers of a new Indigenous Fusion or Native American Rock music genre.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.warbonnetofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warbonnetofficial/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warbonnetmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsMwCuBzHbYPP97mDwUmFQ
