Photo by Kathy Hrastar

Band leader Nanette Bradley Deetz and her partner Charlie Lopez, Sr. rehearse songs in their Alameda garden.

Along its 13-year journey, local band Redbird Giving has spun like a wheel—rotating through multiple incarnations and held steady by its hub, Nanette Bradley Deetz.

Now, with a scheduled performance Saturday, July 21 at Crosstown Community Center in Alameda, the current five musicians authenticate the label "fusion band."

Snappy jazz sizzles from the strings of electric guitar. Haunting notes float from Native American cedar-wood flutes—instruments carved by hand and adorned with animal ornaments.

Bradley Deetz, registered Cherokee of the Eastern Band, taps a traditional hand-drum, while John Rossillon, longhaired, side-burned, mustached (picture a well-preserved hippie) bangs away on a modern drum set.

The accomplished musicians could probably blast the roof off the coffeehouse, yet they restrain their powerful sound to accommodate the poetry of Bradley Deetz's Cherokee heritage. Traditional meets contemporary in rich images: "The night eagle landed softly last night, eyes of red amber glow among the headlights on the 280..."

Sometimes in the language of Cherokee, but mostly in English, Bradley Deetz says the music is accessible to all. She formed the band in 1994, in gratitude to her family for allowing "the many years of arts" she enjoys. Her Cherokee mother, who passed away in 2000, played the piano and the trombone.

Bradley Deetz studied performance arts from childhood through college at UCLA, where she earned degrees in theater arts and dance.

She combines these skills with her latest love of poetry, the first layer in the original songs by Redbird Giving. Bradley Deetz writes the lyrics and then her partner, Charlie Lopez, Sr., composes the music. Next, he says, they collaborate with the band, "jamming until we get what we like."

The songs evolve as the band revolves. Over the years, members have represented different ethnicities and various Native American tribes. Musicians contribute talent on guitar, drums, flute, violin and mandolin.

Throughout its history, Redbird Giving has appeared at area concerts including an auxiliary event of Art & Soul Oakland and the Peanut Butter Jam Festival in Alameda. The band participates in numerous benefits, such as the first "Electric Pow Wow" in Oakland for the Native American Health Center's College Scholarship Fund.

But so far, the performance that Bradley Deetz is most proud of happened two months ago in Lafayette. There, Redbird Giving welcomed the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chad Smith, and other dignitaries on their visit from Oklahoma. She said it was very exciting for her, as she had never met the chief.

Both ceremony and business took place at the event, sponsored by the Cherokee Society of the Greater Bay Area. The newly formed organization, a satellite community of the Cherokee Nation, intends to make the nation stronger through education and sharing of Cherokee culture, language and history.

In fact, through this society, Redbird Giving picked up member Blake Hausman, who met Bradley Deetz at a meeting in spring.

Like Bradley Deetz, Hausman grew up with a musical mother of Cherokee descent. For as long as he can remember, he's played music. He's tried the piano, saxophone, guitar, and flute. He lets the instruments "teach him what he's supposed to do," and he says the Native American cedar-wood flute is especially good for that.

He brings his own sounds to Redbird Giving, glad to help the band's growing repertoire.

The show on Saturday marks the band's second time this year at Crosstown. They also appeared last February, which was a good time, said bass player Josh Risse, "fun — no pressure."

Relaxed is exactly how Bradley Deetz hopes the audience responds, too. She wants listeners to feel included as she shares Native American culture — past, present and future. She says the Cherokee family does not view life in a linear way. It's all a big, inclusive circle.

With Redbird Giving, the circle keeps turning.

Contact Kathy Hrastar at