This year has been big for country rock and alternative musician Lomakoyva of the Gila River and Hopi Tribes, who plays regularly in Globe-Miami and San Carlos. In July, his band One Way Sky won best alternative recording at this year’s Native American Music Awards for their song “Indian Route 15” and was recently signed to Indie Groove Records.
Already a member of two other bands, on top of this, Lomakoyva decided to begin his own solo project and has released two singles this year.
He released his first single, “Everytime I See the Moon,” in April and held an autograph signing party at Silver Tap .928 in Globe. In late August, he released his next single, “Wild and Free.”
“I finally decided just to write my own music and tell my own story, my own perspective,” the 26-year-old says.
As a performer, he goes by his first name, Lomakoyva; his full name is Lomakoyva Manuel. He is from Sacaton and has lived on the reservation his whole life.
“I think I always knew that I wanted to,” he says of starting his solo project, “but I just kind of feel like I am more mature and know how to write music, and at my age now, I've experienced a lot of life.”
A multi-instrumentalist, Lomakoyva plays the guitar, accordion, bajo, harmonica, ukulele, and drums. He also writes his own music.
“They came really quick and really natural,” he says of his two singles.
“Every Time I See the Moon” was inspired by his relationships, both past and present, he says.
“That song could mean anything to anybody,” he says. “To me, it means something different, but to other people that have talked to me, they're like, ‘wow, man, I really love that song, and it makes me miss my grandpa, or my grandma.’”
“It's a sentimental song to some people, but also it's a heartbreaking song to some people, and sometimes it's a really good, happy song,” he adds.
“Wild and Free,” on the other hand, was inspired by the canyons and water on Hopi lands, and he indeed considers it a wild song.
The first lyric of the song begins with, “In the heart of the canyon, where the river runs deep, I hear the whispers of the past, and the secrets that they keep.”
Shortly thereafter, he got to visit Supai with his fiancee. Down in the canyon, by the water, they saw a petroglyph on a rock.
“That song really just described my whole experience," he recalls. “That was really, almost kind of supernatural, kind of odd, that I wrote that song, and I just experienced it.”
“Down there, I feel like you're wild and free, and the mountains definitely touch the sky down there, because you're in the canyon,” he adds.
He will continue releasing singles every few months and has plans for an album in the near future.
In addition to playing as a solo musician, he also plays in his father’s country rock band Eagleheart, as well as One Way Sky and country rock band Aravaipa.
He has come a long way since his beginnings as a musician, which began when he started playing guitar alongside his dad in Eagleheart at age 14.
“My dad put me on guitar and let me start playing with the band,” he recalls. “He already had a guitarist, but he just let me sit in to learn the songs and learn everything, and then from there, it kind of just eased on, and I got better.”
“Before then, I was just an instrument player, I never sang. I was really self-conscious,” he says. “They really helped me break out of my shell. They believed that I could be a singer.”
Of course, his father has been a huge inspiration to him and his music, he says, along with Native people who have paved the way. Iconic rock stars are sources of inspiration as well, Lomakoyva says, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley.
Between bands, Lomakoyva has toured as far as Florida, Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Seattle, Washington, and Oklahoma. Earlier this year, he played at the White Mountain Apache Tribal Fair and Rodeo with both Eagle Heart and Aravaipa.
“Both nights were packed,” he says. “Over there in White River and San Carlos, and even Navajo Nation, they love country music, it doesn't matter, they'll just dance to that stuff.”
In San Carlos, he plays at Apache Gold and in Peridot, Bylas, Seven Mile. Here in Globe-Miami, he plays at the Silver Tap and Salinas’ Smoke Street.
“I like that energy, the vibe of everybody just having a good time, dancing,” he says.
His own heritage also plays a part in his music.
Waila, or Chicken Scratch, is music that is traditional to the Gila River in the Tohono O'odham Nation and still really popular. Lomakoyva describes it as a sort of blend of polka mixed with Tex-Mex and Tejano. He grew up playing Waila.
“I just mix everything together,” he says. “I love being a versatile musician, because I feel like music is the language of the world.”
“My favorite aspect of playing music is just being able to express myself on stage and also represent my people,” he adds. “What my dad always told me was, ‘love for music is our life.’”
“Everything that it brings is good, all the experiences, all the people that you meet, the way it makes people feel,” he continues. “Whether it's a sad song or a happy song, that's the power of music, and that can bring somebody to their knees if it's a really good song.”
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Lomakoyva is scheduled to play an acoustic set on October 8 at the Silver Tap from 6 to 9 p.m.
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