My Name Is Bear

Nahko: an Oregon-native born a mix of Puerto Rican, Native American, and Filipino bloodlines considers himself a citizen in service to the planet. Disillusioned by the world around him and inspired by vagabond, Americana musicians and storytellers like Conner Oberst and Bob Dylan, Nahko left home as a teenager in search of adventure and self discovery. This sounds like a job for the boss. Definitely a job for the boss…

No matter how long we sit opposite each other in this fine rock n roll establishment known as the Sanctum Hotel just off Regent Street, I will never come out with the story I think I’m looking for.

Nahko is far too much a creature of the earth to do that with. To explain: some interviews are like driving from Junction 10 to 11 on any given motorway because they all look the same. The person sitting in front of you is only geared up for that one stretch of road and either doesn’t like to or doesn’t want to talk about what might lie before junction 10 and/or after 11. Sometimes that’s the way it goes and you deal with it.

Talking with Nahko is more like wandering through the woods. Neither of us knows where this might go, neither of us care much either because where we go is where we will be and that’s how you do things properly in both my world and his.

If you really want to know what Nahko is all about, simply listen to a few songs and you’ll get it like a finger in the eye. If you don’t happen to be near a device that can deliver such a thing, here’s a little background from his site: ‘Armed with stories, a guitar, and a fierce set of ideals, Nahko set out to bridge the cultural gaps dividing his own psyche. He began producing a public, musical journal of his journey toward personal, spiritual, and social healing, and thus the band, Medicine for the People was born.’