Album Notes

Johnny Oberly
Singer/Songwriter/Flute Player/Storyteller
...A member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Johnny grew up on the Wind River Reservation until leaving for college in 1990. He started playing the guitar in his sophomore year of high school and immediately started writing lyrics and songwriting. He played with a high school “heavy metal” band for a couple of years, calling themselves the “Nuclear Grizzlies.” In college, Johnny discovered “open mic’s,” and would venture out to local coffee shops and restaurants to play in Durango, CO. He began singing traditionally at this time also; today he enjoys traditional singing and is also a Men’s Northern Traditional dancer and Gourd dancer. He has composed traditional northern and southern songs and have incorporated this style of singing in my contemporary Native American songwriting as well. In 1996, Johnny began playing the Native American flute after a synchronistic discovery of the instrument, over the past 10 years he has cultivated his natural talent for playing the flute, incorporating his music and traditional dancing into storytelling performances. He has performed for a variety of venues and for many diverse audiences.

In 2006, he released his first CD “Creator Be With Us” a collection of original Native American flute songs that he composed and produced on his own independent record label, Oberly Records. He is currently working on a second CD which is of my contemporary songwriting. He hopes to be able to work on music full-time; writing, recording and performing. Johnny's songwriting is eclectic and it includes: Folk, alternative rock, blues, contemporary Native American music, and even a few country-western songs. In 2006-07, He played with a Heavy Metal band in Tucson, AZ called “Out from the Shadows,” playing at numerous venues in Tucson.

"As a Native artist, my dream and vision is to be able to reach out to all people and communities and spread a message of: Well-briety, unity and healing though music…"