TOMMY LIGHTNING BOLT

Little Hollow Bones (4:53)

 

Heyoka Magazine: When did you first start playing the flute and the other musical instruments?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: I first started playing the Native American flute around the age of 24. It just came natural, like breathing. I started with the Pan flute at age 17. It was so mystical, like I'd play in the ancient old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest and the mists would gather from out of nowhere weaving through the old timbers. It was instant love. So it wasn't a huge leap to pick up a Native American Flute. I've played some piano since age 6, and guitar at age 16, then picked up Rock Guitar at age 26 upon request by my mentor Coyote. I guess you could say I've always been around music, grew up with it, It has been a very important part of my life.

 

Frame of a sweat lodge

HM: Who would you say are some of the influences on your music and is that your voice on your new album, Dancing with The Thunder Beings?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Yes, That is my voice on the C.D., I tried to capture, as my friends put it, "My old man voice" I use in sweat lodge. But I also use my Opera/Rock voice too so it created a nice meld. My friends like the old man voice, they say when I use it it raises the hair on their neck or goose bumps or something...As for my influences, I rely heavily on Mother Earth and pray, I try to be a "Little Hollow Bone" for the music to flow through me from Spirit! Nothing Influences me like Ancient forests, high mountain lakes, Sacred places.

When it comes to rock guitar my influences are Eric Johnson,Yngwie Malmsteen,Warren DeMartini/Ratt,Chris DeGarmo/Queensryche. My Vocal influences are Geoff Tate/Queensryche,Bruce Dickinson/Iron Maiden, Steve Perry/Journey. So as you can see, I have a large array of "paints" I draw from.

 

HM: Can you please tell me about some of these unusual instruments you use, like the gourd peyote rattle, eagle bone whistle, rain stick etc.

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Well I started using the gourd (Peyote) rattle from day one of my recording sessions (around age 25), I made it my self however I don't have horse hair on the top I have the full tail section of a Flicker bird, This bird is connected with fire so I use this rattle to connect my music to the creative fires of the center of the Universe. It also has a fantastic sound! Rattles are of course a traditional instrument and I try to use Native instruments  as much as I can. Like the Eagle Bone Whistle (which I also made, age 25), this as I learned can call spirit, so I wanted to use it in the opening track of the C.D. to call spirit into the project. I also wanted to honor My true teacher who taught me to be a "Little Hollow Bone" which is reference to some one able to channel the powers of the Universe to do the work of Wakan Tanka, But an Eagle bone whistle is in fact a "Little Hollow Bone" so it is a play on words. The rain stick has always been considered a mystical instrument, and I've used them for almost a decade of music making, I understand They come for South America, I love the sound they make.

About the flute, the Native American flute is one of the most mystical of all  Native instruments, as my teacher told me "everybody thinks it's the drum that calls the spirits... but it's not...It's the flute". A very good example of this is one of my elders told me his Grandfather would hunt with a flute! He would play the flute and in the music he would tell the Deer how hungry he and his family were...draw the Deer in close with the music...snake out his arm with a knife and slit the Deer's throat, Dinner for the family! The Flute can in fact call many elementals.

An elder told me that the flute is a very powerful medicine and should not be taken lightly, or "played around with". It can open you up and make you susceptible to be Psychically drained. I find I have to smudge down after I play because it tends to bring my emotions to the surface. It definitely is not a toy.

 

As for the Rock Guitar, My true teacher told me the Grandfathers (the spirits) want a Rock Guitarist, Asked me to do this and told me it is time for me to fulfill my destiny. So I am starting with Native American Flute and weaving guitar in to the last two tracks, Not to over the top, But it gives a for-shadow into the direction the music is going to go in the future, but I will never stop playing flute in the music. I think it blended beautifully.

HM: How long did you work on this album and did you play all these instruments. Why would the spirits (grandfathers) want a rock guitarist?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: I worked on this album for two to three weeks, 5-6 days a week, 5-6 hours a day. And yes, I performed all the instruments and vocals. I also did all the arrangement and production. A friend (Jon B. Johnson) helped me with the mastering process. As to why the Grandfathers (Spirits) want a rock guitarist, They want me to bring a message to the people of the Earth. And music is clearly one of the most powerful forces on this planet. And Rock music is one of the most popular kinds of music with the youth, and the youth do have the power to bring about change. As to what the message is I do not feel it is time to come forward with it now in this interview. Sorry if I disappoint your readers but as you know, timing is every thing on these matters.

HM: What inspired the title of you album, Dancing with The Thunder Beings?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: The title "Dancing With The Thunder Beings" is derived from the fact that I literally dance in the lightning when the storms come around, I "dance With The Thunder Beings".

 

HM: How did you get your name Lightning Bolt and what does it mean?

Tommy Lightning Bolt:: I got the name Lightning Bolt directly from the Grandfathers! My true teacher said they (the Grandfathers) chose this name for me because they said "I have a point to make" and the Lightning is one of my greatest medicines, I use it to heal the people. My teacher said I am a true Lightning person, born of the Thunder Beings. For example, people have witnessed me give tobacco and pray and sing and immediately Lightning double flashes directly over my head (no Thunder), in a cloudless sky, filled with stars, on the mountain top. Or times I've shouted TNKASILA (Grandfather) and the Lightning flashes right over my head and the Thunder cracks so hard that the ground shakes and I can feel the reverberation in my chest. One time I even called it (the Lightning) with the Sacred Pipe in my hands, and this intensity of thunder happened and the Lightning struck within 50 feet of me!, I was shaking with power for days. All of these things have been witnessed by many people. One time a friend came to me and asked to be healed in a good way, I agreed to hold a sweat lodge ceremony in 7 days. The Thunder Beings came on the very day of the sweat, cracking and flashing over the sweat lodge, The second I sat down in the pourer's place (where the one who runs the ceremony sits) Thunder cracked directly over the sweat lodge ... all I will say is every turned out O.K., My friend is still alive today thanks to Wakan Tanka!

If you noticed on the C.D. there is a name under Lightning Bolt, it is Chi-Cha-Kos, This was gifted to me by an ahnishnabe elder, it means Lightning Without Thunder. My teacher said this is very appropriate because the gift I have (Lightning) is a "living thing" It doesn't need clouds, or Thunder to manifest, it just is, it is always around me. Wakan tanka is a part of me, and I am always a part of Wakan Tanka!

HM: It was believed among the Lakota that if you had a dream or vision of birds you were destined to be a medicine man, but if you had a vision of the Wakinyan Thunderbird, it  was your destiny to become a heyoka.

"When a vision comes from the thunder beings of the West, it comes with terror like a thunder storm; but when the storm of vision has passed, the world is greener and happier; for wherever the truth of vision comes upon the world, it is like a rain. The world, you see, is happier after the terror of the storm... you have noticed that truth comes into this world with two faces. One is sad with suffering, and the other laughs; but it is the same face, laughing or weeping...... as lightning illuminates the dark, for it is the power of lightning that heyokas have." (Black Elk, quoted in Neihardt 1959: 160) 

Have you ever been struck by lightening and what kind of medicine is this you carry?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: It is true that if Thunder and Lightning manifested in your dreams that you were destined to be a Heyoka or "Thunder dreamer" so I asked my true teacher if I am a Heyoka since I have had Heavy duty dreams of Lightning, Lightning that streaks all the way across the sky, Band after consecutive band!!! He said "No. If you were born in South Dakota and raised in that tradition then yes you would be, but you were not".

 

I am glad I am not a Heyoka or I may have to answer to the Heyoka Society. As it is I answer to Wakan Tanka! It's a much better proposition. There is nothing to get in the way between me and Wakan Tanka, no politics no distractions. I have been Kissed by the thunder Beings more that once my teacher tells me, I believe I know the times he is talking about. As for me actually being physically struck by it, my teacher said only the dark ones (the evil Medicine people) get Physically touched by it. I do have the mark of the lightning, it is the real thing my teacher says, he says some people have a man made mark but mine is the real thing. Some Society's "make people take the mark" he told me. As for what is this medicine? It's Lightning Medicine! My true teacher Ordained me a Part of the highest order of Medicine People on the face of the Earth, of which Native Americans are a part of. My teacher said "I was born with the gift". I say Medicine people because men AND women are apart of this. The apprenticeship I did took 10 years! He said had I not been born with the gift it would of taken 30 years! It is very big medicine, all of this is. Some times when word of things people have witnessed reach some peoples ears they get angry with me, My teacher says it's jealousy, envy, It is really hard to deal with, the politics. "You can't unless we say you can" people tell me. I don't answer to the people, I answer to Wakan Tanka!   People also tell me "we say who's the medicine man". People forget their place. It is not people who dictates who's the medicine man, it is Wakan Tanka (Creator), because only the creator has the wisdom to know when, where, why and how the medicine will be needed. There is so much politics and control surrounding "medicine". I've endured a lot of criticism from every angle around this issue. I try not to let it distract me from the work of Wakan Tanka. I try to keep my focus on Wakan Tanka, he will always see me through. 

I love Wakan Tanka! 

HM: On the insert on your CD it says Lightning Bolts teacher has been quoted as saying  "these ways have been given to us to be passed to others and people who complain about people giving away medicine secrets know the least,  for only by giving it away do you truly get to keep it"

Anyone who knows anything about medicine knows these are the words of Frank Fools Crow. The famous Lakota medicine man. Are you saying  Fools Crow was (is) your teacher?  Isn't this a form of sacrilege or heresy to say a deceased medicine man is your teacher?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: YES! That is exactly what I am saying. Some people will probably consider this sacrilege, and yes some people will consider this heresy. 

That is not my problem. They thought that the person who said the earth was not flat was a heretic, they also thought that about the person who said the earth revolved around the sun no the other way around, they also said the same thing about the person who said the earth was not the center of the Universe. And on and on... People who understand any thing about spiritual energy understand that NOTHING dies, It only changes form. Look at what they say of the Dalai Lama, They say that is the same spirit but different body, he has been doing this for centuries, who knows how long. Regarding Fools Crow, I asked my teacher "how did you cheat death". He replied "no matter what happens don't ever let go of #1". I said to him "Grandfather creator)"? He smiled and with a twinkle in his eye he said "that's right"! The night he revealed himself to me, The same night he recognized me as a part of their order of medicine people, when I realized who was sitting in front of me my skin crawled and the hackles on my neck stood on end!   I asked him "if you are Fools Crow, then where did Coyote go"? He replied, "Coyote was never here...I have a thousand faces".

Later that night when I shared this news with the Cherokee woman I was with at the time, She said the sensations I experienced were "the signs of the presence of a powerful spirit...powerful"! I have spoken with other people who have said that Fools Crow has come to different people in different times, some people believe what I am saying. People have seen the results of the Gifts he has given me. He came back and passed me the Spiritual, the last apprentice he had only got the physical, he was going to pass them what he passed me till he realized they were only in it for the songs. Fools Crow has recognized me as his highest apprentice. If people think that this is "heresy" Let them. They can't change anything or stop the will of Wakan Tanka.

 

HM: On the subject of spirituality. What are your thoughts on this.

Respect - The Key To Life by Dave Chief,
Grandson of Red Dog, Crazy Horse's Band

Respect means no interruption.
Respect means no confrontation.
Respect means no accusation.
Respect means no "mocking,"
Especially, no mocking of elders.

Respect means no lies between us.
Respect means no betrayal of confidence.
Respect means no "ripping off."
Respect means no hoarding.

Respect means no "Lording it over" someone.
Respect means no ordering around.
Respect means no yelling in anger.
Respect means no bad language.
Respect means no name calling.
Respect means controlling yourself.

Respect is not a commodity.
Respect is a way of being.
Respect is in our chest and not in our hand.
Respect is for all life.

Respect is for every species in the world,
including all four races.
Respect is for all our relations.
Respect is focusing on and dealing in "issues"
and not "personalisms."
Respect is focusing on "what " is right
rather than "who" is right.

Respect means owning our own negativity
and not being a "Blame Shifter."
A "Blame Shifter" is one who projects or shifts
his own negativity onto someone else.
This is the process of bigotry, war, and genocide.

Respect is keeping all lines of communication open
with those who have a different opinion, and making

a sincere attempt to let them be heard and understood.

Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood,
only then is there a possibility for "Balance and Harmony,"
The goal of Indian spirituality.

 

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Aha Yes, Dave Chief,  I held council with him several times during the apprenticeship. He knew the truth about this apprenticeship I was doing with Fools Crow. Fools Crow recognized Dave as one of our Order. He said Dave was a good friend. This is a spiritual practice and discipline that can take a life time to master. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and we have all probably violated at least one thing on this list at some point in our lives. Fools Crow told me "to make a mistake just means that you are human". I believe that we are on this Earth to learn and grow, and help each other and protect Mother Earth.

HM: Can you tell me about this 500 year old Turtle shell rattle and what its used for?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Fools Crow told me he passed his last apprentice a Turtle shell rattle handed down many generations. He said it is sacred, Very powerful. He told me some of the things it can do but I won't say in this interview what it can do because I don't want to share something that the current holder of the Rattle is not deserving to know. 

The Rattle I use for my music is indeed the same rattle I use in ceremony. It's all good, It's all medicine!

HM: Why would this apprentice not be deserving to know and do you mean the white apprentice?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Yes I am referring to Fools Crow's white apprentice (his last apprentice). This person is not of deserving of the knowledge I have of the Turtle shell rattle because of this fact, If he thought he was going to ripoff Fools Crow for his songs and get away with it... HE THOUGHT WRONG! Coyote told me Fools Crow died of a broken heart as a direct result of this persons actions, 17 years he put in to this person only to be deceived by deception and greed.

To the person responsible for this act: You know who you are and what you've done. Fools Crow told me you've put it in the back of your mind. You will not get away with what you did, you have no clue as to who or what you were messing with. You could of had so much more if you would of been honest and good of heart. What do you think is going to happen when you cross over? You have double crossed a being capable of spanning time, space and even death it's self!   One of the most powerful medicine men to have ever walked the face of the earth, one of the Grandfathers incarnate.   And he has sent me, his highest apprentice to date, to bring you this message. This is not over. May Wakan Tanka the Great Spirit have mercy on your soul. I weep for you.
 

Tommy Lightning Bolt: First reason, It would of had to take a Coyote to trick me into doing this!! Secondly, Coyote did not want to do it, he said he did not want to get involved. The spirits said to him "He's  the one", and Coyote said "what do you want me to do about  it"? They said "apprentice him". Coyote said "I don't think so". And the Spirits said "You're an ant, do you know what happens to an ant when it gets stepped on? YOU DO AS YOUR TOLD!!!" So he reluctantly said  "O.K.". (Coyote told me this dialog)        

One day I went over to Coyote's house to get some sage for a special place I was  going to. I wasn't even walking the Native American path at the time, I was into Celtic Mysticism, in fact, I didn't even know Coyote was Coyote at the time (he did not advertise it). He said "They say you're in... so I'll pass you the pipe and send you on your way". I Naively said "O.K." took a draw off the sacred pipe and passed it back. That was the signing of the contract (I found out later) and that was the end of my life as  I knew it. This started a series of events that has for ever changed my life, Which has caused me the greatest pain/burden and the greatest joy I have ever known. You've got to be CRAZY to want to be a Medicine Carrier, This is why they tricked me. I went to a friend during the apprenticeship and talked with him about what was going on and I said to him "but I don't want to be a Medicine Man" and my friend sadly said to me "that's how you pick your king". The tears rolled down my face, I couldn't stop them. Months later an elder took me up to a Mountain top to a sacred place, he showed me an alter, it was a huge triangular rock precisely on the edge of another rock, pointing at a Sacred Site. I stood on the alter and began to cry uncontrollably, I cried and spoke to Wakan Tanka saying "I don't want to be a Medicine Man","NO"! . A few weeks later I saw Coyote and we started talking and he said "If you would of wanted it they would of said no... your not the one...,but you went the other way, so they said "you're the one"! The strange part about this was that I never ever told him about what had transpired on the Mountain top, But I didn't have to, he knew everything.

I have since thought about it many times, and I have come to a conclusion. It makes perfect sense to pick someone who doesn't want it, that way you know they have no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas.
 

 

HM: Can you please tell me about your DNA and medicine? Did any of your ancestors carry this medicine or any other medicine?

Tommy Lightning Bolt:  D.N.A. does play some part in these things. Some I already had, The Lightning comes from my Mohawk blood. But he said the Grandfathers also played a hand in this. I have other Medicines also. One of these is Eagle medicine, a good example of this is a sweat ceremony I ran when someone came to me to be healed and asked in a good way, at the end of the second round we took a break, we noticed an Eagle circling over the lodge, when we went back in, at the beginning of the healing round there were 3 Eagles circling over the lodge. When the last person entered the lodge the elder out side watching over the ceremony called out and witnessed one of these Golden Eagles dive bomb the sweat lodge and pull up a foot or two over the top of the lodge and drop a feather! It landed 1 foot from the lodge and 2 feet from the Spirit path.

Another Medicine I was gifted was Fools Crow passed it to me to work with the six Grandfathers that was seen in Black Elk's famous vision, those six and then some...  Creator gives Medicine people usually four or five different "powers" or "gifts".

 

The Grandfathers have the ability to Manipulate D.N.A.. Ceremony can also change D.N.A. You do not have to be full blood to wield medicine, you just need faith in Wakan Tanka! Fools Crow said "any one who is willing to live the life I have lived can do the things I do".  I have an ancestor who was said to be Clairvoyant and could predict the future. Fools Crow said if I go back to around the 1100's there was a Medicine Man.
 

You do not just wake up one day and say, "gee... I think I would like to be a medicine person". It doesn't work that way. You  have to be born with the gift, or inherit the gift, It can come in a vision, or a dream, you can get it on the Mountain, or from a place, or from the Grand fathers. It can lye dormant for generations and then one day (one birth) there it is! But know this, to learn how to use it requires great sacrifice and dedication! And many apprentices don't come out of it alive. This is not a game or some quaint practices. This is serious business, and the spirits can play for keeps!

HM: Can you please tell me what inspired your song "little hollow bones".

Tommy Lightning Bolt: The inspiration for the song "Little Hollow Bones" comes from The teachings of  Fools Crow, We can all learn to be a little hollow bone that creator can work through to help all living things around us. It is also a silent tribute to honor Fools Crow and the example that he set for all people. And the track contains an Eagle Bone whistle which is a little hollow bone so it is a play on words as well. It is also the title of a chapter in a book about Fools Crow.

JL: What does Siyotanka mean?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: Siyotanka is a Lakota word referring to the Native American Flute. So I am referring to a "Flute Dream"

 

HM: Can you please tell me about your beautiful wolves. Thor, Artica, and Wakia. The one to the left looks like an Akita mix.

Tommy Lightning Bolt:  Yes the wolf on the far left is an Akita mix! Akita's are a domesticated Japanese Timber wolf.  Thor is one quarter Akita, one quarter Alaskan Timber wolf and half Alaskan Tundra Wolf! He is the Alpha. The middle one, Artica, is Thor's daughter, her mother was a Full blooded pure breed Akita. Wakia (Lakota for Thunder) is half Alaskan Timber Wolf and half Canadian Timber Wolf, He has golden eyes! Thor and Artica are in the Spirit world. Wakia is in the care of a Very nice woman and he is happy. HE IS HUGE!!! Paws like 4 inches wide! I used to take them in to the wilderness all the time. I really miss them very much. Some times I'll meet a Psychic and they will say "you have a Wolf sitting beside you", I'll smile and say "yea...I know..." They come to me in my dreams and visit me. I'm sure they also guard me from the other side. It is nice to know I have guardian Wolf Spirits. I really wanted to honor their memory as I have NEVER forgotten them. I love them very much, Best friends I ever had. So I shared some of my best photos of them with the public by putting them  in the C.D. package.

The picture of them on the Vision quest site is great! It is a very sacred place, This site I discovered, Coyote told me When he saw it, is probably one of the original 12 council sites on the face of the Earth! The spot they are standing on is a Vision Quest site but also a spot where the old ones would post a warrior sentinel during the councils of old. He told me this spot was discontinued being used probably 500 years or so before the arrival of the Europeans. It is Very old! HUGE FIR TREES! And when I play my flute just right something very big comes around, I don't wanna say for sure but it sounds to me like it has long strides and a heavy foot fall. Any way... The Wolves sure loved it there. I will not say where this place is, people will rush there, desecrate the place and then it would be on my head... I cant live with that.

I raised Wolves for 10 years and 3 generations of them. Nothing Like Mom, Dad, Grandpa,and 7-10 cubs howling to put you to sleep at night...except at 3 in the morning! 

HM: Under the photo of your wolves you mention an old Cree prophecy.  The prophecy you quote sounds similar to the warriors of the rainbow prophecy.

When the last fish has been caught,
when the last tree has been cut down
only then will you realize you cannot eat money.

Where do you think we are today in terms of this prophecy?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: It is a Cree Indian prophecy and it is very old I am told. I don't know about any rainbow stuff, gets too close to New Age mumbo jumbo. No disrespect meant, most New Age ideas is really old age stuff. But I see these people thinking it's cool to be a "Shaman" and start mess'n around with things that are going to get them into trouble. In fact if they knew what it really meant to be a "Shaman" they would run the other way in terror! As for where I think we are in this prophecy, we are nearing the point of no return. Mother Earth is giving us warnings left and right but people aren't listening or hearing. Coyote told me there is a battle going on right now between the good Shamans and the bad Shamans. The bad Shamans are assisting  technology and aiding in the destruction of the Earth because they feel there is no place for nature in a world of technology. The good Shamans are trying to save the Earth and the people. You see, it's the power spots all over the Earth and the ceremonies that are done there in those places that keeps our Planet in balance, the magnetic fields, the energy grids, the "lay lines".And most of these places are now totally destroyed!

 

I asked Fools Crow one day, "How can you stand to keep coming back over and over again and see the land, your culture, and your people, crumble before your eyes over the centuries". He replied to me by saying "Because it is my dream to change that part of man that feels the need to destroy himself".

HM: Can you please tell me why the images of the star cluster know as Pleiades is on the cover and do you also believe like Fools crow that this is where we come from and this is where we return?

 

Tommy Lightning Bolt: I thought it would be nice. The Pleiades is very special all over the Continent (with different tribes) and cultures all over the World. The quote Fools Crow said, an acquaintance of mine said he heard Fools Crow say this within a group of people. I never asked Fools Crow about this issue, I didn't feel it was necessary because the word of that individual is good with me. I do know that I heard a Sun Dance elder state that we come from the Star Nation. So I figured it made sense, why not put it into the C.D. package. But the center fold is really where it's at! I think the people will like it! A colleague of mine took the picture himself. It came out beautiful (Sam Pitts). It also honors the grandfathers in a good way. And as to where we come from and where we go?

I have seen too much too doubt that anything is possible. 

 

HM: Yes can see that, but If a wise man argues with a fool there is no rest.

Are you working on any more music albums or other projects by the way?

Tommy Lightning Bolt: I am waiting to see the response with this first C.D. before I proceed in any direction. I have tons of Ideas. I'll have to wait and see what they (the spirits) say about my next move. As for any other projects, Some good friends and I have just built a new sweat lodge! I am going to sweat before I do anything else. John, if you ever make it out this way please be sure to look me up, maybe we can offer you a sweat in a good way...who knows who you might get the privilege to meet...?     

John, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to share these things and tell my story to the people in a good way, and I thank Grandfather Fools Crow for his love, support and council during this interview and in all ways and in all things (and for giving me one heck of a story to tell my children and grand children, if I ever have children), and we both hope this answers some of the peoples questions in a good way. To my ancestors who have prayed for me for generations I thank you. To the Grandfathers I thank you. To Coyote Two Moons I thank you.  Wakan Tanka I thank you most of all. 
Mitakuye Oyas'in