Adam Chuculate is not a stranger to standing in front of people watching him, yet when he found himself alone on stage at the Joint earlier this year with a small audience, he wasn’t comfortable.
As a bass guitar player, he prefers a spot near the drummer. This audition, however, was for a place in the Cherokee Nation’s first official rock band, and Chuculate was center stage at the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel & Casino’s event arena trying to hide his struggle for the bass line.
“It was the first time I’ve been put on the spot like that to play along with a track,” he said. “I’m used to playing with just a bunch of guys.”
He must have picked it up quickly. Of the nearly 40 Cherokee guitarists, bassists, drummers and singers who applied to be a part of the Cherokee Nation Rock Band, he was one of four selected.
The Cherokee Rock Band will play the Hard Rock casino’s Cabin Creek stage Thursday (Sept. 29) night. While it’s been many months since the idea for the band first took shape in the headquarters of Cherokee Nation Businesses, the band will be ready, said Barry Hurt, drummer and band leader.
A seasoned musician who knows the realities and compromises of record deals and tour life, Hurt – like the rest of the band – is ready to play and represent.
“It was a chance to represent the Nation,” he said during a break from a recent rehearsal at his Broken Arrow home. “I’ve always kind of been proud of my heritage, so I thought this is a neat idea … I’m just honored to be in it.”
Cherokee Nation Business’ tourism division began a search for Cherokee musicians back in December when it announced auditions for the band. Molly Jarvis, vice president of cultural tourism for CNB said Chad Smith, the Cherokee Nation principal chief, suggested it.
The first round of auditions followed in January. In April, more musicians were auditioned. By early summer, a nameless band was chosen by the judging panel made up of CNB employees and other musicians invited to help. Soon after, the public was asked to pick a name. The Cherokee Rock Band was the winner.
“We were looking for Cherokee citizens and looking for those who can represent the Cherokee Nation and provide quality music,” Jarvis said. “We work really closely with out entertainment venues to make sure that we’re giving them the product that they need.”
Hurt and Chuculate were among the original band members selected from the auditions, but James Dunham and Steve Smith joined them later after two players left because of scheduling conflicts with work. Lead guitarist Dunham, West Siloam Springs, was a runner-up during the auditions. Smith, Oaks, became the new guy in the band when it needed a new lead singer and rhythm guitar player fast.
The Cherokee Rock Band plays cover songs from a variety of genres: country, classic rock, alt rock among them. For all, it’s been an adjustment. Smith, who’s played for 23 years, has stretched from the blues into country music, while Dunham has tempered the hard rock sound he’s known for in the popular band Night Train to show his versatility.
“I’m kind of the old guy of the group,” said Hurt, “and this has kind of been my life. I was a regional act for quite a few years when I was younger, got to the table a few times on record deals … With that experience I feel fortunate to have a group of guys that their egos are not enormous, but their talent is enormous. Usually, it’s the other way around.”
While Chuculate and Smith have had past opportunities to play together, the members mostly were new to one another. Some music acts come under fire when the elements are arranged by outside influence – in essence, manufactured – rather than fleshed out of old-fashioned musical chemistry and organic inspiration. The Spice Girls and boy bands of yesterday year enjoyed the highs of popularity for a time, but they never quite had the credibility some musicians and songwriters claimed through years of collaboration and experimentation.
While the Cherokee Rock Band may have been assembled by the tribe’s corporate operations arm, it is a different animal endowed with creative control over its music. At the band’s service, CNB’s tourism division manages bookings made easier since all Cherokee Nation casinos offer live entertainment promoted by the division’s communications staff. It helps at this early stage, but everyone involved hope to see the band gain a following that will take them to venues outside of the casinos.
“We definitely want the band members to feel like they have some ownership in the band and decision-making ability in terms of who fits well and who works well together,” Jarvis said.
So far, it has been a good fit for all the members, and now they are developing their sound on cover songs they all have a part in selecting. In the future, they hope to write and perform their own songs and make the most of this unique opportunity.
“Yeah, I’ve been in rock bands before, but with the Cherokee Rock Band, we’ve got the backing of the Cherokee Nation behind us,” Dunham said. “They have the means, they have the facilities, they have the money to pretty much do with us whatever they want, and the sky is the limit.”
“It’s a motivator,” Smith said. “It makes me want to excel at my playing.”
“To be honest,” Hurt said, “I’m more excited about this than about any record deal I’ve been with.”
For Chuculate, it’s about the work that goes into making a really, really good band with potential to go far. With the tribe and CNB’s backing, he believes it could happen.
“I’m not doing it to get noticed, I’m doing it to play music,” he said. “It’s not just a bar band, it’s something we’re all working for.”
The band is scheduled to play 8-9 p.m. Sept. 29 at Cabin Creek in the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel & Casino, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa, or the Intersection of Interstate 44 and 193rd East Avenue. For more, call (800) 760-6700.
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Want to see the Cherokee Rock Band live? Check them out at one of these shows.
Sept. 29, 8-9 p.m.: Cabin Creek at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 770
West Cherokee Street, Catoosa, OK 74015, (800) 760-6700
Oct. 14, 9-12 p.m.: Cherokee Casino Sallisaw, Interstate 40 & State
Hwy 59, Sallisaw, OK 74955, (800) 256-2338
Oct. 15, noon -1 a.m.: Cherokee Casino Sallisaw, Interstate 40 & State
Hwy 59, Sallisaw, OK 74955, (800) 256-2338
Oct. 19, 8-10:30 p.m.: Cabin Creek at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa,
770 West Cherokee Street, Catoosa, OK 74015, (800) 760-6700
Nov. 16, 8-10:30 p.m.: Cabin Creek at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa,
770 West Cherokee Street, Catoosa, OK 74015, (800) 760-6700
Nov. 25: Opening for Indigenous at Cherokee Casino West Siloam
Springs, U.S. Hwy 412 & State Hwy 59, West Siloam Springs, OK 74338,
(800) 754-4111
Nov. 26, 7-8:30 p.m.: Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs, Highway 20, 3
miles East of Claremore, Claremore, OK, 74017, (918) 283-8800
Dec. 2, 9-12 p.m.: Cherokee Casino Sallisaw, Interstate 40 & State Hwy
59, Sallisaw, OK 74955, (800) 256-2338
Dec. 3, noon-1 a.m.: Cherokee Casino Sallisaw, Interstate 40 & State
Hwy 59, Sallisaw, OK 74955, (800) 256-2338
Dec. 23, 7-8:30 p.m.: Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs, Highway 20, 3
miles East of Claremore, Claremore, OK, 74017, (918) 283-8800
Dec. 28, 8-10:30 p.m. - Cabin Creek at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa,
770 West Cherokee Street, Catoosa, OK 74015, (800) 760-6700
Watch for the band’s future dates on its Web site at www.cherokeerockband.com. New dates and a new site will be announced.