Wade Fernandez - Visions Of The Wolf (double CD)

Music is medicine that opens doors, opens hearts, and bring us all together in a good way.  I am asking for your help so I can give you a new double CDs worth of songs that may help you and your family and I want you to be a part of the music that goes on the new CD, Visions Of The Wolf.  My goal is to get most if not all of the new music to you approximately by the end of January if not before.  Together, I believe we can do this as the project is already under way.

I have toured internationally as a musical artist and educator over 60 times from Woodstock 94 to private house concerts, from preschools to universities, from homes for the mentally disabled to prisons and everything in-between.  Sometimes I would leave a concert and forget to even get my pay because it was such a reward and honor just to share music with the people and give a warm hug or shake hands with the entire audience. Some years I did more benefits than paid gigs because there was such a need and I would sell CDs to get home.  It is all worth it when a song comes through you and someone tells you that it was that song that was their therapy when they lost a child. 

Despite COVID-19 cancelling every one of my tours, concerts, and school presentation/workshops this year, I cannot stop sharing the music that is requested of me and this is why I am seeking funds for a new double CD filled with many new songs that are already audience favorites.

Here is a sample of some of the songs planned for the new CD:
To Grow In The Rain
Hopelessly, Loving You
Lady Be My Baby
The Bottom Line (written w/ Annie Humphrey)
It Takes Love To Make A Man
Stand In Love
There's A Change On The Rise
Gift Of Today
etc.

These are songs that heal, songs that celebrate, songs that give hope, songs that reflect, and there is a piece of everyone that I have met and have yet to meet to be found inside them.  The CD will have vocal songs that are electric with my band, solo acoustic guitar, Native American Flute instrumentals, and my son Quintin will join me on drums and keyboards for some of the tracks.

I rarely listen to my CDs after they are finished because  they are not for me but for the people they help.  My job as an artist/musician is to allow creativity to flow through unimpeded while being in the moment and then share it as a reflection of our time together.  The double CD, Visions Of The Wolf will be our reflection.

With your help in funding the CD, I will give you updates and mini concerts on ZOOM showing the CD progress and you will get to hear the music and be a part of the process.  Just as every person at every concert or school I visit is in the live performance, so will you be in the music that becomes the CD.

I truly look forward to our time together.

In a good way,
Wade Fernandez / Wiciwen Apis-Mahwaew (Walks With The Black Wolf)

$ 8,750 in funds will be used for making a double CD:
mixing, editing, studio rental, engineer approximately 30 songs = $7,000
mastering engineer = $1,750
Any extra funds will be totally appreciated as I set my budget as low as I possibly could for a double CD.

Waewaenen for your support of the arts and life.

My music website
www.WadeFernandez.com

My native community livetream & video website
www.N8tv.ME

BIO

Since beginning his solo career opening and jamming with Jackson Browne & The Indigo Girls, Wade Fernandez now has well over 60 international tours deliver music and messages that know no bounds. He has taken home multiple national & international awards and been a finalist in many musical genres from Blues, Instrumental, Folk, Rock, Pop, Country, World, Guitarist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Native American Flute, Best Male Artist, etc. Both his music and his message are firmly grounded in his indigenous Menominee roots and his love for Grandmother Earth, animals and people. His national and international work with education, youth, the disabled, the elderly, and the environment have been recognized in various ways including First Peoples Community Spirit Award, a Medal Of Honor from the Menominee Nation, and a Storyteller Of The Year award.

Sample Of Musical Performances

Woodstock ’94, Reebok Human Rights Awards (2002 Winter Olympics), Ed McMahon’s Next Big Star, Chicago’s World Music Festival, Native American Music Awards, Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards, Indian Summer Festival, Germany’s Tollwood Festival, and over 60 international tours.

Performed with Jackson Browne, The Indigo Girls, Jeff Cook (Alabama), Chuck Leavell (The Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers). Shared stages with dignitaries such as Robert Redford & Bishop Desmond Tutu.

Sample Of Commissions Native Radio Theatre, Milwaukee Choral Artists, Menominee Casino, Tobacco Cessation project, Potawatomi Gathering theme song, various movie and television soundtracks for PBS, BBC, independent films.

Acting Native Radio Theatre, Theatre Of Color at University Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Sample of Teaching Arts; Mannheim, Germany's Pop Akademie of Music, Rhinelander School Of The Arts, numerous artist residencies, presentations and workshops in U.S. & Europe teaching Native American Flute Playing, Songwriting, Guitar, Menominee Culture, Artist Trainer for First Peoples Fund, etc. Works internationally with kindergarten-college and beyond.

“ …an artist in his own right who deserves to be heard on his own terms”
Peter Buffet – Emmy Award winner & producer

Sample of Awards & Honors

2019    Artist Of The Year, Flutist of the Year, Best Instrumental Recording finalist  NAMMYs
2017   Best Blues award winner from ISMA's & finalist 5 categories/genres               including Native Flute
2016    Guitarist of the Year finalist WAMIs
2014    Artist Of The Year & Album Of The Year finalist from NAMMYs
2013    Folk and Pop Songs of the Year winner from ISMAs
                Rock, Blues & Country finalist recording of the year.
                Produced/Engineered Mitch Walking Elk’s NAMMY winning CD
2010    Community Spirit Award winner -First Peoples Fund
2007    Contemporary Instrumental & Best Country ISMA winner
                 finalist for Best Blues, Pop, Classic Rock, Native Flute
                Artist of the Year & Pop/Rock finalist NAMMYs
2006     Best Male Artist (finalist Pop/Rock & Best Music Video) NAMMYs
2005     Best Music Video at Indian Summer Film & Video Awards
                 Best Music Video Cherokee International Film Festival
2002     Best Blues/Jazz, Male Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year finalist
2001    “Storyteller/Writer of the Year” (CD category) from Wordcraft Warriors
1997     Tomorrow's Leaders Today Award (Milwaukee, WI)
1996     Dean's Award of Excellence (UW-Milwaukee)
1995     Medal of Honor from Menominee Indian Nation


PRESS/QUOTES

“World class.. Phenomenal… hard to forget after one listen…. a unique style as both a musician and songwriter …blessed with talent that can’t be learned, and with a gracious and inspiring soul that can’t be tainted by the pitfalls of the music industry.”             Indian Country Today

“what beauty and respect you brought to all of us fortunate to have been in your presence. We were honored and blessed, and forever changed.”
Sharon A. Hansen, Music Director The Milwaukee Choral Artists

“.. an artistic and spiritual force that has just begun to gather steam.”
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

“Speaks to the heart of all native people.. Your jam session with Jackson Browne was phenomenal.”
Oneida Nation Arts Program

“Soaring beyond the invisible culture of the corporate music industry.”
Vital Source

“guitar and songwriting skills are incredibly sharp, …remarkable in range, quality and sincerity.. soars with beauty and power.”         Post Gazette

“To see a male role model who has learned to celebrate traditional knowledge (particularly through story) and integrate that wisdom in a music performance context is profound. Through your life we can celebrate and reaffirm our lives.  You're a gem. 
Thank you for gracing us with your gifts.”
Sheila Rocha, PhD, Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM

“All that one would think was lost with the great guitar legends of the early-twentieth century are now alive and touring with Wade Fernandez and his band the Black Wolf Group.
The Leader

“able to transcend all cultural stylistic and technical boundaries to communicate a powerful message”
Strandgut (Frankfurt, Germany magazine)

“..surprising diversity... swings effortlessly from blues, folk-rock, flamenco and jazz, with traditional singing and drumming… a sincerity and integrity which is reflected not only in his lyrics but in his expressive use of guitar...”
Indigenous Links (London, England magazine)

Live Native Flute for PBS in studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVo4wAGLxVg

Live acoustic Cry Of The Wolf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPLJ-DilXRw

Live band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZHOkH-IDVs

New live acoustic https://youtu.be/Y3JUQxOhCdk

TV interview & performance USA https://youtu.be/an-ND2MjxOc
German TV interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAJ-SRXjeok

“Wade Fernandez is an incredibly talented performer, motivational speaker and instructor with the special ability to connect with and inspire others. He is also a gifted teacher who brings out the best in everyone.”
Lynn Tarnoff, MA, Director, School of the Arts Rhinelander, UW-Madison

“..an accomplished musician/composer/producer/engineer/guitarist with spicy chops, that deliver a beautiful performance, live, filmed or recorded!! He is a wonderful teacher/father/husband that works very closely with the youth from his reservation. … labor of love for the people and tradition on a profound level… clever, patient and inspirational, with the youth… a community spirit man and a professional artist that has a beautiful show and message!”
Pura Fe – award winning recording/touring artist

“Wade Fernandez is more than an extremely accomplished musician, a superb songwriter and a great performer, his house concert with us was like being held spellbound by a close friend who told stories, played wonderfully evocative melodies and sang songs that gave an insight into the Native American culture of the Menominee tribe. It was a bridge to an ancient history, yet it was as relevant and contemporary as some of the best song writing coming out of America today; a bridge that also crossed over into our own Celtic culture, history and music. It was, quite simply, a wonder shared." Tom Fairnie, Fairnie House Concerts & Tom Fairnie Show (Radio Saltire), Scotland.

“I am deeply grateful for the beautiful class and performance that you gave to my students and the Lawrence and Appleton communities last winter! You are always so centered, and you speak and play from a place deep within you that reaches all of us in a truly extraordinary way. In the class meeting following your visit, my students spoke rapturously about their time with you -- they spoke of the experience as being transformative and profound. They talked at length about all of the wise insights that they had learned from you, and I could tell that they were reflecting on how to bring those into their own lives.” Karen Hoffmann, Associate Professor of English at Lawrence University
 
“Wade did a fantastic job with our students Pre K through 8th grades. Not only did he teach about music and his life as a musician, he shared information about growing up on a reservation, values, goal setting, overcoming obstacles and more. He also shared his musical talents with us through teaching and playing for all grades. He was able to have age appropriate conversations with each class. One unexpected bonus for our program was that he is a Native man who plays a native instrument and is also a contemporary musician who could talk to the students about Native heritage. I know he positively impacted every person who got to interact with him.
This program exceeded any expectations!” Fort Atkinson Catholic School



Educational Offerings

With Menominee Nation roots extending back to the Ice Age in the land that is now called Wisconsin/Upper Michigan, Wade Fernandez, Wiciwen Apis-Mahwaew (Walks With The Black Wolf), has been sharing his musical art and Menominee culture on stages and classrooms worldwide for over 30 years. When not on tour, Wade lives among the pristine ancient forestland on the Menominee Reservation with his family where he strives to live in a respectful, honorable, and sustainable way. Wade is an international award winning musician/recording artist/songwriter/producer who tours with voice, guitar, Native American flute, and hand drum. As a certified teacher with extensive educational experience in classroom, onstage, and in parenting (proud father of 5), Wade combines a wealth of experience, a warm personality, and a sense of humor that has kept students and audiences repeatedly inviting him back year after year.

Performance & Residency Information
This is just a sample of programs offered. Wade has extensive experience working with all age groups (k-12, college, and elders) and all programs may be altered to fit any age group.

Finding Your Voice Through The Native American Flute (Grade 5-elderly, multi-day residency)
The Native American Flute is a therapeutic instrument that helps one to deeply express their emotions and innate music. Students learn how to play and improvise on the Native American Flute. No previous musical experience is necessary. This is usually a 4 day residency that culminates at the end of the week with students performing a concert with Wade for school and/or community. With the concert at the end, students apply and share their newfound talents and build self-esteem. This residency can also be condensed as an in-service to help teachers think outside of the box and unleash their creative selves. Please note there are usually extra fees for flute purchase or rental, so please inquire directly with artist.

Menominee Culture, Storytelling, Music, History, (Grades K-adult)
Possibilities: learn a Menominee game, wild rice harvesting & partake in dancing the rice, Menominee stories, Menominee Language, and Menominee music, historical with multimedia presentation including old photos and images of the Menominee.

Music Workshop (All ages)
As an award winning professional touring musician who produced 9 CDs of his own, as well as others, this workshop is geared specifically for your music class. Topics may include: Native American music from the traditional to the contemporary, music business, how to deal with performance anxiety, music technology, guitar playing, songwriting, and careers in music, etc.

Erasing Stereotypes Through Arts & Culture (Grades K-5)
This workshop breaks down stereotypes by teaching about Menominee and other Native American cultures, demonstrating how honoring and learning about yourself and others creates understanding which can lead to strong friendships. The class learns and participates in a round dance at the end to represent the coming together of all people on Mother Earth.

School Performance/Motivational Speaking
Wade is an award winning international touring contemporary American Indian performing artist and is available for concerts at your school. His school performances provide music, motivational speaking, environmental awareness, etc. Through music, words, and actions Wade motivates students to recognize and honor their gift of life and talents by developing and sharing them with others while on their pathway to a successful and healthy future.

On set PBS documentary with Chuck Leavell from The Rolling Stones & Allman Brothers for America's Forests