A/E: Chebon Tiger Band roaring into Deli

Chebon Tiger is glad he’s back on red dirt. Oklahoma is home.

The multi-instrumentalist went to school out of state at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. While there in the 1990s he performed in that town’s vibrant music scene along with the one in nearby Kansas City, Missouri. Tiger relocated to Washington State for a time. There he steeped in both the storied sonic powerhouse of musicality along with the Native arts found all along the Northwestern seaboard. Tiger is home now in the metro but divides his time creating music between here and Tulsa. Chebon Tiger Band will be part of a live performance mega lineup including Camille Harp, Aron Holt and Allen Orebaugh, Local Man Ruins Everything and Austin, Texas’ Megafauna. Joining Tiger on stage will be veteran blues bassist from Chicago, Mark Schiele. The show will be at the Deli, 309 White Street, tomorrow at 7 p.m. It’s a special performance celebrating longtime Deli booking agent Tobias Schiele’s birthday. Tiger (Seminole-Creek) spoke about his musical odyssey and the special sound found here in Oklahoma.

“We have I-35 and I-40 right in the middle of the state,” Tiger said. “What’s happened is that we’ve got a lot of everything because of the crossroads that are here. Lots of stopover artists over the years have included BB King, Freddie King and Albert Collins. Blues sticks to a formula but if you have it you’ve got it. We’re unique because we kind of sound like everybody and ourselves at the same time. That leaves us to do whatever we want. There’s not an Oklahoma style of blues, it’s whatever we like to do.”

Tiger allowed that Tulsa has its own vibe. He performs there frequently.

“I can hear that Tulsa sound and everyone else can, too,” he said. “People have come from around the world who wanted it. Freddie King who recorded on Leon Russell’s Shelter Records wanted that sound. It’s there and defies description. It’s a conglomeration of the people Oklahomans like. We’ve had a years-long influence that’s subtle from tons of artists, actors and musicians. Even now we’re an arts state with everything that’s happening.”

In his youth Tiger received a guitar as a Christmas present. Inspired by The Ventures’ surf guitar records in his home he was playing the instrument the same day. He had early mentoring from a Native blues outfit in central Oklahoma.

“A nod to Blackhawk Blues Band for allowing me to learn on the spot,” Tiger said. “When I went to college I was still learning how to play with other people. Luckily, at Haskell pretty much everybody are Natives. It’s a big town within a town, a reservation within a town that’s not really a reservation. You get a lot more help in that kind of situation when you’re developing. I was introduced to a lot of players in Lawrence ,which at the time had a really killer music scene. I was playing there and in Kansas City. I came back home and started a band with my guys then moved to Suquamish, Washington for several years before coming back to Oklahoma again about two years ago.”

Tiger’s experiences in the Northwest went beyond musical. He learned about the woodcarving and seaworthy canoe building traditions of the Coast Salish peoples. Tiger already had bow-making knowledge from living on the Plains. He has skills for making a variety of tools and implements.

“I just helped someone harvest some bow wood a couple of months ago,” he said. “It can take some time for Osage Orange wood to cure. My grandpa taught me how to make a bow when I was about 10. He’d point with his cane to a tree line and tell me to get a limb the thickness of how he held his hand in a circle.”

Young Tiger would hack a branch down with a knife and skin off the bark.

“Grandpa was always working on something,” he said. “In our Harjo side of the family we’ll fix it before buying a replacement. Being a musician, when I moved to Washington it helped me learn from master carvers. I learned that from Joe Ives of Little Boston, Al Charles who is a master canoe carver, Gene Jones of Suquamish and Ray Natroaro of British Columbia, Canada.”

Tiger traded his blues harp playing expertise for learning wood carving from world renowned artisans.

“Music has opened a lot of doors and that’s one of them,” he said.

Collaborating with other musicians has been a hallmark of Tiger’s career. He’s a known reliable player who travels frequently to Tulsa for gigs. He does studio recording there, fills in for absentee musicians and visits to hear friends’ shows.

“I’ve learned quite a bit from playing music with others,” he said. “It gives you a new way of looking and thinking about things you’re going to get something out of it. Even if you see someone all the time but don’t work with them you learn because it’s an intimate thing.”

Tiger has been performing with rhythm section musician Matt Martin who’s a believer in cross-pollinating the Tulsa and metro music scenes.

“Tulsa has strong community based drive in their sound,” Tiger said. “It’s friendly here but competitive at the same time and not in a bad way. You hear a lot more applause after solos in Tulsa than here because the audience is listening closely to the music.”

Longtime listeners to Tiger’s vocals agree that his pipes are improving with seniority. He’s a young 50 who could be mistaken for 10 years younger.

“I’ve been working on improving my vocals,” Tiger said with a chuckle. “Not to sound conceited, but I can hear it, because I’m working on it by singing songs I wouldn’t normally sing. They’re not harder or out of my range, just different songs.”