Sage Bond: The Healing Connection | “From my perspective, I can share what I know that most traditional Navajo music we hear today was sung during ceremonies or served a purpose during life events.”

As seen in Guitar Girl Magazine Guitar Girl Magazine Special Edition – I Belong – July 2023
Heavy Metal guitarist Sage Bond speaks and plays with power. Her passion for music transcends the music itself. She uses her music to connect the world to the Najo community, inspiring others to use music as a connecting tool. In this interview, Sage discusses the intersections of music and healing and her process for songwriting. Her journey in becoming a rockstar showcases her creative approach to creating an intentional career in music.

I grew up in a musical family.

Tell us a little about your musical background; how old were you when you started playing guitar, and what inspired your passion for music?

I grew up in a musical family. From what I remember, there was always a record playing for every occasion to liven up the mood; sometimes, people would break out an instrument and begin playing. My grandfather played harmonica, my father played guitar, and I’d hear my mom singing while doing her hair and makeup. The genre that spoke to me the most was metal, and I picked up a guitar at nine years old. I started on one of those guitars you can buy from a toy store. The body was black plastic, with purple stickers on it, and thankfully, it had real guitar strings on it. Once my family knew I was serious about learning guitar, they all pitched in to buy me a red Ibanez electric.

Photo by Ryan Young
What inspires you to wake up every day and continue pursuing your dreams?

On the Navajo reservation, resources are limited. Not just resources needed for a living but for education as well. Plenty of kids on the rez (short for reservation) pick up instruments and only get so far with being self-taught, and sometimes that can be discouraging. The 9-year-old me would have loved to take music lessons or classes, but that wasn’t available on the rez. Right now, I’m a student majoring in music, working towards making music in all aspects accessible to underserved communities on the rez.

Why is education essential when learning how to play an instrument? What resources are necessary to provide a robust foundation for young people to build a career out of their passion for music?

When I would ask other musicians about their education, their same response was always, “Oh, I just know the basics,” which was basic knowledge of music that I didn’t have, so their level of ‘the basics’ blew my mind. Sometimes education isn’t always essential, according to rockstars like Slash and Dimebag Darrell. It’s an homage to being self-taught and playing crazy riffs. I prided myself on being self-taught before pursuing an education in music. I went into my college music program without any prior music education, lessons, or the type of accomplishments in music performance that were required on their applications. I did terribly at my auditions, but I had a great mentor that took me under her wing and understood my unique background. During that time was the most insecure I had ever felt about my connection to music. I had so much experience with performing but didn’t know how to apply music theory or tell you what kind of chord inversion I was playing. It did not dim my passion for music but presented a challenge I wanted to overcome. I think back on my childhood and wonder if music education were accessible then, maybe I would have been better prepared to pursue music education. Now, I work with the Heartbeat Music Project, which provides free music lessons and instruments to k-12 students in the Navajo Nation. Seeing this program’s impact on youth is the very thing I envisioned for the rez!

I usually start with playing riffs or chords on the guitar . . .

Take us through your songwriting process. What types of environments do you feel you need to be your most creative? 

I usually start with playing riffs or chords on the guitar, which could be parts of a cover song or whatever I’m feeling at the moment. Once I find a steady rhythm, I’ll try to sing a melody over the guitar riff that could turn into a lead or voice part for which I’ll write lyrics. I feel like the voice as an instrument has so much vulnerability because it’s connected to you, and when I play guitar, it’s like my foundation and power that uplifts the voice. Lyrics sometimes take years to finish, or they’ll spill out so quickly that it’s surprising when that happens. If I had the choice of an environment every time for songwriting, it would be in my home, in a bedroom, with the door shut…for hours or however long it takes. But ideas can come anytime; I’ve even written lyrics while driving and hum melodies while grocery shopping.

Photo by Ryan Young
How would you describe your style of playing? 

I used to describe my style/genre as folk rock just because I played an acoustic instrument. But when I think of Folk, I think of Buffy St.Marie or Joan Baez, and that’s not what I was playing. I had heavy influence from thrash and death metal while growing up, and since my first instrument was an electric guitar, I sometimes performed with my acoustic the way I would play my electric. I don’t play with a pick because I do a lot of finger-style picking, but I also play with a lot of energy when I start strumming. I found my style in practicing and emulating my influences to create my acoustic metal sound. I like a strong belt and chest voice, such as Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford, and I like to amp that up when I throw in cookie monster growls.

As a people that, years ago, endured genocide and are still here today, it is a lot of fuel to express through metal. 

Tell us about the history of traditional Navajo music; what key instruments, styles, sounds, and feelings are birthed from Navajo song and dance, and how have you drawn an emotional parallel to metal and your guitar style? 

From my perspective, I can share what I know that most traditional Navajo music we hear today was sung during ceremonies or served a purpose during life events. Trading with other tribes greatly influenced percussion instruments used by Diné (Navajo) today, like the different hides for drums. When I listen to it, I hear four on-the-floor timing or sometimes a rhythm pattern that sounds like a horse galloping. Da-daah-da-daah-da-daah. Singing is my favorite part because you can hear the vocalist giving it their all, serving a purpose, and knowing what that purpose is. Because I grew up on the Navajo reservation, I feel connected to this land, and our community that has this unique experience. As a people that, years ago, endured genocide and are still here today, it is a lot of fuel to express through metal.

How do you use music to build community and educate those outside the Navajo community about your culture?

Although I don’t play traditional Navajo music, I get to be a part of events that display traditional aspects and share modern contemporary music performed by Navajo musicians. In this setting, the audience gets to experience our culture and also understand that Indigenous people are not people of the past.

When you were younger, what did you envision yourself doing/being when you grew up? 

I had this assignment in 2nd grade that asked the same question, and my answer was, “I want to be on stage and perform.” It’s unbelievable because I wrote that answer down before I picked up an instrument. Look at me now.

Photo by Deidra Peaches
Was/is anyone else in the family musically inclined? 

I didn’t know then, but my cheii (grandfather) knew how to read music. I have faint memories of him trying to teach me key signatures and how to read music while he played his harmonica, and I was probably only 6-years-old. My mother experienced the lively music scene in San Francisco growing up, and she started singing around the same age I started. When she found out I was interested in singing, she offered to take me to karaoke with her and has supported my career ever since. She still sings, and we plan to collaborate on songs.

What does your voice (through the lens of music) say to the world around you?

Stay true to yourself.

What guitars are you playing right now? Name your top two to three. 

Right now, my acoustic stage guitar is a Martin 000CXE. My mom saw it in a pawn shop and surprised me with it the night before a gig. An electric I had to have was a red Ibanez DTX120 Destroyer, and I immediately fell in love with it. My go-to guitar for songwriting, which I keep by my bedside, is a Godin Etude. Once the headstock broke, shí (my) heart broke, but it’s been fixed, and I’ve had it for nearly 18 years.

Finish this sentence: I believe music…can pull you out of any negative feelings or thoughts, whether through listening or playing, or singing; it’s never wasted time.

~ By Guitar Gabby and Jennale Adams