Detail View: Soundscapes of the People: A Musical Ethnography of Pueblo, Colorado: Chela Lujan Interview June 19, 2023

Soundscapes of the People: A Musical Ethnography of Pueblo, Colorado

Chela Lujan Interview June 19, 2023

Devised

Lujan, Chela

Interviewee

Thomas, Susan

Interviewee

Cefkin, Ben

Interviewer

Moving image

Oral histories

2023-06-19

English

1 online resource (1 video file) (1 hr., 11 min., 11 sec.)

For access to the recordings on YouTube contact the University of Colorado Boulder American Music Research Center.

Chela Lujan is a Pueblo-based singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. She recounts her childhood musical experiences hearing ceremonial Native American musics while growing up on the Diné reservation and playing punk rock with her siblings after moving to Pueblo during high school. After a short stint in California, Chela moved back to Pueblo where she played in a bluegrass fusion band called The Haunted Windchimes. After touring with the band for nearly a decade, she now is the front-runner for her own band, The Hardly Nevers. Locally, she has also taken part in social activism, such as during the 2020 protests of Pueblo's Christopher Columbus Monument.

00:00:00 The interviewers (Susan Thomas and Ben Cefkin) and interviewee (Chela Lujan) introduce themselves. Additional topics include: Bloomfield, New Mexico; Diné Nation; San Luis Valley; Jicarilla Apache; Colorado; Central High School; Pueblo School for Arts and Sciences; Southern Colorado. 00:02:26 Chela discusses listening to music with her siblings as well as learning to play guitar and sing. Additional topics include: The Little Mermaid; singing; siblings; New Mexico; 1990s; grunge; Nirvana; Weezer; Soundgarden; punk rock; NOFX; guitar; Linda Ronstadt; Julio Iglesias; Santana; music education; popular music; 1990s. 00:04:33 Chela discusses her childhood living in Diné Nation and her family's transition to Pueblo. Additional topics include: beadworker; sweat lodge; tradition; ceremony; transition; Diné; Native American communities. 00:07:58 Chela discusses formative musical experiences in school music programs and the Pueblo punk scene. Additional topics include: band; sight reading; high school; open mic nights; bars; Inaiah; guitar; sing; punk rock; shows; 1990s; All American Rejects; The Pixie; Phil's Radiator; The Compound; arcade; The Speedway; house shows; covers; Sublime; folk; Neil Young; Bob Dylan; Emmylou Harris; A Poor Substitute; venues; cease and desist; music education; venues; Pueblo, Colorado; punk rock; Pueblo, Colorado; live music; Pueblo, Colorado. 00:14:27 Chela describes the events, bands, and people that made up the local punk scene in Pueblo in the early 2000s. Additional topics include: punk; early 2000s; DIY; Denver; bands; Runs Faster Scared; Better Luck Next Time; Suzie Palmer and the Knuckle Children; Piojos; local; punk rock; Pueblo, Colorado; live music; Pueblo, Colorado. 00:18:52 Chela discusses how she developed songwriting skills by playing at open mic nights in California and the Pacific Northwest. Additional topics include: Pacific Northwest; California; open mic nights; guitar; singing; poetry; lyrics; Tears for Fears; piano; voice; Nevada City; songwriting. 00:21:18 Chela discusses how she returned to Colorado and joined the Haunted Windchimes. She discusses various venues in Southern Colorado where they got their start. Additional topics include: college; Pueblo Community College; VA Bill; Inaiah Lujan; Desirae Garcia; The Haunted Windchimes; Carter Family; Bloomington; New Orleans; Huddie Ledbetter; bars; The Zodiac; The Rocket Room; Colorado Springs; Manitou Springs; The Ancient Mariner; The Armadillo Ranch; Kinfolks; venues; The Daily Grind; The Hanging Tree; Grindhaus; The Sacred Bean; venues; Southern Colorado; folk bands; bands; Pueblo, Colorado; live music; Southern Colorado. 00:27:18 Chela talks about how the Haunted Windchimes developed over time as they gained members and popularity. She describes collaborating with her brothers and playing in various contexts throughout the U.S. Additional topics include: folk; punk rock; Ballad of Human Progress; colonialism; Prairie Home Companion; Blank Tape Records Tour; brothers; Inaiah Lujan; record label; collective; The Haunted Windchimes; The Mexican; Verse / Visa; Funeral Pop; album; Ravi Knoll Trujillo; Sean Fanning; upright bass; Mike Clark; Jack Trades; Colorado Springs; Leechpit; MeadowGrass; harmony; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; baritone ukelele; harmonica; guitar; banjo; bluegrass; festivals; ballads; folk bands; Southern Colorado; venues; Southern Colorado; record labels; Southern Colorado; musicians; Southern Colorado. 00:34:02 Chela discusses how she is treated as a woman of color in performance spaces and how her background informs the music that she plays. Additional topics include: banjo; gender; women of color; Heddie Ledbetter; slavery; patriarchal; music performance and gender; music performance and race. 00:38:59 Chela talks about the Haunted Windchimes breaking up and how it coincided with her break from songwriting. Additional topics include: Fleeting Transient Feelings; Sea Bride; Little Bones; songwriting; bluegrass; breakup; solo; guitar; Spring Cleaning; The Hardly Nevers; songwriting. 00:42:32 Chela discusses how she met her fellow band members and how they came to play her songs together starting in 2020. Additional topics include: indie; alternative; pop; country; Hank Williams; Loretta Lynn; Patsy Cline; Alex Koshak; punk; Josh DeSmit; Black Lives Matter; George Floyd; frustration; Tim Kelley; drummer; program director; Take Note Grant; La Junta; Pony Hunt; rock; Charlie Hayden; bass; tour; Spring Cleaning; Fleeting Transient Feelings; Built to Spill; Neva Dinova; 2020; songwriting; musical genre; bands; Southern Colorado. 00:47:05 Chela discusses the role of music in the 2020 Columbus statue protests. She also shares her perspectives on the atmosphere of the rallies and intergenerational collaboration. Additional topics include: protests; holiday; El Movimiento Sigue; Rita Martinez; Denise Torrez; Proud Boys; genocide; art; Columbus movement; musicians; Tziavii Stevens; hiphop; Paiute; political songs; ceremonial drum songs; memory; Mexica dancers; crisis; guns; statue; generations; activists; Juan Espinoza; Deborah Espinoza; activism; Southern Colorado; music and protest. 01:00:05 Chela discusses her current band, specifically covering how her views on touring have changed and how being a parent factors into her music making. She also discusses playing music with her sibling, Inaiah. Additional topics include: tour; Willy Tea Taylor; parent; kids; band; Inaiah; bands; Southern Colorado. 01:03:27 Chela talks about the community of artists and arts supporters in Pueblo. She also shares about how it can be hard for musicians to be paid what they're worth at local venues. Additional topics include: community; support; business; passion; venues; Brue's Ale House; Tony Garcia; house shows; COVID; venues; Pueblo, Colorado; live music. 01:09:01 Chela discusses The Hardly Nevers' current recording project. Additional topics include: singles; EP; recording; SoundCloud; demos; studio; songwriting; music recording; Pueblo, Colorado. End of recording.

Time coded description

Collection is a collaboration between the American Music Research Center (AMRC) and the Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation. For more information contact the AMRC.

Live music

Punk rock music

Bluegrass music

Singers

Composers

The Haunted Windchimes

The Hardly Nevers

Pueblo (Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)

The Pueblo Christopher Columbus Monument

Chela_Lujan_Full_Interview_2023-06-19.mp4

https://ark.colorado.edu/ark:/47540/qp272w47r0x6

American Music Research Center

2023

video/mp4

born digital

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