Gary Farmer speaks out about new music, hit TV series

By Sandra Hale Schulman. Special to ICT.

He's been Nobody, Uncle Brownie, and a mean harmonica player.

Veteran actor Gary Farmer is busier than ever with roles in two hit series, a new five-song CD and winning awards.

The actor, producer, director and musician received the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence in October from the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto for his four-decades of work.

And on Saturday, Dec. 17, he and his band, the Troublemakers, will be unveiling his new CD, "Fool for Love," at a release party in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery.

The new CD will cap a year that has included work in the series "Resident Alien," and in "Reservation Dogs," which was recently named one of the top television series of the year by The New York Times. He can also be seen on Prime Video in the stellar Western limited series, "The English," which was shot in Spain.

And on Saturday, Dec. 17, he and his band, the Troublemakers, will be unveiling his new CD, "Fool for Love," at a release party in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery.

The new CD will cap a year that has included work in the series "Resident Alien," and in "Reservation Dogs," which was recently named one of the top television series of the year by The New York Times. He can also be seen on Prime Video in the stellar Western limited series, "The English," which was shot in Spain.

Farmer, Cayuga from the Six Nations of Grand River, is enjoying the ride.

"That's really something," Farmer told ICT recently. "I've never been so popular in all my years. If you stick around long enough, it'll work out. The other pleasure is that I get to watch these young people's careers now for the rest of my life. That's something to look forward to now."

'The gig is the thing'

The new CD, produced by Derek Miller, is a lively, blues-tinged, lyrically unapologetic collection that features "Sing that Song," "Toughest Girl in the World," "Nobody's Reclamation," and the title track, "Fool for Love."

Farmer, who now lives in Santa Fe, was born in Six Nations, Canada, and spent much of his career in Toronto. He spends more time now in Vancouver, where "Resident Alien" is shot, and in Oklahoma for his role as Uncle Brownie in "Reservation Dogs."

In acting as in songwriting, he knows the job is to be true to the words. His new CD, he said, includes five musical tracks recorded over four years.

"It just takes time," he said. "I really like these tracks. I tour music to every little club or casino that would have me or when it's a little more quiet with my career, but it's always me lugging the gear around ...

"That's where you get a chance," he said. "The gig is the thing, when you're on the road, and a lot of creativity comes out from being on the road. Most of the songs I've written in my little musical career came from being on the road. And, it's just like a broken relationship. You'll get a song from that every time."

Farmer's previous album, "Road Songs," came from the musicians he has been working with for years in New Mexico.

One of the songs on the new album features poetry by William Blake, a name that harkens back to his role in the Jim Jarmusch film,"Deadman," starring Farmer and Johnny Depp.

Depp plays a character known as William Blake, a mild-mannered accountant on the run in the late 1800s after murdering a man. He encounters the Native American spirit-guide "Nobody," played by Farmer, who comes to believe Blake is the reincarnation of the visionary English poet.

Farmer tells a hidden back story involving him, Depp, producer Derek Miller and musician Neil Young.

"After we made 'Deadman', Neil Young, who did the film's soundtrack, got Johnny to read some William Blake poems to Neal's guitar, released it and made no reference to the film, made no reference to William Blake," he said, laughing. "He just released it. So now Derek on guitar and me reading William Blake, doing the Blake poem with Derek's music is like a Native American reclamation of land, you know? We're just gonna take our love of William Blake back and it's called 'Nobody's Reclamation.' It's a fun play on history, film history, and music history."

What's next

On the acting front, Farmer is gearing up for the next seasons.

"I'm in the third season of 'Resident Alien,'" he said. "I'm just waiting for scripts and my involvement, to what extent. A month after that, we'll be shooting 'Reservation Dogs,' where I play Uncle Brownie. It's going to be tricky trying to maneuver – both shoots seem to be taking the same block of time, but I'm sure it'll all work out, with good heart and mind."

Does the young cast ever ask Farmer for advice?

"I'm so shortly on set with them," he said. "But I do have fun with them all when we're together. I'm always pushing them to improvise and, sometimes they get quiet, but there are moments for them they could branch out, so I try to encourage them that way."

They learn as they go, he said.

"We're all more experiential learners in the Native community than not," he said. "I love working with the young actors. It's going to be interesting, both storylines in the shows, I have absolutely no idea where they're going to go. No idea. And that's just exciting."

Farmer gives credit to the writers and directors but also to the whole crew.

"It's the creative team that makes the world of difference in any effort," he said. "You know, white, black, yellow, or green, it's just artists coming together to tell a story. I try to stay open-minded like that. I've never seen so much diversity on both sides of the cameras."

Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today/ICT.