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 As
a New Mexico native with an actress mother in L.A., Robby
spent most of his childhood traveling between these two
highly disparate places. He spent a lot of time on Dennis
Hopper’s ranch in Taos where he befriended Hopper as
well as Sam Peckinpah and the many famous artists of all
types who congregated there in the 70s.
In the 80s,
Robby hooked up with Dennis Banks, founder of the American
Indian Movement. “Working and traveling with Dennis
introduced me to the many diverse aspects of activism, and
Dennis encouraged me to put my feelings and thoughts into
music and film.” So in 1990 he formed his alter-native
rock band, Red Thunder, and created their first music/film
production, “Is It Too Late,” a piece of work
for which he received a special award, and became an
Ambassador of Youth for the Environment. Robby’s most
recent project, “Hidden Medicine,” which he
directed and co-wrote as well as scored, premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in 1999 and began airing on the
Sundance Channel last October. Produced by Roland Joffé
and Horst Rechelbacher, “Hidden Medicine” is
about the 4 percent of America’s forest that remain.
“It’s really about how we’re destroying our
future,” explains Romero. “Indigenous philosophy
embraces a spiritual connection with all life on earth.
It’s about walking in balance; and as time moves on, I
see people drifting out of balance, lost and alone.” The
soundtrack for “Hidden Medicine” is available
at Aveda Environmental Lifestyle stores, and exclusively
released in Indian country through S.O.A.R. Distribution
Ltd.
He has another
film project in development as well, which he describes as
an “explosive controversial feature documentary which
involves different cultures, expressions, and thoughts
from America.” The purpose of this project, as has been
the aim of his other projects, is to create awareness of
serious issues people aren’t talking about. “My music
and film projects are really just another way to tell a
story from another point of view and perspective.
They’re about creating awareness of issues that aren’t
mainstream or pop culture, but are definitely critical to
our survival as human beings, and to all our relations.”
Robby encourages people to support the Save America’s
Forests Campaign and the legislation currently in
Congress, which anyone can do by logging on to his
website, www.eaglethunder.com or Save America’s Forests
at www.saveamericasforests.org. Robby notes, “The elders
say squirrels used to be able to go from the East Coast to
the Mississippi without ever touching the ground. They
can’t do that any more.” “Hidden Medicine” will
air on the Sundance Channel through 2001.
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