Family legacy

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This article was published 20/06/2024 (495 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Manitoba music icon Vince Fontaine, founder of the Juno Award-winning rock outfit Eagle & Hawk and the musical collective Indian City, died in 2022 at the age of 62, it was a shock that reverberated throughout the community.

How could a man who meant so much to so many, who did so much to champion Indigenous music and reconciliation, suddenly be gone? How could there be no more music?

“One of the first things I thought when my dad died was, ‘I don’t want his legacy to die with him. I don’t want his music to die with him,’” says Vince’s daughter, Gabrielle Fontaine.

Gabrielle’s grief crystallized into purpose. She wouldn’t — couldn’t — let that happen. And now, the younger Fontaine, 27, has stepped into her father’s big shoes as the bandleader of Indian City, whose new album, Tomorrow, is out today, National Indigenous Peoples Day.

“It’s quite poetic because you can think of it as a Fontaine legacy, which is now continuing through the new generation. That’s where the album title Tomorrow came from. It’s this new day. It’s the next step. We’re looking forward,” Fontaine says.

“But, at the same time, when it comes to writing music, we still never forget where this all originated from, and that was my dad.”

Indeed, it was important to Fontaine that Indian City continue in her dad’s spirit.

“I still want it to value everything that he valued, and a lot of it stems from reconciliation. My dad was such a firm believer in reconciliation. It’s why the band was started,” she says. “

Indian City was founded in 2012 as a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action No. 83, which calls for “Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process.”

Vince envisioned a collective composed of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists — some permanent members of the band, some guests — who could make music together.

Vince, along with his Eagle & Hawk bandmates Jay Bodner, Lawrence (Spatch) Mulhall, Rich Reid and Neewa Mason have served, in various configurations, as the backbone of Indian City, while a revolving door of guests — including Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, Chantal Kreviazuk, Don Amero and many more — filled out the sound.

“Vince was a bigger-picture thinker, not just for music, songs and art, but just relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people,” says Bodner, 54.

“As one of the non-Indigenous members in the band, I also feel very grateful to have had the experiences and to be immersed in the Indigenous community for 30 years.”

Bodner and Fontaine have found an easy rhythm writing songs and singing together, and Bodner says the “oldies” in the band — currently composed of Fontaine, Bodner, Mulhall and Reid — were on the same page about letting Fontaine do her thing and not take over.

“While we’ve been a part of a core for many, many years, it was really important that we just provided the right types of support to Gabrielle and allow her that space to grow,” Bodner says.

“I know he would be so proud of her,” he says of Vince. “I’m so proud of her.”

It makes sense, then, that Tomorrow, which comes as the followup to 2021’s Code Red, the last Indian City album to feature Vince, represents a bit of a departure for the band. It features more female vocals, obviously, which Fontaine is excited about. It’s a little less rock, Bodner says, but both agree it’s the band’s most cohesive outing yet.

Indian City is exploring new directions — new tomorrows — without forgetting its heart.

“For me, and I’ve always said this, this is more than a band to me,” Fontaine says. “This is my dad. It’s his heart. It’s his soul. It’s my dad.”

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com