As the result of intensive genealogy research in the late 1990’s I discovered that my heritage included several Cherokee women and one alleged half-blood great grandfather back a ways. This was also a case where first cousins married and the blood (or DNA) stayed strong. I have known for a long time that I was Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English, with a little mixed European ancestry but did not know of my mixed blood heritage. My bloodlines were masked well since my father was of largely Irish descent and I am freckled, light skinned and auburn haired.

My mother never knew her bloodlines. Born out of wedlock she was told her father was "German" (Black Dutch). When asked about her dark appearance she would say she thought she might have Italian blood...  

My mother later married a man whose family considered themselves Indian but never talked a great deal  about their own history.

Their appearance was such that it seemed undeniable that they were of Native American descent, but the family was very reticent to say much to outsiders about it. This is not as unusual as it seems since many who fled the "Trail of Tears" and other removals practiced an accelerated self assimilation for their own protection.

I had always wondered why my step father’s family was so insular and resistant to outside friends and influences and guarded in so many ways. My step-dad’s behavior became much clearer to me after studying generational trauma in Indian people. It seems to have affected assimilated people as well. The primary difference was that after about the fourth generation these families had assimilated enough to consider themselves a part of mainstream white America. I am currently researching my step fathers' family history.

After all these years I look at a photo of my step father and mother together and clearly recognize the origins of my mother’s appearance. I have since collected photos of her father's family and they also show their Native bloodlines. I find it fascinating and compelling that two people whose ancestors came from different places could meet and find that they had such a passionate attraction to one another, though one had no idea of her Native ancestry.

There are a number of cautionary notes there which are well advised. Being of Native descent is not the same as being Native. As in every other case in doing genealogical research discovering our ancestry is exciting, but claiming Native Blood has its own set of pitfalls. Our ancestors who left their native tribes and married with whites are not necessarily looked at fondly, nor are we, but as with all good people there are those who are accepting of us mixed bloods as we are.    

Brendan decided in the mid 80’s to go "underground" leaving the club scene and devoting his time to writing music and submitting songs to a number of publishers. While there was a positive response and an effort to shop his songs around, publishers placed an emphasis on songwriters that attempted to write music that exactly reflected popular music being played on top forty or album rock oriented radio stations.

In the 1990's Brendan decided he was going to pursue his own musical journey to where ever it might lead him. His first album was an amalgam of Celtic, pop, rock and ambient music (In other words all over the place). It recieved some decent critical reviews but people really did not know what to do with it. Brendan says, "There are any number of songs on the album I'm proud of though I wish I had known some better engineering, but I think some  sound quite good". Listen for yourself, you may find some gems that appeal to you.

At the end of the decade Brendan wanted to move back towards a more wholly American music, a mix of alt country, rock and folk that were really getting back to his musical roots. Originally titled "Myths and Legends" he finally decided on "American Mythology"  which would be an effort to capture vignettes of American culture. Songs were written and rejected, songs recorded and put aside.

Finally Brendan believed he had the songs and the mixes that reflected what he wanted to hear and what he hoped others wanted to hear.

Every thing is a circle and coming back around and incorporating all of the musical influences of a lifetime into a new album is a humbling experience.  Welcome to American Mythology.