Though not Native American by blood, Randy has had a life-long passion for Native peoples, and he shares that passion through his recordings and concerts. “Windtalker” is a trail name he adopted during his six-month, 2,175-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, so when he began performing and recording, Randy “Windtalker” as a professional moniker.
The genesis of his journey on the Native American-style flute took place in early 2000. At a Yanni concert, the powerful blending of orchestra, rock instrumentation, and ethnic musical influences captured his creative imagination. Then, at a concert by famed Native American flute player Robert Mirabal, Randy was so taken by the inter-weaving of Native instruments with rock drums, electric guitar, bass, and effects-laden cello, that his musical die was cast. His desire was to produce soothing, inspirational music that would blend these influences within a sonically lush orchestral environment – with Native American instruments as the focal point.
Randy immediately purchased several Native American-style flutes and began teaching himself to play. Over the years, to hone his skills, he studied under several accomplished instructors and also attended numerous flute schools.
Though having little formal musical training, by 2005 he was writing, arranging, and recording and in 2006 he released his first CD, “Native SoundScapes.” This album relied on synthesized orchestration to support the flute melodies and was recorded in his home studio.
In 2011, Randy released his second album, “Canyon Whispers” which was recorded in a commercial studio. This was also the year that Randy began performing “The Windtalker Experience,” concerts; a multimedia event featuring flute music and stories about Native history and culture, set to a backdrop of his wife’s breathtaking nature photos.
By 2016, he had hundreds of live performances under my belt and fans were requesting a CD that was less orchestrated and featured more solo flute and flute duets. “Hόzhό – Walking in Beauty,” met those requests and was nominated for “Best Native American Album of 2016” by One World Music Radio. It remained on their Top 100 chart for six months.
In mid-2019, Randy and his wife began living full time in a motorhome traveling around the U.S. Then 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they found themselves “social distancing” in an RV park in Tennessee for five months. While secluded in their motorhome, they presented weekly live concerts on Facebook and Randy completed his current CD, “Awakening.” This album reflects his new-found love of ambient music and the influences of David Helpling and Jon Jenkins, Liquid Mind, and Brian Eno.
“Awakening….is a classy album that in my view is easily his best work so far. The entire album exudes an energy of love and respect….Awakening is a release of positivity and great beauty; one packed with color and passion and surely must be heralded as one of the most serene albums to have been released this year, without doubt.” (to hear the entire review of “Awakening,” visit https://www.mixcloud.com/OWM/audio-review-for-windtalker-and-awakening)