Christian Staebler

Christian Staebler is a graphic designer and illustrator. His work includes layouts for books, magazines, industrial booklets, and packagins, while his illustration work includes client publishers like Hachette and Nathan. He is also the creator and webmaster of the official website of legendary Native American rock band Redbone. If you’ve heard the hit song “Come and Get Your Love” in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, you’ve heard Redbone. Now Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band (IDW Publishing) tells the story of the band and its cultural, political, and social importance. Brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas were talented Native American rock musicians that had an impact on the 1960s Sunset Strip. They influenced The Doors and jammed with Jimmy Hendrix before he was “Jimi.” Soon, there was the idea of a band made up of all Native Americans. Determined to control their creative vision and maintain their cultural identity, they eventually signed a deal with Epic Records in 1969. But as the American Indian Movement gained momentum the band took a stand, choosing pride in their ancestry over continued commercial reward. In Redbone, authors Christian Staebler and Sonia Paoloni with artist Thibault Balahy, working in cooperation of the Vegas family, create a book that is part biography and part research journalism. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, noted that “Musicians with heart put their people before profits in an inspirational tale. Well-researched and well-paced, this book will introduce a new generation to the music and impact of Redbone.”