When Dave Jordan turned to Kickstarter to finance his new album, he assumed that fans of his music, both solo and with the funk band Juice, might come through. To his surprise a lot of the money came from people who’d never heard his music at all.

“I got a very big outpouring from people I grew up with, went to high school and junior high and hadn’t seen in years,” he says. “A lot of it came from Mandeville where I grew up. A lot have moved away for college and careers and moved back—These are people who had never seen me play and had never heard my record,. I guess I went viral among that community and probably raised a third of the money that way. I had one friend who put up $250 bucks.  We played soccer together in junior high, I hadn’t seen him since then. We’re even not friends on Facebook, so I don’t know how it came about. That’s really humbling and says a lot about what people in Louisiana are all about.”

It probably didn’t hurt that Jordan chose a grabbing title for his Kickstarter campaign: “I Am Gonna Make a Killer Record. I Promise.”  Explains Jordan, “The company gives you tips on what’s successful and what’s not. One thing they said is, pick a title that grabs people. Especially since Juice has been a mostly inactive band since Katrina, we haven’t toured heavily since ‘04, So I needed to of get the info on what I’ve done in my career to people who might otherwise know.”

Jordan has worked with a lot of heavy hitters including Anders Osborne (who produced his previous solo album, These Old Boots) and Art Neville (who recorded one of his songs, “The Biggest Little Shrimp in Town.”)  As a soloist he switches from the bass he played in Juice to guitar and leans away from that band’s funk to more of an Americana sound. The songs on his new album, Bring Back Red Raspberry, were honed over two years of Thursday night shows at Banks Street Bar. “It’s a few blocks from where I live, so it gave me the leeway to try anything I want. Various guys came and went and it wound up turning into a band. I called it the Neighborhood Improvement Association—which is a great name, the only problem is that it’s so long and you can’t fit it on the marquee.” The album has some rock, some funk, and a lot of roots, even some touches of zydeco. “I can’t claim to be a traditional zydeco player, but that was something I heard a lot of growing up.”

He celebrates the release with two shows on Saturday, at French Quarter Fest and the Maple Leaf. Both will feature an expanded band with bass, drums, lead guitar, acoustic rhythm, piano, accordion and violin.

See Dave Jordan
 
Bring Back Red Raspberry Release Party
Saturday, April 13
11 p.m.
Maple Leaf Bar
8316 Oak St.
 
French Quarter Fest
Saturday, April 13
11 a.m.
Esplanade in the Shade Stage