offBeat :: Staff Directory


	Jan Ramsey Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Started OffBeat and its associated entities almost two decades ago as an effort to improve and expand local music culture and business. Known for her scathing “Mojo Mouth” essays, Ramsey has been a music activist since the early 1980s, loves local culture and lives down the street from the H&R Bar—just to prove it. She is a native New Orleanian and a (former) good Catholic girl. Email Jan AT offbeat.com -->
	Joseph Irrera Managing Editor Managing Editor Joseph Irrera, a native of Brooklyn, is living proof that “real men” listen to opera. Joseph, whose forebears came from Sicily, has composed hundreds of pop songs few human beings have been privileged to hear. He's also an aficionado of and expert on classical music and opera, as well as European and mid-20th century U.S. pop music. Email Joseph AT offbeat.com -->
	Herman Fuselier Contributor Covers the Cajun/zydeco scene as a feature writer for Lafayette's The Daily Advertiser, contributing the weekly "Bayou Boogie" column (a version of which also appears in OffBeat). Herman hosts a weekly "Bayou Boogie" television program on KDCG-TV and a weekly "Bayou Boogie" radio show on KRVS. He resides in Opelousas, deep in the heartland of zydeco.
	Geraldine Wyckoff Contributor Composes columns on local music, jazz and street culture for OffBeat. Ms. Wyckoff also contributes to New Orleans Magazine and is a frequent contributor to national jazz publications. She is a native of Oregon and devotes most of her free time listening to local live music, attending second lines and attending the occasional jazz funeral.
	Jeremy Deibel Contributor A native of Norco, writes OffBeat's "St. Rock" column, dedicated to the long-suffering and much-maligned rock musicians of New Orleans.
	Robert Fontenot Contributor Who covers rap and hip-hop in his "Urban Legends" column, is, strangely enough, one of Louisiana’s leading experts on the Beatles. Robert recently interviewed convicted murderer C-Murder (a.k.a. C-Miller) in prison.
	Michael Hurtt Contributor A native of South Bend, Indiana, writes OffBeat's "Hidden Charms" column, focusing on the forgotten music stars of the past and present. Michael is a frequent contributor to the English music periodical Mojo and leads his own rockabilly band, Michael Hurtt and his Haunted Hearts.
	Marc Stone Contributor OffBeat's blues columnist, was born in 1970 in New York City. He began playing guitar at 16 after buying his first B.B. King record. Marc still listens to B.B. King on a regular basis when he's not performing in the nightclubs of New Orleans.
	Michael Patrick Welch Contributor A native of Florida and current Ninth Ward resident, formerly taught high school in New Orleans, where his students dubbed him “The White Bitch,” a name he now utilizes professionally as an experimental musician. Michael once interviewed OutKast's Andre 3000 when he was still known as Andre Benjamin and is the author of the highly-acclaimed novel “The Donkey Show.”