The neighbors shut it down.

Huh?

Dave Hurlbert, who operates the church said: “A petition by a few neighbors was circulated, opposing the performance of live music in the church. And so I am asking for a show of support from our neighbors who welcome the idea of our restoring the building and sharing it with the neighborhood along its original lines: as a place for spiritual fulfillment through acoustic, live music.

“All our music is acoustic, without amplification, and it is not audible outside the church when we close the windows. All our performances end around 10pm – per the neighborhood noise ordinance. As far as being like Bourbon Street: we’re a non-profit foundation, and we ain’t got a bar. People actually come to listen to music. Last week we listened to Andre Bohren play Chopin!”

Without music, New Orleans doesn't exist.

Problem? Why shouldn’t people be allowed to enjoy music  in a neighborhood location if it’s in compliance with city standards? This isn’t even a bar, and it doesn’t serve alcohol.

On another side of the coin, today I spoke with brothers Huey and Angelo Farrell, who operate Bourbon Heat at 711 Bourbon Street. They renovated the dilapidated former Tricou House (which was a regular music venue for many years), and created a lovely tropical courtyard on the first floor, two bars, and a dance club/music venue/bar on the second floor. Angelo Farrell renovated the building and originally leased it to another Bourbon Street operator who has a reputation on the street for blasting music out of clubs (illegally). The Farrells have parted ways with this operator and are now running the venue themselves.

Angelo Farrell is a contractor whose renovation work has been focused in the Vieux Carre. He’s renovated award-winning buildings in the Quarter. He did run into a political issue with a proposed condo conversion at Royal and Canal Streets, which apparently may have him on the outs with some of the political and neighborhoods groups that wield an inordinate amount of power when it comes to business development and operation in the French Quarter .

Be aware: these neighborhood activist groups in the Quarter and city agencies have the wherewithal  to control what happens to both residences and business operations in the French Quarter.

Regarding music at Bourbon Heat: “We decided to only do smooth jazz, no live music, in the courtyard,” Huey Farrell says. “We have a dance crowd upstairs at the moment, and we’d like to add live music soon.”

“We want Bourbon Heat to be different from a lot of the places on Bourbon,” said Angelo Farrell. “People who come to the Quarter sort of expect two things: that great tropical French Quarter courtyard, and a place to dance and let loose. We have both of those in one venue.”

Everything seemingly should work for Bourbon Heat, except that a neighbor who lives two houses down complained, and the bar is working to address noise issues that could potentially have a negative effect on whether or not the bar can remain open. “I own a house that I live in part-time. It’s literally right next door to the courtyard. I can’t hear any noise in the house,” said Angelo. “The woman who complained lives two houses away and is much closer to other bars on Bourbon.  Yet she complained about our place. Why do these people have so much power? The vast majority of residents in the French Quarter don’t complain. They know that they are living in an area of the city that has a lot of music, tourist activity and associated noise, and they accept it as part of life in the Quarter. Why do a few so-called neighbors have the power to shut down a business when it’s accepted by most as being okay.”

Good question.

Music is not noise. You know the old saying: “If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen”? I say that if you don’t appreciate living in the French Quarter, with everything that means, including music, tourists, noise, and other inconveniences, then the Vieux Carre should not be your place of residence.

The proposed revisions in the noise ordinance are still pending, and they need to resolved. Not everyone is going to get what they want. The city hired an acoustic expert/consultant who’s making the rounds, talking to all the people involved: clubs, residents, street musicians, musicians, and other interested parties before he makes a recommendation on what acceptable levels of noise should be included into the revised city ordinance.  The city has to find a way to make equitable rules for different areas of the city that have entertainment, or could potentially host entertainment. The city should make them enforceable and then shut down the biggest scofflaws: souvenir and T-shirt shops who blast music onto the street, and operators on Bourbon Street who drown out everyone else on the street with obnoxiously loud music. Get these people out of here. There’s an acceptable level of street and music noise on streets like Bourbon and Frenchmen. It’s part of the ambience. It shouldn’t be done away with. It should be tolerable to visitors and residents alike. Personally, what I’m perceiving is that a few residents don’t want music, and they’re trying to win game. It’s a power trip.

What will come of the ongoing battle to create a good noise ordinance? I have no idea. But I do think this whole situation has been dragging on way too long, and it’s getting worse. It’s almost as though there’s a “noise mafia” of powerful neighborhood groups that are calling the shots on what can and can’t happen with music in the city. And these people aren’t music lovers, apparently. Many of them don’t even live here full-time. They call themselves preservationists and lovers of New Orleans, but they look at the French Quarter, the Faubourg Marigny and the Bywater as their own private gated communities. Let’s face it: they have money and power to make things happen in a way where they call the shots. I have been told by numerous businesses that Stuart Smith, a wealthy plaintiff attorney who lives (part-time) on St. Philip Street and part-time in Miami (!), has filed lawsuits against several prominent French Quarter businesses because live music is too loud and is not to his liking. He says he’s a preservationist. So Mr. Smith, why do you think you should control the city’s music? In the name of preservation?  How about proactively getting some of the derelict property owners in the Quarter to repair their properties? Isn’t that what a preservationist usually does?

Once again: You gotta take the bitter with the sweet. If you don’t like the music and culture of the city, then move to the suburbs. Or Miami.

The city of New Orleans has to step up and strongly declare that we are a music city and that any music played anywhere that’s played within city guidelines and proscribed decibel levels trumps some cranky rich neighbor’s complaints. Even about something that “might” happen in the future!

All of us work like dogs preparing for the Business Awards and the Party/Music Awards. Really, we do. So it’s totally gratifying to know that we’ve accomplished what we set out to do—honor the musicians and the people who make the music happen behind the scenes—while at the same time throwing a wonderful party that the musicians and the public can both enjoy to the fullest.

George Porter, Jr. and his wife Ara at the Best of the Beat. Photo by Kim Welsh.

We get many kudos from people who have enjoyed the party, but truly, the party isn’t about OffBeat, it’s about the wonderful musicians who perpetuate New Orleans as the hottest music city in the world, and the restaurants and caterers, our liquor and beer sponsors, our production coordinators Libra Lagrone and Sami Slovy, and the venues who so graciously work with us in making the event successful. It’s about giving props to our Lifetime Achievement Award winners, George Porter, Jr., Scott Billington, Mary Howell, and John Rankin.

One of the highlights of my evening was seeing Art and Cyril Neville and their spouses. I don’t get to see Art very much any more, and it was thrilling to chat with him for just a minute and watch him perform in a tribute to George Porter, Jr. with his brother Cyril, Dr. John, Papa Mali, Monk Boudreaux, David Barard, Stanton Moore, Khris Royal, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Albert, Mark Mullins and Brian Graber. What an incredible set!

There are plenty of photos of both events online, but if you weren’t there, you missed the music and food, and a great night. Hope we see you next year?

Best of the Beat Music Awards: Winners

Best of the Beat Music Awards: Photos

Best of the Beat Business Awards: Winners

Best of the Beat Business Awards: Photos

Shrimp Stadium?

I’m having trouble comprehending this…what shall we then call the stadium: the Redfish Arena? Shrimp Stadium (as opposed to its big brother, the Mercedes Benz Whale Superdome)? Louisiana Seafood Arena? Somehow, Louisiana Seafood doesn’t particularly lend itself being a stadium name. According to news reports, they’re also discussing including Zatarain’s as a partner in naming.  At least Zat’s has a recognizable brand. Louisiana Seafood Arena? I don’t get it.

Wouldn’t the businesses who benefit from the promotion and marketing  of the Louisiana Seafood Marketing and Promotion organization be better served by some intensified marketing help for their particular businesses? More advertising in markets outside Louisiana?

I still have issues (see my post on the Mercedes Benz Superdome naming) with the massive money that’s thrown at sports teams. Obviously this is marketing for these entities, but can’t that money be put to better use?

I suppose that there are humongous perks that are associated with naming rights: your own fancy-schmancy box, deluxe treatment, tickets to give away, free booze, etc., etc. Those accrue to the “namers.” And of course, it will help keep the Hornets in New Orleans (I think this is the primary push). The money ponied up for naming rights isn’t really funneled back into the local community in any significant way that I can think of. For example, if the Superdome was still called the Louisiana Superdome, or the New Orleans Arena isn’t named the Louisiana Seafood Pavilion or some such, aren’t sports fans going to go to these events anyway? Can’t the Louisiana Seafood people use that money in a way that helps their constituency in a more valuable way, in advertising our seafood internationally? Working on finding better ways to distribute the product?  Reaching out to the scientific community to find ways to help make our seafood industry more sustainable, and thus more marketable for the long term?

Since I obviously know little about the real value of naming rights, can someone please educate me on the value from a marketing and advertising standpoint versus spending money promoting your brand through standard media? Who benefits the most from this?

On another branding idea: some years ago,  a young entrepreneur told me about a concept to market music regionally, and to create tours of sites, cities and towns in Louisiana and Mississippi to increase the brand of the musical art forms that were born in the south—blues and jazz.

The idea was a great one: when we combine our efforts, we all get stronger. Both Louisiana and Mississippi would have benefited from this idea.

Of course, it didn’t happen.

Now a new idea: a “visionary” entrepreneur from Leipers Fork, Tennessee and the Executive Director of the Americana Music Foundation want to create the “Americana Music Triangle” which is, for lack of better terminology, the “Bermuda Triangle” of the cradle of American music.  Drawn strictly, its anchors are New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville, and it comprises much of the state of Mississippi, Baton Rouge, and the Mississippi River side of Arkansas and the very tip-top northwestern part of Alabama.

The idea is to brand the Triangle as the cradle of American music and to market it to the world. I support this idea and think it could draw a lot more attention to this region as a music mecca. Of course, I feel that New Orleans is THE source of all music, but any idea that educates people on the value of our music—and provides a means to make the slice of the pie bigger for New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana—has got a lot of merit.

I asked him how business was, and he said it was pretty dead, despite the weather being fantastic. “If the Saints had won, the city would have already been popping for Mardi Gras,” he said, “but now I guess we’ll have to wait a few weeks before things start going again.” Deadsville.

So the dearly beloved Saints have much more of an impact than filling the Superdome and Bourbon Street. They send folks out to even the little retailers in the Quarter. We always have next year!

Speaking of dead: Like anyone who lives and does business in New Orleans, I’m really concerned about the violence that we’re experiencing these days. If you’re thinking about coming to the city for a visit, have no fear. Most of the shootings are taking place outside tourist-frequented areas, and I suspect that almost all of them have to do with drugs.  I have personally experienced how horrible it is to see a young man bleeding to death on a sidewalk, just a few steps from my front door. A toddler was accidentally shot two blocks from my house. This is not acceptable in any city, in any location.

Drugs as viable business ventures, readily available handguns (and assault weapons!), poverty, and young male “entrepreneurs” are a heady mix for continuing crime in our city. What is awful about this is these poor knuckleheads are shooting and killing—or injuring—not only their intended targets (usually other young guys they have a beef with), but innocent bystanders. A young boy and a woman suffered injuries from random bullets inside their homes during acts of violence outside their houses. A two-year-old baby girl was shot and killed accidentally a few weeks ago by a stray bullet while she played outside her aparment. This is outrageous.

I disagree with the methods that are currently being considered to stop the violence.

The local citizens, the mayor and the police chief can decry gun violence as much as they want. They can have neighborhood meetings. They can get their ministers and priests to preach against violence, but I have news for you: the knuckleheads aren’t listening, and they don’t care.

As long as they find that they can make more money selling drugs and make a damn good living by working three or four hours a day, you’re not ever going to convince them to stop what they’re doing. As long as there are inadequate educational, moral and parental resources for these kids, they will resort to violence and killing to solve their everyday problems.

I do hate to sound defeatist on this issue, but I believe that yesterday’s morality is gone, and frankly, I don’t believe it’s going to come back. You have two generations of youngsters who have grown up in largely violent environments, some of whom have had very little, if any parental care, love or discipline. They have poor education, poor or no job skills, and they know that most of the time they can get away with it. And, they have ready access to all sorts of handguns as well as assault weapons. To make matters even worse, the judicial system can’t get witnesses to testify against wrongdoers because the witnesses are afraid of the consequences–being hunted down and shot. It happens all the time in New Orleans.

As the usual voice in the wilderness, I’ll say we need to funnel kids when they’re young into music and arts programs. We need better educational resources. We need more parents who pay attention to their kids. And most of all, we need to stop this ridiculous drug war and find a way to take the underground commerce largely out of the equation.

The other issue is to remove the guns guns. All the Second Amendment people out there will certainly disagree with me, but not having easy access to weapons will at least be start. Yes, there will still be guns out there. This isn’t going to be a quick process. It’s going to take some time to accomplish. IMHO, the entire city of New Orleans should be a gun-free zone. We’re not going to be able to solve the tendency towards violence that’s one of the hallmarks of American culture, but if the guns aren’t there, at least there won’t be any more people watching TV in their homes, or little babies outside playing who will take a bullet either. We have to start somewhere.

Wikipedia states, “The most important long-term impact of the hurricane was to confirm fears that Galveston was a dangerous place to make major investments in shipping and manufacturing operations; the economy of the Golden Era was no longer possible as investors fled. In 1920, Prohibition and lax law enforcement opened up new opportunities for criminal enterprises related to gambling and bootlegging in the city. Galveston rapidly became a prime resort destination enabled by the open vice businesses on the island. This new entertainment-based economy brought decades-long prosperity to the island.”

Sound familiar?

Only in New Orleans, culture abides and grows. Photo by Kim Welsh.

In my original piece, I speculated if New Orleans would become the next Galveston, and Baton Rouge, the next Houston. It’s true that New Orleans’ population has not returned to its pre-Katrina numbers, whereas Baton Rouge’s population has increased. However, the New Orleans metropolitan area population of 1.17 million still outstrips Greater Baton Rouge’s 802,500.

The difference is that New Orleans, more and more, is becoming a city whose main source of income is revenue derived from the hospitality industry, unlike Baton Rouge, which has more of a standard business orientation. With the numbers of sporting events, conventions, and festivals we currently host in the city, visitors to New Orleans are growing by leaps and bounds, even with the lousy worldwide economy.

It’s ambitious to try to create a new market; it takes an enormous amount of marketing investment to promote it, and a relatively long period of time to build momentum. It may be easier to capitalize on factors the city already possesses rather than try to recreate the wheel.

I’m certainly anxious—just like everyone else in the country—to see more manufacturing jobs returning to the US and to Louisiana. But we have to face the fact that we don’t have the educated (or motivated) populace that’s going to create a manufacturing or high-tech economy in New Orleans.

We also have an inferior physical location in terms of access and distribution that prevents sizeable manufacturers from locating here; it’s something we have no control over.

So can we continue to capitalize on what we already have? A truly fascinating, relatively cheap place to live, an endless wealth of cultural attractions, food, music, joie de vivre, tolerance for eccentricities (that you’d never find in Baton Rouge), sporting events—although I personally would never decide to live in a city because of the sports activities. We have recently acknowledged that we have city with an orientation towards culture and cultural development. But we also have much poverty in the city, subpar educational opportunities, and a complacent population who’d rather laissez-faire than TCB. Crime is increasing, and we have a police department and justice system that needs a whole lot of work and revision.

What’s ahead for us? Do we become an entertainment and cultural mecca and de-emphasize trying to get manufacturing concerns in the city?  Throw ourselves full-force into becoming a cultural center? Or do we do economic development the way it’s “always been done,” by focusing on manufacturing jobs?

What do you think?

1. Create a high-profile free music festival in Armstrong Park, and create walking tours of the park itself on an ongoing basis. (Interestingly, last week, I actually saw groups of people walking in the park during the day, checking out the park itself and the newly-installed sculptures.) Armstrong Park is a gem, a treasure, waiting to be discovered by the traveling public. Now all we need to do is to stop hotel concierges and Quarterites from telling travelers that it’s unsafe.

2. Brand New Orleans as a “music city” so that travelers from all over the world will know that we consider our musical heritage and live music scene to be a top priority in attracting visitors to the city.

3. Help create a museum dedicated to New Orleans music in a prominent location on Canal Street in the theater district that will give visitors and locals alike information on the local music scene, expose them to some live music, lead them to other musical resources in the city, and provide them with an educational experience.

4. Develop music, cultural and entertainment districts throughout the city that will welcome and promote local music and musicians, as well as artists.

5. Designate both North and South Rampart Streets, Frenchmen Street, Canal Street and portions of other major thoroughfares in the city as special districts to encourage creative endeavors.

6. Work with City Park, and the new Reinventing the Crescent areas to develop more music festivals and cultural events.

7. Market New Orleans as a music city to international markets, particularly in Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim.

8. Re-develop the Municipal Auditorium site as a public venue or even a sound stage for the hundreds of movies that are being shot here.

9. Make sure that any noise ordinance proposed by the city is equitable for musicians and clubs, not only for residents who don’t like “the noise.”

10. Support the French Quarter Festival’s effort to pay local musicians directly, instead of asking them to play for a sponsorship. They’ve made strides in this area, but continue to need help.

11. I’d like to interview and create biographies for all of our musicians, whose lives and accomplishments need to be documented.

There are a lot more I have in mind, but I think these will reasonably fill up next year.

As to business resolutions,  I resolve to be more tolerant, less opinionated, more investigative and more patient; to listen more and talk less; to be more compassionate and less judgmental.

I don’t suffer fools gladly, but I should at least be more patient, don’t you think?
 

Thanks to a group of developers, the Joy will soon be back in service, restored to its original Art Deco glory, except this time it’s going to be multi-purpose venue with a state-of-the-art sound, light and acoustics, a flexible downstairs that can be open or contain seating, and a large fixed-seating balcony upstairs with a full-service bar. I also love the fact that it’s a no smoking venue and has an elevator.

The Downtown Joy, in its younger, more affluent days.

The theater’s opening weekend will feature Irma Thomas with Lance Ellis opening (December 29), Soul Rebels and Cyril Neville’s Tribe 13 (December 30), and for New Year’s Eve, Kermit Ruffins and Big Sam’s Funky Nation.

The Joy has also started booking January, and will feature Cowboy Mouth, Percy Sledge, and the Little River Band, among others. Hopefully, the booking at the Joy will pump some life back into lower Canal Street, which has surely been lacking in entertainment venues and a classy place to hear live music for decades.

After leaving the office last night (we shipped January last evening), we passed the Joy’s restored sign and marquee. It lit up Canal Street, and I hope it continues to bring life back to the street.

Speaking of life on Canal, we have a problem. The same developer that developed low-income housing at 200 Carondelet Street is now planning  to create low-income housing in the space that used to be the LaSalle Hotel, in the front of the Saenger Building. Their tax credit application has apparently been approved. Hmmm. Let’s see, there’s supposed to be a revival on Canal Street. There’s a new high-end condo across the street; the Joy is reopening, and the Saenger is in the process of being restored. Why would anyone want low-income housing smack-dab on Canal Street? Certainly the best use of this property, which would make sense for the so-called revival of Canal Street, would mean a commercial venture of some kind. This is just the spot that should house the New Orleans Music & Culture Museum, not low-income housing.  It just doesn’t make sense for this deal to go through. Once again, New Orleans will shoot itself in the foot by not planning development properly. Low-income housing can built anywhere; these developers are taking advantage of tax credits that the city let slip through its fingers. Shame on the city and all the associated entities for not monitoring this development more closely.

Rebirth...go get 'em! And bring home that Grammy!

A belated congratulations to the Rebirth Brass Band from me, personally. Phil, Keith, Stafford and all the guys: we are so proud that you’ve been nominated for a Grammy, and are hoping you are the very first brass band to bring home that prestigious award. If you’re a member of NARAS, please vote for our homeboys so they can bring home the bacon on February 12.

If they do win the Grammy, we should close down the city to welcome them home. Here’s to you!

And to you, too: go out and buy some great Louisiana music as a gift for someone you love. It’ll certainly help our local musicians and make the recipient really happy. Merry Christmas!

This could put a crimp in our regular Mardi Gras season because Mardi Gras 2013 is set for February 12. Maybe we can just move Fat Tuesday up a week to accommodate the NFL and the massive fans that are expected for the Superbowl.  Should we move Mardi Gras weekend to accommodate Superbowl Sunday? Am curious to know what you think.

We now also have the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell schedule to contemplate, since it was released early this morning. The earlier you get the word out, the quicker fest-goers can make their festival attendance plans by booking rooms and making their airline reservations. We used to get the Jazz Fest schedule in mid-to-late February. Now we get it before Christmas. So festival season is officially underway.

The Foo Fighters: one of this year's Jazz Fest headliners

Aah, I remember the good ole days at the WWL-RayBan stage (now controlled by Acura), when I could still hang out and enjoy the music. Those days are long gone; I’m not fighting crowds to see the Foo Fighters or the Eagles. I’m still in the Bonnie Raitt fan crowd, and since I haven’t experienced a Bonnie show in a while, you might see me there.

Despite the usual grumblings from old school Jazz Fest fans, the lineup always looks pretty great to me. I understand how difficult it is to book a major festival that depends on ticket sales. Heads through the gates mean more money to support the festival and the ability to get more money from sponsors.

If you haven’t already, consider supporting a band for this year’s French Quarter Festival. They’ve made the effort to pay musicians in cash rather than allowing individual sponsors to foot the bill for the bands. I imagine if you want to sponsor a band that’s playing French Quarter Fest, you would certainly welcome the opportunity to not only pay the band, but to support FQF, which features only local music. Go here for info on how to sponsor a band.

He’s one of the creators of the “New Orleans Sound,” and his engineering expertise was as influential as anyone, including the people who actually made the music—Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew, Little Richard, and so many others—in birthing New Orleans as the seminal R&B capital of the South.

Anyone who’s been involved in music in New Orleans in the last 60 or so years knows this. The fact that Cos is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is long, long overdue.

Cosimo Matassa. Credit: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I first met Cos almost 30 years ago. I was a young whippersnapper, eager to put the music and musicians of New Orleans more “on the map.” Cos was, of course, well-known to musicians and people in the biz. To me, not so much. I loved the music, wanted to apply my business acumen to promoting it, but didn’t know anything about how it was made.  I was in a hurry to get people to recognize music as an economic force. Looking back from the perspective of ripe old age, I see that I didn’t have the proper respect for my elders—which isn’t all that unusual for younger people wanting to accomplish something. Young means you think you have all the answers.

My attitude was sort of… “Well, you did something 30 years ago, but what are you doing now?”

Bad attitude. Stupid, disrespectful woman!

But I learned.

After meeting and getting to know Cos, and getting my comeuppance from him a few times, I had to reform my smart-aleck attitude to put him on the pedestal he deserves. The man deserves massive respect for what he’s contributed to the music world.

Cos was the very first recipient of our Best of The Beat Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Music Business. Who else could we give that award to?

He and I became pretty good friends over the years; he’s told me so many stories about how he made music. How he basically didn’t know what he was doing, learned on the job, and managed through sheer talent to make some of the greatest music this city has ever produced. He’s definitely an idea guy, and always willing to take a chance on something new. Way back when we first became friends, before the compact disc became the primary means of recording and selling music (so you know how long ago that was!), Cos wanted to open a compact disc manufacturing facility in New Orleans. He looked for a spot to put the plant, that would have also had a recording studio attached.

He wanted to create a gourmet grocery store and deli downtown on a piece of property behind Canal Place; had the plans worked up, and was ready to go.

His plans and ideas were fabulous. He had the energy to get his ideas off the ground too, but never had the money to take his grand ideas to the next level. And they were great ideas—anyone hear of Rouses on Baronne Street? Probably just way ahead of his time.

And talk about a closet stand-up comic! Cos knew and could tell more jokes than anyone I have ever met. They were either crazy corny (ba-dum-dum) or dirty as hell. I miss his sense of humor…

Cos has been in failing health for some time now. The last time I saw him was about a year ago at the Rock Hall when Dave Bartholomew was honored. I am thrilled to know that he’s being honored while he’s still alive and that he can be applauded nationally. If anyone deserves it, he does. Cos, I love and respect what you’ve done for New Orleans music, and will always hold you in the highest regard. I will forever be a member of the “Krewe of Cos.”

Sometimes—especially in New Orleans—things take a lot of time to accomplish.

Obviously, the music club operators want to promote Frenchmen Street as a music district. They’ve taken a lot of time and put a lot of effort and money into creating a local- and visitor-friendly street that’s music-centric.

I’ve always operated in the mode of creating partnerships with other businesses and people so we devise a win-win strategy for everyone. It’s the only way to create something good for the community, as well as a sustainable business model.

Music Row in New Orleans?

This tactic can work in promoting the city’s music: I was recently involved in a meeting with reps from the French Market Corporation and the Louisiana State Museum to discuss performances and possible promotional ideas, when we all came to the conclusion that we should be coalescing our efforts to create a larger music district that could involve more businesses: the lower French Market; the Old U.S. Mint—which now has the performance area for the National Jazz Historical Park’s lectures and informances on its third floor, and a second-floor museum that currently houses the Preservation Hall exhibit; and Frenchmen Street.

The idea is so simple, we wondered why we hadn’t thought of it before: let’s brand the area as a music district so that all the entities can benefit from the traffic that all three bring to the table. This could simply mean signs placed at strategic locations to lead people back and forth through the area.

I love this idea. How about you? Comments?