JOHNNY AND SCOTT

I first came across OffBeat back in the 1990s. I had discovered this new singer, Johnny Adams, and was attempting to find out as much as I could. I heard this LP from Rounder (it took months for the CD to appear), Room with a View of the Blues. I was some upset that as a major blues fan and self-proclaimed expert on the West Coast of Canada, I had seen them all—Fats, Little Richard, Willie Dixon, James Brown, Albert Collins, etc., plus all the British and USA bands, Doors, Moody Blues, Stones, etc. and I had not heard from the best—Johnny Adams. Hell, I even saw Sarah Vaughan and Duke Ellington with his full band. As Johnny Adams said to me when we met in 1996, if I had seen the Duke, the rest didn’t matter. I saw Johnny twice and trust me, the rest don’t matter.

Like most kids my age (born 1952) I thought the Beatles were it. Imagine my chagrin when I first heard Little Richard do “Long Tall Sally.” There was no going back. Imagine my chagrin when I found that most of Little Richard’s hits were recorded in New Orleans.

I wrote a young producer by the name of Scott Billington and we corresponded about Johnny and over time about Irma. Scott was extremely patient answering my many questions. When John became ill and Scott and others arranged a benefit at Tip’s, I flew down to see it. Without missing a beat, Scott took me under his wing, introduced me to all who were there and the highlight, besides seeing Johnny again was to kiss Irma Thomas’ hand. A triumph! I met so many neat people and was introduced to your magazine.

I am really pleased that Scott is the recipient of your Lifetime Achievement award—a very good fellow, great producer and protector of Canadian travelers to Tip’s, the Maple Leaf and other such noteworthy palaces of entertainment.

—Chris Main, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

SCOTT BILLINGTON

Great choice! For over 30 years, Billington’s work with artists such as Gatemouth Brown and Johnny Adams not only left these musicians with a legacy of fine recordings, but also helped to jump start their careers. Shortly after Gate’s virgin Rounder session, Scott shared his production philosophy with me, which was basically that he saw himself as not getting in the way of the artist, but to create an environment conducive to the artist’s creativity and “fine-tune” the setting. I thought about that simple philosophy a lot over the years when working with producers who were so ego- driven that their intent was to brand their sound on the artist, and unfortunately, they usually did.

But more important is the legacy Billington leaves the listener: A hundred-plus quality sessions he produced in New Orleans and Louisiana from deserving artists who may never have seen the inside of a studio if not for him and Rounder. While his volume of work is not the size of a John or Alan Lomax, his work documenting Louisiana artists is every bit as important.

—Joe Sunseri, New Orleans, LA

PUNK

Thanks to OffBeat for the advertisement that was taken out for the New Orleans Punk Rock/New Wave reunion scene from the late ’70s and early ’80s at Southport Hall. We had a fantastic crowd with about 500-plus people. It pays to advertise for a musical event with the best music magazine in Louisiana—OffBeat. Thanks for a successful night.

—Jimmy Anselmo, Jefferson, LA

KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF

I have not received my issue of OffBeat. I know they have been mailed because my friends received their copy, and they said, “Keep your paws off.”

—David Keith Hunt, Elmer, LA

We apologize to our subscribers who do not receive the magazine in a timely manner. Unlike other magazines, OffBeat mails the magazine at a much higher First Class rate, which guarantees delivery in three business days. This rate is nearly three times greater than the Standard Class rate. Most magazines mail at the Standard Class rate, which takes a bit longer. Unfortunately the Postal employees see a magazine and make the assumption that it is being mailed at the cheaper Standard Class rate. We continue to work with the Post Office to try and resolve these problems.—Ed.

COCO ROBICHEAUX

It was a pleasure to get to know you. What a wonderful person, talented musician, what a character! I would love to see you walking on New Orleans streets saying hi to everybody in your purple suit, cowboy hat and alligator boots. We are gonna miss you so much. One day, we were passing by Apple Barrel during the day and Coco Robicheaux was playing. My son Bento, three years old at the time, saw him and rushed inside, passing by the opened door. He stopped right in front of Coco, and Coco offered my son the microphone. Bento started to sing while Coco was playing his guitar, side by side. The moment was registered by all the flashes of the cameras from the customers of the Apple Barrel. I will never forget that moment. Love you Coco, forever!

—Bibiana Saari, Baton Rouge, LA

Our group met Coco Robicheaux this summer while sitting at the bar in the Apple Barrel. He was bigger than life. We were in New Orleans for the Fly Tackle Dealer Show, boy was it hot! Someone had recommended the fantastic restaurant upstairs [Adolfo’s] and we were just killing time, not realizing that the real New Orleans was downstairs. Funny how some things just work out!

I will always remember that pumpkin suit and black hat. We enjoyed talking and listening to him sing, not really knowing what a famous man he was. What a great memory of New Orleans.

—Lorraine Guelker, Milwaukie, OR

Coco sat with them all. No matter if you were a bum or a star, he sat on the bench in front of the Apple Barrel enjoying people without judgment.

I remember when he came to my first gig at the Barrel in October 2004 and sat at the second-to-last stool at the end of the bar, next to the bathroom, drinking his tequila from a glass as he always did. This was his spot.

Coco was never disingenuous and always a living, loving engagement with everyone who crossed paths with him. I will miss him, but while I miss him I will always have a smile knowing his lovely spirit is walking in heaven with God.

—Lani Ramos, New Orleans, LA

Back in my early years, I was blessed to be able to spend a great deal of time with this wonderful spirit. He had a huge effect on everyone around him. Rest in Peace, my brother.

—John M Hazlett, Corpus Christi, TX

COSIMO MATASSA

Cosimo Matassa is the best example I know of how to be a nice person and still be in the crazy music business! Did you know that he designed lots of logos, including the SeaSaint logo? He gave me permission to use his mimeographed studio newsletter title, “Sound Of New Orleans,” for my record label somewhere around 1968. I hope that he is aware of his recent recognition, but he has been known to the music industry for many, many years.

—Gary Edwards, New Orleans, L

GEORGE PORTER, JR.

Any opportunity to get even near an early Meters greezy sound is a banner day. I was privileged to hear “The Neville Sound” around 50 years ago at the Ivanhoe; the bare bones slink and scratch is in my DNA. George is a king. Never a weak show! Congrats!

—Prof. Roy C. Eure, Baton Rouge, LA

MESS OF BOUDIN

Over in Australia, I made up a mess of boudin on the weekend and followed [Donald] Link’s recipe to the numbers. Because we still have butchers over here, I went to my main guy and they took my cooked and cooled 20 pounds of boudin, stuffed them for me with natural casings and hung them for a couple of days in their locker. The end result turned out super fine. I’m trying to convert Coffs Harbour Aussies into honorary coonasses.

—Phil Tripp, Coffs Harbour, Australia

SATANISM

Having recently returned to New Orleans, I happened to pick up the latest copy of OffBeat in which the cover confirms the magazine’s commitment to the satanic agenda which has devoured our country.

—Tony Green, New Orleans, LA

HALLOWEEN SHOOTINGS

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Rotten, Really Rotten Apples” commenting on the Halloween shootings by suggesting to set up random checkpoints in the French Quarter and high crime areas at night.—Ed.

Unfortunately it really isn’t just New Orleans. Here in Memphis—where the Beale Street district is much smaller—the police and private security restrict entrance to the street. The police enforce a “no cruising” zone by blocking off streets, and still, albeit on a smaller scale, a similar incident (multiple shooting) occurred just a couple of weeks ago down at what locals call the “bad” end of Beale, with police nearby. You have to change the culture, and not just in New Orleans. Best of luck, as a “yat ex-pat” I hate to see the type of horrible publicity this event brings. Hopefully the new leadership in New Orleans will deal with this.

—Gene Nunez, Memphis, TN

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE

I enjoy each and every OffBeat issue received in my hometown 1,100 miles north of the City of Dreams. However, the lead article in the CD review section of the October issue started on a bad footing. Roger Hahn refers to the great Chief Donald Harrison, jazz idol and cultural icon as a tenor saxophonist in the first sentence, then again later in the review.

Harrison is a preeminent alto sax player, one of our best, and has only on rare occasions played tenor. Did the reviewer know the difference? The coverage of jazz in OffBeat and elsewhere seems to be slipping, and a little accuracy would go a long way toward correcting the deficiency.

—Les Hoffman, Madison, Wisconsin

Roger Hahn responds: The writer is profoundly sorry about the error—just a mental “slip of the tongue” writing on deadline. It’s been corrected online and will forevermore remain corrected in the embarrassed writer’s brain.

MIND IN NEW ORLEANS

Each month when OffBeat Magazine arrives, my wife is sure to place it in my hands and comment: “I’ll see you in a few hours because I know your mind will only be in New Orleans until you’ve gone from cover to cover.”

—Henry Walston, Wilson, NC

REMOVE THE FENCE

We enjoyed the free concert in Lafayette Square and went to Rock ’n’ Bowl, Blue Nile, Funky Pirate and some clubs on Bourbon Street. We stopped off briefly in Armstrong Park on September 24 in the daytime. We have been there many years ago and I wanted again to look at Congo Square. We were very surprised that the park was deserted and heavily fenced off. As [Jan Ramsey] wrote in the latest OffBeat Magazine, the fence should come down, and it needs a music event and auditorium service and so on.

I think OffBeat Magazine is very significant because it makes a point about the New Orleans and Louisiana music.

—Takashi Miyazaki and Hisae Miyazaki, Toyko, Japan

KENNY WAYNE

Years ago in Baton Rouge at a big blues show at the River Center headlined by Bo Diddley and starring B.B. King, every couple of songs they brought out Kenny Wayne Shepherd to ruin the tune with a big fanfare—“He’s only 12 years old,” etc! I sat beside a large group of black ladies who kept booing and yelling, “Get that white kid off. We came to hear da’ blues.” The continuing parade of “future of the blues white kids” is as lame now as it was then. Talent should know no color; however, to present suburban white kids as “bluesmen” is a joke!

—Prof. Roy C. Eure, Baton Rouge LA

Awesome interview and just when you think you know everything a fan could know, out comes some more to make you feel closer to the man and even more inspired by him and his music. It was a very down to earth and honest interview. Very refreshing. In all honesty, it made me get my Kenny Wayne Shepherd CDs out and start playing them again—not that they’re ever too far away.

I’ve been a huge fan since “Deja Voodoo” first came out. Kenny Wayne Shepherd has influenced me more than any other guitarist. The stuff that legends are made of—I can’t wait to get a copy of the new album.

—Deborah Swain, Maleny, Queensland, Australia

HOTTEST MUSIC STRIP

I have just returned from a pleasant trip to Louisiana. The postponed Plaisance Zydeco Festival, October 1, offered great music but suffered from a very small audience. Fred’s Lounge in Mamou was, as usual, a helluva place to be early in the morning, having a couple of beers that you normally don’t drink at this time of the day.

The stay in New Orleans was even greater, not as usual: beautiful weather (in the mid-70s with low humidity), not crowded with tourists, excellent food, as usual (even the eclectic happy-hour Creole food in House of Blues, where live blues is a rarity.) And of course, great, great music.

Where? On Frenchmen Street! Introducing my son to the New Orleans music scene, I took him from Snug Harbor with Charmaine Neville’s Band to d.b.a. with the Nightcrawlers, to Café Negril with John Lisi’s Delta Funk and to BMC with the Lagniappe Brass Band. This only in one night. All the spots within a small walking distance, not far from your office. I wish every New Orleans visitor would leave the Quarter behind and find out that Frenchmen is not only the hottest music strip in town, you can also roam the streets in a relaxed atmosphere, pub crawl and watch the people out on the sidewalk. There is down-home cooking in the southern Creole style, which is, apart from the music, one of the reasons to make it to New Orleans.

The Maple Leaf Bar, Rock ’n’ Bowl and Tip’s were worth a visit, as usual. And, if someone really needs to go to the French Quarter, here’s another suggestion for breakfast: the best croissants I’ve ever had in 50 years, and a very tasteful (non-Community) coffee was in a pristine pastry shop [Croissant d’Or] at 617 Ursulines St. Who dat?

—Hans W. Ewert, Kasbach, Germany

ERRATA

On page 20 of the October issue, the credit for an image of Wardell Quezergue’s hand-written music was attributed to Scott Billingham. The proper credit goes to Scott Billington.

ARMSTRONG PARK

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Armstrong Park—Give it Back to the City!” wherein she details how to get Armstrong Park functional and open to the public.—Ed

Up until that bitch Katrina destroyed much more than houses alone, I always took friends for a walk in the park on my yearly visit. Since then, year after year I hope to find the park open to the public, and I don’t know how to explain that lack of efficiency/goodwill/good sense anymore. The city or the community should finally get something done. I support every initiative that you or your fellow citizens should start. And of course incorporate the park into the French Quarter Festival! The festival, the city and the visitors will welcome any breathing space.

—Anton Vandorpe, Kortrijk, Belgium

SATCHMO SUMMERFEST

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s editorial advocating moving Satchmo SummerFest to Armstrong Park.—Ed.

I think the music has to be upgraded to honor the memory of the great Louis Armstrong; not to attract tourists but for the benefit of local residents looking (listening?) for a fuller expression of Armstrong’s legacy beyond “What a Wonderful World.” Consider that almost everyone in the world playing music that comes out of a jazz space is beholden to Armstrong, yet much of what the festival has on offer is schlock. Even the mighty New Birth Brass Band, as killer as they were, felt the need to belt out a lame “What a Wonderful World.” Armstrong introduced audacity and virtuosity into the world of popular music; we owe him a better monument in the city of his birth and inspiration.

—Benjamin Lyons, New Orleans, LA

HOLLYGROVE MARKET

I represent Hollygrove Market and Farm, and I want to state that we offer a 15 percent discount (which applies to all purchases made in the market) for any and all individuals residing in Hollygrove. As the community coordinator, I promote this fact at the numerous resident meetings we host at the market and farm, as well as promoting this whenever I meet a new resident.

—Bill Pastellak, New Orleans, LA

10TH WARD BUCK LOVES A PARADE

I knew cooking was going to be in Buck’s future. Once he boiled eggs and put them in a jar of pickle juice and hid it in his room on a shelf. He had a dog named Jennifer, and whenever Buck would play his keyboard, the dog would stand in front of Buck and sing and dance—it was so funny. He loved to march so much that once it rained for the Freret Parade on Monday night, and Buck cried and cried because he wanted to march. I didn’t want him to get sick, but he won and marched. My son came home soaking wet. He marched from 6th grade to 12th and he never missed a parade.

—Dawn P. Horton-Johnson, Bridge City, LA

WOMEN IN MUSIC

It was a pleasure working with you [Elsa Hahne]. I’ve already sent copies out to my family, and I know they will all be proud. I can already hear my Grandma saying “Honey, you’re so much prettier when you smile…”

The photos are striking, and one even has permanent residence on the bell of Jason [Jurzak]’s tuba. You have given my career a giant boost and successfully spotlighted a subject often overlooked: women in music. Thanks for keeping up the good fight in a clever and aesthetically appealing way.

—Meschiya Lake, New Orleans, LA

LOVING IT

I’m so glad that Camile [Baudoin] has found a satisfying place to land musically after doing the same thing for 33 years. It’s really cool to see where he’s coming from. Best of all is that he seems to be really enjoying it. I’ve only seen that one debut gig at the Hi Ho, and Camile was obviously loving it! It felt like we were in his living room, rather than a club. Really sweet.

—Greg Sahagian, Barrington, RI

BIRTHDAY

It was refreshing to read a researched article on 100-year-old Lionel Ferbos. I liked it so much I reprinted 200 copies and distributed them for his Palm Court birthday party. He deserves all this and more. Sorry he wasn’t on your July cover.

—Sue Hall, New Orleans, LA

FRENCHMEN VS. BOURBON

As a professional musician who works both on Frenchmen Street as well as Bourbon Street, I must respond to the ongoing subject of Frenchmen versus Bourbon.

Bourbon Street generally guarantees a pay scale by the set ranging from $15 to $30 for each 45 to 60 minute performance. Frenchmen Street is generally based on 20 percent of the bar. If you don’t have a good turnout, you don’t make much money as opposed to Bourbon Street, which guarantees payment.

This results in a tip jar economy, which reduces musicians to literally begging. This is unfair to both the patrons and musicians. No one wants to be pressured into a gratuity nor do the musicians want to force them into reaching for their wallet. Can you imagine a scenario where Louis Armstrong would have to pass a tip bucket to an audience just to make ends meet?

Most of these venues have no cover charge, so you are getting the music for free. We ask for your understanding of our situation; after all it is you, the patron, who we want to make happy.

—David Hyde, Hammond, LA

Most of the public who frequent the clubs in the Frenchmen Street area do not realize that tips are the musician’s source of income. The clubs do not pay us. On a slow night, you might go home with nothing. Try working a job without knowing what you’ll make at the end of the day. Because of these conditions, we have to play what we think the audience will respond to with their tips. If your audience is unfamiliar with the material, they may not break out that dollar bill. We do want to play new stuff, but we try to play what we feel the public wants to hear. Just like everyone else, “When the Saints…” keeps the rent paid.

There was a time when Bourbon Street was not a quagmire of T-shirt shops and cheap beer. This would be a shame if this happened on Frenchmen Street. When you sit in a club without a cover charge, it would not hurt to give the band a dollar. By doing this, you enable us to entertain you without trying to hustle you. We do the boring standards to get cab fare home.

—Shawn O’Neal, LaPlace, LA

WYNTON AND SOFTS

I really enjoyed reading Brian Boyles’ recounting of the meeting on stage in 1986 between Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis. I remember reading about it when it went down. Regardless of whose version of events you choose to believe, it was a sad occasion, for you would have been hard-pressed to find a more enthusiastic Miles missionary than Wynton during the latter part of the 1970s when Miles had retreated from public eye. I had the good fortune to share a few classes with Wynton during our freshmen year in high school, and he literally could not say enough about Miles to anyone who would listen, trying repeatedly to turn us all on to what Miles had been doing pre-Bitches Brew.

I was a fan of Weather Report at the time, which Wynton playfully dismissed, claiming that Miles’ great 1960s quintet was “the original Weather Report.” Miles was undoubtedly a hero to him. Any of us who knew anything about music knew right then and there that Wynton was headed for greatness. He repeatedly called attention to other musicians in the band as being more talented than he, but few if any of them possessed the practice ethic that he did, and he captured many “superior” ratings at LMEA competitions statewide. Nevertheless, can you imagine a high school marching band with Wynton Marsalis playing lead trumpet? I don’t know if I knew what the word “surreal” meant at that age, but it was surreal alright.

In Randy Savoie’s recounting of Jimi Hendrix’ appearance at City Park Stadium on August 1, 1968, he refers to support act the Soft Machine as a “British psychedelic garage band” and, at this point in their career prior to the recording of their first proper LP, they were most definitely psychedelic, but I’ve never heard any garage band sound like the Softs at any point in their history. Steve Staples’ categorizations of organist Mike Ratledge, drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and guitarist/vocalist Kevin Ayers as “incredible,” “great” and “fantastic,” respectively, are certainly in keeping with the high esteem in which many hold this quintessential combo. Largely forgotten in recent years, especially in the U.S., their first three LPs and the numerous period concert bootlegs available nowadays are phenomenal documents of a band evolving over less than 18 months from psychedelia to the primordial jazz-rock that would come to be later known as “fusion” by way of a similarly uncharted trajectory. Sometimes I just wish I had been born about 10 years earlier than I was. It kills me to think that the Softs and Hendrix were blasting away less than two miles from my home on that hot Thursday night 43 years ago while I was likely bathing and being tucked in. But I got to hang with Wynton, so I guess it’s okay.

—Mike Champagne, New Orleans, LA

STOCKHOLM FESTIVAL

First of all, thanks for a great magazine. You have helped me so much in learning about the music and culture of New Orleans.

On Friday we start the first ever New Orleans Festival in Sweden at my club in Stockholm [Akkurat Bar & Restaurant]. I have beers coming in from both Abita and NOLA Brewing Company. To my knowledge, it’s the first time these beers have been shipped on draught outside the United States.

We will fill the empty barrels with Swedish beer and ship them back to Polly at the Avenue Pub on Saint Charles Avenue, who is doing a wonderful job for the beer culture. Hopefully we can have a continuous exchange program working in the future.

We also got loads of food like po-boys and of course crawfish, which are in season in Sweden right now. Yes we eat them here too.

—Stene Isacsson, Stockholm, Sweden

NEXT JUNE

I just read the latest OffBeat‘s Weekly Beat Newsletter email. Dang…and here I am stuck “Killing Bad Guys” in Afghanistan ’til next June. I’m sure New Orleans will be open next June too?

—Jesse Vielma, Jr., U.S. Army Base, Afghanistan

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

In the piece on Jimi Hendrix by Randy Savoie, in the August issue, he states that…”Joe Banashak, who produced Aaron Neville’s ‘Tell It Like It Is’ in 1967…”! “Tell It Like It Is” was written, arranged and produced by the late George Davis in 1966! I invite you to correct this in print and give him his proper credit! Let’s keep the history of New Orleans music accurate and preserve the integrity of the culture; so many other mis-statements are already contaminating the waters.

—George C. Green, Lawrenceville, GA

Thanks for the correction.—ED.

RADIO REQUESTS

I was told that a guy from River Ridge was in the write-up on a band called the Missing Monuments. I don’t know him personally but I enjoyed reading the article.

To the person who wrote the article, Sam Levine, I want to point out something.

The comment on someone sitting by the radio all day to hear their requested song is a little corny and interesting.

My daughter is a beautiful popular singer in musicals and is a junior at Mt. Carmel. Her friends sit by the pool, call the radio station and sit back all afternoon waiting for their request to be played. Young people get a thrill out of thinking the disc jockey answered their request.

—Roxie Bruno, River Ridge, LA

FRENCHMEN VS. BOURBON

In response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Paying Musicians on Frenchmen—How Do We Do It?” in which she asks, “How do we keep great local music on Frenchmen and also make sure the bands are paid without raising drink prices to untenable levels, or charging cover charges that the market won’t pay?”

The music on Frenchmen Street must be preserved at any cost. Some of the city’s best young players can be heard there. In my view, apart from Fritzel’s and Irvin Mayfield’s, Bourbon Street is a musical has-been. The street musicians are, unfortunately, of varying quality and mostly inexperienced, and they make it tough for the professional musicians. But a number of good players got their starts on the streets. All musicians (i.e. the good ones) in this city are underpaid. We have a problem that clearly needs to be addressed.

—Thomas Jacobsen, New Orleans, LA

Wow. I didn’t realize “music on Frenchmen Street” had become its own genre worthy of preservation efforts. And “at any cost?” The irony of this perception that the “street musicians” are making it tough for the “professional musicians” is that the only way that this becomes possible is when “professional musicians” accept tips in lieu of actual payment.

—Evan Christopher, New Orleans, LA

Clubs are in the business of selling alcohol, but they want to make money on the door as well the drinks. If they insisted that the musicians are professional and have some idea of what entertaining is about, there would be a reason for people to frequent their clubs. What is happening is musicians have no concern for the music they play. They cover everybody’s material while living the myth that people come out to see them. They’ve been playing the same music so long they are bored with what they are doing and the boredom infects the audience! Give people a reason to attend your gigs other than getting a chance to see you play!

—George C. Green, Lawrenceville, GA

KEEPS ME GOING

I want to tell you [Jan Ramsey] that you’re one of my New Orleans heroes. Your magazine and emails are what keeps me going between trips to your wonderful city. Thanks for all you do and one day I will get the honor of telling this to you in person. You rock!

—Steve Lodgen, Madison, WI

LAGNIAPPE

I just subscribed for a year, and I want to say thank you for the lagniappe CD sample enclosed in my first issue. I love sample CDs. I’ve discovered some great music through them, and this one is no exception. In my case, sample CDs encourage me to go out and buy more.

—Mary Raymond, Hillsboro, OR

SPYBOY CORRECTIONS

We have two corrections for the story “Spyboy on Ice” [July 2011]. Spyboy Ricky went to register to vote, not to vote as reported; and the organization Norris Henderson founded and directs is “Voice of the Ex-offender” not “Voice of the Defender.” We regret the errors and have made these changes in the online version.

ADVERTISING MUSIC

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Pick Your?”.—Ed.

Right on about increasing Louisiana tourism by advertising our music!

We play many festivals, performing arts centers, concert series, etc. At every show, we pause at one point and ask the audience, “Who here is from Louisiana?” Then we ask, “Who has been to Louisiana?” Then we say, “Who here, after hearing the music, is going to Louisiana the next chance they get?!” Then we remind them that Louisiana needs people to come on vacation.

If every band playing Louisiana music did this, I think it would help. The music is our own best advertisement.

—Lisa Haley, Lawndale, CA

BEST OF

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Best of—What’s It Good For?” where she questions the value of bogus lists.—Ed.

Great piece (as always) about the bogus “best of” lists. I totally agree—they’re pretty much worthless, especially when it’s an obvious trade for ad dollars.

And thanks for the list of bars and their web sites I was interested to see that Coop’s makes reference to their snarky bartenders right on their site. When we went, we did not realize their snark was a feature. We just thought they were assholes.

—John and Mary Ann Jacobs, Tucson, AZ

FLOWER OF THE ECONOMY

I enjoyed reading “Backtalk with Mayor Mitch Landrieu”. It cleared up some things in my mind about how marketing New Orleans culture is providing revenue for both the private and public sectors. It also gives me concern for the prolonged health and growth of New Orleans music and the risks of the city becoming a parody of itself.

Throughout American history, music has always become popular as the flower of an economy, not as its roots.

For example: Early 1900s: New Orleans was a booming port city and jazz increased in national popularity. 1950s: The car industry took off in Detroit and Motown Records became a national treasure. Late 1970s: The oil research industry exploded in New Orleans and we saw the birth of the Jazz Fest and Tipitina’s. 1990s: The tech boom came to Seattle and grunge became mainstream.

What this demonstrates is that the arts need the support of people who have the incomes from industrial/technical careers to be patrons of the arts.

This is not to say that New Orleans cannot be the first. It is a unique city in every other way so being the first to have culture be both the root and flower of the economy, if it were to happen anywhere, is not an impossibility. But it will have its own set of challenges.

The cultural economy requires incoming tourism to the city, which is obvious but needs mentioning. You cannot have musicians relying on financial support from other musicians and service industry workers alone. If New Orleans cannot have its own technical/industrial base it has to import music lovers to the city 365 days out of the year.

Most importantly, the major hurdle will be long-term health of the quality of the music. The basis for culture is leisure. Period. When people have the time away from economic concerns, culture happens—music is created, recipes are tested, and artists have time to improve. If culture, though, becomes an economic concern there is a danger of uncontrollable feedback that can put cultural growth and vitality in a stranglehold.

I love New Orleans, and having been born there, living there most of my life and also living in several different states I know what a special living and breathing culture we have. Let it grow, let it provide a reason for people to visit, but let’s be careful that it doesn’t become a museum.

—Burke Ingraffia, Fairhope, AL

Much of New Orleans’ leisure time budget is invested in Mardi Gras and thus there’s more of a dearth of dollars available to support arts activities. For example, in Nashville, which one would not think of as a “serious” cultural center, there is a substantial investment in the opera, ballet, symphony and theater. In our opinion, the logical patrons of the arts in the city invest much more into supporting Mardi Gras activities than the overall culture of the city.—Ed.

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Thanks for including the Mayor’s interview in the June issue, and thanks also for mentioning the festivals piece in Mojo Mouth [blog] today. As the official leisure marketing organizations for the City, the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation [NOTMC] will work with us to promote and foster festivals in the City. This came up at a recent NOTMC meeting and I have since talked with NOTMC NOTMC officials about their role in making this happen. I think you will see a good move forward in this effort.

—Scott Hutcheson, New Orleans, LA

BAD LUCK?

This gentleman and his wife, well prepared to where to eat and whom to see, came to New Orleans all the way from Maryland, and visited music clubs, only to be disappointed by cancellations. Seems that work ethics don’t play a large role with New Orleans musicians. Hopefully I’m in the wrong.

Knowing the musical scene of New Orleans better than anyone else does, I wish a short comment was written.

Because I am preparing a visit to New Orleans later this year and won’t be coming from Maryland, let me repeat the question: Is it a trend? Do I have to face similar cancellations or a patch of bad luck?

—Hans Ewert, Kasbach, Germany

We can’t comment on your luck or lack thereof, but we can assure you that the couple from Maryland did indeed encounter a very unusual patch of cancellations.—Ed.

LOVELY WORDS

Thank you [Sam Levine] so much for the wonderful review of our band Morella & the Wheels Of If’s debut album Shipwrecked. It seems that you really understand our music and your words were lovely.

—Morella & the Wheels of If, New Orleans, LA

TIP’S TIP

Thanks for sending me my first OffBeat update [the Weekly Beat, email newsletter]. Your tip about Tipitina’s releasing some tickets for the Rads next weekend paid off as I got another for Saturday for a friend.

—Michael Doherty, New York, NY

CULTURE ON A PEDESTAL

I am a native Louisianan who grew up in Baton Rouge and Hammond and I’m an avid music lover (especially any music with roots in Louisiana). After moving to Atlanta to attend college, I moved to Washington, D.C. to begin working at the U.S. Department of Labor. I recently returned home for a family wedding and an early Mother’s Day Music Extravaganza.

While I was home, my mother had the March issue of OffBeat, and I read your Mojo Mouth piece called “Culture on a Pedestal.”

Not to be overly dramatic, but while reading it, it was like you were writing to my soul. I left Louisiana with a deep love and sincere appreciation for the state, and, since moving, this love and appreciation for Louisiana, especially its history and culture, has grown. These feelings can only be matched by my concern for the future of the state and the sustained life of Louisiana culture and history. Although I am a Louisiana ex-pat like many of the young people you write about in your piece, I was never truly encouraged to leave Louisiana.

In fact, many members of my family could not (and still don’t) understand how I could ever leave. I have always known that I am taking this journey to gain knowledge and skills so that when I do return home, I can do my very best to improve the state.

—Maria Town, Washington, D.C.

CANCELLED

I am a long time fan of New Orleans and its music, so when contemplating where to celebrate my 40th birthday and fifth wedding anniversary, my wife and I made the easy decision to travel to New Orleans for a long weekend. We spent many hours in preparation, mostly deciding where to eat and who to see. Here’s how the weekend went down: we took extra time off work to fly down Thursday (April 14) to catch Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan’s. He cancelled. Friday we were excited to see the Cotton Mouth Kings at Spotted Cat since most of the guys played our wedding in their prior incarnation with the Jazz Vipers. They cancelled too. No problem—John Boutte was slated to play d.b.a. on Saturday—also cancelled. Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns later that night at Spotted Cat—also cancelled. Wow—did someone call a musicians strike for the weekend and forget to tell us? This being New Orleans, we were able to fnd solid alternate options which included seeing Steve Earle flming an episode of Treme on Frenchmen Street and having a magical conversation with Tom McDermott at Three Muses. But I’ve got to be honest—the rampant cancellations left a bitter taste. Is this a trend, or did we just hit a patch of bad luck?

—Brent Ewig, Silver Spring, MD

PARKING WOES

I’ve worked for many bands throughout the years that play the big stage at French Quarter Festival, and once you actually get past a half dozen part-time “security” people and other weekend-warrior pseudo-offcials who can only say, “No, you can’t come through here”—even when you have the right credentials—to the flood wall to unload gear, you have to make several trips carrying gear through the crowd to the stage.

Then the vehicle has to be moved away—they don’t care where; you just have to get it out of there. Have you ever tried to park in the Quarter during French Quarter Festival? Or tried doing it when you had to park to get back to the stage to set up the gear for a show? I wonder how the more elderly musicians are able to do it while carrying their own gear.

French Quarter Festival should pay for space in a nearby lot for musician parking, and have shuttle to help get band members and gear to the stage.

—M. Fisher, Slidell, LA

MORE PARKING WOES

It would be great for the city to step up and show a little goodwill towards its musicians who make their cash cows even possible in the first place. I’m not holding my breath, though. Maybe some personal supplications to our mayor would move him to make good on his promise of nourishing the cultural economy here. Unfortunately, our city attacks the cultural economy rather than nourishes it (as the recent closing of Donna’s, the shutting down of brass bands, and the shutdown of the Frenchmen art market will all tell you).

However, there are things that FQFI can do to gesture goodwill towards musicians. Their sponsorships are growing, they’re getting more vendors, etc., and I think it’s high tide to pay a debt of gratitude to the people who made it possible that I don’t think would break the bank.

As a musician in the city, I can tell you the number one gripe about French Quarter Festival is the parking. If there was a shuttle service, say, from the open lot across from the Convention Center that ran all the way down Decatur Street, it would greatly help and would show goodwill on the part of the festival organizers. As it stands now, you have musicians walking up to 20 blocks with instruments in the heat, oftentimes coming back to parking tickets or exorbitant parking rates.

—Rex Gregory, New Orleans,
LA

EVEN MORE WOES

How bands get paid for the French Quarter Festival has been a hot topic of conversation for years now, and I’ve always found it funny that virtually no one who attends the festival had any idea that the bands weren’t paid for their performances.

It seems as though there are plenty of businesses who would be willing to pony up a bit of cash to get advertising and their name attached to a local band or musician. The question really is: how do we connect with them? I think it would be an interesting idea to create some sort of online hook-up for bands seeking sponsors and people willing to sponsor, and even have someone at FQF help to foster the connections.

We had a huge headache getting the upright bass and all the CDs to our stage this year. We had to park by Sound Cafe in the Marigny! It’s one thing if you play the trumpet or guitar which you can pretty easily carry on a bike or when walking, but if you have more stuff to cart around, it can be very tricky with more and more people coming to the fest each year. Where do you park? If French Quarter Festival had a shuttle and a parking lot for musicians only, it would really make a big difference.

—Vanessa Niemann, Gal Holiday & her Honky Tonk Revue, New Orleans, LA

DRAWING THE LINE

Thank you to Andrew Hamlin for exploring the subject of abuse in his review of Louisiana Red’s Sweet Blood Call (April 2011). As he points out: drawing the line can be complex—and hey, “sticking a gun in a woman’s mouth and threatening to pull the trigger” might be one of the easier calls to make. But the stand up thing to do is to bring the discussion to the table and he did.

I have a radio show and there are times when I simply can’t play a song I love when the violence crosses some mysterious line. I struggled with Dr. John’s “How Come my Dog Don’t Bark When you Come Around.” I love this song. How does its humor and satire affect your decision when lyrics like, “I’m gon’ fire that hound, shoot that dog down. Then I’m gonna get busy mutilatin’, strangulatin’, operatin’, an’ crematin’ my ol’ lady down at the cremation station” crop up? I know it wouldn’t rattle me so much if there was less “mutilatin” going on for real. Thanks for opening up a discussion that at times seems untouchable.

—Susan Shaw, Roxbury, NY

NOT AN ACCORDION

Thank you for the review of my new CD On the Street. It captures what the band sounds like on the recording and what we are trying to achieve in general. I want to clear up a couple of mistakes. On “Louis Collins,” that is not an accordion—it’s Andy Forest’s soulful harmonica playing. On “Fire Once Again,” that was our former guitarist, Roberto Luti. We recorded the music in Italy in July 2010 and the lyrics in September here in New Orleans. Just want to make sure everybody gets their due and thanks for all the support you have given us over the years.

—Chaz Leary, New Orleans, LA

NORTH RAMPART STREET

This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post, which reads, “My contention is that if North Rampart were designated as a cultural and music district, the city and the group who oversee the district would have more control over noise and architectural preservation in this area.”

As one who frequented the original Donna’s Bar & Grill many, many times, I must agree that it never got that loud outside, or even inside.

The secret world of these clubs is part of their charm, the feeling that you’ve entered some temporal heaven’s gate, and the experience that goes along with it.

Perhaps the new sense of entitlement, the need to blast taped music Razzoo-style out open doors, or amplify live music until it rattles neighborhood walls, is best left to those tinted window cars that roll through neighborhoods with deafening woofers, signaling the bad taste and worse hearing of those inside.

Surely, this is not the future of the New Orleans live jazz and brass band scene. Moreover, it gives a false credence to the city’s hard line on art, music, and let’s face it, everything good about New Orleans.

Were the new owners at this place as concerned about their neighborhood and the future of music on Rampart Street as they claim, rather than pushing their own agenda of decibel-driven club status, perhaps we’d find that middle ground where our culture can flourish as what it is—the heart and soul of the City of New Orleans.

—Lord David, New Orleans, LA

SHARED EXPERIENCES

Thank you for the monthly OffBeat. Just now Japan has many sad stories, but I’m very fine. We have so many friends, heroes and experiences from us in Japan and yours in New Orleans.

—Joe Toriyama, Tokyo, Japan

FIRST TRIP

Thanks so much for all you do to bring New Orleans to me up here in boring Massachusetts. I’ll be making my first trip down there in September. Through your magazine, I’ve learned so much about what to do down there that I’m sure I won’t be able to hear/see it all in one trip.

—John Farley, Pepperell, MA

POTLUCK TIME TRAVEL

I have been thumbing through the wealth of OffBeat issues that came in my “Super Potluck”. I have no other way, here in Upstate New York, to steep myself in the rich culture of the Crescent City—but time spent reading my OffBeat potluck is almost like a trip to New Orleans, and in some ways better because I can time travel, too.

—Susan Shaw, Big Indian, NY

THIRD AGE

OffBeat is my main connection to New Orleans and the music of Louisiana. I have visited the city on five occasions. My first visit was for Jazz Fest in 1980 and the last (and probably my final visit to my favorite U.S. city) was for Jazz Fest in 2007. The week I spent there in 2007 was absolutely wonderful, full of fantastic music and food and three days of glorious weather at Jazz Fest. For the past 10 years, I have been running music history and appreciation classes for seniors, under the banner of the University of the Third Age. Several of these, including the first two I ran, were devoted to Louisiana music, and I may return to Louisiana music next year.

—Graeme Flanagan, Gungahlin, Australia