January 2016
Cover Story
- Lifetime Achievement in Music: The Radiators
Rads fans, please note: Reggie Scanlan had a medical emergency on the day we did OffBeat's cover shoot and was not…
Features
- Burning Bright: The 50 best albums of 2015
We’ve polled our writers and editorial staff and have gathered 50 of our most recommended albums of the year. We didn’t… - Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Germaine Bazzle
"Teaching was what I was supposed to do—the [music] gigs are what I could do,” says an emphatic Germaine Bazzle, the… - Celebrate Louisiana's Loves: The nominees for Best of the Beat
In early December OffBeat solicited nominations from musicians and others in the music community. We gave these results to our writers… - Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: Roland and Mary Von Kurnatowski
For New Orleans music devotees, Tipitina’s has long served as an icon of the city’s music history and the local music… - Heartbeat Award: Catherine Lasperches
When Catherine Lasperches walks into an examination room at the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic or meets a patient in the hall,…
Fresh
- Five Questions with Detroit Brooks, musician and founder of the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival
This month we celebrate the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival. What would you consider Danny’s greatest gift to New Orleans… - McLaughlin, Nuccio, Fohl & Coman
Nashville-based ace songwriter Pat McLaughlin won’t be hurting for a good band when he hits town next month. At Siberia on… - All "Louie Louie" Playlist
January 20 marks the 19th anniversary of the death of Richard Berry (born in Extension, Louisiana), the man who wrote the… - Five Questions with Peggy Scott Laborde, Captain of the Phunny Phorty Phellows
How would you describe the scene in 1878 when the Phunny Phorty Phellows first hit the streets on Mardi Gras? The… - Have A Cigar
Shane Speal’s goal is simply stated: “I want to help make New Orleans home to the premier cigar box festival in… - My Music: Dave Anderson
"I started on the trombone. My dad’s a trombone player—he was the bass trombone with the Cleveland Orchestra—and I’ve always liked…
Letters
- January 2016 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
NOT JUST ANOTHER CITY Loved reading “Same As It Ever Was” in the October issue [Mojo Mouth]. I do read newspapers…
In The Spirit
- Lu Brow at Brennan's
“June Yamagishi is an amazing guitarist and performer and somebody I’ve enjoyed seeing so many times—his presence and his energy is…
The Spot
- Alexandra Scott Hits the Spot
When did you first come here? Not long ago, to get a sandwich and it was a great sandwich [beet flatbread…
Dining Out
- Pizza Delicious
In the tidal wave of entrepreneurism that has washed over the city throughout the last decade, Michael Friedman and Greg Augarten…
BackTalk
- Bobby Rush
Now it can be told: Veteran blues great Bobby Rush never actually ate chicken heads. Still, it makes sense that his…
Reviews
- Gregg Martinez, Soul of the Bayou (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
With his third disc since his return home to Southwest Louisiana, soulster Gregg Martinez has quietly established that he belongs with… - REWIND: Sonny Landreth, South of I-10 (Zoo Entertainment)
Sonny Landreth reminisces about recording his fourth studio album, South of I-10, which featured Mark Knopfler. “The fact that it has… - Danny Barker, Danny Barker—New Orleans Jazz Man and Raconteur (GHB Records)
Danny Barker—New Orleans Jazz Man and Raconteur stands as a wonderful musical portrait of the legendary guitarist, banjoist and composer through… - Bobby Rush, Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush (Omnivore)
A four-disc box set containing 74 tracks that spans 1964 to the present day. The hardest working entertainer on the Chitlin’… - Duke Robillard, The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard (Stony Plain)
One of the most prolific six-stringers of the last three decades, Duke Robillard has averaged a new album annually since he… - La Récolte, Le Deuxième (Lost 45s Production)
With ‘la récolte’ meaning ‘the harvest’ and le deuxième being ‘the second time,’ the band’s name and CD title tie together… - Fred Charlie, Parti M’Amuser (Acadiana Records)
Though not as recognized by some, Fred Charlie has contributed to Cajun culture over the years through his songwriting, recording studio,… - Will Payne Harrison, Louisiana Summer (Independent)
If Louisiana Summer were a person—and this reviewer has no idea how closely it resembles its artist, former Onlies leader Will… - Lars Edegran’s Palm Court Jazz All Stars, Hello Dolly (GHB Records)
This recording was issued in conjunction with an upcoming European tour by Lars Edegran’s Palm Court Jazz All Stars. Hello Dolly… - Deltaphonic: Texas, Texas (Independent)
New Orleans’ twisted take on Americana is naturally faster, funnier, funkier, and drunkier than Appalachian balladry or baroque folk or Southern… - Ironing Board Sam, Super Spirit (Big Legal Mess)
The iconoclastic punks of Big Legal Mess music and producer/guitarist/blues mystic Jimbo Mathus are great music people to bring out the… - Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, Louder Than Last Time (Independent)
Frenchmen Street’s trad jazz all stars are more like one big, incestuous family than a collection of separate bands, and the… - Jon-Erik Kellso and the EarRegulars, In the Land of Beginning Again (Jazzology)
Detroit-born, New York City resident, trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and guitarist and vocalist Matt Munisteri, a regular member of the EarRegulars, meet… - The New Orleans Steamcog Orchestra, Victory Through Steam (Lab Rock Records)
By now you’ve probably heard of COG, that is, the Consortium of Genius, the ever-expanding melange of nerd-rock showoffs happily pursuing… - Charlie Halloran & the Quality 6, Charlie Halloran & the Quality 6 (Independent)
“Rollicking” best describes the music on this self-titled release by trombonist and leader Charlie Halloran. Since arriving on the New Orleans… - Mike Zito & the Wheel, Keep Coming Back (Ruf)
This might be just another good album of hopped-up blues-rock in the Winter/Thorogood vein if not for Zito’s lyrics, which give… - T’Monde, Yesterday’s Gone (Valcour Records)
Though trios have long been part of the Cajun musical landscape, don’t count on this threesome to be staunch traditionalists. T’Monde…
