June 2007
BackTalk
- Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
“By day I’m an organizer and an activist, a guy who believes in rallying the troops and in standing up in…
Bookmark
- Roni Sarig, Third Coast (Da Capo)
It does not require arduous analysis to realize that the center of hip-hop has vacated the culture’s Mecca of New York…
Cover Story
- A Heavy Load
LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY—The small stage of the Louisiana Music Factory is packed to the edge with musicians. Matt Perrine leads an…
Features
- Alvin Batiste's Last Class
On the morning of May 6, the last day of the 2007 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the musicians’ grapevine… - The Big Picture
Until the last day, this year’s Jazz Fest was the Return to Normal Fest (whatever “normal” means), the festival that was…
Fresh
- What's in a Name?
"I want to thank everyone who supported deadboy & the Elephantmen, it was and will always be more than just a… - Possessed to Skate
- Party Time
OffBeat got a jump start on Jazz Fest this year with a party at the Ritz-Carlton’s FQB, co-hosted by Art and… - Jazz Fest Louisiana Top 10
OffBeat contacted Louisiana Music Factory and Borders, who operated the retail tent at Jazz Fest this year, and asked them to… - For the Love of Fats
Word has slowly filtered out that the Tipitina’s Foundation is working on a Fats Domino tribute album, and any shred of… - The Good Kind of Con
Tape Op, the magazine for recording engineers and producers, held its annual conference in New Orleans in 2004 and 2005. After… - All Tomorrow's Indians
Music for Tomorrow is one of the many non-profit agencies that started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help ensure… - Aid and (Southern) Comfort
Southern Comfort’s New Orleans roots are as deep as the beignet or the shrimp po’ boy. The drink was created by… - Never Enough of a Good Thing
After the French Quarter Festival and Jazz Fest, what’s there to do in New Orleans besides have another festival? Actually, we… - Jailhouse Lit
Corey “C-Murder” Miller has channeled his inner Tupac Shakur into the area of publishing art while incarcerated. Tupac released Me Against…
Letters
- June 2007 Letters
MUSICIANS VALUE I read the most recent “Mojo Mouth” [March 2007] with great interest. The fact is it is not only…
Live Wire
- 101 Runners, Rosy's Jazz Hall, March 4, 2007
Seeing the 101 Runners, a combination of the funk band Gradoux, big chiefs Monk Boudreaux, David Montana, Roddy Lewis, and percussionists… - Lil' Band o' Gold with Robert Plant, Tipitina's, February 4, 2007
There was a rumor going around that legendary Led Zeppelin singer, Robert Plant was going to make an appearance at Tipitina’s…
Mojo Mouth
- North Rampart Needs a Savior
Katrina has affected us in so many weird ways: while many musicians lost their homes and possessions, they are working more…
Obituaries
OffBeat Eats
- People Get Ready
The Ralph Brennan Group, which runs Bacco, Red Fish Grill and Ralph's on the Park, had a one-page hurricane plan before… - Dining Out: Tacos San Miguel
Tacos San Miguel barely qualifies as a restaurant. The miniature space in a shiny new strip mall is almost equally split…
Dining Out
- People Get Ready
The Ralph Brennan Group, which runs Bacco, Red Fish Grill and Ralph's on the Park, had a one-page hurricane plan before… - Dining Out: Tacos San Miguel
Tacos San Miguel barely qualifies as a restaurant. The miniature space in a shiny new strip mall is almost equally split…
Reviews
- Various Artists, The Sandinista Project (00:02:59)
When the Clash released Sandinista! in time for Christmas in 1980, it was met with mixed reactions for its sprawl… - The Avett Brothers, Emotionalism (Ramseur)
Emotionalism is my first Avett Brothers album, and people who already liked them miss the raw attack of their previous… - Adrienne Young, Room to Grow (Addiebelle Music)
Adrienne Young’s The Art of Virtue from 2005 was the sort of bluegrass that could find a larger audience. It… - Grinderman, Grinderman (Anti-)
Grinderman is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds reduced to a guitar/bass/drums configuration, and if you have any stomach for… - Jimmy McIntosh, Orleans to London (Arizona Club)
Here’s a basic rule of thumb for all musicians: Don’t be shown up by your guests. Jimmy McIntosh has Ronnie… - Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
After years of doing things the hard way to brilliant effect—Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the masterful afterbirth of very public labor… - The Bad Plus, Prog (Heads Up)
Jazz has always kept a close eye on pop music. What would jazz be without all the standards borrowed from Broadway?… - Patient Zero, Come and Maybe Get It (Independent)
You have to admire the balls of a guy who steals AOL’s instant messenger mascot for his own twisted purposes, gives… - Baby Boy the Prince, Across the Water (Universal Republic)
With his major label debut, Marrero rapper Baby Boy the Prince finds himself in the conundrum of being gritty for the… - George Porter, Jr., It's Life (Independent)
Believe it or not, it has been almost 16 years since George Porter, Jr.’s previous solo album, Runnin’ Pardners. With… - Les Poissons Rouges, Nashvegas (Independent)
Here’s a band that can really be classified as Americana: a New Orleans quartet that relocated to Alabama after the storm… - Lil' Fallay, Just for the Ladies (Lil' Fallay Music)
Just for the Ladies is a pleasant, unassuming surprise, an album of contemporary urban R&B from Lafayette way that exists… - T-Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers, Zydeco Lover (Independent)
When you’re a warrior entrenched in the war of zydeco, it helps to have famous couzans who have their own recording… - Betty Shirley, Close Your Eyes (Independent)
Any aspiring jazz singer can get up in front of a competent trio and make their way through a familiar standard.… - Dale Hawkins, Back Down To Louisiana (Plumtone)
There’s a little bit of everything in this one including a whole lot of Dale Hawkins. Not a straight out retro-sounding… - Rob Wagner, Rob Wagner Trio feat. Hamid Drake and Nobu Ozaki (Valid)
Saxophonist Rob Wagner, bassist Nobu Ozaki and drummer Hamid Drake recorded a superb CD of smart, modern jazz in December, 2005.… - Bonerama, Bringing It Home (Independent)
For years, Bonerama has proven to be a taxonomic nightmare. What is it? The problem arises most immediately when the…
