June 2011

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BackTalk

Wendell Pierce
“Work always gets you work, man,” Wendell Pierce says while driving. He’s in the last week of shooting for the second… – Alex Rawls
Mayor Mitch Landrieu
During his tenure as the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Mitch Landrieu made “cultural economy” his calling card. He worked to show how… – Alex Rawls

Cover Story

Washboard Chaz: Man of a Thousand Bands
Washboard Chaz is a lucky guy. Not everybody gets a festival named after them, but Chaz has become the iconic figurehead… – John Swenson

Features

Jazz Fest 2011: Last Call
Jazz Fest is over, and people in the Jazz Tent when Christian Scott proposed to his now-fiancée will remember that. I'll… – OffBeat Staff
AFO Records: All for Fifty
In 2011, African-American-owned record labels are not news. Motown is the best-known example, and New Orleans has had No Limit and… – David Kunian
Nicholas Payton: His Song
“I want to embark on another journey that will include the music of my own generation,” Nicholas Payton said over coffee… – Geoffrey Himes
Excerpt from New Atlantis by John Swenson: Breaking the Silence
This month, Consulting Editor John Swenson’s new book New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans examines the role… – John Swenson
Mod Dance Party: A Dance Out of Time
Push aside the heavy plastic flaps acting as a door to Saturn Bar (think entrance to a meat locker) on the… – Travis Andrews

Fresh

Radiators TV
If you weren’t one of the lucky few to score tickets to the Radiators’ three night “Last Round Up Farewell Tour:… – C Chloe
Mr. Amedé Ardoin, He Dead
Amedé Ardoin has been hailed as the father of zydeco and Cajun music, but his final record is a meager index… – Herman Fuselier
The Top Ten Selling Albums During Jazz Fest at Louisiana Music Factory
1. Tab Benoit: Medicine (Telarc) 2. Galactic: The Other Side of Midnight: Live in New Orleans (Anti-) 3. Johnny Sansone: The… – OffBeat Staff
New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp: Come Blow Your Horn
“It is sort of a fantasy jazz camp,” Banu Gibson says. “Our campers are people who are investment bankers whose parents… – Stephen Maloney

Letters

June 2011 Letters
CULTURE ON A PEDESTAL I am a native Louisianan who grew up in Baton Rouge and Hammond and I’m an avid… – OffBeat Readers

Mojo Mouth

Missing the Music Boat…with Some Potential Lifesavers
Having been in the business of promoting New Orleans and Louisiana music for over 25 years, I’ve seen its acceptance in… – Jan Ramsey

OffBeat Eats

Dining Out: Cyrus Restaurant
When dining at Cyrus, two questions immediately come to mind: a) Where exactly is Persia? B) What exactly defines Persian food?… – Peter Thriffiley & Rene Louapre
Big Freedia Hits the Spot at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro
Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro 2001 St. Charles Ave. (504) 593-9955 How often do you come here? Every chance I get. I’m actually… – Caitlyn Ridenour
Debbie Does Deberge: Debbie’s Not Debbie
Ask a New Orleanian about doberge cakes, and you’ll probably hear something like, “A doberge is the only way to celebrate… – Rachel Arons

Dining Out

Dining Out: Cyrus Restaurant
When dining at Cyrus, two questions immediately come to mind: a) Where exactly is Persia? B) What exactly defines Persian food?… – Peter Thriffiley & Rene Louapre
Washboard Chaz: Man of a Thousand Bands
Washboard Chaz is a lucky guy. Not everybody gets a festival named after them, but Chaz has become the iconic figurehead… – John Swenson
June 2011 Letters
CULTURE ON A PEDESTAL I am a native Louisianan who grew up in Baton Rouge and Hammond and I’m an avid… – OffBeat Readers

Photo Op

Herman Leonard Second Line
Photographer: Kim Welsh Dazzled by Herman Leonard’s masterful, visionary smoky images, I was compelled to attend the celebration of… – Kim Welsh

The Spot

Big Freedia Hits the Spot at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro
Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro 2001 St. Charles Ave. (504) 593-9955 How often do you come here? Every chance I get. I’m actually… – Caitlyn Ridenour

Reviews

James Andrews, The Big Time Stuff (Independent)
Over Jazz Fest, I got to thinking about the increased prevalence of adrenaline in contemporary New Orleans music, particularly the brass… – Brian Boyles
Big Freedia, Scion A/V Presents Big Freedia (Scion A/V Records)
For those who have been asleep—or maybe just living outside of New Orleans—Big Freedia is a transsexual rapper of “bounce,” a… – Sam Levine
Tommy Sancton/Lars Edegran New Orleans Legacy Band, City of a Million Dreams (GHB Records)
Tommy Sancton’s notes to City of a Million Dreams include a photo taken during a performance at Preservation Hall in 1965.… – Zachary Young
Morella and the Wheels of If, Shipwrecked (Independent)
Morella and the Wheels of If are a musical period piece. Their first album, Shipwrecked, recreates a spooky place and time… – Sam Levine
Zigaboo Modeliste, New Life (Independent)
Drummers have the most difficult time going from being sidemen to leaders. Whether you were the propulsive force of your previous… – John Swenson
Dickie Landry, Fifteen Saxophones (Unseen Worlds Records)
Sax player Dickie Landry left south Louisiana in 1969 to push music farther than he could back home as a member… – Alex V. Cook
Dennis McGee, Himself (Valcour Records)
Dennis McGee (1893-1989) is perhaps Cajun music’s most influential fiddler, an early recording pioneer who contributed a sizable repertoire that illustrated… – Dan Willging
The Help, Keep the Beat (Independent)
What much of 1980s nostalgia fails to acknowledge is that there was more to new wave than funny clothes and synthesizers.… – Alex V. Cook
Joe Adragna, Fall Back (Greenleaves Sound)
Joe Adragna’s a pop purist. As the Junior League, he embraced pop’s exuberance as well as the craft that makes great… – Alex Rawls
Albert King, The Definitive Albert King on Stax (Stax Records)
The very first blues album I ever purchased was Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign. Forty-two-years later, I still have… – Jeff Hannusch
Various Artists, The Big Beat: The Dave Bartholomew Songbook (Ace Records)
Initially, this one blew me away, but this could have been so much better. There’s no way to understate Dave Bartholomew’s… – Jeff Hannusch
Les Amies Louisianaises, Le P’tit Chevrolet (Musique Acadienne)
The debate over of what is and is not traditional Cajun music will likely rage on until judgment day, but credit… – Dan Willging
Alexis Marceaux, Orange Moon (Independent)
With Orange Moon, Alexis Marceaux takes an ambitious leap as a solo artist: stepping out of the prosaic, singer-songwriter nest of… – Aaron Lafont
Conun Pappas, Jr., The Other Side of Me (Independent)
Pianist Conun Pappas, Jr.’s second album, The Other Side of Me, is filled with loneliness, despair, isolation, and Auto-Tune—lots of Auto-Tune—and… – Aaron Lafont
Lil Pookie & the Zydeco Sensations, Just Want to be Me (Maison de Soul Records)
Lil Pookie’s first release in more than a decade not only represents the comeback of a former child prodigy but a… – Dan Willging