THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN MUSIC
So, it is official. No Grammy museum for New Orleans. Big deal. The Grammys have always been about reinterpretations of original music, popularity, sales, etc. (They more likely should be called the Grannies). New Orleans should pursue a Museum of American Music. Tell the tale of the evolution of jazz, blues and R&B. Explain to the world why Ernie K-Doe was the King of the Universe. Why Earl King is one of America’s best unknown songwriters. Why the Boswell sisters were actually better than the Andrews sisters. Why Allen Toussaint has been recorded by everybody. How Louis influenced every kind of music. You see the theme here…All music came from New Orleans! (with apologies to Kador).
Give your own awards, like a Vic and Nat’ly statue instead of that insipid gramophone. Serve Hubigs and Popeyes in the museum café. OffBeat would be the new Billboard. Bunny Matthews could host the awards show and be the new Billy Crystal/Bert Parks/Dick Clark. The lifetime achievement award would look like a thick silver domino and be called…what else…the Fat(s) Domino. Separate wings to explain the evolution of bluegrass, gospel and country-western would be a lot more interesting than plaques about the influence of Michael Jackson, or why Paul Anka is a true American genius, or the socio/political importance of Madonna’s lingerie.
Hope the holidays are happy for Jan [Ramsey] and krewe. On Christmas morning, I plan to run up and down the street with my Bunny Matthews [Vic and Nat’ly] calendar (signed, no less) and impress my friends…you know, the ones listening to MP3s of Avril Lavigne and wearing their Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts.
Enough rambling for one day! Peace.
—Al Dunn, Salisbury, NC
TIME SPENT
Please find room to print, because I spent time on this! After reading last two OffBeat issues’ letters.
The problem for rock music fans in New Orleans. Let’s see?
1) Not one magazine (that I know of?) dedicated to the local/national rock scene. Where Y’at, OffBeatand those other New Orleans rags really are just for tourists and that ex-New Orleanian person who moved to Guam or Bermuda to keep up on Jazz Fest news and the hot new zydeco band (so they can mail order CDs).
2) Radio. No good rock stations. WRNO stuck on Frampton, Jethro Tull and Rush (even the DJ’s suck). Classic…NOT! 106 The End (how many rap-metal bands can you hear in one day?) Always months late to break a new hip song that is old news in Montana I bet!
3) Music Clubs. Shim Sham Rock Club was best run and booked by a Los Angeles club owner and now gone back to L.A. (Shim Sham closed.) Circle Bar books the best cool bands but 30-40 people pack the place. (Well…maybe I can hear the band from the parking lot?) Tipitina’s—who would ever think the Ramones played here once! Howlin’ Wolf (what, no karaoke night?) They only get one or two great acts every two-three months. (Like a Mooney Suzuki or Dick Dale.) New York City made CBGB’s (a shithole) a legend! Best advice for anybody in a New Orleans rock band………MOVE! (East Coast-West Coast, other states available.)
I’ve lived in New York City, Boston and Los Angeles. Been here in New Orleans four years, but will be moving back to Los Angeles after Mardi Gras. The food is good here. At least New Orleans got that right!
—Adam Peterson, New Orleans, LA
CHEESY AND CHEAP
I just received my DecemberOffBeat, and I have to comment on the horrible cover. Being a friend of Eric’s, I know how uncomfortable he was doing that photo shoot, and it is no wonder. Why discount your cover musician by forcing on him such a cheesy and cheap (and, well, let’s admit it, downright insulting to his wife) attempt at… what?? Hollywood slick? Are your cover musicians not enough to stand on their own? Supagroup’s spread was bad enough—but knowing that Eric was basically forced into posing with random made-up chickies (and seeing how ridiculous the end product turned out) makes me feel like a wake-up call over there is desperately needed. Very disappointing for an otherwise stellar mag.
—Anne Maze, New Orleans, LA
LAME ACTS
I give you three-and-a-half stars (out of five) for the “rock” issue for November. Why do lame acts like the Strokes and White Stripes headline big shows and are all over TV and magazines? They get “big press” from the media. Something New Orleans rock bands don’t get. Don’t you think New Orleans has a band better than the two bands I named above? If so, let’s hear about them! The way New Orleans music press (hung up on jazz, blues, zydeco, etc.) is if the Beatles came from New Orleans they would have been known as the band who played Bourbon Street and had a few good tunes to dance to. Thank God they came from Liverpool! Long live rock.
—Dan Jandell, Metairie, LA
Although “better” is a matter of personal taste, New Orleans does not currently possess a rock band as commercially or critically successful as either the Strokes or the White Stripes. On the basis of both bands’ performances in New Orleans, they are hardly “lame.”—Ed.
FREEDOM RINGS
Thanks for taking the time to review my record, Set Yourself Free. It was meant to be an interesting Keith Richards or Izzy Stradlin album, not Free’s Fire and Water. Like it said on the bio, I am a guitarist and songwriter, I do not consider myself a singer. Nor do I try to sound black. If you have ever read a review of a Ron Wood album, they spend a sentence dissing his voice and the rest of the review talking about music. Anyway, I enjoyed my stay in New Orleans and wish you good luck.
—Matt Wake, New Orleans, LA