Whether you’ve ever met the man or not—and since he lives in Los Angeles, odds are you haven’t—New Orleans music owes a lot to Chris Joseph. Back in 2006, he canvassed fans on the Jazz Fest chat board to raise money for John Boutté and Paul Sanchez, then displaced by Katrina, to make a CD together. That led to the creation of the Threadhead label, which released and additional 52 CDs over the next decade, all fan-funded—arguably the most prolific label recording local music in that time.

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