What is it about New Orleans that gives rise to so many funk bands?

“Smell it. Just smell it. Take a nice deep breath and you can smell it,” explains Flavor Kings singer Dee J.

Clearly, funk does permeate the city, from the second line rhythms of brass bands, through chants of Mardi Gras Indian tribes, to the wide-open grooves the Meters laid down behind numerous R&B and rock 'n roll singers as Marshall Seahorn and Allen Toussaint's session band and later on their own. Beyond that, ...