When we last heard from bassist George Porter, Jr.—the man who was in on funk's ground floor with the Meters and has since developed into one of New Orleans' busiest session players—it was via a letter sent from Istanbul, Turkey in July. At the time, he had been on the road as a member of former Talking Head and current Latin music explorer David Byrne's band for three months, and was having something of a tough time. Even in the Meters' heyday, the band was never on the road for ...