February 2002
BackTalk
- James "Sugar Boy" Crawford
Whether you call it “Jock-A-Mo” or Chock-A-Mo” or “Iko-Iko,” it’s one of the greatest of all New Orleans Carnival songs. James…
Bayou Boogie
Bluesworthy
- The World's Oldest Teenager Dies
Legendary Memphis singer Rufus Thomas, who died this past December 15th at the age of 84, was the originator of the…
Cover Story
- For Pete's Sake
During his lifetime, Peter Dewey Fountain, Jr., born in New Orleans on July 3, 1930, has played the clarinet for Presidents,…
Dis 'n' Dat
- Great Scott!
My original intention was to write a column about Mardi Gras, the bliss of masquerading, the cult of public nudity and…
Features
- Masters of Louisiana Music: Jessie Hill
In 1960, Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” sold over 800,000 singles, topped the charts and has subsequently been covered over… - Knock-Knock-Knockin' on Grammy's Door
- Charlie Miller: OffBeat/WWOZ Sideman of the Year Award
- Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Education Award: Ellis Marsalis
In its second century of existence, jazz is clearly much more than just a musical style - it's a vocation, with… - Dave Bartholomew: OffBeat/WWOZ Living Legend Award
There is absolutely no way to overemphasize Dave Bartholomew’s contribution to the development of New Orleans rhythm and blues. Producer, talent… - Best of the Beat Heartbeat Award: Harold Battiste
- A Coconut's Tale: Cracking the Case of Zulu's Most Prized Throw
- Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award: Eddie Shuler (Goldband Records)
The third recipient of OffBeat’s annual Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award, given to a member of Louisiana’s music business community,… - 2001 Best of the Beat Award Winners
OffBeat’s seventh annual Best Of The Beat awards honor Louisiana’s finest musicians, as nominated by their fellow musicians and music industry …
Feed Me Something, Mister
Letters
- Letters February 2002
IT’S TOO LATE, PART TWO I’m writing to address a few interesting points that have come to mind recently, whether jogged…
Live Wire
Mojo Mouth
- Are You Are One of The Musically Elite?
Thank you for reading OffBeat, which means you take an art form seriously enough to want to know what’s really happening…
Obituaries
St. Rock
Straight, No Chaser
Talkin' 'bout New Orleans
Reviews
- John McCutcheon, Supper's On The Table. Everybody Come In (Rounder Heritage)
- Dan Klarskov & the Honeydrippers, The Blues Is A Feeling (Clearwood Records)
- Various Artists, White Bucks To Stetson Hats: Rockabilly and Country Roots from the Bandera Label (Ace)
- Various Artists, Blues and Gospel from the Bandera, Laredo and Jerico Road Labels of Chicago (Ace)
- Deff Generation, Medicine (Endangered Species/Louisiana Red Hot Records)
- Truth Universal, Plantation Graffiti: The Naked Truth Dressed to Kill (Independent)
Plantation Graffiti is an underground hip-hop combination of aggressive lyrics impressively layered with cuts and scratches from DJ Maxmillion. The sound… - Myself, Rebel Souljah (Joe Records)
Now that Wyclef Jean’s got the dread Grammy disease, appearing everywhere but the front of a Wheaties box, locally born and… - Joe Stampley, Somewhere Under the Rainbow (Critter Records)
Joe Stampley has done it all. From hobnobbing with Hank Williams, Sr., to stardom with a ’60s rock group to his… - Hadacol, All In Your Head (Slewfoot)
- Amy Allison, Sad Girl (Diesel Only)
- Kristie Stremel, All I Really Want (Slewfoot)
- The Mighty Hannibal, Hannibalism! (Norton)
“Once in a great while, there comes along a recording that throws a reviewer into a palsied seizure, simply because he… - Lazy Lester, Blues Stop Knockin' (Antone's Records)
Sometimes the release of a new record (album, CD, what have you), feels like seeing an old friend again, and all… - The Josh Roseman Unit, Cherry (Velour)
It seems that the age of the trombone has indeed arrived. I thought the craze was only a New Orleans phenomenon… - Chuck E. Weiss, Old Souls And Wolf Tickets (Rykodisc)
He’s played with Lightnin’ Hopkins, Willie Dixon, and Dr. John, but Chuck E. Weiss is best known to the general public… - Josh Rouse, Under Cold Blue Stars (Rykodisc/Slow River)
I’m usually wary of thematic albums. Too often the effort often comes off as pretentious and forced with the narrative taking… - Dash, Sonic Boom (Write On)
We’re used to thinking of Dash Rip Rock as an anarchic thing—the whoopie cushion at a wedding, the Helen Keller joke… - Lesa Cormier/August Broussard and the Sundown Playboys, Les Memoire du Passe (Acadiana Records)
It’s an often-told story but bears repeating regarding one of Cajun music’s most ironic events. After scoring with the regional hit… - Madstone, The Wicked And Wounded (Independent)
Wicked? Nah. Polite middle-of-the-road collegiate pop, really. Wounded? Most certainly. Lead singer David Catone has quite a bit on his mind… - Adam's Attic, Adam's Attic (Independent)
Boy, is this record eager to please. From “Superman” on, Adam’s Attic deploys pop device after pop device to win your… - Supagroup, Rock & Roll Tried to Ruin My Life (Independent)
- Various Artists, Knock Out Ska (Heartbeat)
- TiJonne Reyes, Finally (Blue Chip)
- Gov't Mule, The Deep End, Vol. 1 (ATO Records)
- Brotherhood of Groove, Pocket Full of Funk (Independent)
It seems young, improvisation-based. groove-dedicated bands are doing everything they can these days to distance themselves from the career threatening “jam… - Mike West, Oddities & Rarities (Binky Records)
Oftentimes a record with the buzzwords Oddities and Rarities emblazoned in the title is another excuse for an artist’s flock to… - The Continental Drifters, Listen, Listen (Blue Rose)
When I first saw the Continental Drifters at the old Warehouse Café on Annunciation, they sat in a semi-circle with guitars,… - The Nobles, Throw Me Somethin' Mista! (Independent)
This reminds of the kind of music they play on the WWL “Spirit of Louisiana” television commercials. Lyrics urge the listener… - Various Artists, West Coast Mardi Gras Party (Globe Records)
- Various Artists, Ultimate Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Records)
- Ahmad Jamal, Olympia 2000 (Birdology/Dreyfus Jazz)
- The Foret Tradition, Lost in the Fifties (HLE Records)
- Betty Winn and the One A-Chord Gospel Singers, Shout Hallelujah (Independent)
New Orleans’ own One-A-Chord—not to be confused with the Arkansas vocal group of the same name—has a unique mission: to meld… - Mystikal, Tarantula (Jive)
Mystikal is a man of the street. Unlike his contemporaries in the hip-hop world, he’s not concerned with bemoaning or celebrating…
