July 2000
BackTalk
- Little Milton
He still wears the unmistakable accent of a New Orleans native, but Sam Butera can hardly be claimed as a New…
Bayou Boogie
- Opelousas: Zydeco Music Capital of the World
Sorry Travel Channel, uninformed tourists and zealous French Quarter merchants. Opelousas, Louisiana—not New Orleans—is the Zydeco Music Capital of the World.…
Bluesworthy
- Handy Men & Women
Regional artists clean up at the 21st annual Handy Awards The Handy Awards are now a full-grown natural-born member of the…
Bookmark
Chassez De Faim
Cover Story
- Lil' Band O' Gold
Warren Storm laughs a deep laugh. The 63-year-old musician sits on an apartment couch, looking at photos and remembering his first…
Dis 'n' Dat
- From Coco to Satchmo to Keb' Mo'
Since there are no topless Buddhist bass-playing former porno stars coming to New Orleans this month, I figured I’d clear my…
Features
- Masters of Louisiana Music: Clifton Chenier
Born: June 25, 1925, Opelousas, LA Died: December 12, 1987, Lafayette, LA In the third installment of offBeat's "Masters of Louisiana Music "… - A Look at The Essence Music Festival 2000
Duplicating the phenomenal success of last year’s Essence Music Festival will be no small feat for organizers of this year’s event.… - Jeremy Lyons: Cute Ethnomusicologist Quits the Street and Hits the Road
There seems to be an unfounded obsession in music journalism with defining sounds, clarifying music for the public in terms of…
Know What It Means
- How Does Jack Meheu Do That?
It was at Fritzel’s some years ago during French Quarter Festival or Jazz Fest, I can’t recall exactly but the place…
Letters
- Letters July 2000
SHOW US THE MONEY, PART II As the President of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage…
Mojo Mouth
- Forgive Me!
Forgive me, patient readers, as this month I’m taking a respite from this "ranter’s column" and moving on to lighter subjects.…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Johnnie Taylor
SOUL HEAVEN: JOHNNIE TAYLOR DIES “Philosopher Of Soul” Passes Away at 62 On May 31st, 2000, Malaco recording artist and R…
Pass A Good Time
- Watermelon Woman
Ah—summertime heat and summertime memories. If I had to keep track now in my grown-up life my summertime memories would consist…
Rhythm Method
- Joseph "Smokey" Johnson
Among the contenders for New Orleans’ Funkiest Songs of All Time is drummer Joseph "Smokey" Johnson’s "It Ain’t My Fault," wherein…
Straight, No Chaser
- Peter Martin's Answer
Martin’s Answer & Puente Remembered Jazz Fest ended two months ago, but great CDs by New Orleans artists are still coming…
Talkin' 'bout New Orleans
Reviews
- Mighty Sam McClain, Blues for the Soul (Telarc)
Mighty Sam has been the blues-soul world’s most unappreciated artist for over three decades now, quietly bearing the standard for the… - Paul Sanchez with the Sonoma Valley Boys, Sold Out at Carrollton Station-January 15, 2000 (Independent)
The first thing you’ve got to realize is that this is not Cowboy Mouth. While Paul Sanchez is a member the… - Les Getrex & His All Star Band, 300 Miles (C&M Records)
Although he’s not a household name, Les Getrex has been on the New Orleans music scene for some time. Getrex, a… - Chris Smither, Live As I'll Ever Be (Hightone)
Raised in New Orleans, Chris Smither got his start in the Cambridge, Mass., folk revival of the late ’60s and early… - The Pfister Sisters, All's Well That's Boswell: A New Orleans Tribute to the Boswell Sisters (Audiophile Records)
Whether its changing tastes or racial politics or what, the Boswell Sisters have a raw deal in their home town. New… - Al Berard & Karen England, Feet Off The Ground (Swallow Records)
Al Berard & Karen England Feet Off The Ground (Swallow Records) Al Berard Al Berard & Friends (Swing Cat Enterprises) Twenty-two… - Vin Bruce, The Essential Collection (Swallow Records)
Go figure this one. Despite the many reissues and “definitive collections” that are flooding the market these days, there has never… - Various Artists, New Orleans Soul '60's: Watch Records (Mardi Gras Records)
As the title indicates, Watch Records was a source for New Orleans soul and R&B singles during the 1960s. The label… - 3rd Echo, Business As Usual (Independent)
Pop this CD into your stereo and begin listening to the music that drifts from this New Orleans trio and you… - Ronnie Earl, Healing Time (Telarc)
Former Roomful Of Blues guitarist Ronnie Earl makes a daring leap into the field of blues-jazz on his Telarc debut, Healing… - Darrell Nulisch, I Like It That Way (Severn)
Darrell Nulisch has been singing and playing harmonica for more than a couple of decades and has apprenticed with Anson Funderburgh,… - Robert Belfour, What's Wrong With You (Fat Possum)
T-Model Ford She Ain’t None Of Your’n (Fat Possum) Robert Belfour What’s Wrong With You (Fat Possum) The venerable Fat Possum… - T-Model Ford, She Ain't None of Your'n (Fat Possum)
T-Model Ford She Ain’t None Of Your’n (Fat Possum) Robert Belfour What’s Wrong With You (Fat Possum) The venerable Fat Possum… - DI's Cajun Jammers, Volume 2 (Acadiana Sounds)
They come by the truckloads, they come from miles around. When it’s Wednesday night, D.I.’s Cajun Restaurant near Basile is the… - The Persuasions, Sunday Morning Soul (Bullseye Blues Basics)
Here’s an oddity. It’s not the blues as we strictly understand them, and unlike the rest of the BBB series, this… - Jivin' Gene and the Jokers, Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Professor Money)
If you were as enthralled by Night Train’s recent Joe Barry reissue as I was, you’ll want to hunt for this… - Pinetop Perkins, Back on Top (Telarc)
A true story, and one that qualifies as a ringing endorsement: I was doing just fine emotionally until I happened to… - Original Dixieland Jazz Band, 110 Year Anniversary of a Jazz Legend: Nick LaRocca 1889-1999 (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
In many respects Nick LaRocca gets a bad rap. There’s seemingly no middle ground for him. His detractors, and those of… - New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Live at the Old Point (Viper Records)
They can play but can they bring that “fire?” This question plagued the Nightcrawlers brass band since its inception in the… - Burton Gaar, Mighty Long Road (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
G.G. Shinn You Can Never Keep A Good Man Down (Sound Of New Orleans) Burton Gaar Mighty Long Road (Louisiana Red… - G.G. Shinn, You Can Never Keep A Good Man Down (Sound of New Orleans)
G.G. Shinn You Can Never Keep A Good Man Down (Sound Of New Orleans) Burton Gaar Mighty Long Road (Louisiana Red… - Kim Lenz and the Jaguars, One and Only (Hightone Records)
If your idea of rockabilly is The Reverend Horton Heat or that tired Mike Ness solo album you just might need… - Deke Dickerson & The Ecco-Fonics, More Million Sellers (Hightone Records)
More Million Sellers. Well they should be. Though the title may be in jest, like “Sonny” Leyland, Deke is a world… - Carl "Sonny" Leyland, I'm Wise (Hightone Records)
Walking down Bourbon Street nearly ten years ago from a dive that probably no longer exists issued forth a sound likely… - Miriam Makeba, Homeland (Putumayo Artists)
Her life story is an epic one. Since the mid-’50s when she joined the Manhattan Brothers jazz group, South Africa’s Miriam… - Various Artists, South African Legends (Putumayo World Music)
Compared to the rest of Africa, South Africa’s music scene is a greater cross-pollination of styles supported by a more established… - Dr. Michael White, A Song for George Lewis (Basin Street)
This may be a tribute to George Lewis, and all but two of the 13 tracks are songs either written or… - Tuba Fats, Tuba Fats (Independent)
Despite popular local belief, having been born at Charity Hospital does not make one great. Pumping out bass lines through an… - Beau Jocque & The Zydeco Hi-Rollers, I'm Coming Home (Mardi Gras Records)
It may as well have been a major disaster on that dark September day when Beau Jocque died. A jovial man… - Sam Broussard, Geeks (Surface to Air Records)
Like Clark Kent and his alter ego Superman, a similar analogy can be applied to Lafayette musician Sam Broussard. While he… - Bamboula 2000, New Society (Independent)
Bamboula 2000 enters this new millennium, and catches up with their name, with the release of their second CD, New Society.… - Casa Samba, Afro Brazilian Fantasy (Sound of New Orleans)
This is a CD re-issue of Casa Samba’s first release from 1993, available previously only on cassette. However, it’s still an… - Various Artists, The Big "D" Jamboree Live Volumes 1 & 2 (Dragon Street Records)
Various Artists Louisiana Hayride—Classic Country Radio Volumes 1-7 (Music Mill Entertainment) Various Artists The Big “D” Jamboree Live Volumes 1 &… - Various Artists, Louisiana Hayride: Classic Country Radio/Classic Gospel Radio/Classic Comedy Radio (Scene Records/Music Mill Entertainment)
Various Artists Louisiana Hayride—Classic Country Radio Volumes 1-7 (Music Mill Entertainment) Various Artists The Big “D” Jamboree Live Volumes 1 &…
