September 2006
BackTalk
- Aaron Neville
It’s a year later and the Neville Brothers still aren’t back in New Orleans. It seems hard to imagine because at…
Cover Story
- A Change is Gonna Come
John Boutte took the outdoor stage in Austin’s Town Lake Park on March 18 around 6:45 p.m. He was part of…
Features
- The Bands Played On
Not even a hurricane can stop music in New Orleans, though it took some work to bring it back. Music is… - Where Are They Now?
On Friday, August 26, 2005, Katrina became a category two hurricane. By 5:00 p.m., Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of…
Fresh
- Hazard County Girls meet the Hands of Doom
Hazard County Girls recently released their new CD, Divine Armor, produced by Grant Curry, formerly of Pleasure Club. They’ll will perform… - Breaking Up
For Terence Blanchard, the hardest part of his work on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s new documentary, When the Levees Broke:… - The Sound of Drywall
Working primarily with experimental drone/ambient sounds for just under a decade now, minimalist Potpie (a.k.a. Mike Karnowski) recently released his 13th… - You Can't Win if You're Not in the Game
Rejection never sounded so good to zydeco musician Terrance Simien, and his wife and manager, Cynthia. The forces behind a five-year… - For the Love of Gaye
On August 29, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is releasing an album dedicated to the… - Look for the Union Label
For the first time since Reconstruction, a man of color, “Deacon” John Moore, has been elected president of the local chapter… - Jazz Fest Announces Musicians' Application Guide
Bands wishing to play the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell need to submit press kits between September… - Slow and Low
On Uncovered, Tony Joe White’s new album, the man responsible for “Polk Salad Annie” is back with an album dotted with… - Creole Reunion
Creole jazz banjo player Don Vappie is the central figure in American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, a documentary that airs August… - Building Lessons
In the months after Hurricane Katrina, experts pointed to the Netherlands as an example for how to stave off potential flooding.…
Letters
- September 2006 Letters
DOES ELECTRONICA HAVE SOUL? As you know, I adore you and the magazine with all my heart. You and OffBeat are…
Mojo Mouth
- Post-Katrina Normality
“What a year this has been” is a cliché that I just can’t resist. A year of shock and disbelief, incredible…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Barbara George
(1943-2006) New Orleans singer Barbara George passed away Thursday morning August 10 in Houma, Louisiana after a long illness of complications… - Obituary: Jessie Mae Hemphill
(1934-2006) Singer and blues woman Jessie Mae Hemphill passed away Saturday, July 22. The world had not heard her guitar playing…
Reviews
- Bobby Bare Jr.'s Young Criminals Starvation League, The Longest Meow (Blood Shot)
Another roots-rock post-modernist, Bare, Jr. comes from pure country stock—son of Bobby “Detroit City” Bare—but here he’s backed by members… - Matt Angus, Self Titled (Black Potato)
I give Matt Angus credit for walking up to me during this year’s SXSW after reading my badge and asking… - Spencer Dickenson, The Man Who Lives For Love (Yep Roc)
John Hiatt’s Master of Disaster and the subsequent tours arguably showed the North Mississippi All-Stars at their finest. I know… - Various Artists, The Sue Label Story (Ace)
An amazing phenomenon was occurring in the United Kingdom at the same time American listeners were being overwhelmed by the “British… - Various Artists, Eisenhower Blues (Empire Musicwerks)
It’s no coincidence that this title would surface at a time when contemporary artists are pushing each other out of the… - Various Artists, Fonotone Records (Dust to Digital)
Though not as well known as Alan Lomax or Harry Smith, Fonotone Records founder Joe Bussard did as much as anybody… - Spencer Wiggins, The Goldwax Years (Kent)
If your lucky, once or twice in a decade, a CD will come along that makes you drop whatever your doing,… - Sugar Pie Desanto, Refined Sugar (Jasmine)
Sugar Pie DeSanto is to the Bay Area what Irma Thomas is to New Orleans. Their careers both got started in… - Howard Tate, Live (Shout! Factory)
In 2001, soul legend Howard Tate returned to performing for a Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau show at the… - Various Artists, Graciously (Funzalo)
Wavelab Studios in Tuscon is the home studio for producer Craig Schumacher, who along with producer Larry Crane brought Tape… - Tony Joe White, Uncovered (Swamp)
Tony Joe White named his new album Uncovered because his son thought the tracks sounded like some old, overlooked tracks… - Wayne ""The Train"" Hancock, Tulsa (Bloodshot)
It’s been over a decade since honky-tonk visionary Wayne “The Train” Hancock began criss-crossing the country in a seemingly endless loop… - Fairweather-Low, Sweet Soulful Music (Proper American)
Andy Fairweather-Low’s one of those names that fans of British rock ’n’ roll know, even if they’re not positive what… - Telescope, Self Titles (Independent)
Greg Wiz was half of Daydreams and Curry, whose Youth and Royalty was one of the best albums to come… - Johnny Cash, American V (American)
Johnny Cash’s American Recordings series is unprecedented in pop music for giving listeners the music of a man dealing with… - Misled, Days of Darkness (Dixie Dawg)
Much like the bondage-clad women on the Spinal Tap-inspired cover for Days of Darkness, Metairie rockers Misled seem to be going… - Terry and the Zydeco Band Boys, Creole to the Core (MTE Records)
“You can’t make a record if you don’t have nothing to say,” Willie Nelson once wrote. Such a prophetic line could… - Lonesome Travelers, Self Titled (Valley Entertainment)
The Lonesome Travelers are Cowboy Mouth’s John Thomas Griffith and Paul Sanchez, indulging their affection for country that Cowboy Mouth… - Christian Serpas and Ghost Town, Six Pack (Independent)
Christian Serpas & Ghost Town’s heart is in the right place. They start every show with “Folsom Prison Blues” to… - Rob Espino y sus amigos de Nueva Orleans, Self Titled (Bucket Girl)
The title of the album and name of the band tell the story. Sousaphonist Rob Espino gathered many of his brassy… - Gov't Mule, High and Mighty (ATO)
Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Warren Haynes has the conceptual vision of a group leader and the self-effacing humility of a consummate sideman. These seemingly… - Willie ""Big Eyes"" Smith, Way Back (Hightone)
This one really stands out from the glut of former-sidemen-as-leaders blues releases. Smith, longtime drummer in some of Muddy Waters’ greatest… - Rory Block, The Lady and Mr. Johnson (Ryko)
Many Robert Johnson tributes have come and gone (Who could forget the controversy Eric Clapton’s stirred in these very pages?) but… - Popa Chubby, Stealing The Devil's Guitar (Blind Pig)
Somehow The White Stripes made it possible for this white kid duo’s dense mixture of ragged, echoing guitar tones and trance… - The Black Keys, Chulahoma (Fat Possum)
- Stanley Crouch, Considering Genius: Writings on Jazz (Basic Civitas)
Considering Genius collects jazz writing spanning 27 years from the famed polemicist of jazz’s neo-conservative movement, Stanley Crouch. The 30 pieces… - Jim McNeil, Give Me My Wings (Independent)
The songs on this CD seem to circulate around the loss of a woman, although McNeil only hints at it with… - Walter Jr., Back on the Bayou Road (Gatortone)
Maybe someday people will realize the Lafayette music scene is more than just Cajun and zydeco music. An indigenous brand of… - Six and Seven Eighths String Band of New Orleans, Self Titled (504)
“You Get More With 504” is the slogan for this small but interesting British trad jazz label. And perhaps you do… - Leon Prima/ Sharkey Bonano, Live in Concert (504)
“You Get More With 504” is the slogan for this small but interesting British trad jazz label. And perhaps you do… - The Magnetic Ear, After The Rain (Independent)
German-born/New Orleans-based saxophonist Martin Krusche currently leads a revolving cast of local players under the Magnetic Ear moniker, but After the… - Ed Barrett Jazz Trio, Lunch With Millie (Independent)
Guitarist Ed Barrett makes a departure from last year’s self-titled release which focused on well-known jazz standards. Here, Barrett relies on… - Aaron Neville, Bring It On Home: The Soul Classics (Burgundy)
What does a musician owe his or her fans? Does Aaron Neville have to make a CD that will make… - Branford Marsalis, Braggtown (Marsalis Music)
Jazz instrumentalists must forge a compromise between the demands of the audience and the siren call of their muse. The two… - Dirty Dozen Brass Band, What's Going On (Shout! Factory)
Many of New Orleans’ finest songwriters have taken a shot at addressing Hurricane Katrina and the accompanying devastation with mixed…
