September 2008
BackTalk
- Sonny Landreth
I received Sonny Landreth’s new album, Beyond the Reach, with mixed emotions. On one hand, it’s great to see Landreth keeping…
Bookmark
- Ian McNulty, A Season of Night: New Orleans Life After Katrina (University Press of Mississippi)
Ian McNulty’s eye for detail makes A Season of Night important. He recorded the little things that we all experienced but…
Cover Story
- Road to Caviar
The Vettes’ music isn’t traditional New Orleans music. “Our music is ’80s/new-wave, mixed with indie. It has a modern twist to…
Features
- The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars: Language of Hurricanes
How do we talk about Hurricane Katrina? Chris Rose has referred to it as “The Thing,” as if saying its name… - Bobby Charles: Songs and Stories
On Bobby Charles’ new Homemade Songs, every track has a tale attached. Cutting to the chase might get you there… - The Radiators: A Wild, Wild Life
The Radiators reflect on their history as they discuss their new rarities collection, Wild & Free. On a hot summer…
Fresh
- Still Standin
Probably because of the way the story ends, Drew Landry doesn’t often brag about how Kris Kristofferson called him the best… - Troubled Times
It seems redundant to take Trouble the Water’s message to New Orleans, the people who lived the movie’s story or a… - When Life Gives You Peaches
There is something about the “new” in New Orleans that has never quite been so poignant for those affected by Hurricane… - A Dreamer, But He's Not the Only One
JT Nesbitt has never met a stranger. He’s a charming and engaging guy, cordial in a relaxed way that probably makes… - Four (or Three or Two) in One
Bernard Pearce of One Man Machine began as the lone man. He was frustrated by his difficulty finding workable bandmates for… - Rocking the House or Basement
The North American release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith on June 29 set off the “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Rocks the Hard Rock”… - Moving on up
The catering truck is packing up in the parking lot, and the cafeteria tables once covered in props have been stowed… - We're Baa-aack … Sort Of
Recently, Sweet Home New Orleans (SHNO) completed a study of profiling the state of New Orleans music scene—including Mardi Gras Indians…
Letters
- September 2008 Letters
DR. MICHAEL WHITE The article about Dr. Michael White is most moving. In the Jewish tradition, it is our duty to…
Live Wire
- Young Jeezy, House of Blues, August 13, 2008
After selling out his House of Blues show, Young Jeezy added a late show for his fans. Back-to-back shows bound Jeezy…
Mojo Mouth
- Reading and Listening More Is Good For you
I suppose I would never have started a business like this if I didn’t have a passion for reading and learning.…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Jerry Wexler (1917-2008)
“I love OffBeat,” legendary record producer and executive Jerry Wexler rasped in heavy New Yorkese over the phone several years ago… - Obituary: Nathan "Bionik Brown" Woods (1976-2008)
In 2002, I met one of the most prolific New Orleans musicians that I have ever had the pleasure of working…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Mahony's Po-Boy Shop
Ever have an argument about who makes the best po-boys? Us too. Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop may not currently be the best…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Mahony's Po-Boy Shop
Ever have an argument about who makes the best po-boys? Us too. Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop may not currently be the best… - A Dreamer, But He's Not the Only One
JT Nesbitt has never met a stranger. He’s a charming and engaging guy, cordial in a relaxed way that probably makes… - Road to Caviar
The Vettes’ music isn’t traditional New Orleans music. “Our music is ’80s/new-wave, mixed with indie. It has a modern twist to…
Reviews
- Southern Sexual, Negative Value (Permanent Lifetime)
Yes, everyone’s favorite industrial/swinger/comedy duo is back, and if you haven’t heard them, skip the opening track on this second disc.… - Spooney, Whiskey in the Coffee (Independent)
Albert Marino would certainly not be the first modern folkie to enter the music through the songs of John Lennon and… - Stereolab, Chemical Chords (4AD)
This is Stereolab’s take on Motown, but that doesn’t mean you can dance to it. Like most Stereolab, Chemical Chords is… - The Final Solution, Brotherman Original Soundtrack (Numero Group)
The Numero Group’s latest piece of soul archaeology is this soundtrack for a blaxploitation movie that ran out of money before… - Emmylou Harris, All I Intended To Be (Nonesuch)
Emmylou Harris has become more interesting as her voice has become less perfect. Idiosyncrasy suits her, and she now moves from… - Calexico, Carried to Dust (Quarterstick)
Calexico albums are territories you come to know, landscapes that are blurrily of a piece at first, but whose landmarks become… - Nine Inch Nails, The Slip (NIN.com)
Typically, nihilism isn’t a trait that lends itself to career longevity. Neither is isolation, detachment, or angst. Thankfully, Nine Inch Nails… - Bobby Charles, Homemade Songs (Rice 'n' Gravy)
Music has always come fairly easily to Bobby Charles; it’s the business part that has been hard. He’s had a gift… - Willie "The Lion" Smith and Don Ewell, Stride Piano Duets (Delmark)
“The Lion” was one of the founders of the stride piano idiom along with Fats Waller and James P. Johnson,, and… - Eddie Floyd, Eddie Loves You (Stax)
Great googa mooga—I just learned you can’t judge a book by it’s lack of a cover. I was given a review… - Paul Bley, About Time (Justin Time)
Paul Bley says the subject of his new album is time. I take him at his word. On About Time the… - The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Vol II: For a Life Ever Bright (Independent)
Whether it’s the music box lullaby that ends “In a Lounge with Broken Wings,” numerous circus and burlesque scores, or what… - Nomadic Sun, Nomadic Sun (The Shack)
With its overly honest lyrics and ambient sound, Nomadic Sun does stick out as one of New Orleans’ few “electronic” groups.… - Ruby Rendrag, Wartime Favorites (Independent)
Ruby Rendrag has played guitar with Rikki Comeaux, and she was the classic rock half of Dingo 8 (paired with Mary… - David Murray and Mal Waldron, Silence (Justin Time)
The voice of experience echoes through Silence, a duet recording by saxophonist David Murray and pianist Mal Waldron. Recorded a year… - Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
Backed by Mannie Fresh’s keyboard, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter was the greatest display of lyricism by a New Orleans rapper at… - Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Forked Tongue (Cuneiform)
The new CD from Cambridge’s Revolutionary Snake Ensemble advances their Sun Ra-meets-the-Dirty Dozen hybrid with songs both traditional and unexpected. The… - The White Bitch, The White Bitch's Prey Drive (Independent)
Writer Michael Patrick Welch’s musical project—the White Bitch—has proven to be an admirably unpredictable project, one that can be acoustic or… - Randy Newman, Harps and Angels (Nonesuch)
Bad news first: Randy Newman’s latest has only 30 minutes of new material. Perhaps Nonesuch, his record label, applied pressure to… - Jerry Jumonville, You Are My Dream (Carryon)
You could call it rugged. You might say boomy. Even crusty. It’s a big rich sound that Jerry Jumonville gets out… - The Bad Roads, Union Town (Latanier)
Who says old guys, excuse me, guys eligible for an AARP card, can’t rock? Ever since Southwest Louisiana’s Bad Roads reunited… - Kali Z. Fasteau and Kidd Jordan, Live at Kerava Jazz Festival: Finland (Flying Note)
And to think—just 10 years ago there were hardly any Kidd Jordan CDs available. Now, since Jordan has been embraced by… - Theresa Andersson, Hummingbird, Go! (Basin Street)
Theresa Andersson’s career in New Orleans has been fascinating as she has tried on numerous traditional American genres—blues, funk, pop, folk—and…
