Gambit: September 15, 2020

September 15-21, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 35

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CONTENTS

SEPT. 15 -21, 2020 VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 35 NEWS

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SPOT CHECK

New Orleans artists, entertainers and others adapt during six months of COVID.

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2020 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Timely exposure

New Leaf JON CLEARY AND THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN are up first in the release of a series of shows recorded at The Maple Leaf Bar. He’s joined

by Nigel Hall on Hammond B3 organ.

The show is available Friday, Sept. 18.

Visit mapleleafbar.com for details.

A new CAC expo explores contemporary America

BY WILL COVIELLO DAZZLING AMBER SUNSETS between plumes of clouds and hazy, distant hills fill wax-covered images on small squares the size of Polaroid photos. The boxes are set within plexiglass panes lined-up in a row — in the familiar shape of airplane windows. Then one realizes Lauren Cardenas’ images are transferred onto plastic-wrapped slices of American cheese — a stark reminder of the sort of sandwiches handed out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undocumented immigrants being deported.

It’s one of several pieces about immigration in “Make America What America Must Become,” which opens this week at the Contemporary Arts Center.

The group show includes 35 artists from the Gulf South, from Florida to Texas, and it addresses a range of issues in contemporary America, from civil rights and social justice to New Orleans culture, family, security, work, health, anxiety and technology.

It’s the first major show to open at the CAC since the pandemic shutdowns.

The show title comes from a letter James Baldwin wrote to his nephew on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. More than 400 artists submitted work for the show exploring manifestations of power in culture, economy, ecology and more. For instance, Lionel Milton’s mural about the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic was painted on boards on a Frenchmen Street business earlier this year. Now it’s one of many large-scale paintings mounted at the CAC. Langston Allston’s massive ink drawing on a vinyl banner is inspired by second line culture and is a scene on North Claiborne Avenue under the I-10 overpass. Its edges are packed with commentary on the history of the community and cultural practices that take place there.

A series of textile-based works include a quiltlike piece and Krystle Lemonias’ portrait of her Caribbean-born mother working as a nanny in a piece combining woodblock prints and parts sewn out of baby clothes.

“Make America What America Must Become” features photography, sculpture, video and an

PR OV I D E D P H OTO

Ready for my selfie immersive experience with projections on three walls. Jeffery U. Darensbourg and Fernando Lopez’s video in the Bulbancha region on the West Bank features poetry in the Indigenous Ishakkoy language written in the sand and washed away by lapping waves. Caroline Sinders’ “Feminist Data Set” installation features hard-copy media in a world of digital identity.

The expo is curated by George Scheer, the CAC’s executive director, as well as Katrina Neumann and Toccarra A.H. Thomas of the Joan Mitchell Center. Scheer arrived at the CAC last October, and this is the first exhibition that he’s worked on. He’ll do a video walk-though of the show on a virtual opening night at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 19.

The CAC will admit visitors through timed ticketing, allowing 15 people to enter roughly every hour. In June, during a two-week re-opening of the “Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires” show, many visitors bought out blocks as groups, Scheer says. During the pandemic, the CAC is doing more online programming. It’s not a substitute for viewing art in person, Scheer says, but it’s a chance to do more to provide context for shows, such as introducing artists and hosting talks.

Museums shuttered during the initial pandemic shutdowns, and several have reopened in recent months with timed-ticketing, limited capacities and physical distancing guidelines. Many institutions are now opening their first big exhibitions since the pandemic began.

P H OTO B Y W I L L C OV I E L LO

CAC director George Scheer in front of Langston Allston’s ‘Second Line.’

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art recently unveiled its 2020 Louisiana Contemporary expo, which features 56 artists from across the state. The New Orleans Museum of Art has reopened and debuts a show about the pandemic, “Mending the Sky,” on Oct. 9. The Historic New Orleans Collection opened three exhibits — a photo show, paintings of the French Quarter and an immersive exhibit — on Sept. 8.

At the CAC, Scheer is working on resuming other aspects of the institution’s programming. He’s also developing an artist residency project beginning in October in which four artists will use studios in second-floor gallery space and develop works to fill them as small exhibitions. A performing arts schedule with limited seating may be possible in winter.

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ARTMAZING GALLERY, an emporium of art installations and selfie settings where visitors can pose on a throne or walk in clouds, opens Thursday, Sept.

17, at 309 Decatur St. Visit artmazinggallery.com for tickets and information.

Peggy Lee-sa LISA PICONE REPRISES HER FIRST SOLO CABARET SHOW, “Lisa Sings Lee,” featuring music by or popularized by Peggy Lee. Picone is backed by a trio on tunes including “He’s a Tramp,” “Fever,” “Is That All There Is,” “Big Spender” and “I Don’t Know Enough About You.” At 7: 30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 19, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, and also running Sept. 25-27, at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts. Visit rivertowntheaters.com for tickets and information.

Overheating THE RADIATORS REUNITE to conclude Tipitina’s tipitinas.tv concert series. The Rads record a new show at the venue for online broadcast at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. Visit tipitinas.tv for the link.

Stepping out NEW ORLEANS DANCE WEEK IS AN ANNUAL EVENT SHOWCASING PERFORMANCES, classes, flash mobs and more by local organizations. This year’s events are virtual presentations running Saturday, Sept. 19, through Saturday, Sept. 26. Visit facebook. com/noladancentwk for links.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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O R L E A N S

N E W S

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V I E W S

Because 2020 isn’t wild enough, murderous swarms of mosquitos are laying waste to herds of cattle in western Louisiana

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

5,032

Krewe of Themis, one of the

new groups formed by former members of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx, donated roughly $16,000 to six New Orleans schools that said their student bands would no longer march in the Nyx parade.

The donation is meant to help those schools recoup the lost income they would have made from their bands marching in Nyx. Nyx splintered this spring after founder Julie Lea posted “all lives matter” on social media in response to anti-police brutality protests.

The number of Louisianans who have died of COVID-19 and complications stemming from it, according to the Louisiana Department of Health’s figures that were updated on Sept. 11.

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Vibrant celebrations for Saints season won’t be permitted in New Orleans just yet, as Mayor LaToya Cantrell has banned tailgating and second lines due to the potential spread for COVID-19 and will be keeping the city in Phase 2 until further notice.

Cam Jordan is working with the

United Way of Southeast Louisiana to raise money for disaster relief in southwest Louisiana following Hurricane Laura. The New Orleans Saints All-Pro defensive end started the fundraising campaign with a $15,000 donation and is pushing a GoFundMe campaign seeking public donations. All proceeds from the fundraiser, which has a $100,000 goal, will go to relief work in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes.

Labor Day crowds gathered

on Bourbon Street despite bars being closed and a ban on go-cups. Hundreds of people, many of them seen not wearing masks, moved along Bourbon during the holiday weekend, and a performance by a seven-person band drew dozens of onlookers and several dancers. The city, WDSU reported, received at least 36 calls that weekend about large gatherings across New Orleans.

SIX-MONTH CHECK-IN: WHERE LOUISIANA STANDS WITH COVID-19 GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS MAY HAVE OFFICIALLY MOVED LOUISIANA INTO PHASE 3 of reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but

don’t look for an easing of restrictions in New Orleans, where Mayor LaToya Cantrell is keeping Phase 2 restrictions in place, at least for now.

Even residents in St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes, which will be covered by Phase 3 rules, should not expect things to go back to “normal.” Edwards’ plan represents only a slight modification of social distancing and business restrictions, and the state could reimpose Phase 2 or even Phase 1 rules if there is a spike in cases.

Other states that have opened earlier have almost uniformly suffered explosive case growth and increased hospitalizations and fatalities, particularly in Florida and Georgia.

Cantrell has repeatedly cited her priorities to reopen public schools for in-person learning, which will begin in some charter networks as soon as Monday, Sept. 14 for pre-K through 4th grade students. By next month, older students may return to a hybrid learning model in the district. She said at a Sept. 11 news conference that allowing children back in the classroom would have a positive economic impact, even though hundreds of local businesses, including bars, remain closed under Phase 2 restrictions.

Keeping kids in school, Cantrell said, “will, without a doubt, open up our economy,” and added that the city will continue to request federal assistance to boost the suffering businesses. “Our economy is hit hard,” she said. “The resources needed to make our business owners whole again rests at the feet of the federal government.”

Edwards’ plans to loosen restrictions across the state, meanwhile, came at the beginning of football season, but also on the heels of a PAGE 7

Surpassing the 5,000 mark is a grim milestone for the state, especially as areas — other than New Orleans — move into Phase 3 of reopening, which will boost the economy but also potentially spread more cases of the virus if public health guidelines are not followed or enforced.

As an editorial in the Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate pointed out, over

the past six months, “Louisiana faced no happy options in a sad situation.”

C’est What

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football season, but we need to last a little while longer.”

Avegno also said officials will monitor indoor and outdoor gatherings (25 people allowed maximum for indoor gatherings, while 50 is the limit on outdoor groups) and keep restaurants maxed at 50% occupancy.

A well-known Tulane virologist, Dr. Robert Garry, also weighed in on the six-month check-in with Gambit. Although Garry called the governor and mayor’s leadership “exemplary,” he expressed frustration with misinformation that was spread early on and caused confusion and sowed seeds of distrust.

“The early messaging regarding how this virus was spread, and the best means to control the spread were ill-informed,” he said. Garry, who worked in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak, said the initial response from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and the World Health Organization was confusing, and that some news outlets, such as primetime television networks, did not properly vet their sources.

“So-called experts on TV said hand-washing and cleaning surfaces was the best protection,” he said. “Most of these experts opined that this respiratory virus was not spread by aerosol or by talking, singing or breathing” which was proven to be untrue.

Garry also points out that “use of masks was actively discouraged,” before the CDC completely reversed its stance.

And, Garry points out, there was little talk of social distancing and isolating suspected cases and contacts in the earlier days of the pandemic.

“It is no wonder the public has been confused,” he said.

“There are too many people that are willing to exaggerate their experience and expertise for a brief taste of fame and attention, even if it means endangering the public by spreading false, unvetted information.”

“Next time,” he says, “And this time will come — the agencies and other sources of information, including TV networks, need to consult actual scientists with direct experience and carefully vet credentials of ‘experts’ they are giving a platform to, so that speculations are not disseminated as facts. — SARAH RAVITS

Keep the faith.

Stay the course.

There’s no other way.

P H OTO B Y I A N M C N U LT Y

A sign encouraging face masks outside Longway Tavern in the French Quarter.

TO SAY IT HAS BEEN A LONG, HARD SIX MONTHS would be a gross

understatement. Thousands of New Orleanians have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1,000 of our brothers, mothers, friends and culture bearers in and around the city have been taken from us by the deadly pandemic.

COVID-19 arrived amid the equally deadly and pernicious plague of racism, systemic inequality, and gender and identity discrimination that continue a centuries-long assault against our community and country. Partisan divisions seem worse than they have in memory.

The pandemic has forced us, literally, to sit at home, helpless, as it ravaged our community and crippled our economy. A city built around music, fellowship and hospitality has kept its distance, even as much of the rest of Louisiana and the nation rejected masks and common sense.

We are, to put it bluntly, tired.

We’ve put in the work, bent the curve and tamped down the community spread of COVID-19, yet we remain stuck. It’s no surprise that many of us have grown frustrated, even angry, over Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s Sept. 10 announcement that the city would remain largely closed despite Gov. John Bel Edwards’ decision to ease restrictions everywhere else.

The allure of a return to normalcy is powerful, but it remains a false promise.

A thousand or more Americans continue to die each day from COVID-19. Thousands more contract the disease daily, and seemingly every week doctors identify new, long-term complications from the disease that will haunt us long after the pandemic is officially declared “over.”

Since the pandemic’s early stages, experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci have loudly and clearly warned us that a second wave would come this fall and winter, exacerbated by the start of the seasonal flu season. Nothing has changed about that warning.

“We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it’s not going to be easy,” Fauci said last week. Just because you “opt” out of wearing a mask doesn’t mean you can opt out of being a spreader.

With some models predicting as much as a doubling of the current death toll in the United States by year’s end, this is no time to weaken our resolve. If anything, it is incumbent upon us to redouble our fight. Wear a mask. Practice social distancing. Avoid crowds.

False Oval Office prophets notwithstanding, there’s no quick fix just over the horizon. People who don’t socially distance, wear masks, and avoid large groups put themselves and everyone else at risk — and underscore the urgency of Fauci’s warning.

We’ll say it again because it bears repeating: If not for yourself, then for those most at risk, wear a mask.

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surprising resignation announcement from his top public health official, Dr. Alex Billioux, the assistant secretary of the state’s Office of Public Health.

Billioux said that he is vacating the position in order to spend more time with his family. After two years with the Louisiana Department of Health, including the past six months of work in pandemic response, he will leave the office at the end of September. A replacement has not yet been named by the Louisiana Department of Health.

A letter he sent to his colleagues at the Office of Public Health, which was obtained by Gambit, noted the past several months were “trying times” for the state and reflected that the spread of COVID-19 this past spring grew at a rate “unrivaled across the globe, bringing new challenges and demands on a nearly hourly basis.”

Billioux also praised Edwards for taking “swift, decisive actions” to slow the spread through mitigation measures and the stay-athome mandate issued back in March.

These difficult but life-saving decisions ultimately “turned our epidemic around in a way few outside of Louisiana thought was possible, and yet brought new challenges in the form of business closures and financial ruin felt hardest by our most vulnerable neighbors, who were already scraping by before COVID,” he wrote.

Billioux is not the only official reflecting on the half-year mark.

At a news conference at New Orleans City Hall, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the city’s health director, said “It feels like a lot longer … We know a lot more than we did, but we have to be honest. There are many uncertainties about now and our future.”

Those lingering uncertainties also propelled her and Cantrell to ban tailgating parties and second lines as the Saints season picks up, and New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said he would be willing to arrest people violating the Phase 2 restrictions.

“Our office will … issue a summons when necessary and if you continue to disregard and not comply, you may face arrest,” Ferguson said. “For restaurants, we will continue to work with our partners at code enforcement …

We know you are tired, we know our citizens want to get back to normalcy, especially now that it’s

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COMMENTARY

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A study in contrasts: Edwards moves to Phase 3, Cantrell keeps New Orleans in Phase 2 AFTER MONTHS OF RESISTING POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES to “reopen”

Louisiana amid the COVID19 pandemic, Gov. John Bel Edwards has moved the state into a modified version of Phase 3. People across the state will start, or in many cases continue, mixing in large numbers.

While the statewide case count has gone down since early June, Louisiana still ranks among the states with the highest infection rates. Meanwhile, Hurricane Laura has pushed thousands of people from southwest Louisiana — an area with one of the state’s highest infection numbers — into other parts of the state. We’re also on the threshold of flu season.

Edwards says he based his decision on the data, but there’s no denying that political and economic forces pushed him toward this move.

Those forces include the hospitality industry, which employs many thousands in New Orleans and took perhaps the hardest hit among Louisiana’s business sectors; LSU football, a political and economic force all its own because it pumps millions into the flagship university’s budget and the Baton Rouge economy; and pressures from citizens and political foes to reopen schools and the economy in general.

With Tiger Stadium poised to reopen to less-than-capacity crowds, and as school systems across the state — including LSU and other universities — welcome students back to campus for in-person classes, perhaps it was inevitable that Edwards would move Louisiana to some form of Phase 3 at this time.

It’s worth noting that Edwards’ definition of Phase 3 looks more like Phase 2 with a few less restrictions, but there’s no denying that loosening even a few restrictions will increase the risk of infection and may well lead to another spike in cases. That happened in June, after Edwards moved from Phase 1 to Phase 2 in early May, causing him to impose a statewide masking mandate even as he kept the state in Phase 2.

Politically, with a small but vocal chorus of Republican legislators pushing to overturn his emergency orders, the governor may also have seen extending Phase 2 as

P H OTO B Y M A X B E C H ERER / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Mayor LaToya Cantrell listens to a question from the media during a press conference with Gov. John Bel Edwards earlier this month.

The two elected officials generally see eye-to-eye but Cantrell will keep New Orleans in Phase 2 as other parts of the state move into Phase 3.

untenable. Louisiana House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, a Republican whom Edwards quietly helped win the speaker’s job, said of the governor’s decision, “It is past time.”

Meanwhile, Mayor LaToya Cantrell has doubled down on her consistently cautious approach to reopening New Orleans. The city, she says, will remain in Phase 2 for now.

This isn’t the first time Edwards and Cantrell have taken disparate paths in response to the pandemic. In May, when the governor moved from Phase 1 to Phase 2, Cantrell briefly kept a lid on things in New Orleans.

Cantrell’s approach drew howls from parts of the business community, but the city’s infection rate plummeted — in stark contrast to dystopian early projections and to rising infection rates in Jefferson and other large parishes. While New Orleanians masked up and remained largely homebound and socially distant, folks in other parts of the state mostly adopted a “business and usual” attitude.

The results speak for themselves: New Orleans went from one of the world’s scariest “hot spots” to trailing several Louisiana parishes in its infection rate.

Ultimately, citizens’ individual choices will determine our collective fate, but Edwards and Cantrell’s latest decisions present contrasting approaches to the current crisis.

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BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™ Hey Blake, What’s the story behind the Liberty Bell on Gravier Street behind New Orleans police headquarters?

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@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

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Dear reader,

The Liberty Bell in the 2800 block of Gravier was designed and built by Orleans Parish Prison inmates in the 1980s. It is a 500-pound, fullsize replica of the original bell in Philadelphia. It was created as part of former Sheriff Charles C. Foti Jr.’s prison art program.

According to a 1987 Times-Picayune article, it took eight weeks to create the iron and steel bell, which started as a 30-inch cap for a pipeline.

In 1987, the bell was displayed at the New Orleans Museum of Art for an exhibit honoring the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. Called “We the People: A Quest for Liberty,” the exhibit featured a 116- by 12-foot patriotic mural painted by 150 inmates.

According to the newspaper, the inmates involved in the project said

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they realized the irony of calling the exhibit “A Quest for Liberty” while they were still imprisoned. But some said the chance to do creative work gave them a feeling of freedom.

“This work is a positive affirmation of liberty for the inmates,” Foti said, “just as the Constitution was for our forefathers.”

The bell was taken to other public events before returning to the prison complex on Gravier Street.

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BLAKEVIEW THIS MONTH MARKS THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY of two pivotal events in New Orleans’ early Civil Rights movement. In September 1960, members of the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, staged sit-in demonstrations at the lunch counters of the Woolworth’s and McCrory’s stores on Canal St., both of which were reserved for white customers.

On Sept. 9, 1960, seven students — five Black and two white — staged a five-hour sit-in at the Woolworth’s at Canal and Rampart (now infamously known as the site of the Hard Rock construction collapse.) According to an article in The States-Item the students were arrested after refusing to leave the counter when they were denied service. The young people “stood up, put several dollars on the counter for a ‘tip’ and walked peacefully to a police wagon, where they were searched for weapons and taken to the First District police station.”

The newspaper identified them as: Jerome Smith and Ruth Despenza, former students at Southern University; Archie Allen, Dillard University; William Harper, Louisiana State University at New Orleans (now UNO); William Harrell and Hugh Murray Jr., Tulane University; and Joyce Taylor, Xavier University.

After the sit-in, Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison ordered that no further sit-ins or nonviolent demonstrations would be permitted.

On Sept. 17, 1960, four other CORE members (three Black and one white) were arrested after staging a second sit-in at McCrory’s at 1005 Canal St. The four sat quietly at the lunch counter, refusing to leave until they were arrested. They were: Rudy Lombard, of Xavier; Oretha Castle of SUNO (later Oretha Castle Haley); Cecil Carter Jr. of Dillard; and Lanny Goldfinch of Tulane.

The group came to be known as the “CORE Four” as their case, Lombard v. Louisiana, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although New Orleans had no official segregation ordinances, Morrison’s ban on segregation protests “achieve(d) the same result,” the high court ruled in 1963, when it overturned the arrests. The case was one of several that became precedents for striking down segregation laws and practices.

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Six months after being put out of work

by COVID-19, New Orleans artists and entertainers find ways to adapt

P H OTO B Y S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

BY JAKE CLAPP, WILL COVIELLO AND SARAH RAVITS

TIARE MAUMASI IS IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY. The 33-year-old

jewelry designer, owner of Deadly Dapper Designs and self-described technophobe is trying to develop her online brand and is wrestling with website construction tools that bill themselves as easy to use and yet never actually are.

“It’s taking a long time — it’s hard to get some of the technicalities done,” Maumasi says of the digital world of page layouts and marketing she finds herself in. Though she’s always had something of an online presence, the New Orleans network of festivals and fairs has kept her busy producing her unique jewelry and other art pieces out of natural elements, including insect wings and ethically sourced animal skulls.

She’s also hosted the Hades Night Market, a collective event made up of other artists and designers, regularly held in bars around the city.

“I was trying to create spaces for people to make their own money for themselves,” she says. “The idea was to create little night markets that were quaint and free for entry — usually

about 13-15 artists — not an overwhelming sales hell type of environment.”

She always served food and would hire a DJ. “It created an environment where people could just hang out and peruse art,” she says.

That was, of course, in the before times. Before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in New Orleans, before the bars shut down, before the world went into lockdown. Overnight, the virus put Maumasi and thousands of other artists, food vendors and other small businesspeople out of work just as the lucrative spring festival season was starting.

It’s also thrown their futures into chaos: Maumasi says she worries about the future of her own markets, as well as the other markets and pop-ups that were prevalent

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throughout New Orleans.

“There’s a plethora of other markets that are all shut down,” she says. “Everyone at this point is struggling to even reopen. Everything is still up in the air.”

More than 12,000 New Orleanians have contracted COVID-19 and at least 584 residents have died from the disease since the pandemic first hit the city six months ago. In the early days of the disaster, Mayor LaToya Cantrell moved quickly to shut down the city, cancelling St. Patrick’s Day activities and the Mardi Gras Indians’ Super Sunday, before closing bars and ultimately imposing a New Orleans-wide shelter at home order.

As the city has begun to reopen, much of the focus has been on short- and long-term effects the pandemic will have on the hospitality industry, bars and restaurants, and live music venues for which the city is internationally known.

But despite their critical role in the city’s culture and life,

TIARE MAUMASI P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y TIAR E MAU MA S I

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less attention has been paid to the thousands of artists, entertainers and musicians who ply their trade at festivals, on street corners and on smaller stages across the city.

And while bars and live music venues could begin reopening in the coming weeks or months, it will likely take months or even years for things to return to normal for these small business people.

Like many New Orleans creatives, in addition to the difficulties of simply making ends meet, Maumasi is now facing new challenges like developing websites and online branding. And while the virus means she can’t physically connect with other artists and customers, she remains upbeat. This is New Orleans, after all, and dealing with catastrophic, life changing disasters is almost second nature for residents of the Big Easy.

“I’m really proud of our community,” she says. “People have been really understanding, and they have been reinvesting into handmade [goods] and trade.

It’s been very heartwarming to see how much the community has stepped up for each other.

Everyone’s really supportive of each other. Artists that I’ve done markets with will text me to see how I’m doing, and I think that’s really sweet.”

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Robin Rapuzzi feels there have been different stages for himself during the pandemic, especially as an entertainer. Rapuzzi is the percussionist for traditional jazz band Tuba Skinny and performs with other musicians around New Orleans.

The beginning of the pandemic, when optimists still hoped for a short lockdown, gave Rapuzzi a chance to catch his breath after a busy Carnival season and take a moment for his physical and mental health. He was able to work on original music and

practice new instruments. He’s also picked up blacksmithing and crafting bells.

“I feel like everyone experiences these stages at different times,” Rapuzzi says. “It seems like some musicians will get into the exercise later on, and others went right to it.”

There also have been stages to how New Orleans musicians have adapted to the pandemic, which wiped out a full year’s worth of income for musicians in a matter of weeks. Overnight, bars and local music venues closed and touring stopped. The cancellation of staple events like French Quarter Fest and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival were especially hard hits. And a prohibition on large gatherings meant many bands lost out on significant income from busking, parades or other outdoor gigs.

Some area musicians and bands pivoted quickly to playing live-streaming shows on Facebook and Instagram, trying to do what they can to keep the music going. Tuba Skinny didn’t immediately start online shows, Rapuzzi says, because the group didn’t have quite the right technology or expertise needed. The band did eventually start, though, including broadcasting from the Starlight Lounge and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Tuba Skinny “wouldn’t be doing OK if our fans didn’t tip us so well through live-streams,” Rapuzzi says. The band, though, has noticed a decline in the amount earned during recent virtual shows and decided to space out their performances. Tuba Skinny now plays online about once or twice a month.

“The other night I had practice with a group, and these other musicians agreed, unless you have a fanbase, live-streams aren’t really going to do much for you,” Rapuzzi says, “unless you’re incredibly savvy and able to connect all the different platforms so that everyone will constantly being viewing it. That’s not

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something musicians were really made to figure out.”

Trumpeter James Andrews also at first wasn’t sure about live-streaming performances — he still isn’t sure about it, but he allows the small front porch and backyard shows he has been hosting to be streamed on social media.

For several months now, Andrews and his group will pop into different neighborhoods around the city to host small outdoor performances. They emphasize physical distancing and mask wearing and try to keep the crowds relatively small.

“I dig the live crowd, that’s where my energy comes from,” Andrews says. “The internet thing, I wasn’t into it. And then a couple of people talked me into doing it, too.”

Trombonist Daimon Thomas of the Young Fellaz Brass Band says he was averaging around 10 gigs a week — weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, street performances — before the pandemic. That dried up and money has been tight.

The brass band has played a few live-streaming shows and has picked up some smaller, outdoor work, like 20-minute birthday concerts at houses. The brass band also had an advantage, he says, since its work isn’t normally

tied to a venue — members are used to busking on Frenchmen Street or playing anywhere in the city. Still, work has slowed to around one gig a week now, Thomas says.

“Everybody stayed at home for maybe a month or two, maybe more, and then we started to try to hook-up, doing a live-stream to get out to people,” Thomas says.

“I can’t really speak for other people, but it’s the same situation for everybody.”

Andrews, who had to cancel gigs in Europe and rush back to New Orleans when the pandemic started, has been working on new music during the slowdown.

“Someday the music is going to come back,” he says. “The New Orleans culture, with our second lines and our jazz, it’s strong. I believe in it. We’ve been through so much, but New Orleans music will survive.”

Eye contact is a key part of burlesque. It’s flirtatious performance, made more interactive and intimate as the performer locks eyes with people around the room.

“There’s a very flirtatious element to [live burlesque],” says Remy Dee, a New Orleans burlesque performer, cosplayer

and singer. “And I’ve gotten really good at flirting when nobody is there now.”

She has performed with several virtual burlesque showcases, largely streamed on Zoom, over the last six months. Remy also sells signed photos, personal burlesque performances and writes biographies for other performers.

“We’re all still in survival mode,” Remy says. “Some days are fine, and some days are really tricky.

BELLA BLUE P R OV I D E D P H OTO

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NEW ORLEANS BAND TUBA SKINNY WITH ROBIN RAPUZZI FAR RIGHT

But as far as the work that we’ve been doing as the pandemic has been going on, the biggest thing that has come out of this is virtual shows.”

New Orleans burlesque dancers, strippers and other adult entertainers lost months’ worth of work virtually overnight in March as stay-at-home orders went into effect, forcing many of them to turn to digital platforms like OnlyFans and Patreon.

“The past few months have shown us that art is essential and adult entertainment is timeless,” Remy says. “We are a necessary piece of New Orleans.”

Bella Blue had her last gig on Sunday, March 15, “and by the next day, everything was shut down,” she says. Bella is a burlesque performer, producer and teacher and, before the pandemic, a dancer at various strip clubs in town.

At first it was a “shock to the system,” she says, but about three weeks in, she knew things weren’t going to change anytime soon. Bella already had accounts on the content subscription platforms Patreon and OnlyFans, but she hadn’t put much effort into either before the pandemic.

She started to lean into the platforms, ultimately deciding to drop Patreon and stick to OnlyFans — a platform that’s a little bit more straightforward

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and easier to use as a creator, she says — where users can subscribe to her page for $15 a month and have access to a feed of photos and videos, ranging from homeshot burlesque performances to more explicit content.

“OnlyFans is a space that allows for more explicit content, and it is a platform for people who engage with that to put their work out there in a way that’s affordable and exciting and personal,” Bella says.

OnlyFans also has provided one of the few online outlets for adult entertainers to reach followers without grappling with the restrictive content policies of major social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

“Some of us had OnlyFans and [other platforms] before the pandemic, just like an extra stream of income, but definitely as the reality started to sink in, people were like ‘OK, time to fire it up,’ ” Bella says.

Learning new platforms can be intimidating, and some performers in the past were worried about what others would think, Bella says. “What’s happened now is people don’t give a shit anymore. They’re like ‘Oh well I’ve got to fucking do what I’ve got to do.’ ” Bella believes use of digital platforms will continue past the end of the pandemic era — whatever that may look like. “There’s a lot of benefits and lot of healing that happens when you’re doing this kind of work,” Bella says, “because you get to a level where you are creating a relationship with your body, your confidence rises, you are being creative.”

Remy Dee, meanwhile, worries about what the world will look like after COVID. Spaces like The AllWays Lounge & Cabaret have been cornerstones for the local burlesque and drag community.

“I’m just concerned with the future of our venues,” Remy says.

“Whenever this pandemic is over, we want stages to come back to.”

For camera operator Rome Julian, the film industry has the

best kind of problems.

“It was a constant show, with back to back to back projects,” Julian says. “It was a lot of work. But it was a good problem to have.”

BURLESQUE PERFORMER REMY DEE P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y T I M C R U TC H F I E L D

When the lights went out on local film shoots in March, it happened quickly. Julian was working on the set of a vampire movie for Netflix when the shutdowns and European travel ban were announced.

“In the last two, three weeks [of production] the virus started spreading through the U.S.,” he says. “We had a week to go when the president put a ban on Europe. Lots of crew and producers were from U.K., so we knew it was serious. We pushed to finish

by Friday.”

Julian has worked on one movie project since, a short documentary for Amazon about frontline workers during the pandemic.

Julian is fortunate to have something to fall back on though. Since 2016, he’s built up

COV E R S TO RY

end of the year as production crews manage health and costs.

“Everyone wants to go back to work, but how do we do it safely?” he asks. “How does that affect the budget of the film and how many people you can hire.

Now, it’s going to take more time and a lot more money. To test a crew three times a week isn’t cheap.”

Unlike people who work in offices or other controlled environments, the New Orleans creative community’s lives and livelihoods revolve around crowds. And the bigger, the better. The more eyes to view your work, the more ears to hear you play and the more laps you have to dance on means more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

But that reliance on physical crowds also means that, perhaps more than any group other than first responders, they are acutely aware of the physical and economic danger of rushing back into “normal.” A quick reopening

of night clubs, strip joints and festivals might mean a welcome infusion of cash. But it could also usher in a new deadly wave of the virus, which would likely set the city back years.

Though some, like Bella Blue, have gone back to work or found new hustles to fill the gap left by COVID, few if any are heading for the exits. And so they find themselves waiting.

There’s not much of a Plan B for Maumasi, who has been a full-time artist for over a decade, but she’s also expanded her repertoire away from just jewelry.

She also helps people with interior design advice. “Everyone’s kinda stuck in their homes and staring at the walls,” she says.

Everyone, she says, is “trying to still create a beautiful reality under really shitty circumstances. I think it’s important for people to show up and [continue to] practice their trades. It has an effect on other people and keeping other people inspired, too. That has been essential to keep on trekking along.”

“ Someday the

music is going to come back. The New Orleans culture, with our second lines and our jazz, it’s strong.

”

— TRUMPETER JAMES ANDREWS

ROME JULIAN, RIGHT P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y STEVE PINDERHUGHES

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an urban garden at his house in Gentilly, where he grew up.

For his Laketilly Acres farm, he grows microgreens, leafy greens and vegetables in his front yard, raised beds in back and part of a neighbor’s yard. He also raises chickens for eggs and meat on a half-acre lot a mile away. The former side project became a source of support while film work is sparse.

“I have sold more produce, meat and eggs in the last two months than I have in two years,” he says.

The garden once was a labor of love, as he’d get up hours early before film gigs and work with light from a headlamp, or after a long day on set.

Julian originally wanted to make music videos, so he got an associate degree in film and TV production. He got his break by helping out while visiting film sets in New Orleans. But the connections paid off.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Julian was recently married and had a one-week old son. Film industry connections from Los Angeles told him they’d get him work if he could make it to California, which he and his family did.

“They were huge. I worked on ‘Dreamgirls,’ ‘Strange Wilderness’ with Steve Zahn and ‘Norbit.’ ” Eventually he was able to restore his home in Gentilly and return, sometimes going back to California to work on films.

But even with the disruptions in Louisiana’s film tax credits, he has been able to stay busy here.

“I worked 10-12 years straight,” he says. Often the hours were long, and tough on his family time. “I wasn’t expected to be home for dinner.”

Now he’s able to spend more time with his family, and his wife works on the farm, handling some of the business end. He participates in some small farmers market events, such as a weekly Saturday event at Coquette and a new one beginning at Coffee Science in Mid-City. Sometimes, he parks on high-traffic areas, like Esplanade Avenue near City Park, and sells produce off trays on his flatbed truck. He also does some delivery and pickup busines.

Julian is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, and he’s hoping filming projects resume in the city by the

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» Paula Harrelson

» Karen Abell

» Krystan Hosking

» Malain Collins

» Melissa Bacino

» Paula Mangum

» Katherine Stuke

» Kyuwon Kim

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» Melissa Gnibus

» Penny Dufrene » Philip Wolfe

» Jaime Loebner » Jake Clapp

» Jess Carter » Jesse Hemeter

» James Cook » James Jang » James Morris » James Robertson » JamesFurlow » Jamiles Lartey

» Gretchen Caillouet

» Jason Whittaker

» Kristen Schorp

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» Marie-Claire Serou

» Mindy Milam, LCSW

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Augus t 18-2 4, 2020 // Volum e 41 // Numbe r 31

NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

» Liliane bavister

» Jennifer Marusak

» Jason Richards

Volume 41 // Number

» Kelly Sonnier

» Howard Zimmerman

» Gina Aalvatore

August 4-10, 2020

» Jonah Seligman

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» Shannon Corrigan

» Tiffany Campo

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» Tiffany French

» Sherrie Sherrin

» Timothy Ruppert

» Sidney Levin

» Tom & Deborah Cole

» Sonia Gasparini

» Tom Perrault » Tony Laska

» Tracy Centanni

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» Vasy McCoy

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» Veronica Bird

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» Walter Leger, Jr.

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» Sallie Shafto » Sally Duplantier

From Magazine Street to Metairie Road, independently-owned shops and restaurants help our region thrive. As we all face the economic disruptions wrought by COVID-19, we at Gambit want to do our part by offering a new way to support local businesses.

“Adopt A Small Business” is an initiative designed to promote locally-owned businesses AND support local journalism.

Help your favorite local businesses advertise — in Gambit at very reduced rates — so they can let customers know they’re open.

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Creole connection Chef Serigne Mbaye serves Senegaleseinspired food at his Dakar NOLA pop-up

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O CHEF SERIGNE MBAYE HAS TRAVELED THE WORLD pursing culinary

knowledge: exploring Senegal and cooking at kitchens from Commander’s Palace to the twoand three-Michelin star kitchens L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in New York and Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. He’s made his home in New Orleans, where he’s running his pop-up Dakar NOLA. Mbaye, who just turned 27, says New Orleans is the closest American city to Senegal’s capital, Dakar, where he went to school. Mbaye divided his time between there and Harlem, where he was born and his mother had a restaurant. With Dakar NOLA, he serves a changing menu of Creole-meets-Senegalese dishes, offered to go and for delivery from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday.

The Dakar NOLA menu changes regularly, but Mbaye often cooks his favorite Senegalese dishes using local ingredients and Gulf seafood.

Soupa konja is a sort of Senegalese seafood and okra gumbo made with natural palm oil and served with steamed rice.

“The story of the dish might be a little different, but the concept is similar,” Mbaye says.

In Dakar, benye is a popular street food of puffy fried doughnuts served warm and dusted with raw sugar, reminiscent of local beignets. Jolof, or benachin, is a one-pot dish served throughout West Africa, and Mbaye makes it with local redfish, vegetables and Louisiana long-grain rice with a piquant onion sauce. His menu usually features at least one family

WHAT

Dakar NOLA Dakarnola.com and @dakarnola on Instagram

meal to feed four, such as a classic thieboudienne, Senegal’s national dish — a fragrant stew of fish, rice and tomato sauce prepared in one pot.

“A lot of people back home don’t have stoves — they have one burner,” Mbaye says. “You build your fire and you have one pot. We use a lot of palm oil, peanuts, dehydrated smoked fish, casava and ancient grains like millet and fonio.”

Mbaye also makes two nonalcoholic drinks: bissap (cold hibiscus tea) and ginger beer.

While he searches for a location for a brickand-mortar restaurant, Mbaye is launching DakarNola Collab with chefs around town, cooking with them at SOFAB as well as working alongside them in their restaurants. First up is Marcus Jacobs, the chef and co-owner of Marjie’s Grill. Their event is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept.

16, and the menu is available on the @dakarnola Instagram page. Mbaye will be a guest chef at Marjie’s Grill on Sept. 22, followed by Kin on Sept. 29, and he has plans to work with chef Michael Gulotta of MoPho and Mason Hereford of Turkey and the Wolf.

“I’m so excited to be able to share and learn from these great chefs,” Mbaye says.

He hopes a restaurant will show diners culinary connections. “My idea is to let folks know about how much West African and specifically Senegalese cultures have inspired Creole cuisine,” he says. “I want to illuminate and strengthen the connection between our two cultures.”

Although the connection is often referenced terms of enslaved Africans brought to New Orleans, along with their culinary heritage and culture, Mbaye prefers to frame the conversation differently. “When

WHEN

2 p.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Southern Food & Beverage Museum, 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

HOW

FORK CENTER Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Palace gates reopen SINCE SHUTTING DOWN IN MARCH ,

Commander’s Palace has kept the stoves lit and the lights on with new side businesses designed to serve people from afar. The landmark New Orleans restaurant resumed dinner and brunch service when it reopened Sept. 11.

“This starts with our people,” says Ti Martin, who runs Commander’s Palace with her cousin Lally

P H OTO B Y C H R I S G R A N G ER

Lally Brennan, left, and her cousin Ti Martin, right, of Commander’s Palace, with waiter Kisha Pruitt.

P H OTO B Y C H ER Y L G ER B ER

Chef Serigne Mbaye prepares thieboudienne, the national dish of Senegal.

I think of my ancestors, the mothers and fathers, I think of royal kings and queens, I don’t like using that word, that’s not who we are.”

Growing up around his mother’s restaurant, he just took it for granted that Senegalese cuisine was well known.

“West African cuisine is as evolved, as complex, as French, Japanese, Italian cuisine,” he says.

In pursing training and to master techniques, he set out to learn in all kinds of kitchens, cooking Japanese, French and Cuban food.

“I am young and I want to take advantage of all opportunities,” he says. “So many chefs regret that they didn’t travel before life catches up with them.”

Order in advance online, call (504) 249-8966 or email hello@dakarnola.com

CHECK IT OUT

Senegalese-meetsNew Orleans cuisine

Brennan. “There’s a faint hint of hope that fall is approaching and things will get better.”

Commander’s Palace is reopening with now-familiar coronavirus safety measures and a raft of changes the restaurant has developed in recent months.

New business lines the restaurant created during the pandemic will continue, including takeout food, direct sales of wine from the restaurant’s cellar, a national shipping service for full dinners and its weekly Wednesday virtual wine and cheese parties. These all now have a home in a building adjacent to the restaurant, previously used as restaurant offices.

This Washington Avenue cottage is now dubbed Le Petit Bleu and serves as a walk-up takeout shop.

“We have some very entrepreneurial people here who came up with these businesses,” Martin says.

Martin says she and her managers also took a fresh look at the restaurant’s staff policies and programs in light of issues of racial equality and inclusion. Martin said she’s proud of the steps her company has taken in the past, like diversity training and staff recruiting efforts, but believes “there’s work yet to be done in our industry, including by us.”

The restaurant is adding sick leave to its benefits package for staff. It’s seeking out more minority-owned businesses as purveyors. And it has

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revamped an internal program called “Pathways to Success” that outlines how to advance within the company.

Commander’s Palace opened at 50% occupancy. It is using all of the many rooms across its rambling, historic Garden District mansion to help spread out guests. At brunch, a jazz trio will perform in the patio. Staff will check customers’ temperatures as they enter.

The restaurant is reopening with about one third of its pre-pandemic staff.

As the coronavirus crisis has lengthened, the outlook for restaurants across the country has grown more desperate. The Louisiana Restaurant Association projects that one in four restaurants statewide could close permanently. For the New Orleans area, that forecast is much worse, with a projected 40% to 50% closing due to the city’s heavy reliance on travel and events.

In recent weeks, there’s been a progression of restaurants reopening.

Arnaud’s Restaurant has been booking private dining events across its many dining rooms.

Brennan’s Restaurant started with weekend hours to resume “breakfast at Brennan’s” and has recently expanded to a Thursday-to-Monday schedule. Galatoire’s offers full service in its dining rooms with family-style takeout meals. Antoine’s, the city’s oldest restaurant, has not announced reopening plans but is fielding requests for future private events.

By reopening now, Martin says Commander’s Palace will be relying on a mostly local clientele.

“We want to be one of many bright lights on the horizon for New Orleans,” she says. “It’s about this whole community coming back.”

Commander’s Palace is serving dinner daily and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations are required. Visit commanderspalace.com for information. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

September Birthstone

SAPPHIRE

Gentilly expansion SOME PEOPLE TELL CHARLES “PEEWEE” ARMSTRONG that he’s

SHOP ONLINE AT WWW.FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM (504) 885 -4956 • INFO@FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM TUES-THURS 10AM-4PM | FRI 10AM-5:30PM | SAT 10AM-3PM CURBSIDE PICKUP AVAILABLE 5101 W. ESPLANADE AVE. | 1 BLOCK OFF TRANSCONTINENTAL

built something from nothing. But he doesn’t see it that way.

He started PeeWee’s Crabcakes by delivering plates he cooked in his Central City apartment, and his first real location was a takeout window hidden in a bakery. He didn’t have family money behind him, and he didn’t have an investor, much less a loan. But Armstrong is emphatic that he came to the restaurant business with something invaluable.

“It’s our culture,” he says. “It’s not just money. I had to make money to make this happen. But I had the love, the passion, the vision of New Orleans.

That’s where this is coming from.”

Armstrong’s large new PeeWee’s

Crabcakes location in Gentilly officially opened Sept. 8.

It’s a counter service, dine-in restaurant that represents a big step up from Armstrong’s original takeout restaurant, PeeWee’s Crabcakes on the Go, which he continues to operate in Central City. He’s also outfitting a food truck, which is due to hit the streets later this month.

His menu is a romp through New Orleans flavor, with crabcake plates, seafood pasta dishes, stuffed fish and combination platters and family-sized pans that look like holiday feasts.

Armstrong’s signature dishes include deviled eggs topped with mini crabcakes and shrimp and broccoli with catfish.

Armstrong is part of the next generation of Black New Orleans chefs making their mark in the city’s culinary scene.

“I love to cook, yes, but it’s the culture that gives me my style and identity and makes it mean something,” he says.

Armstrong grew up in Central City and his parents worked as cooks at the Marriott hotel, and the kitchen in their apartment could feel like a family-style cooking competition.

“It was always who could make the darkest roux, who made the best beans,” Armstrong says.

He’s worked in restaurants since he was a teenager, starting with the company led by the late legendary Al Copeland.

He took other cues from the city’s Black street culture. The chef, now 38, has since age 3 paraded with the Devastation Social Aid and Pleasure Club.

“People don’t see the work that goes into (the group’s oufits), but they see the result,” Armstrong said. “Everything has to fit. All the feathers and the stones, every curve.

It’s the same way in my kitchen now.

All the ingredients, the flavors, it all has to fit.”

Armstrong built his business on his signature crabcakes, which are finished with a sweet-spicy sauce named for his daughter Asya. He started cooking them at home and delivered plates himself. By 2018, this evolved into his takeout shop, initially located in a donut shop run by his brother on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Armstrong tried out a pop-up arrangement in the Central Business District, but soon returned to take over the whole space in Central City.

His menu has grown constantly. It now features pasta with crab sauce and asparagus and crabcakes on top; stuffed hard-shell crabs; stuffed potatoes with cheesy cream sauce and fried fish. There also are stuffed lobster tails, blackened salmon, wings, loaded fries, po-boys and wraps, salads and char-grilled oysters. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

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WE THANK YOU ALL FOR THE TRUST, LOVE, LOYALTY AND SUPPORT AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU TO THE TIRELESS EFFORTS OF OUR AMAZING TEAM. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, TOGETHER. LOVE, THE VILKHUS

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From Magazine Street to Metairie Road, independently-owned shops and restaurants help our region thrive. As we all face the economic disruptions wrought by COVID-19, we at Gambit want to do our part by offering a new way to support local businesses.

ADOPTED BY MARGO AND CLANCY DUBOS

“Adopt A Small Business” is an initiative designed to promote locally-owned businesses AND support local journalism. Help your favorite local businesses advertise — in Gambit at very reduced rates — so they can let customers know they’re still open, even if at reduced levels, and keeping people employed.

Crises often bring out the best in people. Helping one another is as much a part of New Orleans’ culture as food, music, and art.

$125 adoption • Receive (1) 1/8 page ad to give to your favorite small business.

VALUE: $438

$200 adoption

$350 adoption

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GIVE Where You Live

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25

Adam Mayer

* . ")* () & *! ","% &( % + !* () & +( . & *! &) (. *+ %*) )* &, *"&% # ( %*"# (*" ! ()

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CHEF ADAM MAYER CAME TO NEW ORLEANS to work at Shaya. In

March, he left his position as sous chef at Bywater American Bistro to start his pop-up, Txow Txow, which focuses on Spanish pintxos.

He offers food for pickup via his @txowtxow Facebook page. The pop-up is at Palm and Pine on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beginning a weekly event at The Domino on Sept. 19. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also scheduled to do brunch at Congregation Coffee Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27, and a four-course seated dinner at Coffee Science on Oct. 1.

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University Montessori School

How did you get interested in Spanish food?

ADAM MAYER: I moved to New York out of college and cooked at a few places there. I left New York for what was supposed to be a sixmonth stage at a super fine-dining restaurant in Spain run by Martin Berasategui. He is the chef with the most Michelin stars in Spain. I left and had stars in my eyes, and it was the worst place I had ever been.

It was just terrible. There were 55 stagiaires in the kitchen and eight paid employees. It was militaristic.

I got yelled at a lot. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a fun environment, and it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a learning environment.

I ended up leaving and went to Bilbao and a tasting restaurant with one Michelin star called Mina. I was there for four months and had the best time. Everything fell into place.

I found an apartment in half an hour. I lived across from the central market of the city. I had a host, and we went out for pintxos. I fell in love with that culture, bouncing around from place to place, having a bite here and a bite there and having a glass of wine. The style of cooking spoke to me.

What is the difference between tapas and pintxos?

M: A tapa is an extra. A tapa traditionally is a little piece of bread with something on it. The origin story is that workers in the field needed to cover their drinks to keep flies away, so they put a piece of bread on it. A tapa is something you get with your drink thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not meant to be a meal or a snack.

You go out for pintxos. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s central to what you are doing. The pintxo

P H OTO P R OV I D E D BY MADELEINE WIEAND

is the skewer. Generally speaking, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something skewered onto a piece of bread. The original pintxo, called a gilda, is a skewer of bar garnishes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a pickled guindilla pepper, a pickled anchovy and an olive in some creative arrangement.

Pintxos go from that up to a complete dish distilled into two bites.

In a pintxo bar, you just try things.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a lot of menus or signs.

You go out to four or five bars and have a drink or two â&#x20AC;&#x201D; wine or vermouth â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have pintxos.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my favorite way to spend the night, because you end up not too drunk, not too hungry, not too full.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very civilized.

RIDGEWOOD

PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Ages 2-6 Years 7508 BURTHE STREET NEW ORLEANS EMAIL INFO@UMSNOLA.ORG for information or visit

umsnola.org

University Montessori School admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin.

What are your â&#x20AC;&#x153;modern pintxosâ&#x20AC;? like?

M: There are nods to the culture of Spain and New Orleans. I did an andouille croquet. Croquets are very traditional. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find them in most bars. You have a thick bechamel inside a breaded crunchy outside. I have been doing a Spanish tortilla of some variety. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something I like to play around with. I did a kale and roasted maitake mushroom tortilla. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like a frittata. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the unofficial dish of Spain. I did a nice charred peach and shaved three-month aged manchego with cured egg yolk over the top. I do blistered shishito peppers. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ubiquitous in Spain. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WILL COVIELLO

INSPIRING ACADEMICS JEWISH VALUES COMMUNITY FALL OPEN HOUSE Sunday, October 18th at 12 p.m.

Virtual and in-person tours available by appointment.

Learn more at jcdsnola.org.

Infants - 6th Grade

OPEN HOUSE DAILY Call 504.835.2545 or email rps@ridgewoodprep.com For appointment 201 Pasadena Avenue Metairie, LA 70001

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3-COURSE INTERVIEW

'$ &' !&%

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Are you ready to graduate?

• Flexible schedule • Earn a TOPS diploma • In-person & online options • Laptops & hotspots provided

Text GRADUATE to 72345 for more information

EQA serves students aged 12 – 21 through a year-round curriculum. True to the moniker, the schools are designed to meet students where they are, provide them with academic, career, and life training, and raise their own, their families’, and society’s expectations of their abilities and their future prospects.

Students at our high school campuses earn Louisiana High School Diplomas and complete professional internships which help them start their careers.

TO

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159

C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

B — breakfast L — lunch D — dinner late — late-night 24H — 24 hours

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $20 or more

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted, with limited indoor seating and other recommended restrictions. All information is subject to change.

Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

BYWATER Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — Roasted chicken enchiladas verde are filled with cheese, hand-rolled and served with special house-made cheese dip. The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas.

Curbside pickup is available. B Sat-Sun, D Wed-Sun. $

CBD 14 Parishes — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.14parishes.com — Jamaican-style jerk chicken is served with two sides such as plantains, jasmine rice, cabbage or rice and peas. Delivery available.

Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Eat Well — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com — Phoritto is a spinach tortilla filled with brisket, chicken or tofu, plus bean sprouts, jalapenos, onions and basil and is served with a cup of broth. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Kais — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (941) 481-9599; www.pythianmarket. com — A Sunshine bowl includes salmon, corn, mango, green onions, edamame, pickled ginger, ponzu spicy mayonnaise, cilantro, masago and nori strips. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ La Cocinita — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 309-5344; www.lacochinitafoodtruck.com — La Llanera is an arepa stuffed with carne asada, guasacasa, pico de gallo, grilled queso fresco and salsa verde. Curbside pickup and delivery available. B, L and D daily. $ Meribo Pizza — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 481-9599; www. meribopizza.com — A Meridionale pie is topped with pulled pork, chilies, ricotta, mozzarella, collard greens and red sauce.

Delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Willie Mae’s — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.williemaesnola.com — The Creole soul food restaurant is known for its fried chicken, red beans and more.

Takeout available. L and D Mon-Sat. $

CARROLLTON/UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOODS Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; www.mikimotosushi.com — Sushi choices include new and old favorites, both raw and cooked. The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado

and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. L Sun-Fri, D daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie.

Takeout and delivery available. L, D daily. $$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; www. breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. L, D daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 383-4328; www.kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available Thu-Mon. $

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; www.therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials.

Curbside pickup and delivery available.

L, D daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; www.theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and diners can build their own from the selection of more than two-dozen toppings. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L, D Tue-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; www.lakeviewbrew.com — This casual cafe offers gourmet coffees and a wide range of pastries and desserts baked in house, plus a menu of specialty sandwiches and salads. For breakfast, an omelet is filled with marinated mushrooms, bacon, spinach and goat cheese. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with melted Monterey Jack and

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; www.andreasrestaurant.com — Chef/owner Andrea Apuzzo’s specialties include speckled trout royale which is topped with lump crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce.

Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in light cream sauce. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. L, D daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 8882010; www.koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

L Sun-Thu, D Mon-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; www.marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. L TueSat, D Tue-Sun. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; www.angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. L, D Tue-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; www.brownbutterrestaurant. com — Sample items have included smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, Alabama white barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun.

Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Doson Noodle House — 135 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-7283; www.facebook. com/dosonnoodlehouse — Bun thit is Vietnamese-style grilled pork with cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint, cilantro and fish sauce served over rice or vermicelli. The menu includes rice and vermicelli dishes, pho, spring rolls and more.

Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Five Happiness — 3511 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 482-3935; www.fivehappiness.com — The large menu at Five Happiness offers a range of dishes from wonton soup to sizzling seafood combinations served on a hot plate to sizzling Go-Ba to lo mein dishes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; www.katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites at this Mid-City restaurant include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and

pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic, scallions and olive oil. There also are salads, burgers and Italian dishes.

Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; www.nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer includes chicken breast, spinach in creamy red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu also includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Service daily. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Willie Mae’s Scotch House — 2401 St. Ann St., (504) 822-9503; www.williemaesnola.com — This neighborhood restaurant is known for its wet-battered fried chicken. Green beans come with rice and gravy. There’s bread pudding for dessert. No reservations. L Mon-Fri. $$

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/ Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; www.joeyksrestaurant.com — This casual eatery serves fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and Creole favorites such as red beans and rice.

Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; www. theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Carmo — 527 Julia St., (504) 875-4132; www.cafecarmo.com — Carmo salad includes smoked ham, avocado, pineapple, almonds, cashews, raisins, cucumber, green pepper, rice, lettuce, cilantro and citrus mango vinaigrette. The menu includes dishes inspired by many tropical cuisines. Takeout and delivery are available. Mon-Sat. $$ Provisions Grab-n-Go Marketplace — Higgins Hotel, 500 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; www.higgingshotelnola. com — The coffeeshop serves salads, sandwiches, pastries and more. Takeout available. Service daily. $

WEST BANK Mosca’s — 4137 Hwy. 90 W., Westwego, (504) 436-8950; www.moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery has changed little since opening in 1946.

Popular dishes include shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumps and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. D Wed-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; www.specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Chicken piccata is a paneed chicken breast topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available.

Service daily. $$

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OUT EAT

shredded Parmesan cheeses. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. B, L daily. $ Lotus Bistro — 203 W. Harrison Ave., (504) 533-9879; www.lotusbistronola. com — A Mineko Iwasaki roll includes spicy snow crab, tuna, avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, chef’s sauce, masago, green onion and tempura crunchy flakes. The menu also includes bento box lunches, teriyaki dishes, fried rice and more. Takeout and delivery are available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$

A GAMBIT ADVERTISER DIRECTORY

SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE PRE-SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY, HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA

Academy of Sacred Heart

Grades: (Age 1 – Grade 12) 4521 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 891-1943 Website: ashrosary.org Call 504-269-1213 to schedule a private tour.

Arden Cahill Academy

Grades: (Infant-12) 3101 Wall Blvd.

Gretna, LA 70056 (504) 392-0902 Website: ardencahillacademy.com Open House: October 22, 2020 Check the website for the most up to date information.

Audubon Charter School

Grades: (PK-8) Uptown Campus, Lower School (PK-3rd): 428 Broadway, NOLA 70118 (504) 324-7100 Upper School (4-8th): 1111 Milan St., NOLA 70115 (504) 324-7110 Audubon Gentilly (PK4-4th): 4720 Painters St.,New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 309-9434 Website: www.auduboncharter.com

Benjamin Franklin Elementary School

Grades: (PK-8) Lower School (PK – 5th): 421 Burdette St. (temporary location) New Orleans, LA 70118 Upper School (6 – 8th): 401 Nashville Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 304-3932 Website: www.babyben.org

Benjamin Franklin High School

Grades: (9-12) 2001 Leon C. Simon Dr., New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 286-2600 Website: www.bfhsla.org Email: info@bfhsla.org Virtual Open House: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 5:30-6:30 pm

Cabrini High School

Grades: (8-12) 1400 Moss Street New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 482-1193 Website: cabrinihigh.com Open House: November 2, 2020 3:30-6:30 pm In person and virtual options available

Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orleans

Grades: (PK-8) 821 General Pershing St. New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 896-4500 Website: ebnola.com Open House: Virtual/Online. Check the website for updates.

Einstein Charter Schools

Grades: (PK-12) Einstein Charter School at Village de l’Est (PK-5th) 5316 Michoud Blvd – Extension New Orleans, LA 70129 (504) 324-7450

Einstein Charter Middle at Sarah T. Reed (6-8th) Einstein Charter High at Sarah T. Reed (9-12th) 5316 Michoud Blvd New Orleans, LA 70129 Middle: (504) 503-0470 High: (504) 503-0749 Einstein Charter School at Sherwood Forest (PK-5th) 4801 Maid Marion Dr., New Orleans, LA 70128 (504) 503-0110 Website: www.einsteincharter.org

Hynes Charter Schools

Grades: (PK-8) 990 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124 (504) 324-7160 Website: www.hynesschool.com

International High School of NO

Grades: (9-12) 727 Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: 504-613-5703 Website: www.ihsnola.org

International School of Louisiana

Grades: (K-8) Dixon Campus (K-2nd): 4040 Eagle Street, New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 934-4875 Uptown Campus (3rd-8th): 1400 Camp St., New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 654-1088 Westbank Campus (K-5th): 502 Olivier St., New Orleans, LA 70114 (504) 274-4571 Website: www.isl-edu.org

Jewish Community Day School Grades: (Infants – Grade 6) 3747 W. Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 (504) 887-4091 Website: jcdsnola.org Open House: Sunday, October 18 at 12 pm.

Virtual and private tours available by appt.

Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Grades: (PK4-11) Main Campus (1st-7th) 2504 Maine Ave., Metairie, La 70003 (504) 233-4720 Vintage Campus (10-12th) 201 Vintage Dr., Kenner, La 70065 (504) 267-9470 Rivertown Campus (K) 415 Williams Blvd., Kenner, La 70062 (504) 267-9467 Jefferson Campus (K, 8-9th) 2012 Jefferson Hwy, Jefferson, LA 70121 Website: https://discoveryhsf.org

Louise S. McGehee School

Grades: (Pre K-12) 2343 Prytania St. New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 561-1224 Open House: Virtual tour online, or call to schedule a video chat.

(504) 561-1224 Website: mcgeheeschool.com

Lusher Charter

Grades: (K-12) Willow Campus (K-5th): 7315 Willow St., New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 862-5110 Freret Campus (6-12th): 5624 Freret St., New Orleans, LA (504) 304-3960 Website: www.lusherschool.org

New Orleans Accelerated High School 3649 Laurel Street New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 267-3882 Website: eqaschools.org

Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School

Grades: (PK-8) 2401 Humanity St., New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 324-7076 Website: www.bethunenola.org

Mount Carmel Academy

Grades: (8-12) 7027 Milne Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70124 (504) 288-7626 Open House: November 5, 2020, 2:00-7:30 pm.

Website: mcacubs.com

Morris Jeff Community School

Grades: (PK-11) Lopez Campus (PK-8th) 211 S. Lopez, New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 373-6258 Clark Campus (9-11th) 1301 N. Derbigny, New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 355-0210 Email: info@morrisjeffschool.org Website: https://www.morrisjeffschool.org

NO Charter Science and Mathematics High School Grades: (9-12) 5625 Loyola Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 324-7061 Website: www.noscihigh.org

Ridgewood Preparatory School

Grades: (PK-12) 201 Pasadina Ave. Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 835-2545 Open House: Daily Call or email rps@ridgewoodprep.com for an appt.

Website: ridgewoodprep.com

Archbishop Rummel High School

Grades: (8-12) 1901 Severn Ave. Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 834-5592 Website: rummelraiders.com Email: info@rummelrairders.com

St. Edward the Confessor School

Grades: (PK1-7) 4921 West Metairie Ave. Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 888-6353 Open House: November 19, 2020, 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Website: steddyschool.com

The Bridge Middle School 2405 Jackson Ave. New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 931-7929 Website: eqaschools.org

The NET Charter High School – Central City 1614 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 267-9060 Website: eqaschools.org

The NET Charter High School – Gentilly 6601 Franklin Ave. New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 267-9765 Website: eqaschools.org

University of Holy Cross College 4123 Woodland Ave. New Orleans, LA 70131 (504) 394-7744 Website: go.uhcno.edu Open House: In-person and virtual visits available

University Montessori School 20 Months-Kindergarten 7508 Burthe St. New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 865-1659 Website: umsnola.org

University View Academy

OPEN HOUSES

AT A GLANCE Arden Cahill Academy Thursday, October 22, 2020 ardencahillacademy.com Check the website for the most up to date information.

Benjamin Franklin High School Virtual: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 5:30-6:30 pm

Cabrini High School November 2, 2020, 3:30-6:30 pm In person and virtual options available

Jewish Community Day School Sunday, October 18 at 12 pm.

Virtual and private tours available by appt.

Grades: (K-12 online Charter School) 3113 Valley Creek Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 421-2900 Open House: go to universityview. academy/contact for more information and schedule an appointment.

Virtual tour online, or call to schedule a video chat.

(504) 561-1224

Ursuline Academy

November 5, 2020, 2:00-7:30 pm.

Grades: (1 YO – Grade 12) 2635 State Street New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 866-5292 Website: go.uanola.org Email: admissions@uanola.org High School Open House: November 11, 2020 Visit the website for more information.

Victory Christian Grades: (K3-8) 5708 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA 70003 (504) 733-5087 Website: vcagators.net Email: info@vcagators.net Open House: Private Tours available October 26 – 30, 2020.

Young Audiences Charter School Grades: (K-9) Salem Lutheran Campus (8-9th) 418 4th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Kate Middleton Campus (2nd-7th) 1407 Virgil St., Gretna, LA 70053 (504) 304-6332 Harvey Kindergarten Campus (K-1st) 3400 6th St., Harvey, LA 70058 Website: https://www.yacharterschool.org

Louise S. McGehee School

Mount Carmel Academy

Ridgewood Preparatory School Daily Call or email rps@ridgewoodprep. com for an appt.

St. Edward the Confessor School November 19, 2020, 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Ursuline Academy High School: November 11, 2020 Visit the website for more information.

Victory Christian Private Tours available October 26 – 30, 2020

For additional information on open houses, virtual tours and private appointments, please check the schools websites for updates. Information printed here was accurate as of press time.

MUSIC

29

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Thomas Johnson is the singer-songwriter behind Killer Whale.

THOMAS JOHNSON’S MUSIC AS KILLER WHALE has always been

at home on the water, although its not always clear which coastline that’s near. “Tastes Like Yesterday,” Killer Whale’s new full-length album out Sept. 18, has the bounce and rhythm of Southern R&B and the sunny haze of West Coast surf folk.

The steady development of Killer Whale — across three fulllength albums, including 2015’s “Ocean Blood” and 2017’s “Casual Crush,” and a few EPs — comes from Johnson himself straddling the two coasts. A Baton Rouge native, Johnson’s job with the National Park Service allowed him to live off and on in San Francisco over the last eight years, and he would occasionally bounce back to New Orleans, which he currently calls home.

Johnson’s background is playing guitar in rhythm and blues and country bands.

“Being out in California allowed me to soak in a lot of different styles that I hadn’t grown up playing,” he says. “I really keyed in on a lot of those sounds.”

“Tastes Like Yesterday” is Johnson’s first release on the Mexico City label Devil in the Woods. He wrote the tracks that appear on the album and recorded demos in 2017 to 2019, largely while living in San Francisco. He brought those demoes back to New Orleans to record last fall with Flow Tribe drummer Scott Sibley, who co-produced the last two Killer Whale albums.

In the past, Johnson and Sibley mostly recorded alone or with just a few other musicians. This time, Johnson wanted to invite more friends to take part and asked Grayson Converse of Bay Area band Spooky Mansion to co-produce.

“I wanted to do something different, and there are some sounds, honestly, that I was hearing in my head that I wasn’t capable of doing,” Johnson says. “Sometimes I can get a little controlling, so I wanted to give up the control and give them the map of the song and let it work itself out rather than me being more directive.”

Continuing to build the coastal bridge, the players on “Tastes Like Yesterday” are a mix of California musicians and Louisianans. Along with Johnson on guitar and vocals and Sibley drumming, the album features regional players Denton Hatcher and Myles Weeks and San Francisco musicians Nathaniel Bilbrey and Shawn Wyman.

They got into a groove at Downman Sounds, “it was fun and it worked,” Johnson says. And styles mix together smoothly on “Tastes Like Yesterday” in a buoyant wave of indie soul, funk and surf music, with touches of bossa nova and soft psychedelia.

Like with musicians everywhere, the pandemic has thrown a loop into Killer Whale’s plans to tour, but the band has a show scheduled in October at the outdoor space Beauvoir Park in Baton Rouge.

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FILM

Angry white meme

PR OV I D E D B Y ‘ F EE L S G O O D M A N ’

BY WILL COVIELLO AS MATT FURIE CONCEIVED HIM , Pepe

the Frog was mellow, harmless and likable. Pepe was one of the central figures of the comic “Boys Club,” in which a group of offbeat friends lived in perpetual slackerdom, eating pizza, playing video games and smoking weed. How the comic character came to be adopted by the alt-right and white supremacists is a crazy but real story. Director Arthur Jones’ “Feels Good Man” traces the bizarre way Pepe was elevated into a popular internet meme, and then a toxic one that connected general discontent with white grievance politics and support for Donald Trump.

Furie lived in San Francisco, where he worked in the toy department of a thrift store. “Boys Club” resembled many aspects of his life, especially his friends. He originally created Pepe the Frog in 2005 and introduced the image to the internet on MySpace.

The deadpan comic and the character were simple and relatable, and characterizations of Pepe as a sad frog caught on. An image of Pepe urinating while standing up, with his pants at his ankles, was printed

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with the thought, “Feels good man.”

That banal but slightly crass image and the phrase became popular on internet boards, especially the anonymous posting hub of 4chan, one of the most toxic spaces online.

The anonymous message boards attracted offbeat people and content.

Shocking or weird posts and images could spread quickly among users who liked and pushed for ever more outrageous content. That could snowball into further exposure as the boards elevated popular content. But Pepe was embraced by all sorts of internet users.

Furie seemed not to understand that he lost control of Pepe. But the film’s dedicated mission is trying to trace how new conceptions of Pepe were created by masses of unidentified users who shaped the chaos of internet chatter into a malignant force.

Part of the answer seems to stem from disgruntled men becoming enraged at women posting on the boards and appropriating Pepe for themselves. These angry, misogynistic men started a crude posting battle against the “normies” in what they thought of as their space. The battle

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took another ugly turn as the enemy became mainstream culture in general.

The boards filled with violent and nihilistic images such as Pepe flying a plane into New York’s World Trade Center towers. Pepe was depicted as a Nazi and a member of the terrorist group ISIS decapitating a prisoner.

Another major leap was made when Pepe was appropriated by the alt-right, as in images of Pepe being anti-immigrant. Some of the documentary’s most fascinating exploration is about how Pepe served as a sort of gateway to radicalization, bringing disparate couch and basement-dwelling online users to organized political ideas and action. It became concrete as a Hillary Clinton speech critiquing the right wing’s hostility to immigration was interrupted

by a shout of “Pepe.” That energized the movement, and eventually Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. tweeted images including Pepe. The AntiDefamation League has since labeled Pepe a hate symbol.

Furie struggled to reclaim Pepe. He filed copyright lawsuits against people including conspiracy theorist and right-wing radio host Alex Jones. (Footage from their respective depositions is entertaining). But Pepe’s image had been shared many millions of times, and Furie had no control over it. Pepe was later appropriated for other movements, and even a cryptocurrency.

As an unsuspecting character, Pepe became the perfect vehicle. But the story is about unconnected acts of digital vandalism metastasizing into a powerful and destructive force.

Going viral is the appropriate way to describe the unchecked spread of harmful ideas.

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE GIFTS OF THE YEAR

By Frank A. Longo

31 Figure on a kid’s toy battleground [10th] 35 Revolutionary War mercenaries 36 Wed. follows it 37 Yellow-disked flower 39 ’Zine 40 Canon camera line 43 Rapping noise 47 She sang “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” [15th] 51 Online selling 52 Driver’s license, SSN, etc.

55 Determined to accomplish 56 Living space

57 1988-91 war drama series [20th] 60 Earth’s heater 61 Bluegrass fiddler Alison 62 Longtime ISP option 63 Laundry receptacle 65 &&&& 66 “Hey, over here ...”

68 Tree of eastern North America [25th] 72 Lid fastener 76 Infamous Idi 78 Very small minority 80 Mineral spring 81 Taxi driver 84 Angry 87 Small, pungent pickling vegetable [30th]

89 Player’s top effort, informally 90 Literary leaf 92 Part of IPA 93 Slow a car down 94 Dorothy’s magical shoes [40th] 97 Filleted 99 Cough up 100 Low digit 101 Rapscallion 104 PC key abbr.

105 Daughter of JFK 109 Half-million-selling album [50th] 114 Mae West play [60th] 116 “Dies —” (hymn) 117 Dog coater 118 “Eso Beso” singer Paul 119 Revered sort 120 Occasion associated with the starts of 10 answers in this puzzle 124 Salt Lake City NCAA team 125 Soothe 126 Profit 127 Actor Steven 128 Work honcho 129 Deli breads 130 Possesses 131 Attractive DOWN 1 Bus station 2 Neighbor of a Yemeni 3 Get mature 4 Ending for propyl 5 Sea, to Henri 6 “— big boy now” 7 Glutinous 8 Cold drink, informally 9 Like biting writing 10 U.S. Navy off.

11 Toy for a boy, traditionally 12 Longtime cookies 13 Bail provider 14 Part of IPO 15 Find out 16 “How rude!”

17 Gorillas, e.g.

18 Opulent 24 Tearful

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

29 “As a matter of fact, I do!”

30 Hollow-eyed 32 Sully 33 Ban 34 Grazing area 38 Near-grads: Abbr.

41 Part of 122-Down 42 Beholds 43 Quick review 44 Eldest Musketeer 45 Kite features 46 Has a link (with) 48 Actor Erwin 49 Whole lot 50 Disconcert 53 Author Roald 54 1976-81 skit series 58 Sink bowl 59 Color shade 61 Get down to propose 64 “It’s freezing!”

65 Filmmaker Hitchcock 67 Singer Wynette 69 See 70-Down 70 With 69-Down, tourist’s printed guide 71 Ring, as bells 73 Nepali, e.g.

74 Said words 75 Sectioned, as a window

77 Conductor 79 Teeter 81 Be a kvetch 82 Juan’s water 83 Sweetums 84 Swabby’s tool 85 High mount 86 Semi fuel 88 College org. for sailors-to-be 90 Occasion for unrestricted amusement 91 Tolkien terror 95 More silly 96 Eastern Michigan city 98 Corn serving 102 “Top o’ the — to ya!”

103 Prairies, e.g.

106 Accrue 107 “Victory is yours” 108 Brother on “Frasier” 110 Actor Patel of “Lion” 111 No longer a minor 112 Countryish 113 In a deadpan manner 114 Smear on, as paint 115 Crazy about 120 Past 121 PC key abbr.

122 Speed Wagon maker 123 Golfer Snead

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 30

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 First scale syllables 7 Gripping tool 11 Arid expanse in Mongolia 15 Move like a grasshopper 19 “Not Afraid” rapper 20 Affirmation of 21 De-wrinkle 22 Giant fair 23 Stocks and shares [1st] 25 Stand-up comedian Richard 26 Super serves 27 Low digit 28 Play starter 29 American robin’s close relative [5th]

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