OffBeat Magazine August 2009

MASAKOWSKI FAMILY

N

LOOSE MARBLES

N

TIM LAUGHLIN N MUTEMATH T2 GUS U A

High Society Jeremy Davenport has a new album, a lounge and a room upstairs

LOUISIANA MUSIC, FOOD AND CULTURE Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 1.95

Satchmo SummerFest p. 13

009

Features

Departments

13 Hot Satch in the Summertime

6 8 10 26

OffBeat’s guide to activities during the Satchmo SummerFest.

14 A Family Affair

Kyle Shepherd reports on the impulses behind the Masakowski family’s Brazilian project, Nova Nola.

16 Back to the Basics, Again

Steve Steinberg reports on the Loose Marbles’ efforts to back to trad jazz’s traditions.

19 Get a Room

John Swenson reports on trumpeter Jeremy Davenport, who has a new album, a new gig, a new lounge and a new drink.

22 The Sweet Spot

Rene Louapre tells the story of Sucré’s plan to take over the South.

24 The Gravy: In the Kitchen with Eric, Michael and Ryan

Letters Mojo Mouth Fresh OffBeat Eats

Rene Louapre reviews Dooky Chase’s, Anaïs

St. John “Hits the Spot” at Kyoto, and we get a Good Tip from Bill Stehr on the Steamboat Natchez.

30 Reviews 38 Club Listings 45 Backtalk with Paul Meany of Mutemath Alex Rawls talks to the singer of the New Orleansbased modern rock band as it launches its second album, Armistice. “We created a paralyzing atmosphere, so we’d leave,” he says. “We’d come back and listen to something finished and just give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down.”

Indie rockers Eric Rogers, Michael Girardot and Ryan Rogers cook for Elsa Hahne.

Online Exclusive The Right Side of the Red Carpet: Herman Fuselier reports on the recognition Ray Landry has received for Mes Racines Cadien Sont Creux (My Cajun Roots Run Deep).

AU G U ST 2009

O

5

Letters

“New Orleans is truly the heart and soul of American music. Treat it with the respect it deserves.”—Al Dunn, Salisbury, NC

Louisiana Music & Culture

August 2009 Volume 22, Number 8 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com

WHY NOT ESSENCE? I go to Essence at the Convention Center every year. It is fabulous.

Artists, fashion designers and crafts persons come literally from all over the world. And the food, fabulous! I don’t understand why everyone in the city doesn’t show up. And that part of Essence is free! Of course, I always spend money on the food and art! Everybody shows up at Jazz Fest. Why not Essence?

—Dr. Sara Hollis, Director, M.A. Museum Studies Program, Southern University at New Orleans, LA

JAZZ FEST CAMPSITE I am writing in response to the letter from Warren Mays published in the July issue. He expressed his shock and horror upon returning to his “little campsite” at the Acura Stage and finding his stuff “torn up” with chairs missing. I find it impossible to understand the mindset of these people who feel they have the right to secure for themselves a prime location and set up camp with tables and chairs. They will want their own private port-a-loo and kitchen sink next.

Not content with marking out “their” space, they want the freedom to wander away and return at some later time and expect their “stuff” to be undisturbed. Why is this allowed? Why are people allowed to bring chairs on to the site in the first place?

Surely the joy of Jazz Fest is to travel from stage to stage and experience as many of the sights and sounds as possible. There are plenty of areas to rest, chill out and recharge the batteries. If you do need to sit and rest awhile, try one of the music tents. Economy Hall is always worth spending an hour or so in. Please, keep the gear you take on site to a minimum and leave the areas in front of the stages clear for those of us who want to be able to move freely and get a good view of the stage. If you want to picnic, take yourself off to the lake, Audubon Zoo or City Park, and turn on your iPod. No one will bother you, and you won’t be bothering anyone else.

—Ed Ievers, London, UK

PROTECTING MUSIC I read Jan Ramsey’s “Weekly Beat” column on the way home from a week in New Orleans. A few hours later, I stopped in a Georgia rest stop to be greeted by banners proclaiming that Georgia music was “our” music. The banners had Trisha Yearwood, James Brown, Usher, Little Richard, who do all have Georgia connections (although in all fairness, where would Little Richard be without Cosimo?). But I was particularly struck by her thoughts about how the city needs to market New Orleans music. I admit to bias, but New Orleans music is real from the ground up, unlike the corporate mentality of Nashville. The music in New Orleans speaks for itself. Case in point­: my kids.

My daughter’s world typically only intersects New Orleans music at the corner of Harry Connick, Jr. Lane and Lil Wayne Blvd. However, she enjoyed immensely the music from the Cajun/Zydeco Fest stages. Even more so, she enjoyed Lionel Ferbos at the Palm Court, with Chuck Badie telling stories of the changes in the city for African-American musicians since the ’40s. Then, Tuesday, she and my 12-year-old son accompanied me to Shannon Powell Hall-Stars at Preservation Hall. Shannon’s personality, Kid “Chocolate” Brown’s trumpet, David Torkanowsky’s keyboards and a surprise appearance by Uncle Lionel had my kids totally enthralled. She texted the entire time with several friends who had never heard of most New Orleans music, telling them how great this stuff was. Even the pop diva enjoyed indigenous music and was telling others. See? Real music—and it goes from “old” music to pure pop for now people. (I should have made the week complete with a visit to Quintron and Miss Pussycat, but....)

On Saturday, Xavier University recognized the contributions of Chuck Badie and Wardell Quezergue. Does the city have any way of recognizing the contributions of musicians/ artists? Financial incentives? Proclamations? A day of mourning declared for Snooks/Eddie/Sam Butera? A new mayor will be a boon for a lot of things in the city, not the least of which could be encouraging and protecting music. New Orleans is truly the heart and soul of American music.

Treat it with the respect it deserves.

—Al Dunn, Salisbury, NC

OffBeat welcomes letters from its readers—both comments and criticisms. To be considered for publication, all letters must be signed and contain the current address and phone number of the writer. Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length or content deemed objectionable to OffBeat readers. Please send letters to Editor, OffBeat Publications, 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116.

6

O AUGUST 2009

Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com Associate Editor Alex Rawls, alexrawls@offbeat.com Consulting Editor John Swenson Listings Editor Craig Guillot, craigguillot@offbeat.com Contributors Lisa M. Daliet, Elsa Hahne, Andrew Hamlin, Jeff Hannusch, Steve Hochman, David Kunian, Aaron LaFont, Clifton Lee, Rene Louapre, Cree McCree, Kyle Shepherd, Juli Shipley, Steve Steinberg, Mary Sparr, John Swenson, Teresha Ussin, Steve Vernon, Dan Willging Cover Elsa Hahne Design/Art Direction Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Advertising Sales Ben Berman, benberman@offbeat.com Margaret Walker, margaretwalker@offbeat.com Advertising Design PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Business Manager Joseph L. Irrera Interns Creed Evans, Matthew Gagliano, Brandon Gross, Bobby Hilliard, Colin Jones, Clifton Lee, Lauren Loeb, Brandon Meginley, Scott Ross, Kyle Shepherd, Mary Spahr, Teresha Ussin Distribution Patti Carrigan, Doug Jackson, Shea MacKinnon OffBeat (ISSN# 1090-0810) is published monthly in New Orleans by OffBeat, Inc., 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 944-4300 • fax (504) 944-4306 e-mail: offbeat@offbeat.com, web site: www.offbeat.com Copyright © 2009, OffBeat, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. OffBeat is a registered trademark of OffBeat, Inc. First class subscriptions to OffBeat in the U.S. are available at $39 per year ($45 Canada, $90 foreign airmail). Back issues available for $6, except the May issue for $10 (for foreign delivery add $2).

Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcome, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

MOJO MOUTH

What Would Louis Do?

I

t’s time again to honor Louis Armstrong, New Orleans’ most famous and beloved musician, at the Satchmo SummerFest, July 30 through August 2.

Louis Armstrong had—and has—a profound impact on American music. If you’ve seen Ken Burns’ Jazz—and as a music lover you really do need to see this piece—you’ll understand Satchmo’s influence on jazz and modern music.

Armstrong lived for his music. But while Louis Armstrong was born and learned his art here, when he got the chance, he moved north. He missed New Orleans, but made a better living elsewhere. He got an offer to move to Chicago and took New Orleans jazz with him, where it was a huge hit. He learned that it’s easier on the psyche to go where you’re appreciated.

And apparently Armstrong was paid better, too.

Nothing has changed much in New Orleans’ appreciation of its native musical sons. Our musicians are still underappreciated and underpaid. It’s difficult to find local musicians for summertime gigs because they travel overseas where audiences hold our music in reverence

8

O AUGUST 2009

and pay for the privilege of hearing America’s greatest contribution to the world’s music: jazz.

It’s wonderful that New Orleans finally has decided to honor Louis Armstrong. Not only is it a music festival, SSF programming includes scholars knowledgeable about his life and times, and the impact of his music and persona on popular culture. The producer of SSF, French Quarter Festivals, has concentrated the festival in and around the Old U.S. Mint, which is scheduled to become a first-class jazz museum in the future.

Two stages are outside, and one is inside the Mint this year, where there also will be a kids’ area, plus the ongoing speaker series. The Satchmo Club Strut on July 31 on Frenchmen Street highlights what’s become the city’s de facto music district.

Although jazz is much more beloved overseas than in the U.S. (go figure), the potential for Satchmo SummerFest attracting thousands of foreign visitors is still mostly unrealized.

New Orleans needs to capitalize on its music as a marketing tool. We have a lot to offer— including food and architecture—but the music is unlike anything in any other city in the world.

Why aren’t we promoting our musical heritage consistently and persistently to potential visitors, especially those who live overseas?

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a benefit for Marva Wright at Tipitina’s on Saturday August 22 that features a number of stellar New Orleans’ musicians: Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr., Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove, Shannon Powell, Rebirth Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, Betty Shirley, Keith Vinet and Walter “Wolfman” Washington, James Andrews and many more. As readers of OffBeat and our Weekly Beat newsletter are aware, Marva has suffered the devastating effects of two strokes. She is recovering and is currently in rehab and the music community— as usual—has rallied to support one of the greatest singers in New Orleans.

Finally, the New Orleans Press Club awarded OffBeat top honors in the “Critical Review” category for John Swenson’s review of A Tales of God’s Will (Requiem for Katrina); and the Weekly Beat received the award for “Best E-Mail Update.” Kudos to the OffBeat staff!

O

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

The Missing Mix P

eer Munck is no Mark Sanford, but he does a good mea culpa. Munck, whose Chicago-based company MunckMix produces the JazzFest Live series of recordings from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival each year, addressed a series of complaints that have mounted this year with a simple “I screwed up.”

Since 2004, the ambitious JazzFest Live venture has offered fest goers the chance to own complete recordings of several dozen performances. But just weeks after this year’s event, some concerns started popping up on the official Jazz Fest Web site’s discussion board. CDs that had been ordered for mail delivery arrived well past the expected dates based on previous years’ experience. Download versions also came long after the expected dates, though a Munck official on the last day of the fest said the downloads would start appearing about two weeks from then. In reality it took nearly eight weeks. At least one recording was missing a song (Allen Toussaint’s version of the Paul Simon classic, “American Tune”) with no disclaimer to alert purchasers that they were buying an incomplete set.

And perhaps most troubling, inquiries to MunckMix’s offices about these and other issues were going unanswered. Early on in the Jazz Fest board discussion, one Munck official pledged that he would have a response to complaints within 24 hours. Weeks later, there has still been no response.

According to Peer Munck, his small company simply got slammed with extra work that had not been anticipated. At the top of the list was the job recording and releasing, often overnight, each show on the Allman Brothers Band tour. Munck has had that gig for three years, but “this time they toured starting the week after Jazz Fest,” he says. “We had to send people on the road with them, people who normally work in or office and warehouse. I should have hired more people earlier.

We realized by the end of May that we were behind and hired some more to help out. Should have been faster on the trigger.

My bad. I have to chalk it up to experience.”

Munck stressed that his company is hands-on with the recording and mixing, as well as distribution of their wares.

Competitors such as Livedownloads.com, which handled the nightly releases from the recent Dead trek and offers limited Bonnaroo downloads, for the most part takes soundboard recordings provided by the bands and do little if any mixing, serving largely as a sales and distribution outlet. And there is

10

O AUGUST 2009

nothing out there matching the JazzFest Live scale, with its dozens of sets to process each year in a very short time.

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival associate producer Louis Edwards expressed overall satisfaction with MunckMix. They get the recordings “to the world in a matter of a few weeks and in some cases in a matter of a few hours,” he says. “If there are a few glitches here and there, you have to attribute them to the ambitious nature of the project, much more so than to any lack of conscientiousness on the part of MunckMix.” As of press time, some glitches persist including the failure of the preview feature, and some customers reported that attempts to contact MunckMix via the service e-mail address on its Web site are still unsuccessful.

—Steve Hochman

I Now Pronounce You Funky At this year’s Jazz Fest, former New Orleans House of Blues employee Wayne Lee was wed onstage in the Gospel Tent with the assembled crowd raising their hands toward Lee and his bride, sharing its energy in support. On-site hitchings have become almost commonplace at Jazz Fest, so much so that the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Archives are collecting wedding photos of Jazz Fest nuptials for a future exhibit at the Jazz and Heritage Gallery. If you have photos to share, contact ceremonies@jazzandheritage.org.

—Alex Rawls www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

The Sound of Paint I

n June, avant-garde artist, educator, inventor and musician Marcus Brown released Peinture Concrete. But this danceable, heavily synthesized and jazzinfused album wasn’t made in the traditional sense. The son of an electrical engineer, Brown is a natural tinkerer. His curiosity about how things work coupled with a passion for art and music led him to invent a new process for creating art and soundscapes, down to the altered and amplified tools he uses. Brown dubbed this new medium “electro-sonic painting.”

Wielding brushes outfitted with gyroscopes and laser sensors to elicit waves of sound and stuttering beats for each mark of his canvas, Brown says it’s like painting with a microphone. His canvas, called an “electro-board,” is customized with MIDI technology allowing him to record the sounds emitted with every press or stroke of the surface—like playing a keyboard.

The multi-instrumentalist who’s played music for 10 years explains, “I wanted to do this album to have some record of the painting as well as of what the painting sounds like.

And also to make something interesting that has beat, rhythm and that’s enjoyable for people to listen to.”

Peinture Concrete (a title that pays homage to the 1940s French noise movement Musique Concrète) blends technology and tradition, visual and audio. Each song on the album represents a layer of the painting. “I want people to get the concept that this album is literally a painting,” Brown says. “Painting and making music are one process, one thing in electrosonic painting.”

Brown teaches sculpture to high school students at NOCCA and is hosting a summer course at Country Day on electro-sonic painting. “If you take a piece of paper, place it on a wooden table and draw on it with a pencil,” he says, “you can hear the sound of writing, the sound of scratching. And that’s what the whole art form came out of, listening to the surface.”

—Lisa M. Daliet

Fritzel’s 2.0 “W

e’re trying to bring integrity back to Bourbon Street,” says Kate Wimmer, who has managed Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub since a change of ownership last year. “Fritzel’s lost its quality as a premier jazz club when the same people were booked most nights of the week.” She credits the change to Bradford Truby, the club’s booker and bassist of the Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band. He has broadened Fritzel’s pool of talent and brought together Chuck Brackman, Barry Foulon, Richard Scott, Tom Fischer and Brian Bess for the band. Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band released its self-titled debut album last spring, and will play Saturday, August 1 at Satchmo SummerFest.

—Mary Sparr

12

O AUGUST 2009

Gimmicks and Moonwalks A

ctor/comedian/musician Jamie Foxx was here in the spring 2003 while filming the movie Ray. During that time, he and his younger sister Deidre Dixon got in a fight with Harrah’s security guards that ended with their arrest. He was placed on two years’ probation and fined $1,500 after he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace. He returns on August 27, this time to the New Orleans Arena on tour, combining comedy and music following his hit, “Blame It.” On what came first: Music. I went to college on a classical piano scholarship. My grandmother was on me. I was five years old. She said, “Music going to take you somewhere.” And it did. Then all of a sudden I started doing comedy and I became one of the most famous transvestites in the world on In Living Color.

On how you know when you’ve cut a hit: I did a song with T.I. called “Just Like Me.” T.I. heard this one and he was like, “Man, why didn’t you put me on that one? That’s the song right there!”

On Auto-Tune: That what music is. It’s like disco. Every music genre has its time and then it’ll eventually fade. “Blame It” is a gimmicky song. I would never compare “Blame It” with something by Luther Vandross or the Eagles or Prince.

On moonwalking on the BET Awards after Michael Jackson’s death: I got to work on my moon walk. I haven’t done that thing since the ’80s. The challenge was we had to be able to do a TV show and a tribute all at the same time. We didn’t have a lot time to time to get things done, so my call on it was to be funny and keep things light.

Joe Jackson was in the audience. Janet Jackson was backstage, and I attacked everything head on from what his physical appearance looked like to what we felt about him as a culture. I knew the heaviest part of the show was going to be when Janet Jackson came out. The family embraced it, and that was the main thing.

On New Orleans while shooting Ray: I hung out a lot at the Windsor Court. I dipped in on some of the guys on the street as they were playing. Harrah’s was the only big adventure, but thank you to the city for their forgiveness. And I won’t ever do that again.

—Alex Rawls www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

SATCHMO

Hot Satch in the Summertime The ninth annual Satchmo SummerFest is a celebration of food, music and fun in honor of New Orleans’ favorite son, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong.

THURSDAY, JULY 30 6:30-7:30 p.m. Keynote address: The address will be made by Professor Robert O’Meally is the Zora NealeHurston professor of English and comparative literature and founder of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University in New York. Old U.S. Mint.

6:30 p.m. Photo Exhibit: On loan from the Meridian Center in Washington D.C. this exhibit will be free during the Satchmo SummerFest weekend. Old U.S. Mint.

FRIDAY, JULY 31 10:30 a.m. Happy Birthday Satchmo: A birthday party with a birthday cake will take place at Armstrong Park.

2:00-3:15 p.m. Hail King Zulu!: Michael Cogswell, director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum will present rare recordings and photographs marking the 60th Anniversary of

Armstrong’s turn as Zulu King.

Presbytere in Jackson Square.

3:45-5 p.m. Armstrong in Europe 1959: Armstrong scholar Ricky Riccardi will show rare concert footage, television appearances and film cameos done by the All Stars during this trip. Presbytere in Jackson Square.

6 p.m.-2 a.m. Satchmo Club Strut: Music clubs, eateries and businesses in the Frenchmen Street Arts and Culture District, offer catered parties and entry to all the clubs.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 11 a.m.-4:15 p.m. ­Armstrong on Film: Featuring several films all day. New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park in Dutch Alley.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Armstrong 101: Michael Cogswell traces Louis’ life and legacy. Old U.S. Mint.

12-1 p.m. Red Beans and Ricely Hers!: Booksigning with Chef Leah Chase.

12:45-1:45 p.m. Fifteen Years of the Toyama Foundation: Keiko and Yoshio Toyama talk about the genesis of their Wonderful World Foundation.

Old U.S. Mint.

2-3 p.m. Mr. Personality: Michael Gourrier interviews Lloyd Price. Old U.S. Mint.

3:15-4:30 p.m. A Lot of Scotch Tape: Michael Cogswell and Robert O’Meally discuss Armstrong as a collage artist. Old U.S. Mint.

4:45-6 p.m. Armstrong on Television: Ricky Riccardi shows clips of Armstrong’s television appearances. Old U.S. Mint.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 10-11:30 a.m. Jazz Mass & Second Line: St. Augustine Church in Treme hosts a jazz mass followed by a second line to the Old U.S. Mint.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Satchmo City: Author Keith Weldon Medley explores Armstrong’s roots. Old U.S. Mint.

12:45-2 p.m. Ask George Avakian: Armstrong record producer George Avakian will take questions from the audience. Old U.S. Mint.

2:15-3:30 p.m. Armstrong the Alchemist: Dan Morgenstern, director of the Rutgers Institute for Jazz Studies discusses Armstrong’s ability to transform less-thanclassic tunes. Old U.S. Mint.

3:45-5 p.m. Hello Louis!: Drummer Barry Martyn talks with jazz historian Jack Stewart about the July 3, 1970 birthday party for Louis Armstrong at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Old U.S. Mint.

5:15-6:30 p.m. Louis Armstong’s Final Years: Ricky Riccardi screens some of Armstrong’s final television appearances. Old U.S. Mint.

KIDS ACTIVITIES All weekend Armstrong films and cartoons can be viewed on the second floor of the Old U.S. Mint.

Satchmo SummerFest Performance Schedule at the Louisiana State Museum Old U.S. Mint, August 1-2, 2009

BARRACKS nd Ricely Yours STAGE eans a

ESPLANADEChop Suey STAGE Cornet

3rd FLOOR o’ Town STAGE Back

12:00-1:00 New Orleans Moonshiners

12:00-1:15 Mo’Lasses

12:00-1:15 Michael Skinkus

1:15-2:15 Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band

1:30-2:45 The Last Straws

1:30-2:45 Young NO Traditional Brass Band

3:00-4:15 Sharon Martin

3:00-4:15 Linnzi Zaorski

4:30-5:45 Glen David Andrews & the Lazy Six

4:30-5:45 Seguenon Kone

12:00-1:00 Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road

12:00-1:15 Heritage School of Music

1:15-2:30 New Wave Brass Band

1:30-2:45 Royal Players Brass Band

3:00-4:00 Yoshio Toyama and the Dixie Saints

2:45-3:45 Leroy Jones and New Orleans Finest

3:00-4:15 Sasha Masakowski

4:15-5:15 Jeremy Davenport

4:00-5:00 James Andrews

5:30-6:30 Kermit Ruffins

5:15-6:45 Soul Rebels

SATURDAY 1

Red B

2:30-3:30 Connie Jones Crescent City Jazz Band 3:45-4:45 Tim Laughlin 5:00-6:00 Leah Chase

SUNDAY 2

12:00-1:15 Anaïs St. John/Harry Mayronne Trio 1:30-2:45 Lars Edegran’s

NO Ragtime Orchestra featuring Lionel Ferbos

4:30-5:45 Shamarr Allen

6:30-7:00 “Props for Pops” Trumpet Tribute www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

13

MASAKOWSKI

A Family Affair

A

For Steve, Sasha and Martin Masakowski, Nova Nola is only one part of their efforts to broaden their musical horizons.

14

O AUGUST 2009

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

“new” New Orleans is a reality we all confront and construct for ourselves. Nova Nola, founded by Astral Project’s Steve Masakowski, is one attempt to address New Orleans’ evolving musical landscape. “With Nova Nola, I really wanted to feature ‘new’ New Orleans, and I wanted to feature what’s fresh about the New Orleans music scene and have a chance to play with talented, up-and-coming musicians.” These musicians include his children, 22year-old vocalist Sasha and 19-yearold bassist Martin, who, along with veteran drummer Ricky Sebastian and vibraphonist James Westfall, comprise New Orleans’ preeminent Brazilian jazz quintet.

The band’s last set at their most recent gig at Snug Harbor included Antonio Carlos Jobim’s standard “Agua de Beber.” Sasha’s graceful Portuguese vocals drew you in, then Steve and James Westfall took contrasting solos, Masakowski a flurry of scales next to Westfall’s contemplative, relaxed effort. Sasha followed Westfall, and her vocalizing was echoed by her father. This interplay led to shared smiles between couples in the audience, along with the occasional, familial glance onstage.

This family band has been in the works since 2006 when the Masakowskis started playing at the now-defunct Club 300 on Decatur St. When Club 300 closed, Steve considered ways to keep the unit together, as well as address his lifelong love of Brazilian music.

“I was looking for a way to play with some of the new talent on the scene, my children included, and trying to find a band that wasn’t horn-oriented—not loud and blaring, more subtle and sophisticated,” he says.

The Masakowski clan represents yet another talented New Orleans

By Kyle Shepherd

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

family, but Steve doesn’t view his children’s talent in genetic terms.

“They grew up in a household hearing music all of their lives,” he says. “Environmental learning is a way to learn without realizing it, and music is a lot like a language.

Being in an environment where you’re surrounded by it all of the time, you just pick it up by osmosis.”

Sasha quips, “I think they secretly wanted us to be lawyers or doctors.”

Sasha Masakowski’s formal training began at NOCCA, where she was a musical theater student.

“It wasn’t really until after Katrina that I began to connect with jazz,” she says. “Katrina brought everyone back to their roots.”

Her first semester at UNO was interrupted by the hurricane, but she used that time to study jazz at a conservatory in Rotterdam as part of UNO’s exchange program. “It was such a surreal time with all of the events, and this was compounded by being

followed by a camera crew.” The UNO exchange students were the subject of a TV show in the Netherlands, but her 15 minutes of Dutch fame ended when she returned to New Orleans, where she continued her training and supported herself wholly with music. Nova Nola gives her a feeling unique to the family band.

“Sometimes, in-between songs, I have these flashbacks where I’m five years old, jumping on the bed and faking the lyrics in Portuguese, trying to sing along with the LPs dad would play,” she says with a laugh.

Even though Nova Nola’s debut album is nearing completion, Martin Masakowski is off to the Netherlands, and the band will continue with guests on bass until his return. He is following in his older sister’s footsteps and traveling, immersing himself in jazz culture, and enrolling in the same Rotterdam-based program that she did. His education has taken him to NOCCA and UNO, but following

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

the events of 2005 he decided he would be best served by taking the better part of a year off from high school. During that time, he practically taught himself the bass and designed and constructed his own instrument, a 15-foot-long contrabass recorder made of PVC pipe. Still, Europe beckons. “It’s such a hip scene,” Martin says. “I was able to visit for a week when Sasha was there and met so many talented people. I’m excited to go back.”

“Hopefully he’ll open some connections over there and we’ll be able to go over to Europe, too,” Steve Masakowski says.

“On the one hand, it’s a drag that he’s leaving, but it’s a way of growing, too.” The Masakowskis have all been expanding their musical horizons. In addition to Nova Nola, Steve has continued his association with Astral Project and was a regular performer in the Hi Ho Lounge’s Scatterjazz improv series this past spring.

Sasha sings in James Westfall’s jazz rock band, Bionica.

M

KO A SA

KI WS

Nova Nola’s focus is New Orleans, and Steve Masakowski recognizes the city’s growth, along with its potential for improvement and innovation. “I think New Orleans has become a younger city and is kind of a clean slate and an opportunity to build something from basically scratch,” Masakowski says. “There are a lot of creative things happening with younger people that you may not necessarily know about. There are a lot of seeds growing, and these young people are doing exciting things.”

O Sasha Masakowski plays Satchmo SummerFest on Sunday, August 2, at 3 p.m. at the 3rd floor Back o’ Town stage.

AU G U ST 2 009

O

15

LOOSE MARBLES

Back to the Basics, Again The Loose Marbles return to one of the traditions of traditional jazz.

16

O AUGUST 2009

Photo: jef jaisun

T

he first New Orleans jazz revival took place in the 1930s and ’40s. It was sparked by a book called Jazzmen that led to the reappearance of first generation jazz musicians Bunk Johnson, George Lewis, Jim Robinson, Kid Ory and Mutt Carey.

They made a major impression in New York, Los Angeles, Europe, even Asia, but they were barely noticed in their hometown.

The second revival came in the 1960s and ’70s. Preservation Hall, Jazz Fest, Danny Barker and a resurgence of interest in brass band music led to ball teams called the Saints and the Jazz. Almost as miraculous, a sign went up at the airport that read, “Welcome to New Orleans, Birthplace of Jazz.”

Now it’s 2009 and the Loose Marbles are generating excitement and getting some serious attention, not just from the usual traditional jazz fans but from a growing number of teens and twentysomethings, especially those who like to dance. They’re not so new that they haven’t been immortalized online.

Search YouTube.com for “Loose Marbles Wed 4 15 2009” and you’ll find the band on Royal Street playing a laid back “Buddy Bolden’s Blues.” A couple of equally laid back dance couples are obviously having a grand time as the Marbles give us one ensemble chorus after another for four minutes or so. As their name suggests, everyone’s loose.

There are several additional musicians sitting in on this occasion, but co-leaders Michael Magro and Ben Polcer plan to record with the lineup they currently have at Fritzel’s Jazz Club on Bourbon Street. That’s where you’ll find them packing in good-sized crowds on Friday and Saturday evenings from seven until nine with Magro on clarinet, Polcer

on trumpet, Shaye Cohn on piano and trumpet, with the rhythm section filled out by John Rodli on guitar and Robert Snow on bass.

Three of these five come from jazz families. Polcer’s father Ed plays trumpet, his mother was a singer, and during the first eight years of Ben’s life, they owned and ran Eddie Condon’s Jazz Club in New York.

He first played piano when he was five but didn’t turn his attention to traditional jazz until he linked up with Magro. Shaye Cohn is the daughter of Joe Cohn, a leading modern jazz guitarist, and the granddaughter of sax man Al Cohn, one of the original Four Brothers in the Woody Herman band that included Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Serge Chaloff. She began playing classical piano when she was three years old and by her teens she was entering competitions and giving recitals. She played accordion in street bands until she met Mike and Ben. Robert Snow is the son of New Orleans guitarist Sidney Snow.

All agree that Magro is responsible for the group’s sound, despite being a latecomer to jazz.

By Steve Steinberg

He was living in Pennsylvania when he heard a Preservation Hall concert in Hershey in 1997. That, the Wild Man Blues documentary on Woody Allen’s band, and the jazz band on the soundtrack to Sleeper hooked Magro. His mother bought him a clarinet that belonged to a girlfriend of his for Christmas in 1998, but it was a few years before he heard recordings of Bunk Johnson and George Lewis and decided, “It’s the stuff I’d been looking for my whole life.” Magro sounds a bit like Lewis, but the style he’s developed is more personal, based on listening carefully to other early New Orleans reedmen, especially those who studied with pioneer Lorenzo Tio such as Johnny Dodds and Albert Burbank and Jimmy Noone.

Though they have interesting musical voices, the Loose Marbles arrangements don’t spotlight them. Instead of an opening band chorus, a string of solos and a few “ride out” choruses at the end, it’s the ensemble work that counts.

The early jazz bands played mainly ensemble, like the marching bands whose music preceded them. Louis

Armstrong was the first great jazz virtuoso, and his spectacular solo work almost single-handedly shifted the emphasis from the group to the soloist. His 1920s Hot Five recordings established the format that most traditional jazz bands follow to this day. It’s one of the most noticeable differences you hear in the work of Bunk Johnson’s band of the 1940s. A solo in that context seems more than anything else like an opportunity to give some of the other musicians an opportunity to rest. “Michael has a very clear idea about the sound of the music,” says Polcer. “When it’s not a certain way, he’s hyperaware of it, and he’s very adamant about voicing those concerns.” The Marbles are not alone in trying to get back to an ensemble sound.

Bands led by Dr. Michael White have taken this approach for years.

Is the Loose Marbles’ effort to focus more on the collective a sign of the times? Probably not, but this much is clear—the Loose Marbles are giving us a mixture of talent and passion, and their effort deserves attention.

O www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

18

O AUGUST 2009

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

Photo: elsa hahne

DJ Captain Charles is all about pleasing his (mostly female) audience.

Here, Linda Lewis, Clo’ R. Guyton and Ashley Thomas.

COVER STORY

Get a Room

Jeremy Davenport has a new album, a new gig and a new lounge in his name.

T

he swagger in Jeremy Davenport’s step is a little more exaggerated these days. He’s riding high on the success of his residence at the Ritz-Carlton on Canal Street, a new album— We’ll Dance ’Til Dawn —and the prospect of establishing a foothold in the New York City club scene at the Huckleberry Bar in Williamsburg.

Davenport, a 39-year-old trumpeter and vocalist, is different from most successful New Orleans musicians in that his musical talent is not his most immediately obvious attribute.

He is contemporary American star material, good looking even at a casual glance. His visual magnetism makes him telegenic, leading tabloids to link him to the MTV generation and jazz critics to compare him to Chet Baker. Cosmopolitan dubbed him “easy on the eyes,” a quote his publicists use high in the bio. Davenport’s most obvious influence is Harry Connick, Jr., a child prodigy of New Orleans music who became a hit on the New York supper club circuit before moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career.

Connick is clearly a mentor, helping to convince Davenport to move to New Orleans, then hiring him as the youngest featured performer in his band’s history. Davenport filled the role effortlessly, just as he did when he joined Emeril Lagasse’s cast of TV characters.

But Davenport is a very different musical personality than Connick. For all his charm and good looks, he is not the boy next door, the earnest spokesperson role Connick has perfected. Davenport projects an element of risk behind the easygoing personality.

His performances, for all of their casual demeanor, hold the threat of something unsettling waiting in the wings, just outside of the audience’s view. It’s an act he has polished over the years, and it includes an odd pratfall here and there, just enough to keep the audience aware that something unusual might happen. And where Connick is the ultimate family entertainer, Davenport works adult, reveling in risqué jokes and anecdotes about bad behavior. In this sense, one of his deepest influences is Louis Prima, but Davenport is hardly imitating him. One listen to his version of “Old Black Magic,” a signature tune for Prima, proves that.

Davenport delivers it with a dry, direct vocal on We’ll Dance ’Til Dawn. The intricate, www.OFFBEAT.com

samba-influenced arrangement is all about the nuances of Davenport’s approach, not the broad humor of Prima’s.

Though his mother, a vocal teacher, had encouraged Davenport to sing since childhood, he began as an instrumentalist, following the lead of his father Frank Davenport, who played trombone with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The young Jeremy was already studying Louis Armstrong when his father brought him to meet Wynton Marsalis, an event that changed his life.

“I was 13 and Wynton came to St. Louis to play with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, which my dad played in,” Davenport recalls. “My dad came and got me out of school and said, ‘You’ve got to come and hear this guy play the trumpet.’ I took my horn down there and went to the rehearsal. We went backstage and I played something for Wynton. He took me under his wing immediately. He gave me trumpet lessons, even over the phone, just a wealth of knowledge. He was an extraordinarily generous person with his time. I would call him at odd hours and ask questions: ‘Man, on that Clifford Brown solo, what is he doing there?’ And he’d pick up his horn and show me. That’s how the relationship developed.”

Marsalis told Davenport he should drop out of high school in St. Louis and enroll in New Orleans’ NOCCA program. His parents insisted that he finish high school locally, but encouraged him to attend New York’s Manhattan School of Music upon graduation.

“I moved to New York City to be close to Wynton,” says Davenport, who studied classical music during the day and played jazz at night while he was in Manhattan. One night, Marsalis took him to the Knickerbocker in Greenwich Village to hear Harry Connick, Jr. Before the night was out, Connick called Davenport to the stage. “I remember it was a Sunday night and Harry called ‘When the Saints Go Marching In.’ Here I was, a kid from St. Louis. I knew the song, of course, but I had never played it before.

That’s how Harry and I first met.”

Both Marsalis and Connick told Davenport that he needed to move to New Orleans.

“Wynton was adamant that if I really wanted to know about jazz, the place to go was New

By John Swenson

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

Orleans. At that point in my life, if Wynton were to say, ‘Look, you need to go to the George Washington Bridge and jump off into the river,’ I would have done it. Harry also pushed me to go study with Ellis Marsalis, so I transferred from Manhattan School of Music to UNO. My parents thought I was nuts, but they were supportive.”

Davenport’s musical education became a whirlwind when he hit New Orleans in 1989.

One of the first things he learned was how to market his music.

“Ellis was the first person in music to tell me, ‘Okay, that’s great that you can play that, but what are you going to do with it? Where are you going to play this?’ He was very practical. He used to joke about playing avant-garde music. He said, ‘That’s why you call it free jazz, ’cause you play it for free.’ When we would learn songs he would say, ‘Who’s going to buy this?’ That’s not what a lot of people think jazz musicians are like, but it’s very practical and awesome, and it was a great lesson I’ll never forget.”

Ellis Marsalis also challenged Davenport to expand his repertoire.

“I remember when I first got to town and he would let me sit in with him at Snug Harbor, he would call a tune he knew I didn’t know, not to embarrass me but just to throw me out there.

I’ll never forget that because it forced me to learn more material than I would normally have tried to learn. It made me want to learn every song, which is a life’s work, of course, but it’s fun because it never ends. Tonight if I went and sat in somewhere and someone called ‘Lush Life,’ I’d be fucked because I don’t really know it. I kind of know it, but it’s hard. Mr. Marsalis would always say, ‘You should have learned that song.’ One time he called me up and he called ‘Whispering.’

I play that song every night now because I didn’t know it then and it taught me something. It’s the song that ‘Groovin’ High’ is based on; it’s an old, corny, ’30s love song. So Ellis calls this obscure American songbook composition and it took me two choruses to figure out, ‘Oh, this is “Groovin’ High” changes.’ He knew I knew ‘Groovin’ High,’ so he knew I could handle it, but he also knew I didn’t know ‘Whispering’ and I would have to figure it out. That’s teaching. Those kinds of lessons were priceless.”

Davenport only lasted a semester at UNO before Connick hired him for his road band, a gig that lasted four years and took him AU G U ST 2 009

O

19

around the world. When he wasn’t playing with Connick, Davenport performed with Ellis Marsalis. Meanwhile, he was being courted by record companies looking to sign him.

“George Butler, who signed Wynton and Branford, Harry, Donald Harrison and all those guys, offered me a contract at Sony. He came to one of the first Jazz Fests I played with Ellis and said, ‘Look, I want you to be the next Chet Baker.’ I remember thinking, ‘Okay, whatever you want to call it, I want to start making records.’ Soon after that, he got fired and my deal disappeared. Then Telarc approached me and I made two records with them. The only problem was, they wouldn’t let me bring in a New Orleans producer for the record; they wanted their own producer. Shannon Powell was on the record and I remember at one point we were doing ‘I’m Confessing That I Love You,’ which I got off a Louis Armstrong recording, and Shannon played this funky New Orleans beat on a wood block that they objected to. ‘No, that’s too vaudeville,’ they said. I was like ‘What? Vaudeville? Do you know who this guy is?’”

By the time he finished his contract with Telarc, Davenport was disillusioned with the record business.

“What I should have done was kept on this path that I was on,” he says, “but I felt defeated because things didn’t work out the way I thought they were going to work out, so I stopped making records.”

It took 11 years for Davenport to make his third studio album, but We’ll Dance ’Til Dawn, his debut for the New Orleans-based Basin Street label, was worth the wait.

The record finally codifies Davenport’s vocal style, a unique construct based on an understanding of how to mine the past in a way that contemporary listeners can relate to as part of their own experience.

He is an astute judge of his own limitations, reigning in his voice and allowing his melodic, conversational trumpet playing to carry equal weight in the arrangements. It’s a shrewd balance of his talents.

That balance carries over into Davenport’s songwriting, which is the most surprising thing about the surprisingly strong We’ll Dance ’Til Dawn. Davenport doesn’t just sing songs by Arlen and Mercer, Rodgers and Hart and Jimmy Webb; he is trying to write new

20

O AUGUST 2009

Photo: elsa hahne

CO VER STO RY

Jeremy Davenport has lived at the Ritz-Carlton for nine years and in this particular room for two. ones in a similar style, romantic songs and ballads with strong, melodic themes.

The way Davenport diverges from his influences is instructive. He has obviously studied Sinatra, but avoids the trap (which the young Connick did not) of hewing to the contours of Sinatra’s vocal style closely enough to invite comparison. That’s apparent from his reading of “The Lady Is a Tramp” on the new album, which scrupulously avoids the Sinatra version.

“A lot of people associate that song with Sinatra,” he agrees, “but you can’t go there. I mean, once Frank has done it, what are you going to do with it? That would be my complaint with Michael Bublé, who I’m jealous as hell of because he’s kicking ass, but

his first couple of records were Frank records.

People liked it so much the first time that another generation of people liked it again, it just happened to be a different guy, but he’s using Frank’s arrangements. I could never do that. I’m a musician first, so to come out and do an imitation of Frank wouldn’t work.”

In fact, Davenport learned the danger of that direct comparison from working with Connick.

“I was in his band during the period when he was being compared to Frank,” says Davenport. “It really bothered him to be boxed in like that. His whole imagery and everything was based on young Frank, and I was too naive at the time to see the problem because when I started playing with Harry I www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

was 19 and I wasn’t really into Frank Sinatra at that point in my life. I knew about it, but it wasn’t my thing. At that time, I was with Harry all the time because I was on the road with him. I remember how much it used to piss him off because the first question at every interview was about Frank Sinatra. Harry was like, ‘Gimme a break.’ But really, it’s about as big a compliment as you can get as a male singer. There’s no doubt it helped his career; I definitely learned something from that.”

It’s especially difficult for an artist like Davenport, who is consciously trying to evoke another era while at the same time putting his own contemporary stamp on it.

“I fell in love with that music—Johnny Mercer songs, Arlen and Ross, Cole Porter songs, Gershwin, Irvin Berlin, but I have no interest in being a nostalgia act or a retro performer of those songs. I hate when people do tribute records. I don’t want to wear the costume from that era.

I want to arrive at the point where I’m doing my original music in a relevant, standard, American song format. I’m not trying to break new ground.

I’m basically using that music as a template and making it mine, making it personal. That’s where I’m trying to go with this whole thing.”

Davenport employs contemporary technology to help him achieve his goals. In

addition to using Twitter to keep his fans up to date on his comings and goings, he’s an avid researcher of material on iTunes.

“I’m obsessed with iTunes,” he admits.

“I’ll take a song and plug it in to iTunes and research every single version that I can find. It’s an interesting tool because when I was first coming up, I had to listen to music on LPs, and to go out and beg my parents for money to check out just a couple of versions of a song was hard. Now you can buy 10 versions of each song for 10 bucks.

It’s cool. So if I want to do a song but I don’t want to do it like someone else did, I can research all the versions then add my own ideas to it.”

The trying years since Katrina have produced more survivors than success stories in what passes for the music industry in New Orleans, but Davenport’s career trajectory has been impressive, as much for its discipline and singularity as its content. Davenport has branded himself as a ballroom performer in a city known for its clubs, festivals and street musicians. His act is designed for a room where mostly locals go for a night out with the touch of Hollywood musical elegance provided by the glitz of the Ritz-Carlton. And Davenport makes

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

C

RY STO R E OV

sure the punch line is branded hard on the product—he plays in the Davenport Lounge, where the patrons drink Davenportinis.

As of July, Davenport is winging his way between jobs in New Orleans and New York.

“Jet Blue is my commuter bus,” he jokes.

He plans a more downscale approach to his New York gig at Huckleberry’s, a small, hip, tapas bar in a Brooklyn neighborhood that is more of a walk-in joint than a couples’ night out venue. The name may put you in mind of “Moon River,” and the patrons at Huckleberry’s drink craft-brewed IPA, not Davenportinis, but he’s still looking to put his own stamp on the gig.

“I’m trying,” says Davenport, “to get them to stock Abita.”

O Jeremy Davenport plays Satchmo SummerFest on Sunday, August 2, at 4:15 p.m. at the Barracks Street “Red Beans and Ricely Yours” stage.

AU G U ST 2 009

O

21

EATS

The Sweet Spot nyone can cook savory items. Throw a steak on flame, wait an amount of time, and dinner is ready. But to make it on the softer side of the line, the place where sugar, flour and patience become sweets takes a special kind of magic.

In August 2007, Joel Dondis and Tariq Hanna partnered up to turn a Magazine Street storefront into Sucré—a pastel-hued kaleidoscope of confections. New Orleanians eager for a break from drywall, insurance agents and the quiet hum of a neighborhood full of generators, sought solace in this store. Here was gelato, truffles and more, a calm setting and perhaps just a twinge of nostalgia for McKenzie’s. But for Hanna it was likely those customers were seeking something else: “Desserts scratch two main emotions for humans: comfort and guilt.”

It makes sense when you think about it.

Chocolate ice cream and break-ups go hand in hand, and why else would candy and tabloids be on the same aisle of the supermarket? They give the consumer a guilty pleasure and are usually an impulsive purchase. As the city of New Orleans regained its footing, residents found Sucré to be an oasis amid the chaos; a place where, as Dondis says, you can take a 10-minute vacation.

The Sucré brand has ambitious plans to open more shops in the coming years across the South. All of this expansion will be fueled by the company’s recently opened pastry plant in the heart of New Orleans. The 4,000-squarefoot facility is bright, airy and a constant whir of activity. In one area, all the pastries, cakes and delightful macaroons are constructed.

Huge proofers, rollers and ovens provide a temperature-controlled environment that allows flour, butter and yeast to evolve into a croissant.

Another room houses electronic waterfalls from which dark chocolate ganache, creamy dulce de leche and white chocolate flow over molds to make truffles and bon bons. Favorites emerge, including the sea salt chocolate truffles and the absinthe truffles, but by far the standout is the brown butter truffle.

Another machine churns local cream and Louisiana cane sugar into a rich, mouthcoating gelato. The flavors of gelato combine the techniques of Italy and local flavors; here is Bananas Foster, praline, nectar cream, and root beer float. All of the goods made here are then packaged and shipped either to a Sucré store or to sweet-loving web surfers.

22

O AUGUST 2009

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

A

Sucré gears up for its southern expansion.

The reason behind Sucré’s expansion? “It takes a lot to run a company like this: labor, equipment and overhead,” Dondis says. “In order to make a profit, we have to reach a critical mass of stores, which is why we are opening other locations in the best cities in the country.” Metairie, Orlando, Baton Rouge and Houston—prepare your sweet teeth.

Walking around Sucré’s production facility, one gets the sense of the sheer size of Dondis and Hanna’s vision. The hulking, tank-like machinery alone costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The “kitchen” is one of the few in the country that is making not only breads and chocolates but gelatos and pastries. “We are a destination work environment; professionals want to work here,” says Dondis. Indeed, Sucré recently ran a nationwide ad looking for apprentices and had over 80 applicants for the position. Interviews went on for three weeks, with two to three candidates getting a shot to stagier at Sucré.

By Rene Louapre

Jennifer, a pastry chef, moved to New Orleans with her boyfriend following their graduation from the Culinary Institute of America. As she rolled fondant to place on a cake which would resemble a table saw, she portrayed the profile of the new immigrant to New Orleans, the American from elsewhere who moves here to follow a passion which cannot be fulfilled elsewhere. “The way we look at pastries here is different from any other place,” says Jennifer. “That is part of the reason I wanted to work here.”

While some may think expansion in a time of economic disaster is a fool’s gamble, Joel Dondis believes his product is just what the nation needs: a brief respite from the grind, a chance to have a Proustian reaction and enjoy a scoop of gelato. Explaining his philosophy, he related a story from an early mentor of his who told Dondis, “It’s one thing to create a nice dish; it’s another thing to make a living off of it.” It is hard to argue with his results thus far.

O www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

E TH

Y AV GR

In the Kitchen with

Eric, Michael and Ryan

Eric Rogers, Michael Girardot and Ryan Rogers from bands such as Antenna Inn, MyNameIsJohnMichael, Big Rock Candy Mountain and Rotary Downs have their hands in many pots.

Eric: I am eating breakfast, which is leftover hibachi. Filet mignon for breakfast, with scallops.

Michael: I had Cheerios.

Eric: I learned to cook by just watching other people. Ryan has been in the fine dining service industry for over seven years.

Ryan: Ten years now.

Eric: Jesus! Well, he’s always whipping up stuff around the house, and our dad always brought home fresh fish. Our stepfather’s a big grilling guy and I took to that more than baking or sautéing.

Ryan: You cook on the grill rather than on the stove.

Eric: I enjoy cooking large quantities of meat. A long time ago, a friend of mine had a party at his parents’ house, and I was craving ribs.

I had never made ribs and I was like, “I think I can do that.” So we made a whole rack of beef ribs and everybody was raving about these ribs. They’re really simple, nothing complicated about them, but from that point on I was Eric Rogers the rib guy. People kept asking me to do them.

Ryan: I make the classic Creole sauces. Hollandaise and Bechamel and reduction sauces, or red tomato sauces, sauce tomate. I do the simple stuff. Beurre blanc—white wine and butter and lemon juice—is the quickest thing in the world.

Michael: I came up with a large family. My mom’s method of cooking was looking in the refrigerator, seeing what we had, and in about 20 minutes she would have the whole family fed. I also learned a lot from my grandma, who cooked a lot of food in large quantities. A few years ago, we started throwing potlucks at my house. It’s a good way to have a lot of people over, have a party and it doesn’t cost us a

24

O AUGUST 2009

great, when you’re trying frantically to make your house presentable and be a good host.

Eric’s Cajun Ribs 5 pounds meaty beef ribs 5 pounds meaty pork ribs salt and black pepper Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic 1 (quart) jar Jack Miller’s Barbecue Sauce (from Ville Platte, LA) 1 tablespoon (“butt-load”) Tabasco 1 bottle beer (Coors Original) 12 ounces bottle spicy brown mustard 1/3 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce lot of money. We do it about once a month and it’s been going on for at least two years. I started making my grandmother’s corn pudding recipe for these potlucks and at this point, if someone comes to a potluck and there is no corn pudding…

Eric: …it’s a letdown. It’s quite the dish.

Michael: It’s really easy, but people seem to dig it, so I keep making it.

Ryan: I’m going to make a red cabbage and green apple coleslaw and add some ginger and call it Asian.

Michael: Aren’t you making something else as well?

Ryan: Just a roasted vegetable medley. Potlucks in the past, I’ve tried to go a little too gourmet on the crowd.

Eric: One time, Ryan comes late and brings baked pears with bacon and cheese on them.

Ryan: No, it wasn’t bacon.

Prosciutto.

Eric: Oh, excuse me. Anyway, the kids and the uncultured palates didn’t like the prosciutto.

Like me. There’s been hits, and there’s been misses. The ribs that didn’t turn out as good as others were ribs that were rushed. The best ones I’ve made I probably cooked for seven or eight hours.

Michael: I like putting a bunch of stuff in a pan and mixing it up and

By Elsa Hahne

putting it in an oven. King Ranch Chicken is another dish. There is no ranch [dressing] in it. I think the name refers to a ranch. Basically, it’s chicken, a lot of cheese, tortillas, peppers and Rotel tomatoes.

Ryan: Our step-dad is from Lafayette, so he has a Cajun side to his cooking.

Michael: Tell the story of the deer, at your dad’s house.

Ryan: My dad hit a deer. It wasn’t destroyed and we don’t like to waste things, so we prepared the deer. I made deer roast and paneed deer.

Eric: It was a lot of deer.

Ryan: He hit the front quarter, but the back of the deer was still in mint condition. Fed a lot of people with that deer.

Michael: My kitchen is okay. But Ryan brought his own shredder and tongs and his own knife and knife sharpener and his own whisk.

Eric: And you brought salt!

Michael: He brought his own salt.

Eric [to Ryan]: Who doesn’t have salt? I’m insalted!

Michael: Hosting a potluck, most of the work involves cleaning up your house so it’s presentable.

The great thing about corn pudding, I’ve gotten to where I can make it in about five minutes and stick it in the oven, which is

Start the day before the party.

Season ribs with salt, pepper and Meat Magic. Mix remaining ingredients into a marinade.

Marinate ribs overnight in a covered container. The next day, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lift ribs out of the marinade and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 175-200 degrees for six-eight hours. Pour marinade into a saucepan and reduce it to about half. When ribs are ready, slather in warm sauce. Serve immediately.

Michael’s Grandmother’s Corn Pudding 1 stick butter 2 (14-ounce) cans creamed corn 2 (14-ounce) cans whole kernel corn 1 (8-ounce) box Jiffy corn muffin mix 4 eggs ½ cup light brown sugar 2 tablespoons honey Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 13 x 9-inch Pyrex pan in the oven. Drain one can of whole kernel corn (leave liquid in the other one). Pour all ingredients into pan and mix with a fork until well blended. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until pudding wiggles like jello and no longer sloshes around.

O www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

What do members of indie rock bands do with time off? Throw a potluck.

EATS

OffBeat AFRICAN Bennachin: 1212 Royal St., 522-1230.

AMERICAN Duffy’s: 1005 Canal St., 592-1110.

Hard Rock Café: 418 N. Peters St., 529-5617.

O’Henry’s Food & Spirits: 634 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-9741; 8859 Veterans Blvd., 461-9840; 710 Terry Pkwy., 433-4111.

Port of Call: 838 Esplanade Ave., 523-0120.

St. Charles Tavern: 1433 St. Charles Ave., 523-9823.

BARBECUE The Joint: 801 Poland Ave., 949-3232.

Walker’s Barbecue: 10828 Hayne Blvd., 241-8227.

BREAKFAST Café Freret: 7329 Freret St., 861-7890.

Daisy Dukes: 121 Chartres St., 561-5171.

Mena’s Place: 200 Chartres St., 525-0217.

New Orleans Cake Cafe & Bakery: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010.

Petunia’s Restaurant: 817 St. Louis St., 522-6440.

The Ruby Slipper Café: 139 S Cortez St., 309-5531.

COFFEE HOUSE Café du Monde: 800 Decatur St., 525-4544.

Café Rose Nicaud: 634 Frenchmen St., 949-2292.

CREOLE/CAJUN Atchafalaya Restaurant: 901 Louisiana Ave., 891-9626.

Clancy’s: 6100 Annunciation, 895-1111.

Cochon: 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123.

Dick & Jenny’s: 4501 Tchoupitoulas, 894-9880.

Galatoire’s: 209 Bourbon St., 525-2021.

Gumbo Shop: 630 St. Peter St., 525-1486.

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen: 416 Chartres St., 524-7394.

Mulate’s: 201 Julia St., 522-1492.

DELI Mardi Gras Zone: 2706 Royal St., 947-8787.

Stein’s Market and Deli: 2207 Magazine St., 527-0771.

Verti Marte: 1201 Royal St., 525-4767.

FINE DINING Antoine’s: 701 St. Louis St., 581-4422.

Bombay Club: 830 Conti St., 586-0972.

Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866.

Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221.

Emeril’s: 800 Tchoupitoulas, 528-9393.

Iris Restaurant: 321 N Peters St., 299-3944.

Lüke: 333 St. Charles Ave., 378-2840.

Maison Dupuy Hotel: 1001 Toulouse St., 586-8000.

Mat and Naddie’s: 937 Leonidas St., 861-9600.

26

O AUGUST 2009

Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078.

Pelican Club: 312 Exchange Place, 523-1504.

Restaurant Cuvée: 322 Magazine St., 587-9001.

7 on Fulton: 701 Convention Center Blvd., 525-7555.

Stella!: 1032 Chartres St., 587-0091.

Tujague’s: 823 Decatur St., 525-8676.

FRENCH Café Degas: 3127 Esplanade Ave., 945-5635.

Delachaise: 3442 St. Charles Ave., 895-0858.

Flaming Torch Restaurant: 737 Octavia St., 895-0900.

La Crepe Nanou: 1410 Robert St., 899-2670.

Crepes à la Cart: 1039 Broadway St., 866-2362.

Restaurant August: 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 299-9777 ICE CREAM/GELATO Creole Creamery: 4924 Prytania St., 894-8680.

La Divina Gelateria: 3005 Magazine St., 342-2634; 621 St. Peter St., 302-2692.

Sucré: 3025 Magazine St., 520-8311.

INDIAN Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797.

ITALIAN Eleven 79: 1179 Annunciation St., 299-1179.

Irene’s Cuisine: 539 St. Philip St., 529-8811.

Maximo’s: 1117 Decatur St., 586-8883.

Tommy’s: 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 581-1103.

JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI Gimchi: 3322 Turnbull Dr., Metairie 454-6426.

Kyoto: 4920 Prytania St., 891-3644.

Mikimoto: 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 488-1881.

Miyako Japanese Seafood & Steak House: 1403 St. Charles Ave., 410-9997.

Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433.

MEDITERRANEAN Byblos: 3218 Magazine St., 894-1233.

Café Lazziza: 2106 Chartres St., 943-0416.

Jamila’s Café: 7808 Maple St., 866-4366.

Mona’s Café: 504 Frenchmen St., 949-4115.

MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/SPANISH Juan’s Flying Burrito: 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000.

El Gato Negro: 81 French Market Place, 525-9846.

Nacho Mama’s: 3240 Magazine St. 899-0031.

RioMar: 800 S. Peters St., 525-3474.

Tomatillo’s: 437 Esplanade Ave., 945-9997.

MUSIC ON THE MENU Carrollton Station Bar and Grill: 140 Willow St., 865-9190.

Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714.

House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068.

Prejean’s Restaurant: 3480 Hwy 167 N, Lafayette (337) 896-3247.

Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117. www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

EATS Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133.

Palm Court Jazz Café: 1204 Decatur St., 525-0200.

Rivershack Tavern: 3449 River Rd., 834-4938.

Southport Hall: 200 Monticello Ave., 835-2903.

Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696.

NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS 13 Bar & Restaurant: 517 Frenchmen St., 942-1345.

Café Reconcile: 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 568-1157.

Camellia Grill: 626 S. Carrollton Ave., 309-2676.

Slim Goodies: 3322 Magazine St., 891-3447.

Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683.

PIZZA Fresco Café & Pizzeria: 7625 Maple St., 862-6363.

Garage Pizza: 220 S Robertson St., 569-1599.

French Quarter Pizzeria: 201 Decatur St., 948-3287.

Slice Pizzeria: 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525-7437.

Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza: 4218 Magazine St., 894-8554.

Turtle Bay: 1119 Decatur St., 586-0563.

PO-BOYS / SANDWICHES Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop: 3454 Magazine St., 899-3374

Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047.

SEAFOOD Acme Oyster & Seafood House: 724 Iberville, 522-5973.

Bourbon House: 144 Bourbon St., 274-1831.

Casamento’s Restaurant: 4330 Magazine St. 895-9761.

Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St. 569-3380.

Drago’s Restaurant: 2 Poydras St. (Hilton Hotel), 584-3911; 3232 N. Arnoult St., Metairie, 888-9254.

SOUL Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: 2005 N Broad St., 940-5786 Dunbar’s: 501 Pine St., 861-5451.

Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934.

Willie Mae’s Scotch House: 2401 St. Ann St., 822-9503.

THAI Sukho Thai: 1913 Royal St., 948-9309.

WEE HOURS Clover Grill: 900 Bourbon St., 523-0904.

Mimi’s in the Marigny: 2601 Royal St., 872-9868.

Molly’s At The Market: 1107 Decatur St., 525-5169.

St. Charles Tavern: 1433 St. Charles Ave., 523-9823.

Anaïs St. John hits the

Kyoto 4920 Prytania Street (504) 891-3644

What makes Kyoto Anaïs St. John different from other sings at Satchmo sushi restaurants?

SummerFest It’s right here in my on Sunday, neighborhood, and it’s August 2. reasonably priced and incredibly good. You could get sushi from lots of places, but what is there not to like here?

And everybody knows your name. Kyoto is one of those places where I feel completely at home.

I have lunch and dinner here.

Another thing that is different about Kyoto is the owner, Sara Molony. Sara was the first female to own a sushi restaurant in New Orleans and still is.

What is your favorite dish to order here?

The Sara roll, which has spicy shrimp, avocado with crunchy bits and chili sauce on top. And the white fish carpaccio.

Do you get dessert?

I don’t get dessert here. Then again, you could say that the hot sake is my dessert. I ordered a small one. I want you to try it; what do you say?

—Teresha Ussin www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

27

DINING OUT Dooky Chase’s Every now and then, a hug is in order.

Dooky Chase’s provides that hug and more.

Dooky Chase is iconic. Leah Chase has tended the fires, watched over the dining room and fed a multitude of historical figures for decades. Recently, Mrs. Leah turned the pans and kitchen over to her grandson, Dooky Chase, who returned from an intensive program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Normally lunch buffets are to be avoided at all costs. At Dooky’s, they use foods that hold up and even thrive from sitting atop a Sterno. Witness the red beans. Chunks of hot sausage hold court in rust-colored, soupy broth dotted with tender red beans. The spice level may be a little tame for some eaters, but the extra links of hot sausage will remedy that.

Preceding the beans was a cup of corn bisque.

The sweetness of the corn combined with the creaminess of the broth made the shards of bacon even more enjoyable.

A buffet presents a good opportunity to showcase slow-cooking, hearty vegetables.

A GOOD TIP

...from bartender Bill Stehr Out on the Mississippi River on the Steamboat Natchez, bartender Bill Stehr has it a little easier than his French Quarter counterparts. While the demand is high during the legendary Natchez’s cruises, Stehr isn’t bombarded by the Quarter’s usual barrage of belligerent drinkers à la Bourbon Street.

“Everyone is pretty well-behaved,” he admits. “They aren’t on the boat long enough to get too out of control.”

“And,” he says, “The Natchez lacks the headaches of barflies who feel entitled to free drinks.”

28

O AUGUST 2009

Collard greens, expertly cut to withstand the rigors of slow cooking, were sublime with whispers of their grassy origins and a tart shot of vinegar. My original diagnosis was that the pork loin would be dry, but my quarter-inch thick slice was juicy and topped with apricots.

Anytime you eat five servings of something, it has to be good. And so it was with the fried chicken. A careful watch of the movements of the kitchen revealed fresh, hot fried chicken every twenty minutes or so. Strike while the frying is hot.

No meal is complete without dessert. There, beckoning a diner like the sirens in “The Odyssey,” were playing card-sized chunks of brownies topped with a thick chocolate icing.

As they were next to the fried chicken, it took a lot of willpower not to combine chicken and chocolate, but the brownies are a delight.

From the exterior, Dooky’s does not appear to be elegant. But the interior is stunning with boldly colored walls adorned with bright paintings from local artists. All of this—the food, the dining room, the sense of history— gives o’sff a vibe that Dooky Chase’s is not resting on its laurels, but moving forward with a renewed sense of vigor.

301 Orleans Ave. (504) 821-0535. Open daily from lunch thru dinner.

—Rene Louapre

Photo: elsa hahne

EATS

Mrs. Leah Chase got her Dooky back and is now open for lunch and dinner daily.

Still, don’t think his job is easy. Between the customers that step up to his bar and the challenges of taking care of cocktail servers—not to mention playing the role of bar back, which includes carrying heavy kegs up the Natchez’s narrow metal steps— Stehr has plenty of demands upon him.

But he feels honored to be part of the steamboat tradition that helped mold New Orleans, a tradition that has dwindled to the point that the Natchez is the last of its kind on the Mississippi. “It really is a shame that we’re the last one out there.”

Though he likes to take the time to get to know his customers and appreciates repeat business, the lack of bar stools is meant to discourage the chatterers who assume a bartender has nothing to do but listen to their woes.

“Pay attention. If you see I’m busy or you realize I’m not making eye contact, which means it’s time to move on. I’ve got work to do!”

—Juli Shipley The Steamboat Natchez takes off daily and nightly from the Toulouse Street Wharf behind Jax Brewery, at the River, in the French Quarter. For more info, go to www.steamboatnatchez.com. www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

REVIEWS

Reviews

When submitting CDs for consideration, please send two copies of the CD to OffBeat Reviews, 421 Frenchmen Street, Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116

CDs reviewed are available now at In the French Quarter 210 Decatur Street 504-586-1094 or online at LouisianaMusicFactory.com

A Thing of Beauty

Tim Laughlin A Royal St. Serenade (Gentilly) A common criticism of reviewers is that they’re too caught up in the pursuit of the new, cool thing to appreciate beauty anymore. The thing that’s hard to tell the artist that made the beautiful piece is that it’s often beautiful like a soap opera star is beautiful—conventional, familiar, unspectacular. Critics still respond to genuine beauty.

Tim Laughlin’s A Royal St. Serenade is genuinely beautiful.

There’s nothing groundbreaking about his album, but there’s nothing run of the mill about it, either. Laughlin considers what is necessary to put each piece in its best light, whether it’s slowing down “I’m Sorry I Made You Cry” to emphasize its lyrical nature, or adding a spry bounce to “Down by the Old Mill Stream” to liberate the song from the barbershop quartets that rendered it corny. He sets the warm, woody tone of his clarinet next to the plush, metallic echo of Jason Marsalis’ vibes, and while he performs W.C. Handy’s “Aunt Hagar’s Blues” and tunes associated with Benny Goodman, the album isn’t defined by any time or school. It’s traditional without being trad, swing without being for dancers only, and New

30

O AUGUST 2009

Orleans without being cliché.

A Royal St. Serenade sounds contemporary in part because of Laughlin’s attention to the sound of his quintet—which also includes Larry Scala, Matt Perrine and Bunchy Johnson—but also because few of his choices are overly familiar. The most traditionalsounding songs on the album are his own. The title composition features a clear, simple clarinet melody that is so easily grasped that it seems like it must have been around forever. It becomes increasingly complex and more distinctive as the song goes on, though, and Laughlin’s talent for writing timeless melody statements is equally evident in “A Song for Juliet”—his wife—and “For Pete’s Sake”—for Pete Fountain.

The most adventurous track on A Royal St. Serenade is “Wolf’s Gang,” an excerpt from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto rearranged as a swinging march with vibes and banjo. It’s wryly witty, but it’s not a joke. And it fits because A Royal St. Serenade is full of musical love letters, and the arrangement is Laughlin’s way of showing his affection for Mozart. To his credit, Laughlin wisely never lets the warm sentiment be a piece or the album’s dominant trait. He is, he admits, in a good place these days, and he executes the songs with taste, complexity and personality—traits that are always hallmarks of beauty.

—Alex Rawls

association with Camp Street’s Black Top label. Recorded in 1986, our man is on fire here for sure, and in good company with a posse of New Orleans veterans— Smokey Johnson, Erving Charles and David Lastie in the trenches.

As per most Eaglin albums, this is largely a collection of covers, but well-chosen ones by Guitar Slim, Tommy Ridgley, and the title track is by Earl King. Eaglin even recycles one of his own Imperial singles, “That Certain Door.” His six-string mastery is on display on “Profidia,” and his long-time bandstand favorite, “Drop the Bomb!,” sho’ ’nuff proves the man indeed was funky. There’s a particularly attractive blues ballad here, Percy Mayfield’s “Baby Please,” and a spectacular invitation to the dance floor with Eugene Church’s “Pretty Girls Everywhere.” In all, a wonderful reminder of Eaglin’s eclectic talent.

My only bitch is that like a lot of these Hep Cat reissues, this one has second-rate scans of the original artwork. In fact, if you compare this to the original CD/LP, Eaglin gets cut off at the knees!

Still, it’s the music that counts, so I hope they keep mining his Black Top catalog and get to Earl King’s soon, too.

—Jeff Hannusch

Snooks Eaglin

Ahhh, the return of Lady T, “Honey” if you want her “Southern name,” Mary Christine Brockert if you want the (snore) legal one.

Documentary proof that someone (I didn’t say anyone) can turn herself black given enough passion, Ms. Marie devotes some of this third

Baby, You Can Get Your Gun (Hep Cat) Very much a politically incorrect album title, this is a reissue of the album that marked the beginning of Eaglin’s long and fruitful

Teena Marie

comeback album to exploring her roots in New Orleans. More precisely, she honors her roots in the midst of laying down another Lady T amble through 21st-Century sensuality, one Jumbotron hot tub parked next to one king-and-queen sized mattress, satin sheets a must.

As a lady of a certain age, she no longer aspires to the frighteningly danceable “Behind the Groove”s and “Lovergirl”s of decades past.

Those songs commanded the body as they unsettled the mind, and their frantic, almost hyperventilating urgency (not to mention their morality plays—“Help Youngblood Get to the Freaky Party” needed a question mark on its end as she held, or so she felt, Youngblood’s immortal soul in her own hands) must have exhausted their creator as much as anybody else.

Which is not meant as a rip.

If nothing on this set bursts out of a medium tempo, the taste, arrangement, guest shots (MC Lyte, George Duke, Shirley Murdock, Howard Hewett), and idiosyncrasy save it from samey.

If her tributes to Congo Square, Coretta Scott King, and some other worthy causes read a little didactic on the lyric sheet, put headphones on for the juice.

—Andrew Hamlin

Red Stick Ramblers My Suitcase is Always Packed (Sugar Hill)

Congo Square (Stax)

By now, the story of any Red Stick Ramblers album is what mood they’re in. They’ve demonstrated that they can play Cajun, Western Swing, hot jazz, blues and country, and what differs from album to album is the balance of styles. On My Suitcase is Always Packed, they’re in a honky-tonk mood. Ramblers Eric www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

REVIEWS

Frey and Chas Justus display a facility for the tears-in-your-beer song, the best being “Bloodshot Eyes.” In it, Frey quick-sketches the end of a love between a couple that enjoyed the wild side of life, and the song gains gravity for all the details he glosses over: “It’s better if you and I part / so that we might live long enough to see heart to heart.”

The Ramblers undercut the song’s potential for melodrama with a lovely, graceful melody set on Linzay Young’s fiddle, and here and throughout the album, they’re not in any hurry. After the high energy opener “Je T’aime Pas Mieux,” they relax and let the songs and arrangements do the work.

They swing easily on the comic “The Barnyard Bachelor” and the cad-about-town title track, and the unhurried pace suits their voices. The result is a very entertaining album that sounds supremely confident.

—Alex Rawls

Various Artists

Lil’ Dee

Prairie Cajun Music (Acadiana)

“Stay Ready” (Street Dreams)

Prairie Cajun Music comes from 1993. The CD craze still hadn’t caught on everywhere, at least not at Acadiana Sounds in Eunice, Louisiana. Many of the label’s early releases were cassette-only, which went the way of the dinosaur when car manufacturers made CD players standard equipment.

Still, with everything heading to a digital-only format, many things could get lost in the shuffle, just as they did from vinyl to CDs. With this 10-song compilation featuring five Cajun prairie bands including his own, label honcho Fred Charlie attempts to preserve some of that legacy before it’s too late. Though it’s not perfect, it’s enjoyable and immeasurably heartfelt.

The proceedings are delightfully primitive, which will undoubtedly interest enthusiasts seeking that unvarnished sound. Jason Frey and Rhythm Aces nail the best track with “Prairie Cajun Two Step,” but originals from the late Kenneth Thibodeaux, Charlie and J.C. Labbie are also solid. With this snapshot in hand, Charlie should continue culling the vault for those like Frey and Labbie who haven’t been as prolific in the studio.

—Dan Willging

The world of hip-hop is currently dominated by youth. Besides middleaged veterans like Jay-Z, Kanye and Nas, many of the industry’s current chart-toppers are probably legally prohibited from purchasing an alcoholic beverage. Aspiring to reach the fame and status of Hurricane Chris and Soulja Boy, New Orleans native Lil’ Dee is introducing himself to the world with his new single, “Stay Ready.” Proclaiming himzself as God’s gift to hip-hop, Dee shows his potential for greatness by speedily flowing over a slow-paced southern instrumental. In addition to showcasing his own skills, the track also aims to gain respect for the young MC by featuring locally renowned hip-hop artist Fiend, who experienced success on his own with Master P’s No Limit Records.

In the single, Dee boasts, “Flyest rappers get demolished even if they doubtin’ Dee / Put your whole team on the line, they can’t amount to me!”

This swagger and confidence is definitely felt on two other tracks which accompany the lead single.

On “Naw Talkin Bout,” Dee once again receives the assistance of another seasoned vet, Baby Boy Da Prince. Baby Boy helps Dee find his

Wilco (the review) Wilco Wilco (the album) (Nonesuch) Wilco (the band) didn’t preview any songs off Wilco (the album) when it played at Jazz Fest a couple months before the CD’s release. But the Fair Grounds set captured the goofy spirit of “Wilco (the song),” the album’s opening track. With tongue only half in cheek, Tweedy French-kisses fans: “Put on your headphones before you explode. / Wilco, Wilco, Wilco will love ya, baby.”

Riding a swell of chiming guitars with a riptide of dissonance, this catchy little tune sets the stage for a band at the peak of its power.

32

O AUGUST 2009

The first stable lineup in Wilco’s checkered history has the luxury of exploring the nuances of the band’s sonic palette, which it does to great effect. But Wilco (the album) isn’t just a place-holder.

Surprising, even shocking, twists lift a good collection of solid songs into greatness on several tracks.

Tweedy, who rarely pens character studies, goes for broke in “Bull Black Nova,” which slams us right inside the head of a murderer fresh from the kill: “It’s in my hair. / There’s blood in the sink. / I can’t calm down. / I can’t think.” Menacing chords presage the meltdown, turn suddenly sickeningly sweet, then pour salt on the victim’s wounds with a full-court Wilco press.

But the album’s emotional center is “You and I,” a lovely duet with Feist, which celebrates the mystery of the other. And “Everlasting Everything,” which reminds us that in a world where “everything goes, both the good and the bad … everlasting love is all you have.”

—Cree McCree www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

REVIEWS lane on a Trill Entertainment-type instrumental, and the combination is a success. Signs of talent include lines like, “Cop them big thangs you could never afford / next time this year I’m at the Grammy Awards. / This time next year I’ll be out on tour. / I got 20 million haters, I want twenty million more!”

Overall, Lil’ Dee’s first offering clearly displays his potential. With more seasoning and experience, Dee may develop artistically and be regarded as God’s gift by someone other than himself and his entourage.

—Clifton Lee

Kenny Bill Stinson Kickin’ in My Stall (Independent) North Louisiana’s Kenny Bill Stinson recorded Kickin’ in My Stall by himself at home, and the lack of anyone looking over his shoulder

to keep him pious helps immensely.

His production flirts with lo-fi as bits of distortion crackle through the album like lightning, and the upright piano may be a honkytonk staple, but in “Rhinestones and Butterflies,” its fragile sound gives his tribute to his deceased mother exactly the right amount of gravity. Johnny Cash may have shot a man in Reno, but Stinson one-ups the Man in Black when he imagines shooting his way out of a bad casino gig in “Sunday Night in Shreveport.” Throughout, contemporary sonic, lyrical and musical touches give his ARK-LATEX garage, blues, country and rock ’n’ roll modern, unpredictable edges. He also reveals his affection for the Beatles, which helps his roots-rock stand out while countless other Americana artists stand entirely, safely and securely inside the long shadows of their heroes.

—Alex Rawls

A Belated Reminder Barry Cowsill U.S. 1 (Independent) The circumstances of Barry Cowsill’s death were lost in the fog of Katrina. He stayed in town, reached out to his family on September 1, and his body was identified in a Baton Rouge morgue that December. He had been found in the Mississippi River, but how he got there and what happened in his last days remain a mystery. U.S. 1, a posthumous album, includes a photo of one of the artifacts from that period—a sign that was nailed to a tree in Audubon Park that reads, “In honor of Barry Cowsill, a true genius who died on the levee 9-2-05.”

U.S. 1 doesn’t make the case that Cowsill was a genius, but it is a fine reminder that he could take completely conventional pop materials and still make something special. Occasionally he’d work in an odd piece of language (“bivouac”) or an unusual line (“Love is the dying-est word in town”), but songs such as “Chain You Down,” “Little Bit of Lovin’” and “Goin’ Home” work with commonplace parts from

34

O AUGUST 2009

concept to melody. That he made you care anyway was a testament to his talent, and the urgency in his voice helped a lot.

U.S. 1 also suggests that Cowsill wasn’t a fast writer. Over half of the songs had been recorded before, six of them on As Is from 2001, and while the versions aren’t markedly different, the band is more sympathetic on As Is. His songs were written so that his voice and guitar did most of the work, but the U.S. 1 band does little more than follow him, which means the tracks sound like good demos. Still, they’re good songs and good demos. Until someone gets As Is back in print, it’s nice to have something to document Cowsill’s art in the final stages of his life.

—Alex Rawls www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

REVIEWS

Various Artists American Routes with Nick Spitzer: Songs and Stories from the Road (American Public Media) On the two-disc set, American Routes with Nick Spitzer: Songs and Stories from the Road, producer and interviewer Spitzer offers some of the more interesting interviews from his internationally distributed radio program. Spitzer is an incisive interviewer, asking questions that on the surface seem innocuous, but entire worlds are explained in the answers they provoke. Questions to participants involved in the 1960s North Carolina beach culture show a world that let music and surfers break down racial segregation. His segment about songwriters Leiber and Stoller show how two Jewish guys ended up writing in what many considered hip black vernacular. In these pieces, as with the program as a whole, Spitzer is concerned with authentic and hybrid culture, what such terms mean and how they evolve. One way he gets such answers is by appearing to be outside the culture he’s questioning, as is the case in his off-the-cuff conversation with a street barbeque cook in the segment taken from the Treme Sidewalk Steppers second line parade. Elsewhere, he’s deep enough into it to converse as an expert, as he does in talking about nuances of Cajun music with Feufollet.

However, the best moments of this set occur when Spitzer is surprised during the recordings. When former DJ Johnny Rabbit shows up while Spitzer talks to Jaspar Giardina about his radio collection, Spitzer inadvertently lets down his guard and lets his geek enthusiasm shine through. Such enthusiasm adds a charm that creates the special radio moments that Spitzer is trying to achieve and is successful at most of the time.

—David Kunian

Big Rock Candy Mountain Hey Kid (Independent) New Orleans-based indie outfit Big Rock Candy Mountain are anything but a group of folkobsessed idlers in search of an idyllic hobo’s heaven. These gonzo rockers have got their own warped visions www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

35

REVIEWS

of paradise. Their debut album Hey Kid is a frenzied reverie swept up in a world of bliss, bedlam, spiky new wave and knifing prog rock.

After luring you in with a liquid guitar and a chorus of “aahs,” it’s off to a world of ringing sirens, spacey synths, grinding guitars and explosive drums. The opening number, “Rocketship,” is pure sensory overload—chaotic, euphoric, overpowering and inescapable. The rest of the songs on Hey Kid are just as maddening. The hysterical opus “I Am the Storm” swims through a sea of feedback and trippy art punk, while the pulsating distortion of “Hey Kid Give Me Your Money” erupts into a vehement, overdriven freakout. Singer/keyboardist Michael Girardot’s feverish drone and unhinged cries often shatter the insular world his “cooing” falsetto nearly creates. Girardot’s mates all match his mania. Bassist Stephen MacDonald’s punchy surges keep things danceable, and drummer Leo DeJesus’ Bonzo-meets-Stewart Copeland barrage rattles home the ricocheting riffs and jarring virtuosity of guitarist Andrew Hartstock. Check out the madcap closer “Bang Bang;” it’s sure to leave the senses reeling.

After seven frantic blasts, Hey Kid clocks in at just under 35 minutes.

And while that may seem short, it’s hard to image that the brain could handle much more. Loud, audacious and unrelenting, in relatively no time at all you’ll either be teetering on the edge of psychosis or shaking your limbs uncontrollably. Beware!

—Aaron LaFont

Hill Country Revue Make a Move (Razor & Tie) When the North Mississippi Allstars’ guitarist Luther Dickinson

36

O AUGUST 2009

joined the Black Crowes on tour in 2008, his bandmates, brother Cody and bassist Chris Chew, hatched up a homespun conspiracy of their own, the Hill Country Revue, a midnight blues band with an intense affinity for the sounds of North Mississippi and an appetite for southern rock.

On Make a Move, the Hill Country Revue cranks out one backwoods boogie after another.

The legacy of hill country blues doesn’t stray far from that of the late, great R.L. Burnside, and Make a Move makes its first on the bluesman’s “Alice Mae.” It doesn’t take long for the Hill Country Revue to rile things up as they bear down hard on the gritty shuffle. Later, they take on Burnside’s blistering shakedown, “Georgia Woman.” Gary Burnside, R.L.’s youngest son, wrote seven of Make a Move’s eight other tracks.

Early on, it’s evident that the Hill Country Revue isn’t holding anything back. Each song is like a powder keg, just waiting for the right riff to set it off. When guitarist Kirk Smithhart streaks across Chew’s thunderous bass lines in “Dirty Shirt,” the droning, hypnotic romp erupts into rowdy, electric uproar. They never let up on the steady, rolling hoedown “Ramblin’,” which escalates into a dizzying, psychedelic honky-tonk.

The sheer virtuosity of “Hill Country Revue” is sure to shake up a barroom, yet it offers little apart from an excuse to jam. The same can be said about the poorly-penned rocker “Growing Up in Mississippi,” which closes the album on a forgettable note.

What you won’t forget is Make a Move’s centerpiece, “You Can Make it,” a euphoric, uplifting ride that showcases singer Daniel Coburn’s soulful, southern rasp and recalls Eat a Peach-era Allman Brothers.

—Aaron LaFont

Jessica Lurie Ensemble Shop of Wild Dreams (Zipa!Music) If one wanted to make a case for the idea that the segregation of music into genres limits our ability to appreciate new sounds, then the Jessica Lurie Ensemble’s Shop of Wild Dreams could be Exhibit A. The first sound heard on the first track

is a baritone ukulele that can sound like a banjo, and within the next 20 seconds you hear instruments associated with rock, Latin and jazz styles. It would be easy to deal with the six instrumental tracks as something coming out of a jazz lineage, just as the four vocal tracks could readily be viewed in modern folk terms. However, they are deliberately not presented in such a segregated fashion.

That description might lead to the idea that Shop of Wild Dreams is a schizophrenic offering, but it is a broad presentation of the musical spirit of Lurie, with roots ranging from baroque instrumental music to avant jazz to indie rock to jam bands.

Approaching this disc from any one of those specific generic places will cause you to make possibly harsh judgments, but letting this music come to you unencumbered by the orthodoxies of genre will let you experience a deep musical statement from a complex musical personality.

Some of it is just plain fun. The jaunty “Grinch,” with its buoyant groove and vibrant flute solo, builds intensity as the layers of electronics and rhythm section ease in, all leading to a sharp break into a percussion solo and the eventual return of the original groove. Other highlights include the Parisiangypsy-cabaret vibe of “Circus Rain,” which was inspired by a Seattle storm that got Lurie thinking about the New Orleans flood. Mention must be made of co-producer Todd Sickafoose, as his attention to detail in the layering of sounds helps this music reach its potential.

—Steve Vernon

More Reviews For reviews of these CDs and more, go to OffBeat.com: Otis Taylor: Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs (Telarc); Joe Henry: Blood from Stars (Anti-); Keeping Crescent: Your Escape EP (Independent); Cassandra Wilson: Closer to You: The Pop Side (EMI); Stevie Drumma: Victory Lap Mixtape (Independent); Beth Patterson: On Better Paths (Little Blue Men) www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRIDAY JULY 31

Blue Nile: Chris Thomas King, Irvin Mayfield & the NOJO Jam, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Charmaine Neville Band (MJ) 7p d.b.a.: Good Enough for Good Times (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: Taco Leg (RR) 9p Ogden Museum:Terence Blanchard (VR) 7:30, 9:30p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p,10p

SATURDAY AUG 1

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Blue Nile: John Michael & the Young Fellas (OR) 8p, Glen David Andrews (JV) 10:30p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Louisiana Hellbenders (RR) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: call club d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Donna’s: Brice Miller and Betty Shirley (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Battle, Little High Little Low, Grass Roots (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): Rhythmic Arts Swing Dance Party (DN) 9p House of Blues: Bachata Heightz, Guayacol Y Ale Nova, DJ Eli and DJ Xtreme (OR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: White Linen After Party feat. Casa Samba (LT) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: 30x50 (BL) 5p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: call club Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Flow Tribe, Ezra Charles (RR) 9p Ogden Museum:White Linen Night at the O (VR) 6p Rivershack: Mustard Brothers (BL RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Sullivan Dabney Muzik Jazz Band (MJ) 3p Tipitina’s: Tribute Concert for McKinley “Mac” Phipps feat. Dee-1, Shamarr Allen, Truth Universal and many more (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY AUG 2

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Seguenon Kone and Jazz Afro Beat (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Shaggy’s B-Day Bash feat. Honey Island Swamp Band, Westbank Mike, Irene Sage, Iko All-stars and many, many more (VR) 8p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (BU) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Jazz Brunch feat.

Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Evan Christopher (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Linnzi Zaorski (SI) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Fatter than Albert, Shoot the Daily Edit, a Billion Ernies (RR) 4p, New Orleans Poetry Slam (SW) 8p, Corrosion, DJ Earl Da Pearl (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: the Loose Marbles (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): William Fitzsimmons, Jenny Owen Youngs 8:30p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Kerry Irish Pub: T-Bone Stone & the Lazy Boys (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (BL) 10p Snug Harbor: call club Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do-do (KJ) 5:30p Trinity Church: New Orleans Moonshiners (CL) 5p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY AUG 3

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Shotgun House (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Fundraiser BMC: Domenic (RR) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Gypsy Swing Band of New Orleans (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (BL) 9p Dragon’s Den: Thrill of a Gunfight, Says the Sun, Armistice (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin Quartet (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p

Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Ryan (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Russell Batiste (FK) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat.

Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (OR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p

TUESDAY AUG 4

Apple Barrel: call club for early show Kenny Schwartz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Charles Brewer Trio 10p BMC: the Piranha Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT) 8p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (TJ) 9p Dos Jefes: Tom Hook (JV BL) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, August Jacobs, Kate Kilbane (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Adonis Rose (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave James (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny J. & the Hitmen (RR) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Edward Petersen Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p

WEDNESDAY AUG 5

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, call club for late show Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Perkasie 10p BMC: Domenic (RR) 6p, Monday’s Date (RR) 8p d.b.a.: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): Sam Bradley (OR) 8:30p House of Blues: Augustana (RR) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p

Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: the Unusual Suspects feat. Reggie Scanlan, Willie Green and Jake Eckert (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Sansone, Krown, Fohl (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY AUG 6

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Washboard Chaz (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Rico Watts (RB) 8p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p, the Revivalists, the Roadside Graves and the Blue Party (VR) 10p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Judy Spellman (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Andrew Duhon (OR) 7p, Joe Krown Organ Combo (FK) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City Band (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Jim and Martha Hessions (JV BL) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Method Man & Redman, Ghostface Killah, Duo Live (RH) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Wrong Way, Grassroots (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: George Porter, Jr. & his Runnin’ Pardners (FK) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Acoustic Gumbo (AU) 9p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V., George Porter, Jr. and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Ponderosa Stomp Found. (VR) 6p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat.

Paulin Brothers Brass Band (BB) 8p Rivershack: Newspaper Levee (RR BL) 7p Snug Harbor: Nick Sanders Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p

FRIDAY AUG 7

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 12a Blue Nile: MyNameIsJohnMichael (RR) 10p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p

GUIDE

Here are OffBeat’s highlights of music and entertainment in New Orleans and the surrounding area for the current month. Each day’s events are listed in alphabetical order by club or venue. Listings are compiled based on information provided by clubs, bands and promoters up to our deadlines. Unfortunately, some information was not available at press time and listings are subject to change.

Special events, concerts, festivals and theater listings follow the daily listings. Other events may be included at offbeat.com. For up-tothe-minute music listings, check OffBeat’s web page at www.offbeat. com. Also, check out www.louisianatravel.com for the OffBeat Music Calendar. For more details on a show, call the club directly. Phone numbers of clubs are shown in this section and/or at offbeat.com.

To include your date or event, please email information to our listings editor, Craig Guillot at craigguillot@offbeat.com or call 504-944-4300. Mr. Guillot can also provide listing deadlines for upcoming issues.

AC AU BG BL BU BB SH KJ

FE FR FK FS GG GS MJ TJ

RG RH RB RC RR SI SKA SS

A Cappella Acoustic Big Band Blues Bluegrass Brass Band Cabaret/Show Cajun

KS CL CR KR CO CW DN DG

Christian Classical Classic Rock College Rock Comedy Country Dance Dance Group

Folk/Ethnic Folk Rock Funk Fusion Girl Group Gospel Jazz. Contemp.

Jazz, Traditional

JV LT ME OL OR PK PP PR

Jazz, Variety Latin Metal Oldies Originals Piano/Keyboards Pop/Top 40/Covers Modern Rock

Reggae/World Beat Rap/Hip Hop Rhythm & Blues Rockabilly Rock Swing Ska Singer/Songwriter

SW TC

TG VR VF VM ZY

Spoken Word Techno/ Electronica Thrash/Grunge Variety Vocal, Female Vocal, Male Zydeco

When you’re out, text the word ‘offbeat’ to 33669 for daily updates & statewide listings, or log onto offbeat.com 38

O

AUGUST 2009

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Naydja Cojoe (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (TJ) 6p Donna’s: Betty Shirley with Kyle Roussel, Nick Hughes, and Martin Saito (RB) 9p Dragon’s Den: Nomadic Sun CD-release party, Bionica, DJ Paul B, Prom Date, Uniquity feat.

Slangston Hughes (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Harrah’s: American English - the Complete Beatles Tribute (RR) 7p, 10p House of Blues (the Parish):Threat Signal, the Autumn Offering, the Agonist, Sybreed (ME) 9:30p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Distant Lights (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chris Segar (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Gravy (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Dash Rip Rock (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rivershack: Michael Liuzza Green Frog (BL RR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Chris Thomas King (MJ) 8p, 10p Southport Hall: Band Camp (PP) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat.The Topcats (PP) 10p

Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, DJ Earl Da Pearl (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Mark Braud (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a, Michael Franti & Spearhead (RG) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Snug Harbor: Gerald French & Abstract (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do-do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p

SATURDAY AUG 8

TUESDAY AUG 11

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p, Soul Rebels Brass Band (BB) 11p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Jamey St. Pierre (RR) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: call club d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Otra (LT) 11p Donna’s: Banu Gibson (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Dark Party, Mux Mool, Smiley With a Knife, the Littlest Viking, Hat Talk (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Rick Trolsen (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Black Magnolia, Alexis Marceaux (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shannon Powell Quartet (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Buddy Francioni (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: J. Monque’D Blues Band (BL) 9p, Jealous Monk (RR) 12a Maple Leaf: call club Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p Rivershack: Cold Shot (BL RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony (MJ) 8p, 10p Martin Krusche Trio (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Bricks in the Wall (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: am540 and more (RR) 10p

SUNDAY AUG 9

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 10:30p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (BU) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Jazz Brunch feat.

Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p, John Mooney (JV) 6p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (TJ) 6p, Klezmurder (OR) 10p

MONDAY AUG 10

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Ready Teddy (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Earphunk (FK) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (BL) 9p Dos Jefes: Olga (JV BL) 9:30p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (OR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p Apple Barrel: call club for early show Kenny Schwartz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Jesse Morrow Trio 10p BMC: the Piranha Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT) 8p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: call club Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chuck Credo IV (BL) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Cindy Scott (MJ) 8p, 10p

WEDNESDAY AUG 12

Apple Barrel:Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, I Tell You What Blue Nile: the Mumbles (RR) 10p BMC: Domenic (RR) 6p, Monday’s Date (RR) 8p d.b.a.: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall with DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Howlin’ Wolf: Fear, Agent Orange, DI, Total Chaos, Test Subjects, Sci Fi Zeros, Fat Stupid Ugly People, the Pallbearers (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jim Smith & his Damn Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: John Mooney (AU) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny J. & the Hitmen (SI) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Davell Crawford (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY AUG 13

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Kenny Holladay (BL) 10:30p

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

39

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Banks Street Bar: Sweet Home New Orleans’ Summer of R&B (RB) 10p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, the Live Oaks from New Orleans (RG RR) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Judy Spellman (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Mem Shannon & the Membership (JV) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City Band (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Rick Trolsen & the New Orleans Po-boys (JV BL) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Gamma Ringo (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave James’ Stimulus Package (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: call club Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V. and guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Geno Delafose (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Amanda Walker (VR) 6p Rivershack: Soul House (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: call club Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night feat. Micah McKee, Andrew Duhon and John Michael Rouchell (RR) 8:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club:Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

FRIDAY AUG 14

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 12a Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (RR) 7p; Egg Yolk Jubilee (FK) 10p Blue Nile: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MH) 11p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Naydja Cojoe (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Ingrid Lucia (VF) 6p, King James feat.

Eric Lindell (RB) 10p Donna’s: Mark Braud & the New Orleans Jazz Giants (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Eric Traub Trio (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Shadow Gallery (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Herrington CD-release, Rosary Falls (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Soundclash Special Edition (OR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Mark Hessler (BL) 5p, Mike Ryan Trio (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Tom Worrell (PK) 7p, Rotary Downs (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Bucktown All-stars (PP) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rivershack: Soul Dogs (BL RR) 9:30p

40

O

AUGUST 2009

Snug Harbor: Carol Fran and Davell Crawford (MJ) 8p, 10p Southport Hall: the Molly Ringwalds (PP) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes and Gym Neighbors (FK RR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY AUG 15

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Blue Nile: Les Bicyclettes Blanches (RR) 8p, Backbeat Foundation Showcase (VR) 10p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Matt Shilling Group (JV) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: call club Chickie Wah Wah: Twangorama (RR) 10p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (FK) 11p Donna’s: Belle du Jour feat. Mayumi Shara and Cari Roy (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Burial Within, In Tomorrow’s Shadow, Computer Club, DJ Resin, DJ Proppa Bear (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Harrah’s: Irma Thomas (VF) 8p House of Blues: Full Moon Crazy Tour feat.

Honor Society (PP) 11p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, the Revivalists (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes (FK RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Invisible Cowboy (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: call club Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Eric Lindell (BL RR) 10p Rivershack:Austin Sicard & the Medics (BL RR) 10p Snug Harbor: call club Tipitina’s: call club Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY AUG 16

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Johnny J. and Benny Maygarden (BL) 10:30p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Ernie Vincent & Andrew Duhon (BL) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Jazz Brunch feat.

Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p, John Mooney (JV) 6p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (TJ) 6p, Westbank Mike (BL) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Impulse International (OR) 5p, New Orleans Poetry Slam (SW) 8p, Corrosion, DJ Earl Da Pearl (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Banu Gibson (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a, Avant, Mateo (OR) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Crazy McGee (FK) 10p Snug Harbor: Detroit Brooks (MJ) 8p, 10p Southport Hall: Pelicanpalooza (PP) 12p

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do-do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY AUG 17

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, call club Banks Street Bar: the New Orleans Moonshiners (TJ) 9p BMC: Domenic (RR) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Gypsy Swing Band of New Orleans (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Panorama Jazz Band (TJ) 10p Donna’s: Les Getrex (BL) 9p Dragon’s Den: Smiley with a Knife, Native, Lautrek, Late Night Killers, Spider, Octopus, Renee Louvere (OR) 10p Fritzel’s: the Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Ecstatic Tour feat. Mos Def and Jay Electronica (RH) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin Trio (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Preservation Hall: 726 Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (OR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p

TUESDAY AUG 18

Apple Barrel: call club for early show Kenny Schwartz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Jeff Albert’s Improvised Music Trio & Root 25 (RR) 10p BMC: the Piranha Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p, Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT) 8p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (TJ) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, Giant Squid (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Connie Jones (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Mutemath Fall 2009 Armistice Tour (RR) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Eddie Zip (RB) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Don Vappie Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p

WEDNESDAY AUG 19

Apple Barrel:Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Shotgun House Blue Nile: Bottoms Up Blues Gang (BL) 10p BMC: Domenic (RR) 6p, Monday’s Date (RR) 8p d.b.a.: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sugar Ray, Fastball, Aimee Allen (RR) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chris Segar (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: 101 Runners (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny Angel & the Swingin’ Demons (SI) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY AUG 20

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, the Bottoms Up Blues Band (BL) 10:30p

Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Judy Spellman (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Jon Cleary (PK) 7p Donna’s: Sunflower City Band (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Rick Trolsen and Richard Scott (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Mother’s Everlasting Soul (FK) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: the Dusty Bibles (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V., George Porter, Jr. and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chris Ardoin (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Women of Jazz (VR) 6p Rivershack: Ghost Town (CW RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Victor Goines (MJ) 8p, 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club:Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

FRIDAY AUG 21

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 12a Blue Nile: Bottoms Up Blues Gang (BL) 8p, Dr. Gonzeau (FK) 10:30p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Naydja Cojoe (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Jumpin’ Johnny’s Blues Party & Fish Fry (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (TJ) 6p, Rotary Downs and Big Rock Candy Mountain (RR) 10p Donna’s: Betty Shirley and Chuck Chaplin (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Tom Fitzpatrick (JV BL) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: 3Now4 (MJ) 10p House of Blues: Michael Franks (OR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Greg Talmage Band, the Junior League (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Off the Dome Emcee Competition (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Buddy Francioni (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Bonerama (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: John Mooney & Bluesiana, Guitar Shorty (BL) 9p One Eyed Jacks: the Donnas (VF RR) 10p Rivershack: Topcats (RR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Victor Goines (MJ) 8p, 10p Southport Hall: Dirt (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. The Lee Boys (RR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY AUG 22

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Blue Nile: Bottoms Up Blues Gang (BL) 8p, Kermit Ruffins (MJ) 11p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Chegadao (FK) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: call club

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

41

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Jon Cleary (FK) 11p Donna’s: Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 9:30p Fritzel’s: Rick Trolsen and Richard Scott (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf: Know Your Enemy, Headspill, People on the Side (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Troy Sawyer (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Schatzy & Associates (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: George McConnell (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Amanda Shaw, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots (PP) 8:30p Rivershack: Dash Rip Rock (RR) 10p

Snug Harbor: call club Southport Hall: Chee-weez (PP) 10p Tipitina’s: Benefit for Marva Wright (OR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY AUG 23

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, I Tell You What (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Andrew McGowan (BL) 10p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (BU) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Jazz Brunch feat.

Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p, John Mooney (JV) 6p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Schatzy (RR) 10p

Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Fritzel’s: the Loose Marbles (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Kerry Irish Pub: Irish Session (BL) 5p, Mike Ryan (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Paul Varisco & the Milestones (OL) 6p Snug Harbor: Rebecca Barry (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do-do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY AUG 24

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, call club BMC: Domenic (RR) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Gypsy Swing Band of New Orleans (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 10p Donna’s: Les Getrex (BL) 9p Fritzel’s: Ben Polcher and Richard Scott (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p One Eyed Jacks: Bobby Long (RR) 10p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (OR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p

TUESDAY AUG 25

Apple Barrel: call club for early show; the Electro-Kings (BL) 10:30p BMC: the Piranah Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p, Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT) 8p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: call club Fritzel’s: the Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: the Tom Paines (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chuck Credo IV (BL) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Jesse Boyd CD-release party (MJ) 8p, 10p

WEDNESDAY AUG 26

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, 19th St. Red Blue Nile: Carolina Gallop Fashion Show (SH) 7p BMC: Domenic (RR) 6p, Monday’s Date (RR) 8p d.b.a.: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: John Mooney (AU) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Ed Volker (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY AUG 27

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, the Louisiana Hellbenders (BL) 10:30p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Judy Spellman (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Washboard Rodeo (BL) 8p d.b.a.: Mayhem String Band (OR) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City Band (JV) 9p Fritzel’s: Rick Trolsen and Richard Scott (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: call club

42

O

AUGUST 2009

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V., George Porter, Jr. and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: the Revivalists (VR) 6p Rivershack: Corey Perrilloux (RR BL) 7p Snug Harbor: Groovananda feat. Perry Robinson (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night feat. Ryan Batiste Band, Jam-All, Happy Jack Frequency, Earphunk (RR VR) 8:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club:Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, call club for late show Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p Rivershack: the Refugeze (RR) 10p Snug Harbor: John Ellis (MJ) 8p, 10p, Double Wide (MJ) 12a Tipitina’s: Flow Tribe’s Back to School Bash feat.

The Revivalists and Jealous Monk (RR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

FRIDAY AUG 28

SUNDAY AUG 30

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 12a Blue Nile: Cutting Edge Music Festival Showcase (RR) 10p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Jerry Jumonville (JV) 10:30p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Naydja Cojoe (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Ingrid Lucia (VF) 6p,Alex McMurray (RR) 10p Donna’s: Mark Braud & the New Orleans Jazz Giants (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Eric Traub Trio (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Knife Fight, KB’s Hip-Hop Party (OR) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p House of Blues: Moment in Time feat. Beres Hammond, Culture, Kenyatta Hill and Lenya Wilks (VR) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: call club for early show, Jesse Moore Band (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: 101 Runners (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Anders Osborne, Mike Zito (RR) 9p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rivershack: Bryan Lee (RR BL) 9:30p Snug Harbor: call club Southport Hall: Designant Zero (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Papa Mali (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY AUG 29

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes (FK RR) 10p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Cutting Edge Music Business Conference (FK) 10p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: call club Chickie Wah Wah: Sky Child (JV) 9p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Cedric Burnside & Lightning Malcolm (RR) 11p Donna’s: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 9p Fritzel’s: Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p House of Blues: Guerilla Radio, the Official Rage Against the Machine Tribute feat.

Senate and Brad Benson (ME RR) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Johnny J. and Benny Maygarden (BL) 10:30p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (BU) 9p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Jazz Brunch feat.

Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p, John Mooney (JV) 6p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, the Dusty Bibles (RR) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Overmars, Battlefield (RR) 5p, Green Mantles, We’re Into Survival (RR) 7p, Corrosion, DJ Earl Da Pearl (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: the Cotton Mouth Kings (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Howlin’ Wolf: Komminity FK, Nadjia (FK) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: call club Maple Leaf: John Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter Wolfman Washington (FK) 10p Snug Harbor: call club Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do-do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club:Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY AUG 31

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Butch Trivette (BL) 10:30p BMC: Domenic (RR) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (BL) 9p Dos Jefes: Joe Krown (JV BL) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Spite, Happy Jack Frequency (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: the Tim Laughlin Quartet (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin Trio (BL) 9p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (OR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p

LOUISIANA MUSIC ON TOUR BIG SAM’S FUNKY NATION Jul 16 New York NY Sullivan Hall Jul 17 Seattle WA Highway 99 Blues Jul 18 Winthrop WA Rhythm & Blues Festival Jul 22 Seaside FL Seaside Summer Concerts Jul 24 Miami FL Transit Lounge Jul 25 Tampa FL Crowbar Jul 26 Chicago IL Wicker Park Festival

Aug 15 Monterey CA The Ol’ Factory Aug 18-19 San Francisco CA Town Hall Aug 22 Portland OR Portland Classic Pianos Aug 29 Denver CO Denver Ragtime Society IVAN NEVILLE’S DUMPSTAPHUNK Aug 6 Wichita KS Sedgwick County Zoo Aug 7 Lincoln NE Red 9 Club Aug 8 Morrison CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre PAPA GROWS FUNK Aug 1 Telluride CO Sunset Stage Concert Series Aug 7 Crested Butte CO The Eldo Room Aug 8 Morrison CO Red Rocks Amphitheater Aug 9 Crestone CO Crestfest Aug 21 Portland OR Roseland Grill Aug 23 Mount Shasta CA Mount Shasta Music Fest Aug 30 Tahoe City CA Community Concert Series THE RADIATORS Aug 15 Allston MA Harpers Ferry ALLEN TOUSSAINT Aug 8 San Jose CA Jazz Festival Aug 20 Boston MA Scullers Aug 22 New York NY Roots of American Music Festival Aug 23 Vancouver WA Wine & Jazz Festival

FESTIVALS JULY 30-AUGUST 2 Satchmo SummerFest: Celebrate the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong in the streets of the French Quarter with concerts, seminars, second-line parades and more. (504) 5225730, www.satchmosummerfest.com.

AUGUST 20-29 Le Cajun Music Awards and Festival: Sponsored by the Cajun French Music Association, the annual event honors and features Cajun bands throughout the weekend at Blackum Coliseum. www.cajunfrenchmusic.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS JULY 31 Satchmo Club Strut: Hit Frenchmen Street and experience the music of more than 30 bands at clubs including Snug Harbor, d.b.a., Blue Nile, Apple Barrel and more. For tickets and more information, visit www.jazzcent.com.

AUGUST 1 White Linen Night: Spend the evening strolling down Julia Street exploring art galleries, sampling wines and listening to live music. 6-9p.

AUGUST 6-27 Ogden After Hours: Visit the Ogden Museum every Thursday evening for live entertainment by a variety of local musicians. Check the OffBeat daily listings for a schedule of performances. 6p. www.ogdenmuseum.org.

CREOLE JAZZ SERENADERS WITH DON VAPPIE Aug 8 Irvine CA Barclay Theater

AUGUST 15 Bywater Art Market: Head to this art market for paintings, pottery, glass, furniture and more.

9a-4p. www.bywaterartmarket.com.

TOM MCDERMOTT Aug 7 Houston TX Kaboom Books Aug 11 Albuquerque NM Outpost Aug 14 Palms CA Palms Inn

AUGUST 22 Ogden Family Fair: The family fun event will take place throughout the Stephen Goldring Hall. 10a-4p. www.ogdenmuseum.org.

www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

AU G U ST 2 009

O

43

BACKTALK

Paul Meany

talks back

Photo: jon morgan

[of Mutemath]

Paul Meany, front left, in profile.

“I

t literally took an armistice to finish our record,” Mutemath’s Paul Meany says to explain the title of the band’s new album. The process of making Armistice— the second album for Warner Brothers—turned into an ordeal when the band settled into a house near Carrollton Avenue to record it and discovered no one was happy with the 16 songs they had. Things came to a head on the porch one afternoon, where they aired their musical dirty laundry for the neighborhood in a grand, cathartic shout-out. “Some pretty offensive things were said to each other.”

Finally, the band—Meany, drummer Darren King, guitarist Greg Hill and bassist Roy MitchellCárdenas—agreed that they needed a producer to break the stalemate and settled with Dennis Herring, whose suggestion was to pitch the songs that weren’t working and start over.

Herring became part of the drama when the recording moved to Oxford, Mississippi, but the strain of its creation isn’t obvious on the album.

Perhaps lyrics that reflect feelings of uneasiness and www.OFFBEAT.com

anxiety address it indirectly, but they could simply be lines apropos for anyone living in America in the 21st Century. They’re not finding much love or shelter, but songs have reliable hooks that often emerge organically from the melodies, particularly on “Goodbye,” “Spotlight” and “Backfire.” They still draw from new wave circa the 1980s, but not so much that Armistice sounds retro.

Their House of Blues show on August 18 coincides with the album’s release date and starts a national tour, but fans have had a chance to hear Armistice over the last month. Band members have taken turns on the road playing it for fans in a bus specially tricked out with listening stations.

It’s really good for the type of record this is. We were all scratching our heads going, “What is the first single to put out? We don’t really know.”

There’s not a unanimous best song that everyone could agree on; everyone was really vibing on the record. So instead of sending out a lead single, we’re sending out the record for people to hear before it comes out. It’s worked out well.

How many hear the album per night?

Every city is different. They can let 20 people into the bus. They set up a headphone system in the bus, for people to come. In some of the cities where there’s an actual venue that’s hosting it, they set up a small room in a club. If 100 people or so show up, we go ahead and play the record for everybody.

What have you found out about your audience?

Well, they have great taste in music. Keep your eye out on them.

By Alex Rawls

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

It makes it possible to find out what people are responding to?

Yeah, absolutely. I saw a sign that they put outside of the bus where they can Tweet their thoughts as they’re listening.

Has it surprised you, the degree to which you’ve had to become a businessman to make music?

AU G U ST 2 009

O

45

BAC

KTA

LK

We spent the rest of our time in New Orleans writing.

We’d go in every day and hope that a song would drop out of the air.

Absolutely. It was nothing you could really prepare for. I mean, you hear the story, or you’ll see the Behind the Music, and everybody says it. You think you have a grasp on what they mean, like, “Okay, I need to watch where the checks go,” but the intricacies of how that all plays out—it can be much more overwhelming than I guess I gave it credit for.

There were three years between your last album and this one. How did it end up that after all that time, no one was happy with the songs you’d written?

That is an excellent question, and one that still perplexes me now. When we realized that, we had been on the road trying to be as productive as possible. We kept writing. Finally, we got off the road in Spring of 2008, got a little house in New Orleans, which was a plan that we had for awhile, and we thought we were going to go record the record. We were going to do it guerilla style, and we seemed like we were on the same page. We were trying to entertain everyone’s point of view and everyone’s opinion, which, when it came down to it, we weren’t on the same page creatively.

What one guy wanted for the course of one song, another guy hated.

After about a month, we had nothing we were happy with so we decided to get a producer, someone to help us do this. We met with a few of them and wound up going with one who said, “Just start over.” Instead of recording what we had, we’re going to be writing from scratch, but we realized for the sake of making a record that we were all proud of, we knew it was the right thing.

We spent the rest of our time in New Orleans writing, and that’s all we did for the next two months. We’d go in every day and hope that a song would drop out of the air.

We’d pick a key, start playing, and I would sit in the control room most of the time listening to the other three guys jam and wait until I heard something that sounded like a fragment of a song. We’d record it, we’d work on it, I’d throw down a vocal idea, and it either was good or it wasn’t and then we’d move on.

When we finally had all that, we went to Oxford, Mississippi to work on finishing with Dennis and that became a whole new challenge. The good thing was that the band became unified, and instead of fighting internally, we directed all that venom towards the producer and we began to butt heads with him about how the songs should be finished.

46

O AUGUST 2009

So you ended up fighting with the producer? I hadn’t heard that part.

It took us a year to finish this record. Three months to write it, and then we spent the back half of the summer and through the fall in Oxford trying to finish what was really just 12 songs, and it felt like we’d go weeks and weeks without any progress. I wish we had filmed that part of it because I’m not sure how that happened, but for some reason the intricacies of making the song—take a song like “Pins and Needles” on the record, which is a fairly stripped-down song.

Our producer fought for it to be a strippeddown song, which was a great fight and I love the way that song turned out. But for us as a band, to make our peace with that, we had to run a couple experiments to make sure that was the right route to go with that song. We had to record all kinds of drum tracks and all types of symphonies because we weren’t convinced that that was the right way to go with that song. We spent a lot of time doing that.

Was the first record more reflective of one person’s voice?

The first record leaned more heavily on me and Darren. I think Darren is a great talent. He brings so much good ideas to the table. He’s constantly cooking up useful music. On the first record, he was a little more disconnected from it, and it made the decision process a little less confrontational. On this record, Darren was way more checked in, which I think was good to a degree, but he was coming into his own and being a little more obstinate on what he was going to let us change in his part, or listen to what I thought should happen. Then you put that in the mix with Greg and Roy really stepping out with their voices on this record; yeah, it made for some tense times. I think we knew that if we could somehow get to the end, we really believed we could have something special. And a year later, we’re feeling pretty good about it.

Did you drink more in the middle of that?

Getting lubricated definitely did help, many a night. There were certain times where I had to leave the studio. We wound up employing the guy who helped us on the first record, Tedd T., who—him and Dennis—would go in the room, mix and finish a song, and me and Darren had to make ourselves leave. We created a paralyzing atmosphere, so we’d leave. We left, we’d come back and listen to something finished and just give it a thumbs up or a

thumbs down. The producers would say, “You only get two things.” Because in your mind, you begin to formulate the menu of corrections or something that got missed. Thinking back, a lot of the concerns on what was destroying a song probably weren’t that big of a deal. It was the hardest for Darren, and I don’t think he’d mind me putting that on him, because he’d always have the biggest menu of little intricacies that needed to be addressed. But it usually averaged out to about two of them were addressed; the other 43 of them, it was okay. We could let them go. Drink up, buddy.

Did you ever imagine that you’d be one of those people having a screaming match on the front porch?

No, absolutely not. It’s amazing. It’s almost like there’s a script that was written long before the idea of a band even started. They just hand out the parts: “Lead singer you’ll be doing that part; drummer you’ll be saying this part.” And you wind up playing the part. You fall into the argument that every band falls into, that you see in every documentary. It’s amazing to me how that happens: “Oh, we’re not that bad; we’re definitely not that kind of band.” But it happens.

Does it take something to put the band back together again after that kind of shout out?

No, not like you would think. We laugh about it now, but it seemed like a fairly heated argument was going on that day on the porch.

All of that disappeared as soon as we went back inside and started playing music. It was weird. I don’t know if it was a guy thing or a musician thing, but there was no “We have to sit down and talk about it,” and then you end with the handshake and the hug and “We’re going to be alright.” It never came to that.

When we started making music again and were liking what was resulting from us four collaborating, all that other stuff didn’t matter.

Did anyone come close to quitting?

There are probably a few times I came close to quitting. If it wasn’t for my sheer addiction to music and some blind belief in this band’s potential, I probably would have. But I would often get shaken out of it by a new song that would drop out the sky. I think that’s what keeps us going, a certain new song, and using that as the avenue to work it all out somehow.

O www.OFFBEAT.com

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com