I have been involved in music in New Orleans for the majority of my business career. OffBeat is the longest job I’ve ever had (17 years). Before that I worked with computers, as a consultant for an international accounting firm, and as the vice president of a marketing research company with clients nationwide. So I guess I’ve been around the block.
One thing has always seemed obvious to me: the mainstream business community in Louisiana pays very little attention to music and entertainment as an industry. When is the last time you heard a New Orleans, Inc. (the new iteration of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce) TV commercial that talked about the entertainment industry creating jobs?
Now it might be argued that as an overall percentage of business revenue, music and film don’t generate the lion’s share of the money pot. But I suppose that was the case in Los Angeles or New York or Nashville in the early part of the 20th-century too. You have to begin somewhere.
The New Orleans Music Office is a good start. Their Music Co-op in conjunction with Tipitina’s is a good foundation to give small music businesses and musicians a decent place to work and business skills they can use.
We need a venture capital fund for funding legitimate music projects; tax and other financial incentives for making sure local music gets played in clubs and in other broadcast media; and an organized digital distribution system for independent labels and musicians. We also need to exploit the New Orleans/Louisiana music “brand.”
While I am not a proponent of government getting involved in business, the City Music Office, and hopefully a revised and improved state-level Music Commission (or some other entity similar to a music office) will be able to put the music and entertainment industries in the forefront of the state economy. Public-private partnerships are a great way to start, and that’s what will begin to put us on the road to legitimacy as an industry. People in Baton Rouge: are you listening? Dump the old system and get with a new improved program!
The 2004 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival schedule has been announced, and it’s a good one, as far as I’m concerned: many great acts: Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Dave Brubeck, Emmylou Harris, Ray Charles, Etta James, Hugh Masekela, Harry Connick, Jr.; many, many local bands, with some surprising (and welcome additions) like the Hazard County Girls, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Supagroup, the Benjy Davis Group, and more. Will the Jazz Fest break records this year? Last year attendance was down (a refreshing change of pace for Fest-goers, but not for Fest producers).
There’s a lot more competition which could affect attendance: French Quarter Festival is attracting more and more people (although this year it hits the weekend just before Jazz Fest begins—so you can come to BOTH); Bonnaroo (which just announced a schedule that includes Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, the Dead, Willie Nelson, David Byrne, Wilco, Taj Mahal and a lot more). I suppose the attraction of the Jazz Fest (and French Quarter Fest) versus Bonnaroo is inextricably tied into the appeal of New Orleans. The middle of a field in mid-Tennessee can’t compare with the Crescent City’s clubs, food, music and atmosphere.
Finally the city has announced the most recent plans for improvements to Canal Street. Many moons ago—but not that long ago—Canal Street was the center of New Orleans’ commerce and activity. As anyone who lives here now knows, the suburbs have sucked off the retail vitality of downtown and most of the high disposable-income local buyers too.
Part of the new Canal Street revitalization plan is the Rampart/Basin area, which contains the Orpheum, Saenger, Joy, and State Palace theaters, is classified as an entertainment district. Plans call for each theater to provide entertainment appealing to a different demographic, generating to a wider audience and more foot traffic to Canal Street.
Where’s our music museum, pray tell?
Pat McLaughlin is coming into New Orleans on Friday and Saturday March 19 and 20 at 10 p.m. to
Martine’s, 2347 Metairie Road. McLaughlin is a must-see, if you like singer-songwriter, funky white soul music. He rarely plays in New Orleans (he lives in Nashville), so take some time to check him out. Tickets are $12, and seating is limited. Call (504) 289-6529 for ticket information.
ROCK-ON
WTUL’s 34th Rock-On Survival fundraising Marathon takes place from March 19 to April 4 at various venues throughout the city. I really love WTUL, the city’s only college-run station, which is as independent as you can get.
TUL has been a mecca of progressive and unique music since its inception, and is on the airwaves 24 hours a day. The Marathon is the fund-raising activity, and I would encourage you—if you love indie music—to pledge your support during the weekend pledge marathon beginning at noon on March 26. You can also pledge at www.wtul.fm.
WTUL will also release the second installment of a compilation disc, Songs From the Basement: Volume 2, which will available to our donors during Marathon. The first disc made OffBeat’s Bunny Matthews’ list of 2003’s best albums and contains a whole new line-up of local New Orleans music, with, as you might expect, an emphasis on the more rockin’ side of things. A CD release party is at the Howlin’ Wolf on Friday, April 2.
There are a handful of WTUL-sponsored shows during Marathon season, including the Natural History, Enemy Love, and Tyrone at the Mermaid on Monday, March 15; Telefon Tel Aviv, the Madd Wikkid, Belong, and DJ Name at the State Palace Theater on Friday, March 19; Calexico, Broken Social Scene, and Stars at the Howlin’ Wolf, Sunday, March 21; and Xiu Xiu, Pasolini Festival and Rob Cambre Trio at the Banks Street Warehouse, Saturday, March 27.
Saturday, March 27th.
The return of the long-lamented and fantastically-named band Shot Down in Ecuador Jr. is nigh at a reunion show at the Mermaid on Saturday, March 6.
