FUCHS GETS FUNKY
While we appreciate Roger Hahn’s inclusion of Tuff City/Night Train’s efforts in shedding light on the under-chronicled New Orleans music scene of the funk and soul era, we’d like to point out that our funk reissues extend fairly well beyond the Gaturs and Eddie Bo anthologies that were indicated. Already out and available are a series of funk anthologies organized by producer Eddie Bo’s Funky, Funky New Orleans, Senator Jones’ Funky, Funky New Orleans, making cases for auteur-ship of these studio workhorses. As well, Jazzy, Funky New Orleans showcases the efforts that jazz men like Porgy Jones and Alvin Thomas made to meld funk and jazz as their acid jazz counterparts did on the East and West Coast. Our most illuminating reissue, however, has been the album It Ain’t My Fault by Smokey Johnson, which makes the single greatest case for the New Orleans counterpart to Stax and Motown in the form of Nola Records. Drummer Johnson, in particular, was the foundation of this sound the way Benny Benjamin was for Motown and Al Jackson was in Memphis. Powered by a rhythm section consisting of George Davis on guitar and Walter Payton on bass, buttressed by the arrangements of Wardell Quezergue in his prime, we believe that these sessions make the most compelling evidence for the moment both gained and lost when New Orleans coulda, woulda, shoulda taken its place among the greatest American music centers of the soul and funk era.
-Aaron Fuchs, Tuff City Records/ Night Train International, New York, NY
TRASH
I just spent four hours on this beautiful Sunday afternoon mowing and cleaning up the detritus of Mardi Gras from corner to corner on my street, several blocks from Tipitina’s Uptown. Then I walked down to the Sav-a-Center to pick up some groceries. On the way back, passing the fabled (and now filled) Smokin’ Hole by Tip’s, I was shocked at how much trash was still around five days after Mardi Gras. Such are the “benefits” of living close to such a great cultural resource (Tip’s) right on the Uptown parade route. The overload of trash comes fairly regularly, and I will brace for it again when Jazz Fest rolls around. The worst leftover trash I have witnessed in the neighborhood, however, was not from Mardi Gras, but from Superfly’s Dark Star Orchestra show last month at Tip’s. I called both Tip’s management and Superfly the next day to complain, and suggested strongly that they take steps to make sure that trash is picked up from the neutral ground immediately after shows. A recent attempt at securing rezoning and an ABO permit for the Blue Monkey across the street failed primarily because of the already existent nuisance problems with trash and noise from Tip’s and Miss Mae’s at Napoleon and Magazine. Please do your part to help alleviate the situation the next time you attend a show at Tipitina’s, especially during Jazz Fest. Pour your beer into go-cups prior to going outside, and place your cups and other trash into a trash receptacle. Do not litter the sacred neutral ground or the neighborhood. Be kind to the neighborhood. Please feel free to pass this note on to any other Net music forums which cover bands playing at Tip’s. Thanks!
-Bruce H. Ward, Duke of Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA
PRETENDING
We have subscribed to OffBeat since 1988, and have never thrown an issue away! Tragically, our storage space has now been completely filled up, and we have to do something. Before we trash any of these invaluable magazines, we’d like to know if anyone is interested in them. Y’all might like to resell them, for instance, or another fan might like to fill in a collection. We have a very small house, so collecting space is limited. We found y’all at Jazz Fest 1988, subscribed immediately, and have maintained the subscription ever since. Have also been to every Jazz Fest since then. Plan to keep coming and subscribing! Let us know if you or anybody you know are interested in any of these issues. Thanks for helping us pretend that we live in New Orleans!
-Sally Schur & Robert Kelly, Ormand Beach, FL
