A Valuable Lesson
A big influence on my music career was former New Orleans Summer Pops conductor Milton Bush. He was my high school teacher for one year. He was/is a sarcastic son of a bitch, and was probably more influential to me in that realm than in music. He did the vast majority of the string arrangements that came out of Cosimo’s [Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studios] in the ’50s/’60s. Bush gave me the best advice about arranging. He told me he arranged the strings to “Walkin’ to New Orleans” standing up in 10 minutes, with Fats looking on. When Fats asked him how much for the arrangement, he figured $1 a minute for 10 minutes work was pretty good. Of course, the song went on to sell 2,000,000 copies and Bush only received $10. So his advice to me was to never arrange in front of the artist — take it home and tell him you worked on it for weeks and get all you can.
—Joe Sunseri, Raleigh, NC
Good Nights Out
Last night, I attended my first New Orleans area parades: Chaos, Babylon, and Muses. What a treat! For a little while, New Orleans was once again “the city that care forgot.”
Afterwards, our group sashayed to Rock ’n’ Bowl for an evening of bowling and zydeco-ing to Keith Frank. On the way out, I picked up the March issue of OffBeat.
This morning I eagerly dove into it while sipping my coffee. I was delighted to see a letter from Olivia Green, who identified herself as the singer to whom I referred in the January issue’s letters. However, I said, “some nice young gal with a good, good voice,” not gay.
Either this is a simple typo or she misquoted my statement. Either way, I am writing to set the record straight: whether or not she is gay, my only observation of her was that she had a terrific voice and I did want to compliment her on it, even if I did not (unfortunately) get her name that night.
Now that I do know her name, I’ll be on the lookout for her singing in upcoming gigs. I sure would love to hear that gal again, soon!
Thanks, OffBeat! You are always tops when it comes to the music scene in New Orleans!
—Sherry Robichaux, Cut Off, LA
A simple typo, it should have read “gal”, not “gay.” We regret the error.—ED
I’m writing to tell you the Best of the Beat Awards was a very nice affair. I really think it was a much needed shot for the music scene, but the best thing for me was the getting together of musicians that normally wouldn’t see each at one time. Thanks and keep up the good work.
—Robert Snow, New Orleans Jazz Vipers, New Orleans, LA
Just a brief note to follow up on our phone conversations, and to let you know the February issue arrived “on time.” I also want to thank you for the extra effort in getting the December and January issues to us. Better late than never — especially when one is waiting for one’s OffBeat! My wife and I were in town last weekend. It was great to finally get back. Though we were saddened by some of what we saw, it was encouraging to see — and feel — that the soul and spirit of New Orleans is alive and well! Let’s hope all the political posturing gives way to some real progress! By the way, we dropped by your office. Unfortunately, it was on Saturday. We’ll see you next time.
—Tony Baglio, Boxford, MA
Bad Nights Out
I would like someone to address a major problem along with the heartfelt concern for the family of New Orleans musicians and clubs. Crime and obnoxious police.
Like most here, I got hit with expenses from Katrina that dip into my fun money. Due to having a car stolen in New Orleans, it has become impossible to relax and enjoy a show at the Maple Leaf or Tip’s for fear that my ride is being jacked. Going way back to the days of Jed’s, the Warehouse, Old Man Rivers, etc., I had windows broken and run-ins with cops when seeking help. At a point, it just is not worth the possibility of personal loss or injury. I broke an 18-year Jazz Fest record last year. My very athletic son was held up at gunpoint on St. Charles Avenue — he broke into the street and ran away, never to return to New Orleans again.
I don’t expect you to have answers to these epidemic problems, but: I love New Orleans and want to come back. I saw the original Meters, Fess, Earl King, the Rads, the Neville sound at the Ivanhoe and hope that now the opportunity for wide scale renaissance is possible, something positive will happen.
—Roy C. Eure, Hattiesburg, MS
Our Bad
Have you ever considered that your poor business etiquette, maybe even your base cheapness, helped bring disaster to New Orleans? You know, bad karma.
Understand I sent you a letter of inquiry before Katrina. No reply. Still I sent you a piece on Louis Armstrong last month. No reply.
You’d think an aspiring if not too astute business like yours might be chastened somewhat by what happened in not responding to my first letter. Here you had been given a second chance to respond. If need be, you could have used terminology appropriate to the misfortune that befell you. Like your article blows, you’re all wet as a writer, etc.
Then again, you all might be nothing but a bunch of provincial yahoos knowing nothing beyond New Orleans music, or worse, nothing but New Orleans music and happy about it. Complacency breeds content. All the best to New Orleans.
—Leigh Brown, San Antonio, TX
New Orleans: If our poor manners brought on the massive destruction that ensued from Hurricane Katrina, we’re sorry. We didn’t do a heckuva job. We appreciate submissions from readers and aspiring writers, but we receive so many that we’re not in a position to respond to all of them, particularly those sent by regular mail. We also recommend that those submitting pieces for consideration look at the magazine and see what we do. Manuscripts longer than the magazine itself are not likely to receive serious consideration. —ED
Healing Acts
This letter is written in response to the published letter from Dave Penney of Las Vegas, appearing in the February issue. What the heck is this guy talking about? How can anyone who has spend at least five minutes looking over the Jazz Fest schedule on any given year suggest that it does not represent the music of New Orleans? Virtually every New Orleans artist performs at the Fest each and every year. The inclusion of “headlining” acts from outside of the genre of New Orleans / South Louisiana music has only served to attract a countless number of people to the Fest at which time they have had the opportunity to hear the wonderful music of the locals. I suggest that Mr. Penney try actually attending the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and perhaps he will be able to make more informed comments. I would also like to suggest that OffBeat not publish such nonsense in the future when they know all too well that the writer is way off base.
—Mike Corn, New Orleans, LA
Best Wishes
My bandana’s off to your determination and hard work in recognizing the strength of the vessel that is music and New Orleans crucial role in building that ship, harboring it and the joy you’ll share in watching her sail on!
Thanks for keeping me and countless others in mind with the continuation of your magazine, as I will respond by keeping my “home away from home” in mind, thru renewing my subscription, flipping through your pages and again accepting invitation to revel in and to share with your great city once again. Good luck and God speed in recovery.
—James M. Morrow, Redway, CA
Just wanted to let you know that I have renewed my subscription early. I have gone for the lifetime subscription as I thought this might help after everything you have been through! Its great to have you back! Very best wishes from the UK. See you at Jazz Fest 2006!
—Neil Wanstall, Brighton, England
You could not have made me more happier when we got our latest copy of OffBeat! But then you go and send us two CD’s with some great music that we have not yet heard. You have got to be the BEST of ALL! What other magazine can top you guys? I can’t think of any and we have read them all but yours is the only one we subscribe to. Thank you for the great music and hope things are slowly coming together down in our favorite town. We will see you all for Jazz Fest ’06 can’t wait counting the days.
—Dean R. Styles, Winston-Salem, NC
I was walking along this morning and there was a bundle of OffBeat—so great to see—I had missed the earlier post-Katrina editions. The spirit you have shown from day one of the magazine speaks to how quickly you were back on the street. You are so vital to the music industry.
—Tom Snedeker, New Orleans, LA
I’ve been coming to your great city during Jazz Fest for several years. I received my first subscription issue of OffBeat just before Katrina. After I contributed what little I could in several ways. I donated to the Red Cross. I ordered the pay-per-view concert, and Restoration Ale merchandise from Abita. I’d love to get a lifetime subscription, but I’ve recently lost my job. Rest assured I will renew my subscription as early as I possibly can, and I will find a way to get to Jazz Fest ’06!
—Joe L. Kennedy, Cedar Rapids, IA
I appreciate your great dedication to your job and your customers. Thank you. I hope you know what kind of difference you and the rest of the service professionals in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast make to the world around you.
I have heard that population levels are expected to settle out somewhere around the Civil War level. It’s hard to imagine what the City looks like. It’s even harder to imagine the threads of New Orleans that made it so special being broken by the hurricane and mending themselves to have the City be what it once was again. I wonder what it must be like to drive from where I lived on Prytania by Napoleon out to UNO. Mostly a ghost town I imagine it is.
My masters was in Urban Planning from UNO and I wonder how the planners are intending to put the City back on the map again. It should be an interesting and fascinating process that will take literally years to work through.
—Dale Stouffer, Chandler, AZ
I am a longtime subscriber of your magazine and I really enjoy reading it here in Germany.
After all the hurricane problems you had it is great that musicians and everybody involved is slowly returning to business.
—Michael Bentele, Cologne, Germany
My wife and I were scheduled to visit New Orleans on October of 2005 and obviously could not , we visit every year. We cannot imagine a world without your city!
We are hoping for a speedy recovery, but are realistic.
We pray for New Orleans, its people and its culture. The music will save us. We love you!
—Robert Tyl, Langhorne, PA
I just wanted to compliment you on the outstanding January edition of your magazine! It was great to receive it. Many thanks and be well!
—David T. Darragh, President, Zatarain’s, Gretna, LA
A number of musicians who have left New Orleans have written or called to talk about the experience, and what life is like in the cities they call home…for now. Jeremy Lyons’ letter articulates the sense of displacement that accompanies a forced move very nicely.—ED
Hey there, New Orleans. So good to see you again. I write this after a bittersweet New Year’s Eve weekend back in New Orleans, exactly 16 years since my first visit. Came back with the wife, her first time back after You-Know-What. We are in Boston, our home for the time being. Not so much an evacu-cation as an evacu-battical.
We’re part of the “lost everything” crowd. We have a six-year-old daughter and after spending one week in Baton Rouge, we had to move on. Rather than try to linger down South in limbo and take the wait-and-see approach, we opted for the warm embrace of family. We headed to Boston (not where I’m from but where some of my people have ended up), enrolled our daughter in a great public school (gasp); my wife got a teaching job and we eventually got ourselves what is considered a great deal of an apartment in the People’s Republic of Cambridge.
In Boston, we have snow. My daughter is thrilled. People in New Orleans ask, “How’s Boston?” and we say, “cold.” Easy answer, and truthful in more ways than one. Still, my daughter pleaded with me to stop saying hello to strangers on the street. They’ll think I’m weird.
Cambridge is very white, but I guess New Orleans is too, now.
When I first moved to New Orleans 13 years ago, I felt like I had stepped into a movie, or a dream in full, living color. Boston is very drab, especially in the winter. The colors of the landscape are basically gray, white, and brown. People wear a lot of gray, white and brown, and the houses are mostly gray, white and brown with a little yellow.
There are a lot of very talented musicians in Boston. Ironically, the gigs seem to pay worse than in New Orleans, and our $1600 a month rental is considered a steal. But again, I hear the same is true in New Orleans these days.
They have this funny tradition in Boston called “last call.” I hear they tried this in New Orleans recently, but they had to bring in the National Guard to enforce it.
One phenomenon I don’t miss is the smoky bars. I am now convinced that at least half of my hangovers have been due as much to oxygen depravation as alcohol consumption. I used to be one of those who argued that a smoking ban would never work in New Orleans. You know what I’ve discovered? Alcohol trumps nicotine. No one in Boston ever says, “Well, I was going to see my favorite band tonight and hang with friends, but I’d rather sit home and smoke a few squares.” Nic-fits are satisfied in the freezing cold of outdoor North Eastern winters, and sidewalk culture in New Orleans ain’t exactly unfriendly. Go outside. Keep the singer’s pipes clean. You want to bring the musicians back? Ease up on the butts, and everyone will smell better in the morning.
In the warm months in Boston (all four of them), there’s a thriving street music scene, but no one resembling Tuba Fats or Washboard Lissa. So what’s with the street musicians not being allowed back on Royal Street? Did Jackie Clarkson sneak this in when no one was noticing? You want to bring the tourists back? Bring back the street music. Bring back the funk. Oh, and bring the black people back now, too, please.
People ask when we’re coming back. Not until they build levees that, you know, hold water. Our daughter misses her friends and her neighborhood and her school, but they are all gone. She has new friends, a new school, a new neighborhood, and I face the biggest challenge I have since trying to break into the music scene in New Orleans. Until my daughter was born, playing on the French Quarter streets and becoming a professional musician in this town were the greatest accomplishments of my life. I would give what little remains of my personal possessions to bring the city back. I’d give my left foot. I’d give my right eye. Almost anything, but my daughter’s smile.
I came to New Orleans with a guitar and a dream, and I leave with the same guitar, a beautiful wife, and a terrific kid born in the greatest city in the world. I’ve lived the dream. And I will again.
—Jeremy Lyons, Boston, MA
