CUE-TE
Dear Ian [McNulty], I want to eat Cue, with Yue.

— Susan Maakestad, Memphis, TN

Thanks for your [Ian McNulty’s] wonderful review of Dong Phuong. I worked for years at the NASA facility, and I never knew what I was missing. I tried the banh mi, you nailed it. Great job.

— Daniel Morris, Slidell, LA

WHAT WE DIDN’T KNOW
I just wanted to thank you [Jeremy Deibel] for the review you did on my CD, and to let you know that I agree with you right down the line. The funny thing is that you gave it a review based on current music trends, and that’s exactly what I wanted, but now I can tell you what you DIDN’T know when you reviewed it. Most of these songs were recorded DECADES ago. For instance, “We Will” was written in the late ’70s, and then when Leroux hit with “New Orleans Ladies,” I recorded it with David Peters (their drummer). Saying that you wanted to sing “Footloose” to “Her” was great, because it was written about seven years BEFORE “Footloose.” I’m not trying to be mean or sarcastic here. I really think this stuff is funny, especially when you said that it was recorded “just a year ago,” and it just shows that I should have gotten off of my ass back then and released it.

This CD was mainly something I just put together for friends and family, people who have been listening to this stuff for a long time now, but wanted all the songs in one spot in CD form. The fact that you reviewed it not knowing any of this, and have it on the same page as reviews of Harry Connick, Jr. and other big acts, tells me that it’s held up reasonably well (well maybe not, you may have really wanted to torture it but were too kind to do so).

I can’t help but wonder though, if this were 1987 and you were handed this CD, what would your review have been?

— Richard Harris, Baton Rouge, LA

If this were 1987, Jeremy Deibel would be an elementary school student and probably not writing for OffBeat. Seriously, after investigating the packaging of Mr. Harris’ CD, which indicated a 2004 copyright, OffBeat’s editors could not discern a single clue concerning the album’s chronology, other than a few random photographs of unidentified gentlemen with bare chests and shag haircuts. We assumed that this was some sort of Freddie Mercury tribute.—Ed.

REMARKABLE HONESTY
Just a quick note of great appreciation for the Bunny Matthews’ interview with Ivan Neville in the July issue.

Kudos to Bunny for his sense of ease and obvious familiarity with his subject and his confidence to ask some hard, rather blunt questions. That’s pro interviewing at its best.

But all the writer’s skills would have been wasted had he not been talking with a musician of such remarkable honesty. I’ve always been a fan of Ivan’s musical ability but I was flat out blown away by how candid and revealing his answers were.

Ivan’s candor regarding his former substance abuse and subsequent recovery was refreshing and inspiring. That the guy has a sense of humor about it all just shows how deeply human he is. For once, a recovering rock star who doesn’t come off all pious and high and mighty. That’s practically unheard of these days.

One nagging question remains for me though. So much of the piece was given over to Ivan’s friendship with Keith Richards, I’m dying to know if their relationship survived that infamous night at Giants Stadium.

— Mike Crowe, Brooklyn, NY

The friendship survived and Keith joined Ivan, Art and Ian Neville onstage at the Saenger Theatre for the filming of director Michael Murphy’s Make It Funky! In 2004.—Ed.