Before OffBeat was started, I was definitely a habitué of music clubs; in fact, they inspired me to do something tangible to help the local music scene and musicians. There were many, many nights when I dreaded the ride home to Kenner (where I was living at the time) after a night at the Maple Leaf or Tip’s or Muddy Waters or Jimmy’s or Carrollton Station. One of the more thrilling things was when I rented my house in Kenner and moved to New Orleans—mainly so I could be closer to the music.

I will admit when I lived in other cities, most notably Miami, that I wasn’t necessarily going out to listen to music—it was mostly to drink and socialize—probably because what little live music there was didn’t appeal to me, except for a restaurant I remember that had live reggae music in Coconut Grove on
Friday nights.

Back then, Frenchmen Street was the home to Snug Harbor, the Dream Palace (now the Blue Nile) and Café Brasil. I loved going to Frenchmen because you could park in the shell-paved lot between Decatur and Chartres for free and stay late without having to worry about getting a ticket. And I felt relatively safe walking to my car.

I can’t remember going to Bourbon Street or its environs too much, although Pres Hall and Fritzel’s were my taste when I was in the mood for trad jazz, and when the Palm Court opened, they saw me too.

Suffice it to say that most of my music club-hopping took place uptown. That was where most of the music was, over 25 years ago.

But, of course, times have changed. Who knew that Frenchmen Street would transmogrify into the music mecca it is today? Currently there are at least eight clubs/bars/restaurants that present live music on Frenchmen Street: Mojitos, Vaso, Maison, Blue Nile, Three Muses, d.b.a., Snug Harbor, the Apple Barrel, Café Negril and the Spotted Cat. Currently, the building at 514 Frenchmen is under construction to become another restaurant (we wrote about the place, tentatively named Bamboula; at that time it was planned to become more of a House of Blues-multi-stage operation, but zoning didn’t allow that. It’s supposedly now going to be a restaurant and bar, and a restaurant can host acoustic music, up to three people at a time). There’s also another restaurant planned for the vacant lot between “Bamboula” and the Blue Nile.

I’ve heard muttering about Frenchmen Street from a few musicians who complain that they’re not paid a guarantee for their performances. They say they only work for a percentage of the bar. When you offer as much music as the venues on Frenchmen do (some start music at 4 p.m.), without a cover charge, someone—usually the musicians—is going to lose.
Sweet Home New Orleans—which originally started post-Katrina as a resource for Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs and Mardi Gras Indians—went through a metamorphosis and a change in its mission a little over a year ago. Sweet Home’s mission now is “to empower New Orleans musicians to make a living while living in New Orleans” and to “transform how New Orleans does music business.”

This is an effort I can certainly applaud; it’s one of the main reasons why OffBeat was started. It’s fantastic that a non-profit group has taken on this formidable task. Believe me, as one who’s been working at it for well over 25 years, it’s a relief to see a group take this cause on.

One of Sweet Home’s most recent projects is to create an “Empower Musicians Seal of Approval,” a “fair-trade approach to live music venue.” Executive Director Sue Mobley says “Sweet Home is working to move New Orleans musicians away from a gig-to-gig income cycle, but we want the gigs to pay more too. Most music venues are small businesses, labors of love for the owners, and we want to support and celebrate those that stand out by treating our musicians well…”

In order to achieve the Seal of Approval, music venues must be ranked on a 30-point weighted metric scale that focuses on musician pay and pay transparency, venue sound and marketing, and social responsibility, which included appropriate permits and licenses.

As of this writing, ten local venues have received the seal of approval (in no particular order): the Blue Nile, Little Gem Saloon, Three Muses, Ogden After Hours program, Gasa Gasa, Preservation Hall, Chickie Wah Wah, the Rock ’N’ Bowl, d.b.a., and Music at the Mint.

Congratulations to these venues that operate with musicians in mind, and we hope that more venues will seek out this designation. You can nominate at venue at Sweet Home’s website, sweethomeneworleans.org.

Another music club icon, Jimmy’s (8200 Willow Street) is still not open due to the fact that the owners haven’t been able to yet obtain a liquor license, but according to Jimmy Anselmo, the original owner of Jimmy’s and a partner in a group that’s trying to reopen the club, things are progressing slowly but surely.

Jimmy’s wasn’t able to obtain a liquor license to reopen because there was a moratorium placed on that area, one that Anselmo claims is illegal, something he is prepared to challenge in court.

Anselmo says that he and his partners are meeting with neighbors and city representatives to make sure that the club is a “good neighbor” by making sure that noise isn’t an issue (they are installing noise-blocking installation); trash (they are using go-cups emblazoned only with the Jimmy’s logo to insure that if there is any trash, it can be identified). Hopefully, by the time you read this, the issue will have been solved and Jimmy’s will be set to reopen once more.

It wouldn’t be the first weekend in August without OffBeat’s annual tribute to the most famous jazz musician, born in New Orleans: Louis Armstrong. That’s LOU-ISS, not Lou-ee. Get it right!

This is the 13th annual celebration of Mr. Armstrong at New Orleans’ own Satchmo SummerFest. It’s always been a wonderful little festival, but this year it gets even better because it’s three days, not just the weekend. The seminars on Armstrong and his life and times have become so popular that French Quarter Festivals, Inc., (producers of French Quarter Festivals and Christmas New Orleans Style, who also produce this event) have added extra seating for the seminars on the second floor of the Old Mint, many new food vendors, too, and special guests Wycliffe Gordon (see story on page 24) and Allen Toussaint. This will be Toussaint’s first appearance at Satchmo SummerFest. Also appearing will be the Swing Dolphins, a band of young Japanese players who were victims of the tsunami, and who have been mentored in New Orleans jazz by trumpeter Yoshio Toyama. And instruments they play have been provided by the Tipitina’s Foundation. Not to miss!