MAKE IT HAPPEN

I have the outsider’s perspective, but still consider myself to be a “New Orleanian-in-exile.” I am a “Threadhead.” I spend my vacations in New Orleans, its music dominates my listening pleasure, its food makes my mouth water just at the thought of it, and my appreciation for its culture, history and ability to overcome adversity after adversity against overwhelming odds makes it where I want to be. I don’t want to live anywhere else (and I am putting my money where my mouth is, risking all that I have and am to relocate here come March 1). There is a Renaissance going on here on so many different levels, including musically.

The problem is trying to get New Orleans business interests and government officials to be able to not only understand its creative elements and their challenges, but to also embrace them with real action. We also don’t want to allow the music to be diluted by marketing to the point where what made it unique in the first place is lost.

I am looking forward to helping become part of the solution in keeping New Orleans music, live, alive, recordable, marketable and accessible. And to help the musicians to hone their craft, to live in an environment where they are looked up to (not down upon) and create a music industry that helps to financially support their way of life. I agree with Jan [Ramsey, Mojo Mouth, September 2012]—“Can’t wait to make it happen.”

—Robert Schooley, Lake Wales, Florida

MUSIC IS WHAT FEELINGS SOUND LIKE

I’ve been coming to New Orleans for eight years now. Feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to stay for extended periods of time each year in this beloved city. As much as I embrace my East Coast life, I am acutely aware of how my heart yearns for the South.

I am often asked why I keep coming back to New Orleans. I choose New Orleans because it brings out the very best in me. It feels like home and nourishes my soul like no other place on earth. It is why I have made a conscious choice to live my day-to-day as a long distance local. JetBlue is my BFF; the French Quarter hotel where I stay knows my favorite room; not a day goes by without local music, and I am grateful for Wi-Fi, Twitter blogs, Facebook, OffBeat, my smart phone and apps, online shopping and streaming, and any technology that keeps me connected to all things NOLA until I can make my way back again.

Deep in my heart, I am most in love with the music. “Music is what feelings sound like.” And you don’t need to venture far to find a venue that matches your mood. Where else but New Orleans can you start your night at one club for blues or rock, cross the street — smooth jazz or a little funk. Walk a block and hear a brass band, street improv, or a ’70s cover band!

But there are times when my affections waiver over disappointing or disturbing decisions that impact what I cherish most. After my most recent visit, it was apparent how the streets were quieter — obviously the result of the live music permit issue. New Orleans is a city of contradictions. New Orleans boasts — rightfully so — of being the center of the musical universe. Yet, as a whole, it fails to recognize the urgency to nurture its present or protect its future. Katrina displaced many musicians. And with that displacement some of the musical history left too. Time is running out. I share Jan Ramsey’s desire for a music museum [“Satchmo and Big Ideas,” August 1, 2012], a brick and mortar legacy that would preserve for future generations the glorious musical heritage that is uniquely New Orleans. However, if the people who decide whether NOLA needs or deserves a music museum are behind the live music permit, then NOLA is really in trouble! Now that the city’s zoning ordinances and restrictions on live music are threatening the livelihoods of club owners and musicians alike, it seems the history we will be preserving will not be the one intended. New Orleans cannot be called a musical destination without music. How hypocritical for the city to say they want and love the music when what they really mean is yes, you can play — just not too loud, too often, too late… or in my neighborhood!

I’ve learned over time that to love New Orleans, one must be both romantic and pragmatic. Despite the frustrations and failings, NOLA’s good far outweighs the bad. I think one day I’ll move here. Until then, I’ve booked my flights and I will keep coming back — often.

—Halana Finnie, Beacon, New York