This month, OffBeat tackles a thorny issue: why and how are the powers-that-be— the city, the state and (God help us all) the Catholic Church— regulating our musical culture?
As we go to press, state Senator Paulette Irons has ushered in a bill that prohibits music around all churches in the state. OffBeat reporter Keith Pandolfi reports in this issue on the behind-the-scene politics that have created what’s probably the worst thing to happened to street musicians in the last decade.
There are quite a few changes afoot at OffBeat these days, one of which is a major revision in our website (www.offbeat.com), which will be unveiled within the next month. John Cooper is OffBeat‘s new webmaster.
He’s also responsible for recreating the WWOZ website (wwoz.org) which is a killer and has set a new standard for the station’s Internet presence. Cooper is currently creating better navigation tools for our site and updating its look and creating more sponsorship opportunities. The most exciting thing about having John on board is that it’s created the opportunity for OffBeat and WWOZ to work more closely together in future Internet endeavors.
“OffBeat has great visual content and WWOZ provides the audio portion,” says David Freedman, General Manager of OZ. “Together, we’re unbeatable.” Freedman and I, as publisher, believe that OffBeat and WWOZ together offer a package unparalleled in providing information on and the sounds of our rootsy, indigenous music–we offer authenticity that no other local Internet presence can.
We also are working on a cooperative effort with the Louisiana Music Factory to offer CDs at discount to web surfers, along with content that is unique online. Look for changes in all of our sites in the near future, as we present The Louisiana Music Collective …
Another great change is that OffBeat has hired local music writer and locally infamous (at least after his Vic and Nat’ly Jazz Fest page) cartoonist Bunny Matthews to serve on our staff as Associate Editor. Besides creating “Vic and Nat’ly Broussard,” New Orleans’ most famous cartoon couple, Matthews has been involved in the local music scene for most of his life, commencing with many childhood hours spent pounding the snare drums as he marched down St. Charles Avenue in Carnival parades.
In his adulthood, Matthews covered the musical denizens of New Orleans for the weekly Figaro and subsequently for The Times Picayune. He also served as Associate Editor of Wavelength, the defunct music monthly, and has contributed articles to Spin and various European publications. and the debut issue of of OffBeat, which he more or less single-handedly wrote.
Matthews has composed liner notes for such Louisiana artist as James Booker, Earl King, Smiley Lewis, The Neville Brothers and Snooks Eaglin, often designing their album covers as well. He once drove to Baton Rouge with Professor Longhair, down Hwy. 61, in Fess’ Cadillac. Bunny is currently developing a primetime animated cartoon for PorchLight Entertainment. If there are shows you want publicized, new CDs out, or other music news, please call him at 504-944-4300 Ext. 14, or contact him at [email protected].
Another local music “freak” has joined OffBeat’s staff. Eduardo Young is our new Circulation and Distribution Manager. Besides being probably the most organized person to walk over the OffBeat threshold in many a moon, Eduardo is a music-lover of the first. order and has been a supporter of local music and musicians since he first arrived in New Orleans.
If you would like to change your order for magazines, have experienced any problems, or want to start distributing OffBeat at your business, contact Eduardo at Ext. 21, or at hyperlink mail to: [email protected].
I was contacted about two weeks ago to do an interview for a new MTV show that focuses on the indie music world. The pilot was being shot in New Orleans and the producer, Nolan Baynes, wisely decided to contact Cyril Neville to find out more about his activities in the Crescent City.
Cyril, in cooperation with the Eighth Floor venture (the entity that now owns and operates Tipitina’s various venues around town), has created the “New Orleans Music Preservatory.” This includes a computer/recording center on the fourth floor of the old Fountainebleau Motel on Tulane and South Carrollton, and includes a functioning recording studio on the eighth floor of the same location, which also ties in with the rehearsal space.
Cyril tells us that the aim of the Preservatory is to teach local young musicians not only how to get their music recorded (and recorded the way they want it), but to connect the younger generation up with the vast heritage and experience of those musicians who came before so that they’ll be educated and informed on what they need to know to make it in the music business.
This idea has been on Cyril’s agenda for many years, and was the primary purpose of his N.O.M.O. (New Orleans Musicians Organized) group, some 15 years ago. It took his vision and the know-how and business expertise of the Eighth Floor to make it happen. Look for bigger things from the Preservatory and Eighth Floor in the near future.
Other news of note …
Josh Feigenbaum of NYNO Records has asked local Louisiana Music Factory owner, record producer and historian Jerry Brock to produce Allen Toussaint’s next album and to produce albums in general for the label. Is a new solo piano album for Mr. Toussaint in the works?
Brock has also been asked by the State of Louisiana to write the history of Louisiana music. The format for the completed project will not be a book, but rather a CD-ROM to be used in Louisiana schools for educational purposes. Steve Picou of the Louisiana ‘Music Commission is putting together the CD-ROM with state funds with the help of Julie Calzone of Calzone Associates.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation has recently issued its 30th Anniversary Annual Report. For our many readers who want to know more about the activities of the Foundation, call for info on how you can receive a copy of the report, 504- 522-4786.
