Halloween Fun at the Hoodoo Bash

No Thriller, no Roger Corman Poe knockoff, no Saturday afternoon ghoulathon would be complete without Vincent Price, and my thoughts turn to the inestimable Dr. Phibes for no particular reason as I contemplate another glorious Halloween in New Orleans. The denizens of the midnight creep will be out in full force that weekend, and local promoters are digging deep to make sure that the freaks come out in full force for Druidical merriment. Though Halloween isn’t really a voodoo holiday, promoter Steven Rehage thinks it’s the perfect time to debut his ambitious Voodoo Festival, scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the appropriately spooky surroundings of City Park with a lineup topped by national acts including Third Eye Blind, George Clinton/Parliament Funkadelic, Ben Folds Five, Wyclef Jean and the Refugee Allstars and Moby, a direct descendant of Herman Melville.

Funky Meters manager Steve Eggerton resigns

Steve Eggerton, longtime manager of the Funky Meters, announced his resignation late last month. The Funky Meters have signed with Bill Graham management and will be booked by the William Morris agency.

"I was going to leave by January 1 no matter what," says Eggerton. "The opportunity came to do it now so it gives me a chance to have my first vacation in 25 years. My wife and I plan to travel abroad."

"Speaking as a member of the Funky Meters," says George Porter, Jr., "we recently went into an agreement with Bill Graham Management and the William Morris booking agency that changed Steve’s involvement with the band. I think he tried to meet new management in the middle of the road but apparently that didn’t work. He was tour manager, booking agent and manager, which put him in a situation as a partner with Art and I. When that changed, his role got smaller. What he has done has always been creditable. We chose to go with a more productive management system.

"Speaking as a friend," Porter adds, "I just hope our friendship will never go away."

Eggerton holds the same sentiment.

"The time has come to let the friendship come first again," he says. "It’s been a long, great run and it’s done. The Meters died and were reborn several times during my tenure with them, and they’re playing bigger venues now than at any point in their history."

Eggerton also resigned his management position with Porter’s other project, the Runnin’ Pardners, whose management will revert to Porter’s wife Ara.

"My wife is a hands-on person," says Porter. "If she wants something done she’s not going to ask anybody else to do it. She’s going to go back to doing what she did for six or seven years. I probably will need to get new management at some point, though, because I don’t think she really wants to deal with all those problems again for that length of time."

Not too hot to handle

Harpmeister Rockin’ Jake is known for his hot licks and his smoking barbecue and his brisket won first prize at the Musical Chefs cookoff at the Balloon Festival in August. Now he’s ready to share his culinary secrets with the world. Or at least his hot sauce. Jake’s "Badmouth Hot Sauce" has hit the market in several New Orleans outlets (including Creole Delicacies on the Riverwalk). It’s a spicy Habanero pepper-based sauce with a thick, tomato-based consistency and a sugary counterbalance to the heat.

"It’s the secret ingredient in the brisket," confides Jake, "but I principally use it as an additive instead of cooking with it. It’s thick, almost like a barbecue sauce or a steak sauce with a smoky flavor. There’s a tweak of Red Sabina peppers in there too. It’s got a kick, but it’s not too hot to eat. It’s not for the meek, but if you’re looking for bold flavor you’ve got to have some."

The bottles come with a shrink-wrapped harmonica key chain inside. The sauce, as well as Rockin’ Jake T-shirts, cigarette lighters, key chains, harmonica holders and CDs, are available at www.rockinjake.com.

Think Visual

Filmmakers will be flocking to town for the 11th annual New Orleans Film and Video Festival, which will take place at various theaters from October 8-14. Screenings will take place at the Canal Place Cinema and the Southern Repertory Theatre on the third floor of the Canal Place shopping mall at the foot of Canal Street, uptown at the Prytania Theatre at 5339 Prytania. The New Orleans Film and Video Congress will include panel discussions on such topics as "Acquisition Trends," "The Producer’s Role In Finding Funds," "The Louisiana Filmmakers’ Forum" and "New Voices in Independent Cinema." The panels, which are free and open to the public, will be held in the Southern Repertory Theatre.

One of the highlights of the festival looks to be the much-anticipated directorial debut of Antonio Banderas, Crazy in Alabama, which stars Melanie Griffith and features plenty of Louisiana footage. The producer, Debra Hill, will introduce the film and appear on the panel "The Producer’s Role in Finding Funds."

John Desplas, the festival’s Artistic Director, has lined up an interesting and varied selection of films for the event, including American Movie, Coven, Joe the King, Deterrence, Man of the Century, Splendor, That’s the Way I Like It, Wisdom of Crocodiles, Train of Life, Last Night, East Is East, Love is the Devil, Dreaming of Joseph Lees, Desert Blue, Romance, Mutiny, On the Ropes, After Life, Temps, Get Bruce, I Stand Alone, Tumbleweeds, and The Lovers on the Bridge. A brand new print of the film classic The Third Man, starring Orson Welles as the black-market profiteer Harry Lime in the bombed-out landscape of post-World War II Vienna, and a newly restored print of the Jean Renoir masterpiece Grand Illusion, will also be shown.

"When I program the festival I try to gather the tribes, if you will," says Desplas, "by bringing together all sorts of people to watch all sorts of movies. Hopefully creating a rush about the movie going experience."

A newly-restored version of Easy Rider will mark its 30th anniversary with a screening on the final night of the festival.

"It’s interesting to have the festival begin and end with films that have a connection with New Orleans," says Desplas. "These two films couldn’t be further apart in terms of stories, characters, and their view of the South."

The festival also encompasses Cinema 16’s Independent Filmmakers Showcase, a competition that drew 400 submissions this year and was scaled down to 80 films and videos to be screened.

"Although it has been known as the Cinema 16, we’re outgrowing the name," says Carol Gniady, Executive Director of the New Orleans Film & Video Society. "We accept 35mm, 16mm, videos, and animated in both long and short formats."

For more information check out http://neworleansfilmfest.com.

Deese, dems and dose

New Orleans legend Louis Prima will be the subject of an upcoming documentary by the award-winning filmmaker Don McGlynn, who made the extraordinary portrait of Charles Mingus, Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog. The film, put together under the approval and cooperation of the Prima family, features interviews with noted jazz historian Bruce Raeburn, Prima’s manager, Joe Segretto, band members Sam Butera and Frank Frederico and Prima’s sister-in-law Madeline. The film includes Prima’s entire Copacabana act and will be aired on AMC in January as part of a Louis Prima evening. Double Jeopardy, a film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd, features an exciting conclusion shot on the streets of New Orleans in September and October of 1998 using 150 locals as extras On October 10 and 12th, WLAE TV32 will air the fascinating documentary on New Orleans-based photographer Herman Leonard, Frame After Frame: The Images of Herman Leonard, narrated by Tony Bennett. Leonard, known for his famous jazz photographs, shot the photograph of Jon Cleary on the cover of the November, 1997 OffBeat Bands looking to showcase at the 14th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas next March 15-19 have until October 15 to make the early submission deadline. Showcase applications are available via the net at www.sxsw.com, through e-mail at [email protected] by calling at 512-467-7979 or writing to SXSW at P.O. Box 4999, Austin TX 78765. Submissions must include the application, a CD or cassette of original materials, a photo, bio, press kit and your processing fee ($10 before October 15, $20 before November 15). Acts will be notified no later than February 15, 2000 Odetta has been chosen to be one of the recipients of the 1999 National Medal of the Arts as she celebrates her 50th anniversary in show business with the release of her first studio album in 14 years, Blues Everywhere I Go, with special guest Dr. John Throughout October, the Arts Council of Greater New Orleans in conjunction with the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, ART DOCS and the Stanley Scott Cancer Center will offer free breast cancer and prostate cancer screenings for visual artists, musicians, writers and performing artists. Call 599-0786 for an appointment Finally, R.I.P. Sven Alexander Swenson, who turned the car radio to the right stations back in the 1950s and hooked the kid in the backseat on rock and roll, jazz, R&B and the Big Beat. Alex was a big fan of OffBeat. He had a copy on the table next to his hospital bed and his many friends and family members were warmed by the floral arrangement sent by the magazine to his funeral.