April 2013
BackTalk
- BackTalk: Kermit Ruffins, Hot and Spicy
When people mention Kermit Ruffins, they rarely use his last name. They just say, “Hey, we’re going to hear Kermit tonight”…
Cover Story
- The Roots of Music: Working on a Dream
On April 30, 1803, James Madison and Robert R. Livingston representing the United States and Francois Barbe-Marbois, a finance minister from…
Features
- Miss Sophie Lee: Tracking Her Roots
Miss Sophie Lee is surveying Frenchmen Street from the balcony of Three Muses, the restaurant and music club that she co-owns… - French Quarter Fest 2013 Focus: Creole String Beans
When is a cover band not a cover band? When the covers they play are so cool and so obscure that… - French Quarter Fest 2013 Focus: Jane Harvey Brown
Jane Harvey Brown might not be a household name on the New Orleans classic jazz scene but it should be—and could… - French Quarter Fest 2013 Focus: Los Po-Boy-Citos
Los Po-Boy-Citos came out of the box dancing in 2008 with New Orleans Latin Soul, an ingenious hybrid of 60s-style Latin… - French Quarter Fest 2013 Focus: Harmonouche
Putting the French in French Quarter Festival, New Orleans’ Harmonouche will bring their eclectic combination of gypsy swing and traditional jazz… - French Quarter Fest 2013: A to Z Guide
Browse Every French Quarter Fest 2013 Performer Below A | B | C | D | E | F | G… - A Lot Goin’ On: Bill Summers’ Journey to Jazalsa
Bill Summers has a lot goin’ on—he always has. The master percussionist leads two bands, Bill Summers & Jazalsa and its… - Back in Style: Big Al Carson Takes His Ass Back to Bourbon Street
Big Al Carson is an essential element in the midway of exotic attractions populating Bourbon Street, but you really have to… - It's All About Music: Dirty Dozen Brass Band Looks Ahead
Nearly two years ago, a YouTube video went New Orleans-viral. Against a percolating sousaphone groove, five horn players—two trumpets, two saxophones… - Zachary Richard Goes Crazy
In September, he was blasted by a simulated hurricane, thanks to an ambitious music video concept, a prolific Henderson Volunteer Fire… - Francophonie: African Legends, Flying Gymnasts and Playable Body Organs at Festival International
Accolades like “Best Free Festival of the South” are easy to relate to once you’ve been to a few festivals. But…
Fresh
- Timecode: NOLA Screens Professor Longhair, Ernie K-Doe, More at French Quarter Fest
Though we’re sure somebody’s tried, we still haven’t been able to resurrect our late music pioneers like Professor Longhair, James Booker… - Dylan's Angels: Bob Dylan's New Orleans Paintings
“There are a lot of places I like,” wrote Bob Dylan memorably in his autobiography, “but I like New Orleans better.”… - Thunderous: Walter Lure and the Waldos Set for Siberia Sighting
Johnny Thunders, the guitarist who rose to fame as a member of the New York Dolls and ascended to legend leading… - Yarrr! Pirates Come in Many Forms for Hal Willner
What is it about singing drunken pirate songs that holds such universal appeal for rock musicians? National Lampoon’s Goodbye Pop album…
Letters
- April 2013 Letters to OffBeat
NOT HIP I have waited two weeks to see if this month’s cover [March 2013, Cheeky Blakk] still offended me. It…
Mojo Mouth
- Started Little, Growing Yearly
In 1984, then-mayor Dutch Morial organized a little event that was supposed to draw locals back to the French Quarter, since…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Bobby Lonero (1943-2013)
Robert “Bobby” Lonero, a Louisiana Hall of Fame musician and long-popular New Orleans bandleader, died February 17, 2013. According to fellow…
OffBeat Eats
- The Revivalists' Dave Shaw Hits the Spot at Magasin
What are you eating? Hmmm... I usually order the filet mignon noodle bowl with a fried egg, but lately I’ve been… - Dining Out: Killer Poboys (Restaurant Review)
A casual stroll down Bourbon Street yields a limited number of options for pairing food with a Big Ass Beer. Most… - Fest Feast: French Quarter Fest 2013 Food Guide
Every French Quarter Fest I walk around the Square in front of St. Louis Cathedral, sun-dazed and confused about what to…
Dining Out
- Miss Sophie Lee: Tracking Her Roots
Miss Sophie Lee is surveying Frenchmen Street from the balcony of Three Muses, the restaurant and music club that she co-owns… - Dining Out: Killer Poboys (Restaurant Review)
A casual stroll down Bourbon Street yields a limited number of options for pairing food with a Big Ass Beer. Most…
Photo Op
- Sean Yseult's Mississippi Mermaids
When I was very little, my father used to sail us out to remote islands off of North Carolina to picnic…
The Spot
- The Revivalists' Dave Shaw Hits the Spot at Magasin
What are you eating? Hmmm... I usually order the filet mignon noodle bowl with a fried egg, but lately I’ve been…
Reviews
- BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, From Bamako to Carencro (Compass Records)
After 37 years as globe-trotting Cajun ambassadors, there are not many unconquered frontiers left for BeauSoleil. Caribbean/world music has a strong… - Social Set, Celebrate (Independent)
Celebrate is an apt name for this self-released record from the New Orleans five piece Social Set. The five songs here… - Tommy Sancton & Lars Edegran with the New Orleans Quartet, Hymns & Spirituals (New Orleans Legacy Records)
The stained-glass motif of the cover photo of Tommy Sancton and Lars Edegran’s Hymns & Spirituals is modeled on that of… - Kidd Jordan, On Fire 2 (Engine Records)
Although saxophonist Kidd Jordan has entered an age when most musicians start to slow down or coast on former laurels, Jordan… - Ricky B, B Is for Bounce (Sinking City/Urban Unrest)
Ricky B is not merely a pioneering bounce artist—he’s also an essential geographer. With this reissue on vinyl of nine classic… - Corey Harris, Fulton Blues (Njumba Records)
Although Corey Harris made his name as a Delta blues player that is not nearly the end of his talents. He… - Various Artists, Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Volume 2 (Arhoolie Records)
When Lake Charles recordman Eddie Shuler was too busy to record Nathan Abshire because he was already involved with accordionist Iry… - Songs for Junior Rangers, Volume 1 (National Park Foundation)
This collection further proves that New Orleans is the most musical place in the United States. Where else would the local… - Egg Yolk Jubilee, Fried (Independent)
It can’t be easy getting a coherent CD out of a band that simply won’t calm down. And to their credit,… - Otis Redding, Lonely & Blue (Stax/Volt)
I submit that if you can listen to this CD from beginning-to-end and not get a chill down your spine, or… - Billy Martin’s Wicked Knee, Heels Over Head (Amulet Records)
After touring the planet in the wild trio known as Medeski, Martin, and Wood, it is not wonder that rhythm man… - Micah McKee and Little Maker, Patrons of the Saint (Independent)
An industrious veteran of the local songwriting scene, Micah McKee has a distinctive voice, sweet but crackling, with a professional’s attention… - Jerry Lee Lewis, Original Classic Albums: 1965-1969 (Raven Records)
Over the course of five original vinyl releases—that’s I’m On Fire, The Return Of Rock, Memphis Beat, Soul My Way and… - Scott Ramminger, Advice from a Father to a Son (Arbor Lane Music)
Any record that lists such top flight players as pianist David Torkanowksy, guitarist Shane Theriot, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer… - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Texas Flood (Columbia Legacy)
This two-disc set pairs a live set with the studio version of Texas Flood. Recorded at Ripley’s Music Hall in Philadelphia… - Frank Connell, 30 Minutes with Mr. Frank (Independent)
Any person who’s hung around the Irish Channel or Garden District long enough has undoubtedly seen Frank Connell at one of… - Sweet Olive String Band, Sweet Olive String Band (Independent)
While New Orleans will never be as famous for its acoustic music scene as it is for jazz, funk and R&B,… - Denise, Camden Town (Alice’s Loft Music)
Forty-two musicians played on this, so sayeth the liner notes, which I can believe, counting strings, keyboards, saxophones, percussion and choirs.… - Rik Ducci, Pride 4 Lunch Sleep 4 Dinner (Independent)
Over the last year, as popular hip-hop continued to lust for Molly and EMD, a sub-narrative evolved around veteran artists who…
