November 2015
Cover Story
- Quickie Mart "Specializes In Everything”
Martin Arceneaux’s trademark long, wavy brown hair blows in the perfect breeze off Lake Pontchartrain as we sit at a table…
Letters
- November 2015 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
UNFAIR FIGHT The following is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post, “New Orleans Means Music,” on OffBeat.com, wherein she talks…
Mojo Mouth
- Leaving a Legacy
By the time you read this, the state of Louisiana will have elected a new Lieutenant Governor. This person is in…
Fresh
- Lean On Him: Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall
Bill Withers tried to fit his life into the rough-and-tumble business of music. But in 1985, the poet laureate decided that… - Even Seven Is Not Enough: The Magnificent 7 at Rock ’n’ Bowl
New Orleans, the birthplace of funk and the preferred stomping grounds of jam band fans and followers of the freak philosophy,… - Ten Buried Dr. John Treasures
Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack, who turns 75 on November 21, has given the world more good music to keep track of.… - Soundcheck: Five Questions with singer and sausage maker Vance Vaucresson
You’ve been working in the family business, Vaucresson’s Sausage Company, since the age of eight. What have you learned? Me and… - My Music: Dick Deluxe
To really know a song, you’ve got to have it hardwired into you. Then you can interpret it. If you’re worried… - "Blood, Sweat And Hair" Art Show
Whether across the ocean or across the street, New Orleans music photographers Elsa Hahne (OffBeat Art Director) and Golden G. Richard,…
Voodoo
- Heavy Funkers: Eric Benny Bloom Is On The Rise
It might take a scorecard to keep up with trumpeter Eric Benny Bloom. The Rhode Island native and New Orleans resident… - Joy Loves Company: The Joy Formidable brings optimism to Voodoo Fest
We in Louisiana have a healthy obsession with music being of a place, often fretting over the particular neighborhood that produced… - Voodoo Rules
The Voodoo Experience has been in a constant state of evolution since it first hit the New Orleans scene back in… - Bantam Blitz: Bantam Foxes’ Constant Content
Local garage indie rock ’n’ roll power trio Bantam Foxes is playing late on a Thursday night at Gasa Gasa, and…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Joseph Torregano
Clarinetist/saxophonist Joe Torregano, a dedicated musician and teacher, and altogether a nice guy, died on Tuesday, October 6, 2015. He was… - Obituary: Frankie Ford
Ooh-wee.... Frankie Ford, the flamboyant rock ’n’ roll artist who rode “Sea Cruise” nearly to the top of the charts in… - Obituary: Joseph “Smokey” Johnson
Joseph “Smokey” Johnson, a master of jazz, an originator of funk and an influential force in rhythm and blues, died on… - Obituary: Paul Prudhomme
(1940–2015) Chef Paul Prudhomme passed away on October 8, 2015 after a brief illness. He was 75. The Opelousas-born Prudhomme first… - Obituary: Syndey Byrd
Renowned New Orleans photographer Syndey Byrd passed away on October 2, after a long illness. She was 71 years old. Syndey… - Obituary: Steve Steinberg
There were gigs in New Orleans where one would just expect to see Steve Steinberg. Many folks and musicians first starting…
In The Spirit
- Ricky Gomez at Compère Lapin
It’s tough being the person who’s always engaging, so giving the guest a way to engage you makes for more give…
Dining Out
- Toast
Five years ago husband and wife chef duo Cara and Evan Benson opened Tartine, a small Parisian oasis tucked away in…
OffBeat Eats
- Cheeky Blakk Hits The Spot
The Spot: M&J Soul Food 9301 Lake Forest Blvd. in New Orleans East (504) 304-2703 How did you find this…
Plan A
- Steve Earle & the Dukes
Who can forget seeing Steve Earle shot in the face on HBO’s “Treme”? That bone-chilling, art-imitating- local-life scene of the mugging-turned-murder…
BackTalk
- Jason Isbell
It’s been a great year for songwriter, singer and guitarist Jason Isbell. His recent record Something More Than Free hit number…
Reviews
- Brent Rose, The Unexpected Gift (Independent)
Considering that Brent Rose is known for playing all over New Orleans’ musical scene—brass band, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, big… - Sneaky Pete & The Fens, Live in Pompeii (Cadiz & Cadizn’t)
There’s nary a reference to Katrina, hurricane or the flood on these 14 tracks, but on Live in Pompeii, The Fens’… - Eddie Bo, Baby I’m Wise: The Complete Ric Singles 1959-1962 (Ace)
Eddie Bo was perhaps the most prolific of all New Orleans R&B artists—surely rivaling Fats Domino—despite the claims made by the… - Christian Scott, Stretch Music (Ropeadope)
“He really stretched out on that solo,” someone might exclaim following a particularly expansive musical interpretation. Trumpeter Christian Scott uses the… - Perez Patitucci Blade, Children of the Light (Mack Avenue)
For 15 wonderful years now, pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and New Orleans native, drummer Brian Blade have been members… - Guy Davis, Kokomo Kidd (M.C. Records)
Black bluesmen don’t pick up the banjo all that often, despite its prominence in the music’s rural history, but Guy Davis… - REWIND: Zachary Richard, Cap Enragé (Initial/Audiogram Records)
Nearing its 20-year anniversary, Zachary Richard looks back on Cap Enragé, a record that changed his approach to the recording process… - Billie Davies, Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon (Independent)
Avant-garde music really finds its beauty in the way it rids musical expression of a number of conceptual restraints, leaving the… - Nation Beat Featuring Cha Wa, Carnival Caravan (Independent)
Brazilian maracatu drumming is to the Recife and Olinda Carnival scenes what the second-line beat is to good old New Orleans… - Hot 8 Brass Band, Vicennial (Tru Thoughts)
In the liner notes, Hot 8 leader and tuba player Bennie Pete explains the contents of Vicennial, an album that celebrates… - Mary Jane Guiney, Stay True (Independent)
Something in this city calls to Australians—and that’s not just more OffBeat-brand civic boosterism. The secret romance of the port city,… - Dash Rip Rock, Wrongheaded (Drag Snake)
With 2012’s Black Liquor, Dash Rip Rock proved that they could make a strong and recognizably Dash album with very little… - Shemekia Copeland, Outskirts of Love (Alligator Records)
Shemekia is the blues diva who needs no introduction, and if she does, you probably don’t need to know anyway—daughter of… - Smithfield Fair, Marbles (Stevenson Productions)
Normally Smithfield Fair (SF) is revered for vocal harmonies, yet on its 30th album, the Baton Rouge–based folk collective does an… - Zeke Fishhead, No Fun (LiveDownloads.com)
Zeke Fishhead (a.k.a. Ed Volker) has a treasure trove of home demos that surpasses even the prolific Pete Townshend. Since the…
