November 2017
BackTalk
- Ani DiFranco Talks Back
Iconoclast singer-songwriter, indie music pioneer and social activist Ani DiFranco moved to New Orleans in 2003. A lover of the city…
Cover Story
- Towards the Sun: Pell plants the seeds for New Orleans’ hip-hop resurgence.
Since emerging out of its primordial ooze in Congo Square, American music of the African diaspora has thrived to such a…
Features
- Tour of the Americas: The Rolling Stones launch in Baton Rouge.
It’s the night before the Rolling Stones launch the biggest rock event of 1975—the Tour of the Americas ’75 at LSU… - Sexual Impropriety: Katie Sikora’s photography explores gender-based discrimination.
“Open secret.” That phrase lingered in headlines, on social media platforms and over dinner tables after producer Harvey Weinstein was fired… - Changing of the Guard: Adonis Rose takes over the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
“I feel like we need to reintroduce the band in a way,” says drummer Adonis Rose, who has been named as… - Tipitina’s Celebrates 40 Years
In 1977, a gang of young local music lovers founded Tipitina’s. One of New Orleans’ legacy music venues, Tipitina’s will mark… - Drag City: You think you know what drag is, but you have no idea.
Most people have the same general idea of what defines a “drag queen”: a man dressing up as a woman, using…
Fresh
- VOODOO MUSIC + ARTS EXPERIENCE: Is it Losing its New Orleans Identity?
In 2009, my former band—whom you’ve assuredly never heard of—played the Voodoo Music Experience. I had a chance encounter with the… - Floyd’s Record Shop Is Back
Once Louisiana’s longest tenured record retailer, Ville Platte’s legendary Floyd’s Record Shop is now Louisiana’s newest music retailer. Say what? It's… - Five Questions with Ms. Linda Green
How did you learn to cook? I learned to cook through my mother and grandmother—they taught me how to cook. My… - Growing Up Petty
OffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reaches that milestone with this November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, over the… - My Music with Unicorn Fukr
I never intended to do anything more than just collect records and spin them at home and have friends over. I… - Soundcheck: Five Questions with Benjamin Booker
What’s your favorite decade of the blues? Probably the 1920s. I never got into electric blues, the Chicago style or later…
In The Spirit
- In the Spirit: William Evans at Maypop
“Hot 8 Brass Band, I love that they do the cover for ‘Sexual Healing,’ which was one of my favorites growing…
Letters
- Letters to the Editor
Dickish Behavior The following letters are in response to Elsa Hahne’s feature “Here’s looking at you, Dick,” in the October issue.…
Mojo Mouth
- The End of The World As We Knew It
The appeal of New Orleans never wanes, despite hurricanes, storms, crumbling infrastructure, crime, educational issues and lack of police. In fact,…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: El Pavo Real
Chef Lindsey McLellan spent nearly a decade overseeing the kitchen at Lola’s, churning out pans of paella to customers willing to…
The Spot
- Alex McMurray hits the Spot
This isn’t your first time at Pizza D? Not at all. I live two blocks away and I’m here at least…
Reviews
- Bonerama, "Hot Like Fire" (Basin Street Records)
New Orleans, always part of the tidal flow of American music, has subtly reintroduced itself into the current. Just as in… - Roderick Paulin, "Slow But Steady" (Independent)
When asked who’s on saxophonist Roderick Paulin’s new release, Slow But Steady, the immediate response might be “everybody.” More accurately, a… - Feufollet, "Baby’s on Fire" (Valcour Records)
Ah, vinyl—it once followed the footpath of dinosaurs, at least until club DJs spun it into hipster status and resurrected it… - Tony Seville and the Cadillacs, "Vale La Pena" (Mahogany Jazz Records)
There’s something about this album that makes me want to sip on a cocktail—it has a smooth, lounge-y feel. Tony Seville… - Aural Elixir, "Better" (Independent)
Nearly two decades on, Jesse Maclaine is the sole remaining member of the Colorado-based jazz-folk band Aural Elixir. Their latest release… - Lil Bob and the Lollipops, "Sweet Soul Swinger... & The Jin Singles" (Jin)
File this one in the category of Bayou Soul. Opelousas’ Camille “Lil” Bob was a singer/drummer whose horn-laden band worked the… - Jason Ricci & the Bad Kind, "Approved By Snakes" (Ellersoul Records)
It’s a small wonder that Jason Ricci decided to put a coiled snake on the cover of his latest release. The… - Ann Savoy "Ann Savoy Plays the Music of Cleoma Falcon" (Independent)
Throughout her career, Cajun renaissance woman Ann Savoy has championed Cleoma Breaux Falcon, who recorded the genre’s first song, “Allons à… - Juju Child, "The Power of Me" (Independent)
There are good impressionists and there are good comedians. While both came up aping the stars of their youth, learning the… - Garth Alper, "Stratus" (Independent)
The fourteenth century maxim “familiarity breeds contempt” has nothing at all to do with jazz. In the best circumstances, the situation… - Smithfield Fair, "Evermore" (Stevenson Productions)
Groups enduring 40 years and 31 albums together aren’t supposed to sound this invigorated. But as evidenced here, Baton Rouge’s Smithfield… - Pope, "True Talent Champion" (Community Records)
Do kids still make each other mixtapes? People love being right and being cool. Finding a band that your friends will… - Smoking Time Jazz Club, "Take Your Time and Fly" (Independent)
If you’ve had your ears open for the better part of this decade in New Orleans, you’ve probably heard Smoking Time… - Various Artists, "Swampland Jewels" (Yep Roc Records)
Originally released on LP by Lake Charles’ Goldband Records in 1979 and reissued on CD in ’91, the third incarnation of…
