If you were inspired by Art Neville tribute band Cha Dooky Do’s November Tipitina’s concert, don’t miss out this Lundi Gras, because the band will be back together at the Howlin’ Wolf.
The show starts at 9 p.m. and, in addition to Art “Poppa Funk” Neville, will feature Lambert on drums, Dave Jordan on bass, Chris Mulé and Brian Stoltz on guitars, and Marc Adams on keys. Their “Zing Zing Horn” section will include Rick Trolsen, Tom Fitzpatrick, and Ian Smith.
Once again, they’ll bring in some special guests as well.
Photo by Kate Gegenheimer
“For this show, we decided we wanted to add a more family love and support,” Lambert explains. “Art’s younger brother Cyril jumped at the chance to pay tribute to his older brother. Art, being the oldest of the Neville Brothers, had a huge, incalculable influence on all the brothers.”
Art’s son, Dumpstaphunk guitarist Ian Neville, will play, as will his younger daughter, guitarist Amelia Neville.
“As anyone that was at that show at Tipitina’s can tell you, it was an amazing night. It was the best Art Neville has sounded in 15 years,” says drummer and principal organizer Aron Lambert. “I’ve heard that, since then, it’s like he’s got a fire lit under him. This show will be another great opportunity for everybody that has received so much pure joy from his music over the years to come out and give thanks and see the guy do it again.”
There were never any particular plans to do a second show, but, as Lambert explains, everything seemed to fall into place for a last-minute Carnival performance.
“Two weeks or so after the first show Art Neville called me over to the house and said, ‘So, when’s the next show?’,” he said. “The Howlin’ Wolf’ on Lundi Gras was a nice natural fit, because George Porter usually hosts a show, but he couldn’t do it this year.”
And thus, Cha Dooky “Deux” was born.
The song selection should be particular cause for excitement among the city’s many Art Neville devotees.
“We’re going to feature some of Art’s old tunes that have never been played live before,” says Lambert. “Some of these tunes that we’ve chosen haven’t been played since the day he recorded them. He recorded some of them when we was 17, 18, 19 years old. Some of these songs haven’t been touched in 40, 50, 60 years.”
They plan on guiding the audience through a musical tour of Neville’s long and influential career, with plenty of Carnival standards thrown in to boot.
“To anybody that is lucky enough to have been born and raised in New Orleans in the 60s, 70s, Art’s voice is part of the soundtrack of being a New Orleanian,” says Lambert. “Particularly at Carnival, but all year round there are New Orleans songs that are in our culture. ‘Hey Pocky Way’, or ‘Mardi Gras Mambo’. And any time you hear the first two notes of those songs, you immediately expect to hear that ‘voice of God’.”
Photo by Kate Gegenheimer
Neville’s musical explorations have taken him from rock-and-roll to his work with the Meters and the Neville Brothers pioneering the evolution of funk to the fusion of funk with Mardi Gras Indian music to more recent tours with the Funky Meters. And countless places in between.
“I don’t know that there’s a New Orleans musician or songwriter or artist that‘s had more influence over more musicians, not only worldwide but on the culture specifically,” Lambert says.
The recent passing of Big Chief Bo Dollis has underlined the need to revere our cultural icons and community pillars.
“Unfortunately,” says Lambert, “one thing in this city that we do have a bad tradition of is, we don’t celebrate some of our heroes and some of the people who deserve our recognition until they’re gone. The whole spirit that this project started from is making sure that that would not happen to Art. Making everybody very aware that this man is alive, he’s well, and he’s still got it in him.”
Art Neville is unequivocally a musical giant and key figure in New Orleans history.
“That’s one thing about this city that just makes me proud to be from here,” says Lambert, “ that there are musicians like Art doing what they love to do throughout their entire lives. And that’s what he’s going to be doing Lundi Gras at the Howlin’ Wolf.”
For generations now, he’s laid down the soundtrack at the heart of the city’s everyday life.
“It’s funny, just yesterday I was biking down Frenchmen Street and I heard some people having a house party,” concludes Lambert, “and they were playing ‘Pocky Way’ out the windows. They were wide open. I pulled over, and I just sat there for a second.”
