The Edge keeps giving

I’m not crazy of perma-nicknames (e.g., Sting) for anyone but bloggers, but I’ll continue to make an exception for The Edge.  Mr. Edge has been simply great to our city:

No one could ever come close to repaying the debt of those who have established this form (of music) that we all take totally for granted, this hybrid of European melody and African-American rhythm that’s given us jazz and R&B and rock ‘n’ roll

While we’re singing his praises, here’s one of my all-time favs.

FQF & PH

What a beautiful day for a fest!  I’m pissed at myself that I didn’t manage to get out there til today, but I sometimes fall apart when E’s gone and can’t get motivated to do anything.

I’m embarrassed to say that this was the first time I’d ever been to Preservation Hall.  Watched the Hot 4, and loved it, and man that place has some character.  I knew it did, but I didn’t realize it had pegboard covering the walls.  Now that’s upscale!  Such a real vibe there.

Numerous only-in-NO moments, capped by a brass band battle across Decatur.  Awesome.

Didn’t make it last night, but I did manage to go to V-Day.  My well-connected neighbor got me into the party afterward, where I got to meet Kerry Washington (stunning) and Mike McKenzie.  Pretty cool, and the Monologues were phenomenal.  Oprah was a no-show, but Rosario, Jane, and the rest were terrific.  Plus it was kinda fun that everyone felt free to talk about vaginas all night.

Now I gotta do my damn taxes.

Amen

whoever doesn’t like music on the streets of the Treme shouldn’t move there. We’ve been doing this and we’re going to keep doing it.

Who’da thunk a dropped case would be good news in New Orleans?

T-P gets it right

I actually agree with the paper that this is a great JazzFest lineup.

I’ll be skipping the Never Brothers’ “triumphant” return (you know, because I generally focus on the local acts).

But I think this is the best national lineup we’ve had in a while. Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Robert Plant w/ Allison Kraus (my brother got me the CD for Xmas, and it’s terrific), Randy Newman, Cassandra Wilson, John Prine, and Quint even caved to someone’s Raconteurs suggestion, despite his preference only to have acts his own age.

I often see the people I see all year, but at JF, it’s a little different, and I never get tired of it. I’m feeling warmer already.

Until I can finish writing a couple long pending posts… Random

I think a great band name would be Various Artists.  Or Self-Titled LP.

This just got to me, and it’s hilarious.  Katrina reference a minute or so in on the Barbara Bush 10 gallon coin!

I think if Hillary weren’t running, Bill would be on stage with Obama every time BO’s handlers would let him.

I already sent this to B, but this picture made my day.

If you don’t make a point of reading McSweeney’s regularly, you’re missing out.   I especially enjoy Lists, which suits my attention span, but just tell me these aren’t brilliant.

The science of cutting & running

My friend GD sent this letter to Keith Spera, Jason Berry, and Lolis Eric Elie.  So far, only Elie has written him back, expressing intrigue at the findings.

In the aftermath of the federal flood I was particularly disturbed by negative public comparisons of New Orleans and Austin by Cyril Neville and Marcia Ball.  Cyril, as you may recall, informed the world that musicians were never able to sustain a decent standard of living in New Orleans while Austin offered them regular work at high wages.   Marcia went a step lower and simply declared New Orleans “a dead end”.

 

I was curious about the data behind their opinions, so in August I visited the websites of a number of groups that I thought had relocated, at least briefly and/or partially, to Texas cities to assess how well they fared in their new haunts.   I reviewed the websites of five bands that I am pretty sure relocated in part to Texas; Rebirth, Soul Rebels, Hot 8, Big Sam, and the Iguanas.  I also included a few other artists like Eddie Bo, John Mooney, John Gros, Anders Osborne, Teresa Anderson, as well as Galactic, in my search.   I found that the combined number of New Orleans dates listed by all these groups on their websites was 68.  The combined number of dates anywhere in the state of Texas was 12.   The five bands that had actually relocated for a time to Texas accounted for 48 gigs in New Orleans and 9 in Texas.

 

These results supported reports from a friend who was forced to relocate to Houston this year because of her employment.  A devoted fan of live New Orleans music, she has been unable to find musicians for her hometown playing anywhere in the great Texas megatropolis.   Maybe I’ve become a bit obsessed with Texas since August 2005, but least we forget that Texas has given the city of New Orleans crooked contractors, overpriced services offered by all forms of companies, and maybe most importantly, George Bush.   Let’s face it, the personal and economic chaos wrought by the events of the last two years has been nothing less than a bonanza to Texas.  In the wake of Katrina, overt attempts were made to steal the culture as Texans lusted after Mardi Gras, the Indians, our football team, our best musicians and artists.

 

Maybe summer was not the best time for a survey of gigs with so many musicians on the road but I would submit to you that Texas has not provided the cultural and economic nirvana predicted by Cyril and Marcia.   By the way, I was unable to find a single listing for Cyril in his new hometown on his website.

 

None of my comments are meant to imply that the current economic and living conditions of our musicians are acceptable.  I’m sure that you agree that we need to continue to nurture this fragile element of New Orleans and be responsive to their needs and opinions.

Babbleblogging

Just sittin here watchin the wheels go round (KDV preview)

Really, I’m watching Oregon in deep danger against Arizona.  Don’t really care about either team, but an Oregon loss and a KU win this Sat against Iowa State would put KU at #2, which is simply surreal.  KU is a b-ball school, and I’m guilty of only passing interest in football, although I’ve been to a million games at Memorial Stadium.  I’ve been there for a few 72-3 type losses (sometimes a blurry vision from the hill looking down on the stadium), so seeing the ‘Hawks become good is a real blast.  I already have tix ready for the Sugar Bowl, but they’ll be more reliable if it’s not a game against LSU!

It’s pretty fun to watch Ryan Leaf’s little brother suck, even if he is hurt.

Tonight was the Psyc Club’s and Psi Chi’s career forum, and I was very proud of the job our students did putting it together.  Not a great turnout, but a nice presentation by everyone.

Now we know that the Never Brothers are returning to JazzFest.  I’ll skip it, not to be Mr. Negative, but because I truly resent citybashers.  I don’t sweat people who have to leave, but I have no tolerance for those who have to justify their decision by talking as though they’d be stupid to stay.  The truth is, this is a tough town, but it’s also the best town, and leavers need to leave quietly.  As a psychologist, I’m pretty sensitive to people’s need to rally others around their decision to bail, no matter how justified their own decision might be.

More later…  Just babbleblogging.

Kinda like a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac

Adrastos oughta love this.  I thought I misheard the tv just now when they showed a commercial for a new Eagles album that ends with the words, “Exclusively at Walmart.”

I know I’m not the only person who hates Walmart, but I checked it out on the Internets, and it’s true.   Walmart says it’s because they’re “America’s biggest supporter of the music business” (note that they don’t say they’re the biggest supporter of musicians), and the Eagles say they’re doing it “because of the retailer’s drive to take a lead in sustainability and make a difference for future generations” (read:  “They paid us a shitload of money for an exclusive deal.”)

Much as I loved them back in the day (and I did shell out the $10k or whatever for a ticket on the Hell Freezes Over tour), I’ll probably be just fine if I never hear another Eagles song in my lifetime, and now I’m actively encouraging people to leave those damn things on the shelves.  I can simultaneously avoid Walmart and avoid these pathetic sellouts.  More money to spend at LMF!  Eagles not available.

Sad News from the Stones

I’ve been a pretty serious fan of the Stones (not a risky position, I realize) for a very long time, but lately they’re just letting me down.

First, Keef denies snorting his dad.

Then, the Stones have to narc up horses to keep a gig.

And this is just pathetic.

My Letter to Quint

I am one of those people who truly loves JazzFest.  I get a brass pass every year and go every day, even if it’s late after a final or something.  It’s just one of my favorite things.   Quint gets crap from people for his scheduling, and I certainly have my beefs, but I think they do a hell of a job most of the time.  But here’s the deal:

Cyril Neville has forfeited his choice to play the Fest.  Here’s the letter I wrote (had to be paper; can’t find an email address for him) to Quint Davis, the president of Festival Productions, Inc, and the guy who wields most of the power in scheduling:

Dear Quint et al.,

Cyril Neville should not be allowed to play JazzFest.  You guys put on the greatest musical event in the world, and this guy, who has profited for years from the New Orleans mystique, has turned his back and insulted our city with no remorse.  Please remember this excerpt from an interview (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20051215/ai_n15948897):

There’s nothing there. And the situation for musicians was a joke. People thought there was a New Orleans music scene — there wasn’t. You worked two times a year: Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. The only musicians I knew who made a living playing music in New Orleans were Kermit Ruffins and Pete Fountain. Everyone else had to have a day job or go on tour. I have worked more in two months in Austin than I worked in two years in New Orleans.

A lot of things about life in New Orleans were a myth.

This is from another interview (http://www.cubanow.net/global/loader.php?&secc=4&cont=show.php&item=696):

“New Orleans is dead, man. It’s dead,” the singer-percussionist says, sitting on a red couch in an otherwise drab South Austin apartment complex where he has lived for the last month.

“Don’t get me wrong. I love New Orleans. But the New Orleans I loved was gone long before the storm hit.”

“I like it here in Austin; musicians here look out for each other and people treat us the way we were supposed to be treated in New Orleans but weren’t. The good thing that’s come out of all this is I’m now in a city that actually cares about musicians.”

This member of the Neville Brothers has gravely insulted our city and, by extension, your superb work in the New Orleans music scene.  When people like Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, and Dr. Michael White are still spreading the gospel of New Orleans and its soul, Cyril says the place isn’t worthy of his efforts (at least until now that so many have poured so much into the recovery).  He’s entitled to his opinion, but he sure as hell shouldn’t be invited to play the Fest.

I never miss a day of the Fest, and I’ll be hitting a different stage during his set, to be sure.  But I’m just disturbed that the guy even gets to be there.  I’m inclined to put on some kind of protest to remind people what he really thinks of us, but I don’t want to kill the great positive vibe that the Fest always has.  I hope you’ll think about rescinding his invitation because his presence there will have just that negative effect.

Thanks, and I’m looking forward to another phenomenal festival!