If you are in the New Orleans area, you should or may already know about this. The "raids" happen three or four times a year. Lots of worthy sellers, and vinyl predominates. It's indoors this time, with food, possibly some DJs spinnin', and A/C. How civilized! Check out their blog , to get more info and advance notice about future raids. See ya there...if I can look up from the boxes long enough.
If you are in the New Orleans area, you should or may already know about this. The "raids" happen three or four times a year. Lots of worthy sellers, and vinyl predominates. It's indoors this time, with food, possibly some DJs spinnin', and A/C. How civilized! Check out their blog , to get more info and advance notice about future raids. See ya there...if I can look up from the boxes long enough.
The always groovin' music of Willie Tee (Wilson Turbinton) goes particularly well with summer; and hearing it any time of the year summons up that seasonal vibe for me, especially the songs by his early 1970s funk band, the Gaturs, which just seem imbued with heat, humidity, and a feel-good, hang-loose spirit. So, with the advent of the summer season, I'm pulling out a few rarities by Willie solo and with the Gaturs. I've done a number of background posts on him over the years; and [...]
The always groovin' music of Willie Tee (Wilson Turbinton) goes particularly well with summer; and hearing it any time of the year summons up that seasonal vibe for me, especially the songs by his early 1970s funk band, the Gaturs, which just seem imbued with heat, humidity, and a feel-good, hang-loose spirit. So, with the advent of the summer season, I'm pulling out a few rarities by Willie solo and with the Gaturs. I've done a number of background posts on him over the years; and [...]
This session's batch of New Orleans vinyl contains songs associated with a dance called the Sissy, which also became known as the Sophisticated Sissy, and even a few more variants. When I considered doing a post on Sissy songs, I realized that I really didn't know much of anything at all about the dance itself, beyond the song titles and whatever lyrics there were, if any, that I could decipher. At that point, as always happens with these things, my OCD research mode kicked in; and I was off on various tears and tangents, [...]
In case you were wondering, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. . . yet. I'm just way behind on my posting after festival month down here and all. I made it to the French Quarter Festival, up to Memphis to help my dad celebrate his 86th birthday, then three days of JazzFest (you've got to pick your shots when the price gets so high), some of Festival International in Lafayette, and various side events and gigs. I also did taxes somewhere in there, which was not the least bit festive. In whatever rare, brief pockets of free [...]
It's been a while. This time, I've got the first part of what has grown into a fairly huge tribute to the great New Orleans drummer, Herman Villere Ernest, III, known to many on the scene as "Roscoe", and occasionally called "Herman the German" by his long-time musical collaborator and employer, Mac Rebennack, a/k/a Dr. John. As previously noted, Herman passed away on March 6, the Saturday before Mardi Gras, after a lengthy fight with cancer. The more I've thought about his [...]
H A P P Y M A R D I G R A S ! ! ! 2 0 1 1 [...]
Mardi Gras, coming up this Tuesday, unusually well into March this year due to Easter's late appearance on the calendar, seemed like it would never get here. All that extra time, and I am still late getting to more seasonal vinyl suitable for mood alteration; but, now those little digital audio files are finally stuffed full like spicy musical boudin , and ready to be served up hot. Also, starting this weekend and going until Ash Wednesdy, HOTG Radio on the web [...]
As you may have noticed, I haven't been in the posting mode for the past few weeks. Instead, I've concentrated on research and more collecting for posts to come, plus some all-important field work last weekend, taking advantage of perfect weather to catch the Krewe du Vieux parade through Faubourg Marigny a nd the French Quarter and check out the Bywater scene in the Upper Ninth Ward, which continues to blossom. But, now it's time to get back [...]
Yeah you rite! Besides, Fess, Toussaint and Dr. John are already in; and the Meters, great players that they are, backed 'em all at some point, as well as doing their own innovative brand of original funk, of course. This idea didn't just pop into my head. I found out today that my friend, Jon, over at nevilletracks * has set up a petition site to get the Meters inducted into the RRHF. Your "signature" is needed there to help create a groundswell for what should [...]
If you're in the New York City area, here's your chance to catch one of HOTG's great featured artists, Willie West , on February 26 at Southpaw in Brooklyn. It's his first NYC performance. For details, hit the poster to enlarge or go for the Southpaw link. His cameo at the Ponderosa Stomp was just a taste. This show will be the the real deal. Enjoy. Wish I could be there. ...and stay [...]
On Friday, January 14th, Allen Toussaint turned 73; and, though I'm late as usual, I want to wish him all the best for the year to come and many more after that. I note that he had a working birthday, playing a jazz concert in Chicago, and hope it was a joyous one. The last five years have been a career renaissance for him; and his creativity and productivity have once again soared along with public recognition and appreciation. Without a doubt, the most gracious Mr. Toussaint deserves all the accolades heaped upon him. [...]
Twelfth Night (January 6) has passed; and Carnival season is rolling. Even though the Saints' season is now officially and regrettably past tense, it's time to shake it off and play some appropriate music for the seasonal partying that will be running all the way up to March 8, Fat Tuesday, this year. While most any feel-good music with some funk and/or fun up might do, there are, of course, the Mardi Gras standards that come into play year after year. With today's tracks we revisit the original version of one of those, plus a [...]
Somewhere deep in da Who Dat Nation ALL THE BEST FOR THE YEAR TO COME!!!
For this final post of 2010, I've got related sides from three singles by Aaron Neville, Lee Dorsey, and Allen Toussaint. All were written and arranged by Toussaint, co-produced with his business partner, Marshall Sehorn, and released on the New York-based Bell Records label at the end of the 1960s. What ties them together further is that they had backing by some or all of the Meters. In January, I usually try to celebrate Toussaint's birthday by featuring a few of the myriad cuts he was involved with as either a performer, writer, producer/arranger, [...]
For the very early grades. . .my classmates included Allen Toussaint and James Booker, guys who would influence my life in ways I couldn't begin to imagine. They would both grow up to be two of the baddest piano playing dudes. . . James was a genius. We're both Saggitarians, and we were both altar boys. . . .Booker taught me so much stuff. Anything he heard, he could duplicate, from Frederick Chopin to Tuts Washington, with all stops in between. - Art Neville in The Brothers Neville [...]
As a recording artist on various small local labels, New Orleans native Charles 'Chuck' Simmons worked closely with one of the city's great record men, producer/arranger Wardell Quezergue, for over two decades. There were some jewels among his sporadic releases from the mid-1960s into the 1980s; but none took him very far in the business, which is why you are reading about him here, of course. In 2001, Simmons first appeared on my radar via one of the Tuff City/Funky Delicacies CD compilations of Big Q production projects, Wardell Quezergue's Funky Funky New Orleans [...]
According to Mac Rebennack in John Broven's Rhythm & Blues In New Orleans , the main reason June Gardner didn't get more session work in town prior to his joining Sam Cooke's touring band was that he played "too straight". That has to be taken in the context of New Orleans' unique musical environment where messing with the beat (in a good, poly-rhythmic way, of course) was expected of any drummer. On the 1950s scene, you had the brilliant Earl Palmer, before he left to pursue demanding and lucrative West Coast [...]
Esteemed New Orleans drummer Albert 'June' Gardner, who passed away on November 19th at age 79, and had a career in music spanning over 60 years. For an overview, read his obituary by Geraldine Wyckoff from the Louisiana Weekly. 'Gentleman June', as he came to be called by those who knew him, was a low-keyed, versatile professional valued and respected by those in the know in the music business; but he remained unrecognized by the public at large until he began leading his own traditional [...]
Home of the Groove
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Mr Fogg - Eleven
