New Orleans

In March of this year I spent a week down in New Orleans with my bass player, Cass, and her boyfriend, guitarist Brian Seeger. Brian owns a house down there and the two of them helped me line up five shows in town. In doing so I got to reunite with some old musician pals and meet some great new players. One of our club dates was at Snug Harbor in the French Quarter where we were joined by Mike Barris on drums, and Joe Krown on piano. Joe is kind of NOLA’s version of Bruce Katz or David Maxwell; he covers all the blues styles, plays behind everyone, and has his own group. These guys just nailed all of my material, and we had a natural ball! Fai Do Do!

Next we pulled in Tab’s old drummer, Allyn Robinson, for an afternoon performance, also in the quarter, for the Parks and Recreation Dept. Ya know how in Los Angeles they say that everyone who parks your car or waits on your table is really an actor? Well in NOLA, everyone is really a musician. So for our last set we had two of the Park Rangers, both in their uniforms, sitting in with us on guitar and harp respectively!

These shows gave me the opportunity to do some major hanging and walking around the quarter. My heart was thrilled to see and hear music coming out of every nook and cranny and out onto the streets! The French Quarter is SO BACK folks, so I would encourage everyone who possibly can to get on down there and support this precious music town.

Tippitinas…I hadn’t played there for 20 years, and that last time was with Albert Collins and the Ice Breakers. How cool was it to walk in there and see the club looking and feeling exactly the same! I do believe they have up-graded the sound system but the look, the funk, and the vibe, remain the same! I was honored to be able to participate in hosting the “Sunday Music Works” at Tips, which is specifically designed for kids and students to come and play with we elders and learn how to jam and play music with others. My old buddy Jimmy Carpenter (formerly with Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers) did the sax duties and New Orleans legend, Shannon Powell ( Harry Connick Jr.) was on drums.

Of course I wasn’t going to travel all the way down to the gulf without personally witnessing some of Katrina’s devastation. Cass and I toured all through the Ninth Ward in our electric blue PT Cruiser (rental!) and though some folks are still stubbornly on their property, living in trailers, many homes have been completely demolished, leaving nothing but blank spots in their place. Other homes, with roofs one foot off the ground, await the same fate. For those who remain, they are virtually neighbor-less and there are no stores or gas stations or anything functioning in the area. It’s far too sobering.

Unfortunately I have no photos to share with ya’ll from this trip, just a little Soul-Sauce and Groove-Grease, NOLA style!