NolaFunk Lagniappe

Bingo! Parlour Profile #8: THE MORNING 40 FEDERATION

Morning 40 Federation - intro Video


The Morning 40 Federation was born and bred in New Orleans' Ninth Ward neighborhood, formed in 1997 as a drunken quasi-dare by Josh Cohen and Space Rickshaw, amateur saxophonist and trombonist, respectively. They hung the name on their rough assemblage of amateur musicians/pro-drinkers as a sardonic admission of non-guilt. They didn't know how their way around their instruments ("It sounded like I was strangling a goose," Cohen says of his first forays into the wild world of alto sax), and their first gigs took place at house parties and off-night in bars like the Hi Ho Lounge, were more like sweaty demolition derbies soundtracked by some righteous feedback than actual concerts.

But despite their best intentions, the 40s began to develop honest-to-goodness chops. Their sound -- a mutant hybrid of punk, jazz and what New Orleans old-timers call "fonk" - coalesced. Their gigs got sharper without losing their anything-goes, gang-of-stinky-swamp-things onstage vibe, and they acquired new members: guitarist Bailey Smith was recruited in a Decatur Street dive his first night in town; guitarist Ryan Scully was shanghaied pirate-style from a life of playing cosmic country music, And by God, you could DANCE to their music, thanks to Mike Andrepont and Steve Calandra's booze stumblin' rhythm section.

But it was their songs that put 'em over. The 40s specialized in hilarious chronicles of boozy camaraderie, tales of the assorted noble lowlifes, space cadets and other crazies that populate the parallel universe version of New Orleans nightlife far off the beaten tourist path. Two self-produced CD's - 2000's YOUR MY BROTHER and 2002's TRICK NASTY started racking up regional awards, and in 2004, the band signed with M80 and released the self-titled MORNING 40 FEDERATION.

But TICONDEROGA is their dirty masterpiece. Recorded last summer with Mark Bingham (R.E.M.) at his Piety Street Studios in the Ninth Ward, it's is a vivid snapshot of the Morning 40s world. From the drunken prom slow jam "Washing Machine" to the bubblegum funk of "Corkscrew," it's a raucous party record AND a bittersweet pre-Katrina time capsule, an album that preserves a New Orleans that was and -- god willing and the levees don't bust (again) -- might be again. The Morning 40 Federation are hard at work helping to rebuild New Orleans by not giving up on it, by continuing to live and to work there, and by getting loaded and shouting boozy, noisy love songs in its honor. On their behalf, we invite you to shout along with them.

Home of the Groove's Goodbye, "George Davis"

"Hold On, Help Is On the Way" (Davis/Tyler/Parker)
G. Davis & R. Tyler, Parlo 102, 1966 "Hold On, Help Is On the Way" has long been on my short list of favorite instrumentals from New Orleans - not funk, just a classy, intensely hip mover and groover. I'd even venture to say it's one of the great R&B instrumentals, period. On it, George Davis gets a chance to let his guitar chops run free, at least for a little over two minutes of concentrated bliss. In the 1960s, his signature licks and solos graced a number of New Orleans records - the most well-known of which was Robert Parker's "Barefootin'". But, this virtuoso single is his only known solo outing from the old days. He shied away from being the front man, not even using his full name on the record, and giving his partner and friend, Red Tyler, co-billing on the A-side, though Red only had a supporting role on sax. Still, it was really George's show.

TalkBack with Clint Maedgen

Clint Maedgen is a busy man. The impresario behind the Brechtian New Orleans musical theater group The New Orleans Bingo! Show is also the front man for his own groups, a frequent collaborator with Morning 40 Federation, and newest full-time member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He has become one of the central figures in Voodoo Fest, where the Bingo! Parlour tent show became Voodoo's signature venue last year. This tent was the centerpiece of an alternative midway where the Maedgen's Barnum-esque genius took full flower. It was a constant churn of trapeze artists, burlesque performers, clown acts, a ringmaster deft at inducing audience participation, and, of course, Maedgen's trademark bingo games. The music in the Bingo! Parlour was also some of the most intense. The Zydepunks conjured a raucous dance party, Quintron played the best set I've ever heard from him, and Morning 40 Federation created absolute pandemonium as fans sang along to the lurching, drunken choruses of the band's songs and crowd surfed off the stage.

One Track Mind: Ernie K-Doe "Mother-in-Law" (1961)

"Mother-In-Law" is going to be familiar to anyone who listened to pop radio in the years just preceding the British Invasion and a few who came of age a little afterwards. If you don't know it, well, it's really one of those zany party tunes that were popular around that time, like "Charlie Brown" and "Monster Mash."

In a Blue Mood's tribute to "Michael P. Smith JazzFest Photographer Supreme"

I remember years ago attending a Smithsonian Institute Folklife Festival in Washington which was devoted in part to the culture of Louisiana and New Orleans. It was chance to hear some blues like the late Boogie Bill Webb as well as it was my first exposure to the Mardi Gras Indian tradition other than the recordings of The Wild Magnolias and The Wild Tchoupitoulas, as members talked about and demonstrated the making of a costume as well as the various traditions involved. At the store where they sold items related to the Festival was a book of black and white photographs, Spirit World: Pattern in the Expressive Folk Culture of African-American New Orleans, It was essentially a catalogue of one of his exhibits documenting aspects of the cultural life and communities of New Orleans that was totally new to me, such as spiritual churches, and I slowly began to understand the interrelationship between the churches, the Indians, the music and other interrelated aspects that were the foundation for the New Orleans Rhythm and Blues Music that I loved (well I still d0). The book was republished by the Louisiana print house, Pelican, and is readily available.

Jazzfest producers prepare a New Orleans music invasion of London

During a 2006 dinner at Antoine's, producers of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival discussed staging a Louisiana-themed festival in London. Philip Anschutz, the billionaire owner of Jazzfest co-producer AEG Live, loved the idea.

Two years later, the overseas Festival New Orleans is a reality.

Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Kermit Ruffins, the Rebirth Brass Band, BeauSoleil, Buckwheat Zydeco, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and John Mooney & Bluesiana are booked for the free festival Oct. 24-25 at The O2, a massive entertainment complex owned by AEG and situated along the Thames River in London.

Bingo! Parlour Profile #9: FLEUR DE TEASE

When it comes to embodying the spirit of classic New Orleans entertainment, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a more fitting tribute than the girls of Fleur de Tease. Harkening back to the golden era of Bourbon Street theatre, this vaudville cum burlesque troupe plays sexy with a wink. Complete with a house magician, one very lucky MC, and trunkloads of fanciful props and costumes, these spirited performers deliver expertly choreographed routines that whimsically address such complex themes as bullfighting and extraterrestrial invasion.

Evan Christopher and Django à la Créole




The Iguanas bounce back from a tumultuous five years with a strong new CD

LISTEN TO SELECTED TRACKS

The Iguanas' "Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart" was the best local album of 2003, and among the best of the past decade. It redefined the Iguanas as the New Orleans/Tex-Mex equivalent of Wilco, a roots music ensemble that skillfully and subtly draws on a broad palette of sound.

In the ensuing five years, the Iguanas endured considerable turmoil both individually and collectively. Hurricane Katrina displaced the musicians to Austin, Texas, where they formed the Texiles with fellow "Texas exiles." All eventually returned to New Orleans, but not to the band. In late 2006, after more than 15 years together, saxophonist Derek Huston and the Iguanas parted ways under less than amicable circumstances.

Blind Boys of Alabama & Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Some say you can never have too much of a good thing, and if that's true, then the Down by the Riverside Tour featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans is the proof. A couple sat down next to me and the man looked at his program and said to his wife, "Oh this is gonna be good. I didn't realize what this was!" He was probably a Lincoln Center season ticket holder in for a pleasant surprise.

As the house lights went down four members: Mark Braud (trumpet), Ben Jaffe (tuba), Rickie Monie (piano) and Joseph Lastie, Jr. (drums) of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band walked onto the stage. As the stellar musicians launched into "Bourbon St. Parade," we were all instantly transported down to the funky metropolis of New Orleans. The traditional Dixieland jazz instruments melded together to form a sound that reminded me of sticky weather, crawfish and Mardi Gras. Clarinetist Charlie Gabriel came out next, and then trombonist Frank Demond, who has been a member of the band for over forty years and was wearing some nice bright red socks. They reminded me of a bluegrass combo in the way they moved around each other, the instruments weaving in and out of the fabric of the tune. This was no mountain breakdown, however. This was Southern fried jazz at its finest. The big upright bass player, Walter Payton, father of trumpeter Nicholas Payton, came out next to lead the band in "Tailgate Ramble." The third tune of the evening was "Sugar Blues," which had trumpeter Braud showing off a bit at the front of the stage with the mute, mimicking vocal sounds, teasing the old Tin Pan Alley tune "Ain't She Sweet" and even drawing some challenges from his band members. After one particularly dazzling run, someone behind him onstage shouted out, off-mic, "Betcha' can't do that backwards!" and much to the delight of the crowd, Braud played the line in reverse, garnering much applause and laughter.