New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule release brings life to a screeching halt
Earlier this week The New Orleans Jazz Fest released its day-by-day detailed schedule dubbed "cubes" by many local attendees of the festival.I can't think. I can't work. I can't concentrate. My kids go unminded, my house uncleaned, my job is in the toilet and my dog goes unfed -- and I don't even have a dog.
But if I did, I'd ignore him, too, like I'm ignoring everything else because I can't think. I can't work. I can't concentrate. I've stopped shaving; what's the point? I'm not leaving the house again until April 24th.
I've got to study until then. Study the Cubes. The Jazz Fest Cubes.
Watch: Mardi Gras Indians celebrate 'Super Sunday' in New Orleans
Super Sunday: Mardi Gras Indians Photoblog
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Similar to the past, each neighborhood is represented by a tribe. Each tribe is represented by its Big Chief. Spy Boys are Mardi Gras Indians who walk ahead of their tribe and scout out rival tribes. Flag Boys are Mardi Gras Indians who relay information from the Spy Boys and wave their flag to signal the appearance of another tribe. Wild Men are Mardi Gras Indians who guard their tribe from rival tribes. Today, they often carry a decorated wooden gun. Also today, each tribe is represented by it’s own brass band or percussion outfit. This particular style of music is called Indian Funk. It was made popular by groups such as the Wild Magnolias (who still lead off the parade each year) and the Wild Tchoupitoulas and is characterized by droning rhythms and tribal, sing-song chants.
Super Sunday 2009On Super Sunday, the Mardi Gras Indian tribes put on their suits and do their thing through the streets of their neighborhoods ("promenade" seems the wrong verb and so does "parade"), making their way first to the corner of Washington and LaSalle. This is a bow to an old tradition, since for generations the Indians gathered at Shakespeare Park (no, not that Shakespeare, but the one who was once New Orleans' mayor), which is now A.L. Davis Park and which is unusable for a fun purpose since post-Katrina days. (Immediately after the Storm, FEMA chose that location to park a group of trailers, and although the trailers have been removed, the park has not yet been restored as a park. Where are you, FEMA??) Nowadays, the Indians just stop at that corner for the tradition of it, and many people, black and white, are gathered there to watch the Indians arrive and leave.
The Revolution SA&PC Second Line Parade
THE REVOLUTION SOCIAL AID AND PLEASURE CLUB ANNUAL SECOND LINE PARADE Sunday, March 22nd
New Orleans Rocks
It’s 2 a.m. on an Uptown New Orleans street corner, and taxis are descending by the dozen to drop off passengers at the music club Tipitina’s. A sidewalk bartender pulls drafts, while a purple catering truck pedals grit fries, goat quesadillas and catfish po’boys. I’m here for the night’s hottest ticket: a sold-out performance by Galactic, a hometown funk band that in 2007 started collaborating with nationally known progressive rappers.
Defend The Coast, Defend Ourselves: Louisiana's Coastal Lines of DefenseThe video was created by NOLA Image Works, and funded by a grant from the John Merck Fund. Thanks to Clint Maedgen, Stanton Moore, Angelo Moore, the Voodoo Experience, Neutral Ground Films, Thunder Voltz, and our partners on the Louisiana Coastal Lines of Defense campaign, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation for helping make this project happen.
| New Orleans Artist James Michalopoulos describes the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Poster |
Batiste family launches arts program at Live Oak Elementary in Uptown
Three generations of Batiste men sat behind long tables in a rehearsal space at Live Oak Elementary. Their ages ranged from 16 to 61.
Drummer Russell Batiste, 43, flicked his wrists and tapped on drums to show a hearing-impaired student how to carry a beat. Paul A. Batiste, founder of the Batiste Brothers Band, stopped two students in the middle of a lackluster duet. He told them to step out of the band room and return prepared to sing, this time with shirts tucked into their pants.
Four Songs from PHJB on Daytrotter.com! 
Recently, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band took two hours out of their travels between shows to stop in for a Daytrotter Session at Futureappletree Studio One in downtown Rock Island, Ill. Daytrotter.com is a music and entertainment website whose mission it is to showcase wonderful groups from all musical walks via in-studio performances and interview.Presently on Daytrotter.com, there are four PHJB tracks available to stream or download: Dippermouth Blues, Sugar Blues, Complicated Life, and Over In The Gloryland. Each song features accompanying notes from Ben Jaffe detailing the song's relevance to the touring group and annecdotes from the road.
JOHN BOUTTE & PAUL SANCHEZ- STEW CALLED NEW ORLEANS
Currently available exclusively at the coolest record store in the world, the LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY, long time pals and New Orleans' treasures John Boutte and Paul Sanchez have released a record that is the pure embodiment of the great city it's named after. "Stew Called New Orleans" is a heartfelt, spontaneous, and jovial collection of original songs (as well as 2 choice covers by Paul Simon and Jelly Roll Morton) by two artists who have lived through the best and worst New Orleans has to offer. With the help of another frequent collaborator, the great Leroy Jones on trumpet, Boutte and Sanchez create an album that sounds like Sam Cooke, Dan Hicks, and Louis Armstrong sitting on a back porch, easing the day away. I love these guys!
Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra 
Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra is a new act that has recently completed its first recording & in its short history has already been tapped to open for New Orleans greats such as Trombone Shorty and Eric Lindell. The band is a musical and visual spectacle of such ferocity that it leaves all in attendance shouting "Amen!" and dancing in the aisles. It's like a big ol' shot of love and adrenaline. It feels that good. BroJo blends together the perfect gumbo of New Orleans party music, soul in the style of Ray Charles and Al Green, a good helping of jam-bandy roots rock and a righteous splash of good, upbeat (non-religious) gospel.
Born on the Bayou, Let’s Zydeco and Cajun with Laura Selikson at Connolly’s
When L'Angelus were playing and people were dancing, it felt like home. That's what the youthful Cajun and swamp pop group told promoter Laura Selikson at the end of their March 8 gig at Connolly's on West 45th Street. The Lafayette, Louisiana-based Rees family trio – two guitar-playing sisters and one fiddler-saxophone-lead singer brother – brought the house down, or rather had the house up and dancing to their high energy eclectic mix of Cajun swing and flowing waltzes.
"They told me that of all the events they've played all over the country, this most approximated what it felt like to be playing in Louisiana," said Selikson. "It was a very high compliment. They loved playing at Connolly's."
Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble
Live Music Dominates New Orleans NightlifeNew Orleans is known as the birthplace of jazz, an honor the city prides itself in. From dim lit jazz clubs lining the city streets to its annual Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans is a great American music city. Jazz isn’t the only music being created in the Big Easy though. Many music clubs and venues offer an eclectic mix of blues, gospel, hip hop, rock and more.
Truly a musical city, New Orleans has clubs that cater to anyone’s musical cravings. Creative spaces and incredible talent make the city’s clubs attractive to locals and visitors alike. No trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to one the city’s fine music venues.
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