Upcoming: Malone Brothers @ Emelin Theatre This Saturday (save 20%)

 

An exciting new lineup by guitarist singer-songwriters from the two finest New Orleans rock bands -
The Radiators and the subdudes.

Use Code: SAVE20

Upcoming: Malone Brothers @ Emelin Theatre (mamaroneck)

 

Sat, Dec 15, 2012 @ 8pm

The Malone Brothers

$35

 

Bringing together the similar but fantastically different worlds of two of the finest New Orleans rock bands today – The Radiators and the subdudes – The Malone Brothers is a brand new collaboration by brothers  Dave and Tommy Malone, two of Louisiana's greatest guitarist singer-songwriters. One of the most exciting new lineups in American music, the brothers create a musical experience that fans of both men have wanted to hear for years.

In Pictures: the subdudes @ BB King's

By Dino Perrucci Photography

The Subdudes - BB King's, NYC 10/8/10

More from last night:


The Subdudes - BB King's, NYC 10/8/10


The Subdudes - BB King's, NYC 10/8/10

Upcoming: Subdudes @ BB King's tomorrow night

"Prepare to have your soul rocked…" – Casey Dolan/The Los Angeles Times

~ subdudes ~

0

Featuring:
Tommy Malone
John Magnie
Steve Amed'e
Tim Cook
Jimmy Messa

+ sp. guest Clara Lofaro

2010-10-08
8:00PM

Over the course of 20+ years and eight albums, the subdudes have quietly become one of America's national music treasures.The New Orleans-formed group is a living encapsulation of American music, a vibrant cauldron of sounds that stirs together meaty grooves and jazzy dynamics, souful R&B swagger, easy vocal harmonies, cheeky rock 'n' roll attitude and folky social consciousness -- not to mention some of the sharpest musicianship and ensemble playing you'll ever hear from any five musicians. It's tight enough to be loose, but never gratuitously sloppy.

The Subdudes aren't just stellar musicians of the swampy jazz-rock-blues New Orleans persuasion, as they've come to be known. They're also a group of guys whose working-class roots run as definitively, and maybe as deeply, as Bruce Springsteen's. Few bands give up the grit with this much conviction and skill.

"If the subdudes' music were a fruit, it would be a bunch of red grapes eaten out of season: robustly flavored, composed of taut clusters of sound loosely arranged that – left to mull a bit – induce a mild intoxication. This is New Orleans R&B at its most swinging, with touches of barroom blues, gospel-inspired harmonies, rock and country rhythms and, very simply, some fine playing." - Rolling Stone

In 1987, four musicians got together for what they envisioned would be a one-time performance at Tipitina's in New Orleans. It was a night of mostly acoustic music sparse instrumentation with a strong emphasis on songwriting and vocal harmonies. The show far exceeded expectations, and on that March night the subdudes were born.

Nearly 10 years later, after five well-received albums and several years of hard touring, the subdudes called it quits.

Spinoff projects ensued, as did the occasional reunion show. Finally, in February of 2002, three of the four original band members decided to get back together. They recruited additional longtime friends to fill out the sound and called themselves the Dudes, but the music was still unmistakably the subdudes.

Today, they are once again the subdudes. And there's still nobody in the world that sounds like them.

In Pictures: subdudes @ BB King's

By Dino Perrucci Photography

The Subdudes - BB King's, NYC 9/24/09


The Subdudes - BB King's, NYC 9/24/09

Upcoming: the subdudes @ BB King's / Sept. 24

The Subdudes are back and are about to make their 429 Records debut with a their first new recording in five years, Flower Petals. From their charmed beginning as the Tipitina's bar band in 1987, the group has built upon the instant musical chemistry they encountered all those years back and remained a much loved musical entity despite a roller coaster ride of fortunes both good and bad.

Purchase 1/2 Price Tickets HERE

NolaFunk Lagniappe

The Mother-in-Law’s Mother

Early Mardi Gras morning, Antoinette K-Doe passed away after a heart attack. Since editor Alex Rawls wrote about Antoinette and the Mother-in-Law Lounge in our January issue, we felt we’d already said much of what we wanted to say about her. Last issue, she spoke for herself, talking about cooking and being neighborly, so we decided to let some of the people who were touched by Antoinette share their recollections. We’ll miss her.—ED

The Wild Magnolias' Bo Dollis and Monk Boudreaux reunite, however briefly

Keith Spera / The Times-Picayune

Saturday's reunion of Bo Dollis and Monk Boudreaux at the Mid-City Lanes said as much about the future of the Wild Magnolias as the past.

Friends since childhood, Boudreaux and Dollis grew up to lead rival Mardi Gras Indian "gangs." They joined forces to front the Wild Magnolias electric funk band, whose 1974 debut introduced Mardi Gras Indian music to the world. On the likes of "Handa Wanda" and "Smoke My Peace Pipe," Boudreaux's more traditional chants offset Dollis' glorious rasp.

Whoa, that’s a lot of Bo

On a decidely more upbeat note, friend of no notes Mr. Fine Wine turns over an entire one-hour episode of his Downtown Soulville show to the music of the recently departed New Orleans legend Eddie Bo. Check it out here.

Nick Spitzer interview with Eddie from November 2nd, 2005

Listen HERE.

Playing for Change

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music". This film features many New Orleans artists including Grandpa Elliot, Washboard Chaz and my dear friend Roberto Luti (who's featured on the Heaven She Rides album by Sol Fiya). Be sure to check out the Playing For Change foundation and please show them some love.

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.



The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will receive the Big Easy Foundation's Music Heritage Award

Even if the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is not doing anything special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first release, My Feet Can't Fail Me Now, the album still marks some of the elements that have propelled the band through more than three decades together: dedication to practice and trying new things.

  "In the beginning, we came together to learn music," Gregory Davis says. "There weren't any gigs. They were rehearsals."

  The group included Roger Lewis and Charles Joseph, who were students at Southern University. Joseph brought his younger brother Kirk to play sousaphone. Davis was a student at St. Augustine High School. Drummer Benny Jones was in a band and had some connections to get gigs with social aid and pleasure clubs. The members agreed to work on any type of music.

LADIES AND MEN OF UNITY 2ND ANNUAL SECOND LINE PARADE

SINGLE MEN SOCIAL AID & PLEASURE CLUB SECOND LINE PARADE

Listen up: Preview track from Marcus Roberts' "New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1"

With "New Orleans Meets Harlem," pianist Marcus Roberts explores the connections between two of jazz music's most elemental tributaries -- building on familiar ideas put in place by Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. The record, Roberts' first in eight years, hits the streets on Tuesday, March 31, and features bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Jason Marsalis. Good news: Keen and welcome touches of modernity keep this J-Master Records release from gathering the expected dust.

Papa Mali brings funky Louisiana jams: Q&A

Voodoo blues man Papa Mali grew up in rural Louisiana where he soaked in everything from hill country guitar to the nearby Big Easy brass. He paid his dues in the clubs of New Orleans for more than two decades, but now the diversely skilled guitarist, whose real name is Malcolm Welbourne, tours around the country with his original brand of psychedelic Crescent City-inspired funk, mixing it up regularly in the world of jam and jazz. His latest album, 2007's “Do Your Thing,” was produced by Dan Prothero for Fog City Records and features collaborations with Kirk Joseph, Henry Butler, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Victoria Williams and JJ Grey.

Question: What types of music did you learn growing up in Louisiana?

Answer: From a pretty early age I was steeped in real Delta blues, soul and funk. There's two different schools in that type of music: the guys who grew up on a plantation in Mississippi, and then there are guys like me who are more like musicologists, honest about where they come from. Dr. John is one of my biggest heroes. At an early age he got over the whole trauma of race and color barriers that a lot of musicians go through. I was the same way. As a teenager I was playing with some cats that were the real deal, and they accepted me. They let me know that it was all about the music, and if you're sincere in the way that you portray it, you will be accepted. That's helped me to know my place in how I want to carry the music forward.

Joan Selects, Volume 18 – Joan’s New Orleans Jazz Fest Special

It is one of those unintended confluences that Joan Selects, Volume 18 - Joan's Jazz Fest Special appears just several weeks from the start of the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: www.nojazzfest.com. You can thank your blog host for the great timing for this post.

All the music in Joan Selects - Volume 18, emanates from the musical gold-mine that is New Orleans. In fact most all the selections here-in presented were recorded at the legendary J & M recording studios under the astute and gifted direction of Cosimo Matassa.

DOWNLOAD THE MIX HERE

The Tio Family: A New Orleans Clarinet Dynasty

Almost everyone who plays jazz clarinet in a classic style can trace their musical lineage back to the Tio family, a dynasty of clarinet masters from New Orleans¹ Creole seventh ward. In the early 1900s, they taught the first generation of jazz players the value of using classical techniques. Evan Christopher continues the legacy.

The Tio family was a dynasty of clarinet masters from New Orleans' Creole seventh ward. In the early days of the 20th century, they taught a first generation of jazz players the value of using classical techniques in their playing. The Tios were all professional musicians on the active New Orleans music scene where they worked as composers, arrangers, and conductors in brass bands, theater orchestras and 'society' dance bands. But most importantly, every afternoon there would be a steady stream of music students through their homes.

New Orleans Jazz All-Stars 2009: Our 20th Class

Ideal vision, we are told, is 20-20 and as we present our 20th class of Jazz-All Stars we see two decades of greatness and a talent pool that hasn’t been diminished. As always we present our All-Stars as two complete but non-existent bands – one traditional, the other contemporary. Selections are based from among those performers who continue to live and work mostly in this area. It is great to see such a promising list, and even better to hear.

Musicians, Jackson Square, New Orleans

New Orleans Gets Its Brews Back

The history of brewing in New Orleans is as cloudy as an unfiltered ale, little known outside its confines. Once a regional beer capital, it turned out a slew of popular brands like Falstaff, Jax, Regal and Dixie.

Now there are only a handful of breweries in the area, including Abita, Heiner Brau and a newcomer named NOLA Brewing Company. The good news is that over a well-hopped weekend you can sample all the local brews, tour their birthplaces and learn the story of the once — and possibly future — beer town of the South. The local brewing scene is concentrated these days in suburban St. Tammany Parish, on the north shore of the vast Lake Pontchartrain opposite the Big Easy. So that’s where I headed one morning, with an old college buddy along as designated driver, flitting over the brown lake like a water spider on the seemingly endless causeway.

Playlist: WWOZ is the shit.

As a city that treasures its musical heritage, New Orleans is probably second only to Nashville.

I’ve been listening to WWOZ in recent weeks. WWOZ is a free- form community radio station that’s become a linchpin of the New Orleans music scene.

WWOZ rocks ass. Below are just a few recordings to which I’ve been introduced by ’OZ’s dedicated volunteer deejays. Click the track titles to listen on my Vox blog.

Eddie Bo & The Soulfinders “The Hook & Sling”

French Quarter Festival Who’s Who

By David Kunian and Alex Rawls

There’s a lot going on during the French Quarter Festival, and it takes a big brain to keep track of it all. OffBeat wants you to be that big brain, so here’s our guide to all the jazz, blues, Cajun, zydeco, funk, soul and rock ’n’ roll that takes place on 17 stages arranged in the French Quarter between Bourbon Street and the Mississippi River. Pay attention—there will be a quiz.

There and Back Again: An Interview with the subdudes' John Magnie

Most bands would be envious of the subdudes’ lot in life. After all, many struggle and fail in their bids to reach the top of the mountain once, let alone twice. Although the subdudes suffered an acrimonious breakup that lasted for six years, the group has spent its time, since its reunion in 2002, re-establishing itself within a marketplace that has grown considerably more crowded. Its latest set Live at the Rams’ Head combined with its complementary documentary Unplugged at Pleasant Plains couldn’t have been issued at a better time, either.

Gulf Coast Highway reviewed by Steve Jones

Gulf Coast Highway
Eric Lindell
Alligator Records
http://www.ericlindell.com/
http://www.alligator.com/
15 tracks

I first listened to this CD on a Sunday morning. It was quite early, and I had just gone to a hockey game the night before, so the sport was still on my mind. As the CDs first track opened up, it immediately got me thinking about partying. I quipped to myself, “I went to a party and an Eric Lindell concert broke out,” and it hit me; I’ve bent the joking phrase, “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out,” around, but it fits so nicely. Seeing Eric live or even listening to him on a CD makes you feel like having you’re having a party.

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Meet The Radiators, Feel Their Energy…

This is an original New Orleans band. Like all New Orleans residents the band members went through Hurricane Katrina and the levy disaster that happened afterward, and the total damage and suffering it caused to their town. Although it has affected them all personally it has not slowed them down much. The Radiators have been producing original songs for over 30 years. Wow. The most amazing part of this phenom is that all of the original members are still playing together making this one of just a few long tenured bands. This New Orleans quintet has been together touring and writing songs long enough to have a cult following that fills venues everytime. They are an integral part of New Orleans and the re-vitalization of the town. They have had gigged at Tips and other New Orleans clubs for well over 20 years.

Homemade World: Quintron & Miss Pussycat

You don't expect to hear Mr. Quintron discuss a water pump. The world of Quintron and his wife/percussionist/puppeteer Miss Pussycat is rarely so mundane, but while in New York City for a show featuring his new album Too Thirsty 4 Love and an art show of Pussycat's puppets, the van broke down and had to be dealt with.

A more common context for Quintron and Miss Pussycat is theatrical, such as their performance in the Bingo! Parlour during this year's Voodoo Music Experience. Dressed in a blue, sparkled jumpsuit, Quintron settled in his console--a small bank of keyboards fronted with a car grill complete with headlights and a "Quintron" license plate, along with a mess of less obvious homemade instruments and Drum Buddy, his light-activated synthesizer with its signature inverted coffee can on top. When he sat down, a droning organ swell rose, part roller rink, part Phantom of the Opera. He nursed the drone along, then brought it under control and started to frame it into a song. When the rhythm kicked in, Miss Pussycat stood beside him shaking maracas dressed in red and white cozies that matched the puff on her head. The drone becomes "Waterfall," a ride-the-train dance party from the new album, and when it was over, it returned to the drone that spawned it and filled the space between songs.

Louis Armstrong - Basin Street Blues 1959
by Yedi

Drummer Herlin Riley comes home for the holidays

A big plus for the holiday season in New Orleans is that many of our musicians come in off the road and their names pop up on local club schedules. December listings blossom with those who we boast as local artists but who in reality are internationally renowned musicians.

Dr. John's 429 Records Debut "CITY THAT CARE FORGOT" Nominated for "Best Contemporary Blues" Grammy

Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack, Jr.), has secured a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" for his 2008 recording "CITY THAT CARE FORGOT." He recently signed to the Savoy Label Group's 429 Records which released the heartfelt homage to his hometown of New Orleans. Described by USA Today as "a rambunctious and furious post-Katrina polemic," "CITY THAT CARE FORGOT" is both an eloquent and an angry musical venting of emotions surrounding the devastation and lack of response to the Katrina disaster. This is Dr. John's 11th Grammy Award nomination overall having won the award in 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2000. The 51st Grammy Awards will be held on February 8th.

Louisiana Grammy Nominees Announced (from Weekly Beat)

This year Louisiana didn't have to rely on the jazz, blues and Cajun/zydeco categories to get a little love. Lil Wayne and Tha Carter III did the heavy lifting, garnering nominations for Album of the Year, Best Rap Solo Performance ( "A Milli" ), Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (he competes against himself here as he's on Jay-Z's "Swagga Like Us" and Jay-Z's on his "Mr. Carter" ), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ( "Got Money" ), Best Rap Song ("Lollipop" and "Swagga Like Us" ) and Best Rap Album.

But Weezy's not the whole story. Terence Blanchard is nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "Be-Bop" from Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Blind Boys of Alabama are up for Best Traditional Gospel Album for Down in New Orleans, which they recorded here at Preservation Hall with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Hot 8 Brass Band, Allen Toussaint and more. Louisiana and friends own the Best Contemporary Blues Album category, with three of the five nominees from the area: Marcia Ball (Peace, Love & BBQ), Dr. John and the Lower 911 (City That Care Forgot) and Irma Thomas (Simply Grand).

The Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album will be contested for the second time this year by BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet (Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival), Michael Doucet (From Now On), the Pine Leaf Boys (Homage Au Passé), Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival) and Cedric Watson (Cedric Watson). Once again, Harry Shearer is nominated for Best Comedy Album, this time for Songs of the Bushmen.

Tulane offers Jazz Studies and New Orleans Music

Tulane University is expanding its graduate degree program in Musicology with a concentration in Jazz Studies and New Orleans Music.

The Department of Music is actively seeking applicants for the expanded program, which launches in Fall 2009 and includes funding for tuition waivers and stipends for up to five students. Applications are due February 1, 2009.

Interview: Jimmy of The Subdudes

New Orleans’ rockers and masters of harmony The Subdudes recently did something they’ve never done since getting together way back in 1987 - put out a live concert video. If almost to make up for lost time, the sweet sounding quintet have put out an inspired double DVD documentary and concert film displaying two completely different sides of the band’s music.

Filmed over the course of three days in Annapolis Maryland, The Subdudes Live at Ram’s Head and Unplugged at Pleasant Plains two-DVD set contains 15 song selections from two nights of concerts at The Ram’s Head on the first disc. The second disc features 70 minutes of interviews, an unplugged set and original studio footage shot while creating and recording the Street Symphony album with legendary producer George Massenberg in Nashville Tennessee. We recently spoke with ‘dudes’ bassist Jimmy Messa about the band’s first DVD…

Trumpeter Christian Scott fights for the future of jazz

"If I hear it a certain way, that's the way it's going to be," Christian Scott says.When asked about the state of jazz, Christian Scott's mood sours. "The [stuff] is garbage," said the New Orleans-born trumpeter, speaking by phone from San Francisco, his voice sharp, direct. "I mean, you want the truth?"

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A Marsalis who is drumming up the "life aspects" of music

Drummer Jason Marsalis credits a lunchtime conversation at Lil Dizzy's Café with fellow percussionists Herlin Riley and Shannon Powell for his greater appreciation of the "life aspects" of music. The three New Orleans drummers were at the Tremé restaurant to prepare for their tribute to the legendary Max Roach for an upcoming set at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. As it turned out, the performance became a highlight of the festival.

Threadhead Records: New Susan Cowsill Project Kicks Off in January

Threadhead Records, a recently launched fan-supported label organized by devotees of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (and NOLA music, in general), is now accepting contributions to fund the new CD from Susan Cowsill.

Singer-songwriter Cowsill, most recently of the Continental Drifters, and most famously the youngest member of late ’60s family band the Cowsills (inspiration for television’s “Partridge Family”), is headed to the studio in January to record her second solo album.

Her first solo release, Just Believe It, recorded shortly after Hurricane Katrina, is being remixed and remastered for a January release on Threadhead Records. That 2005 disc, featuring guest appearances by Lucinda Williams, Vicki Peterson, and Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, generated loads of critical acclaim.

The Meters - Hand Clapping Song (♫)

In their 25-year history, The Meters have grooved their way around the globe. They have toured with such talents as The Rolling Stones, and have been the rhythm for such diverse artists as Dr. John, Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer and Patti Labelle.

Considered by many to be the founding fathers of funk, The Meters created a unique sound that lasted through the sixties and seventies and was reborn in the late eighties. Their trademark sound blends funk, blues, and dance grooves with a New Orleans vibe.

New Orleans Music World Lacks Business Opportunities

New Orleans is internationally known for its rich musical culture as well as the birthplace of jazz music. Although the city still maintains its image for being a musical mecca, it has been facing a paradox between the music industry and its music. The music industry has been having a hard time matching with the overabundance of musical talent in New Orleans.