Saturday, November 1, 2008

NolaFunk Lagniappe

The road goes on forever as Grayson Capps & the Stumpknockers peddle 'Rott-n-Roll' around the world

NOLA Radio: Here selected tracks from Grayson Capps' latest release now

Such a setting is conducive to "rott 'n 'roll, " the roadhouse-worthy blues-rock variation that is the Stumpknockers' speciality. "Rott-n-Roll" is also the title of the band's new CD.

Capps considers his ethnicity to be half Alabamian, half New Orleanian. He grew up in south Alabama, then lit out for New Orleans in the 1980s to attend Tulane University. He stuck around the Big Easy for another 16 years, fronting "thrash-folk" ensemble the House Levelers and blues-rock combo Stavin' Chain.

In 2002, he launched the Stumpknockers, his primary musical outlet ever since. His national profile received a boost when a novel by his father became the 2005 feature film "A Love Song for Bobby Long, " starring John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson. Capps appeared in the movie and wrote its theme, "Lorraine's Song (My Heart Is a Lonely Hunter), " which was briefly touted as a possible Oscar nominee for Best Original Song. His first-ever limousine ride deposited him at the red carpet for the movie's Hollywood premiere.





Burning Wood's "LET'S FLY DOWN" NOLA WEEKEND PLAYLIST

ZIP FILE IS HERE

TRACK LIST
Couchmal- C.C. Adcock
(at the) Maple Leaf - Stanton Moore
Time For The Sun To Rise- Earl King
Love, Honor and Obey- David Egan
Blue Crescent- Dr. Michael White
Door Poppin'- John Boutte
By The Water- Snooks Eaglin
I Give It All To You- The New Orleans Bingo! Show
Manic Depression- Bonerama
Everyday I Have The Blues- Germaine Bazzle
People Say- Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen
True -James Booker



Home of the Groove's "Earl Palmer's Up-To-Date Funky Thing"



He played on an enormous wealth of well-known music - R&B, rock 'n' roll, and pop – both in New Orleans and after he moved out to Los Angeles in 1957 into the big time session scene. There's no way to capture all that Palmer accomplished (although Dave’s WFMU show comes close!). So, I've picked these three songs from the mid-1950s, when he was still active in New Orleans, that never cease to amaze me. I hope they’ll at least give a glimpse of Palmer playing complex, yet highly danceable grooves that have origins deep in the culture of his hometown.


PopMatters: The Zydepunks - Finisterre

On this album, the Zydepunks play big, barnstorming dance songs—massive, stomping, thumping, sweaty things with a piratical accordion played by a woman in a miniskirt and black stockings who is known in the publicity as Eve: no surname. If the musicians were performing this music live, then the floorboards would be shaking under the feet of the dancers, every ant in the room would be shooting out of its crevice or crack and running for safer ground. Beverages would fly.


Home of the Groove's "Percy Mayfield Declines Presidency"



Tongue firmly in cheek, Percy Mayfield teamed up with producer Johnny "Guitar' Watson back in 1974 for this musical declaration of non-service to his country as Commander-In-Chief - something about it limiting his ability to "frolic". The record was made some 20 years before Bill Clinton's unfortunate dalliance with an intern. So, besides being a great songwriter, Mayfield was a quite the political prognosticator. More likely, he just understood human nature. And, were Percy still with us, I am sure he would add a few more good reasons to the list about now. Anyway, I've always enjoyed this song, since hearing it years ago on the compilation LP, Atlantic Blues: Vocalists; and I chanced upon the 45 not too long ago, just in time for the run-up to Election Day.

Feeling nostalgic for those Mister Rodgers days? Want to relax with some felt-covered friends? This Halloween, put on your best outfit and join DJ Quintron and Miss Pussycat for their latest psychedelic installment of outsider art – a collaboration of electronic music, odd outfits, and puppets, of course!



Bingo! pulls out the stops in the Bingo! Parlour

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Somehow, it isn't surprising that The New Orleans Bingo! Show, after only several years of putting on their part-carnival, part-rock cabaret act, have a stage named after them at Voodoo X.




After all, the group's blend of good music, punky spirit, multi-media entertainment and good old-fashioned weirdness is an apt symbol for the festival as a whole.



Review: Bonerama and George Porter Jr.

In a legendary square in the heart of New Orleans where over a century ago countless men fell in duels under the live oaks that still stand, last Thursday night’s show with Bonerama (BNR) and special guest George Porter Jr. was nothing about dueling and everything about two musical forces of today’s New Orleans coming together for an amazing night of musical celebration in a city that appreciates life just a bit more these days.


Keith Spera's picks for most memorable moments from the first nine years of Voodoo





Bingo! Parlour Profile: Snuff Sugar

One year ago Snuff Sugar was formed in New Orleans when guitarist Alex Price and drummer Dustin DiSalvo decided to bring their passion for music together to form a band. Writing songs and getting a feel for each other’s styles they decided to add bass. They didn’t have to go far because Dustin’s brother is a local artist known as DJMC Microphone. Having done a two-year educational stint in Lafayette after Katrina, DJMC Microphone was eager to work with his brother on the promising project.

One Track Mind: Tab Benoit "Fever For The Bayou"


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As audacious as the claim might sound, Baton Rouge, Louisiana's own Tab Benoit is the Bayou State's answer to Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's a feeling I've had from the time I discovered his well-received debut Nice And Warm from 1992 and haven't wavered on that after about an album a year since then. He's got all the right traits for righteous swamp blues: a gritty, country-boy voice; a lean and funky blues approach; and a stinging, angular, soul-wrenching guitar attack.


Just as Vaughan had come to epitomize Texas blues, Benoit has done the same for Louisiana (even as his guitar licks borrow as much from Texas as it does a little further east). Moreover, Benoit likes to stress his Cajun roots, and often does so in the lyrics of his own songs, whether it be longing for the or reveling in the laissez les bon temps roulez attitude of the South Louisiana region.

That's just what he does for the title track from his superior 2005 release Fever For The Bayou. Benoit is one of the most consistently solid blues guys around and hadn't let success affect his music one iota, but "Fever For The Bayou" is where he goes even further than usual to blend the blues with zydeco. Since zydeco is really a Creole offshoot of the blues, Benoit isn't really inventing anything by doing that, just reminding us of the shared heritage of the two styles. The joyful chords he plays with his three piece band are full and are the kind of chords you'd hear out of an accordion.


Voodoo Podcast: The Funky & Freaky


Andre Williams

One of the most refreshing things about Voodoo is the extent of locally based booking - the Bingo Parlour and the Noomoon Stage both promise eclectic billing straight out of New Orleans, with acts culled from Crescent City cult favorites, local legends, bohemian celebrities and just plain weirdoes. This podcast introduces a few. Thanks to Ben Jaffe and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the New Orleans Bingo! Show, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio, Alex McMurray and the Valparaiso Men’s Chorus, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Luke Allen and the Happy Talk Band, Hurray For The Riff Raff, the Zydepunks, the Bad Off, the Morning 40 Federation, and Andre Williams (pictured) and the New Orleans Hellhounds

1 comment:

Sudipta Das said...

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