Antoinette K-Doe's funeral was an appropriately colorful farewell
Antoinette K-Doe's funeral procession on Saturday included the mannequin of her late husband, Ernie K-Doe, which rode in a mule-drawn carriage.In her final appearance, Antoinette K-Doe sold out St. James Methodist Church.
By the start of Mrs. K-Doe's funeral service Saturday morning, the neighborhood church on Ursulines Avenue had exceeded its standing-room-only capacity. A police officer turned away late arrivals, who pooled on the sidewalk to await the subsequent second-line.
Mrs. K-Doe, the widow of New Orleans rhythm & blues singer Ernie K-Doe and his equal in the annals of eccentricity, died of a heart attack early Mardi Gras morning.
Antoinette K-Doe, RIP. Remembering a great New Orleanian.
Antoinette K-Doe, the widow of New Orleans music legend Ernie K-Doe, died Tuesday of a heart attack. In 2006, Josh Levin wrote about Ernie's run for New Orleans mayor from beyond the grave, Antoinette's return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and her hopes of reopening the Mother-In-Law Lounge—the bar and music venue bearing the name of her late husband's famous song. (The Mother-In-Law Lounge did reopen later in 2006 to much jubilation.) The original article is reprinted below. Rally of the Dolls: Separated by a generation — and now, by 2,000 miles — friends Antoinette K-Doe and Miriam Batiste Reed have teamed Up to bring the Baby Doll tradition back to Mardi Gras.BY NOAH BONAPARTE PAIS
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Even by New Orleans standards, the jazz funeral for Lloyd Washington was a singular event. First, there was the date: Oct. 24, 2004, or four months after Washington, a singer and member of the final Ink Spots lineup, succumbed to cancer at 83. (Unable to provide a proper burial for her husband, Hazel Washington had kept his ashes safe in a small urn enshrined at the Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law Lounge on Claiborne Avenue.)
Second, there was the setting: the Musicians' Tomb at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, a space in the Barbarin family mausoleum specially designated for local artists and their spouses. In a colorful procession that included two comrades' vehicles, Antoinette K-Doe's pink limousine and Geannie Thomas' red pickup truck, one of the last survivors of the legendary R&B group became the first musician laid to rest in the historic tomb.
NPR's Chronicling Black New Orleans' Untold Story The streets of Faubourg Treme were once home to an untold history of New Orleans — a story that has now been rekindled in a new documentary.
Tony Cox talks with resident and journalist Lolis Eric Elie about Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
Video: Bonerama - Big Fine Woman Here's the video debut of New Orleans funksters Bonerama. This video for Big Fine Woman comes from PartyGras2009.com - a site anchored by PBS and Bonerama that will feature new music in the form of live shows, a single of a brand new song, or an archival release from back in the day every Tuesday in 2009…
Free Hot 8 Brass Band Download
Exclusive track – available from Tues 24th Feb for one week only!
Tuesday 24th February 2009 is Mardi Gras, and to celebrate, we’ve got an exclusive cut from Hot 8 Brass Band to give away absolutely FREE. Appropriately entitled “Steamin’ Blues”, this track is only available for one week, so click here to download this amazing joint from New Orleans’ finest, and get into the Mardi Gras spirit.
As Mardi Gras Rages, New Orleans' Music Scene Struggles to Recover
The history of musicians dealing with the storm's aftermath has been a mixed one. In the year after Katrina, benefits around the country helped musicians get home, get instruments, and get back to work. Then again, at Voodoo 2006, Duran Duran's Simon LeBon fretted from the stage over the devastation he saw on the drive from the airport — a corridor that looked more or less as it had pre-storm — and Wayne Coyne stopped the Flaming Lips' set to instruct New Orleanians on the importance of helping each other, perhaps mowing each others' lawns. Then and now, unmown lawns have been the least of the city's worries.
The VOODOO EXPERIENCE will return to Halloween weekend this October 30, 31 and November 1 in New Orleans’ City Park. This marks the third VOODOO EXPERIENCE that will coincide exactly with the Halloween weekend in a city that is as known for its magic as much as it is for its music.
"Every Mardi Gras is the Best Mardi Gras Ever"(A quote from Pete Fountain years ago in an interview with New Orleans journalist Rosemary James.)
And so it has always been, with every Mardi Gras being the one that is the favorite in your mind, tops in your memory. And so it is this year. Some impressions;
Mardi Gras in The Treme
North Side Skull and Bones Krewe
Many years ago I lived in Brazil. And no matter how much acai or cafezinhos or palm oil I consumed, I could never ever keep up with my Brazilian friends and their partying - and I didn't even have a job during that time. I came to the realization at that point that to live in Brazil, one must develop Brazilian party muscles. This means learning how to survive on little to no sleep in pursuit of the party, knowing all hangover cures and at what point to activate which one, and attending each and every important celebratory function because, God forbid, folks raise the subject of 'that parade' or 'that party' and you can't add to the conversation because you weren't there.
Groovesape's photos from Blue Nile features the Andrews Family Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, James "12" Andrews, Revert "Peanut" Andrews, Glen Andrews, Glen David Andrews, Theresa Andersson, and My Name is John Michael.Groovescape's photos from the Maple Leaf features the 101 Runners, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and Billy Iuso.
