It's official. I have fallen in love with a city. And not just the city, but the people in the city. What makes New Orleans so different is not only the culture, food, architecture, and music, but that everyone in this city has a story to tell. From college students, little kids to the homeless, everyone here has something to say and I love that. This has always been my second home growing up, coming here every winter for 18 years, but now this is my first home and I realize now that it always has been. The photo to the right was taken by my friend Chase Chênevert who captures the city better than anyone I know. He focuses on the Gothic beauty of the city and all its idiosyncrasies.
On April 20, 2010, I like to say that day was when it truly hit me. Now, I don't do anything without my two better halves - Murphy and Danny - because thanks to Christopher McCandless "happiness is only real when shared". The three of us were feeling exceptionally New Orleansy so in the in the heat of the moment, we gathered the things necessary for this adventure and later found ourselves sitting on the side of the Mississippi River, eating 15 pounds of Louisiana crawfish, drinking traditional Louisiana beverages while listening to Louis Armstrong as the sun was setting (see picture above). It was then that I realized why I came here. And of all years to come live here, the year HBO made a tv series about New Orleans, the year Disney made a princess movie about New Orleans, the year Mardi Gras was bigger than any other year and the year the Saints won the Super Bowl!
This video is from Galactic's new album "Ya-Kay-May" (get it if you don't have it already). I love Galactic 1) cause Stanton Moore not only is a damn fine drummer but is a Loyola graduate 2) the other part of the band graduated from Tulane 3) they love New Orleans and don't forget that this is where they originated from. Nonetheless, this song is awesome:
and this video is just awesome:
Starting August 1, 2010 I will officially be a permanent resident of this amazing city. People say that it's easy to get stuck in New Orleans, but I'd rather be stuck here than anywhere else. This playlist is a combination of traditional New Orleans ballads, songs about New Orleans, and songs performed by New Orleans musicians. The first song is the introduction on Galactic's album "Coolin Off" and in just a few words, they sum up the essence of New Orleans. Take a listen and in true New Orleans fashion Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler
Yesterday was one of the most musical packed days I've had in a long time. It began at the Sync Up conference presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation which is a program created for the Louisiana entertainment industry. I came across this conference on April 22 when I was browsing the internet trying to find more information about the music used in the new HBO series Treme. When I found information about the conference, it said they were bringing "top leaders of the international music festival industry and key figures in the world of film, television, videogames and other media", they didn't realize that those "top leaders" just so happened to be ALL my idols. The key leaders: David Simon (creator of Treme), Blake Leyh (music supervisor for Treme), Kevin Griffin (lead singer of Better Than Ezra), John Comerford (producer of "Icons Among Us: jazz in present tense) and the man who exemplifies everything I want to be....Gary Calamar, music supervisor for True Blood, Six Feet Under, Weeds, House, Dexter, etc. Music supervision is my ideal job, and when the description for the conference was finding or making the right music for film and TV is an abstract art with real-world changes - tight budgets, tighter deadlines and the daunting task fo making images sing with emotion, I knew I had to go. So I went, and I don't think I've ever focused so intently on anything in my entire life. Every word that came out of Gary Calamar's mouth is permanently imprinted in my brain. This man is who I strive to be, just listen to him talk:
Anyways, Gary Calamar was just one of the people in the music supervision field that I had a chance to talk with. But post-conference, I went into the bathroom of the New Orleans Museum of Art, changed into my bathing suit, shorts, and rain boots and went on my way over to JAZZ FEST! This was one of the first festivals I wasn't working at so I finally got to just sit back and enjoy the music. And at any music festival, there are always those new band discoveries that catch your ear as you walk by a tent and yesterday that band was Bill Summers and Jazalsa. They were so animated on stage playing and dancing. It was a fun show to watch. Here's a little bit of what they're like but it does them no justice
After Jazalsa, I worked my way to catch a bit of The Meters, but left after only a few songs to reserve a front row center spot to see My Morning Jacket. Now, I've seen a lot of shows and heard all types of set lists for bands I enjoy, but no set list was better than MMJ. The first few songs in order were: "One Big Holiday", "Gideon", "Off The Record", and then "I'm Amazed". It was just hit after hit. Then the Preservation Hall Jazz Band came on and jammed with MMJ for the last few songs. It was a dream come true to witness this. But Jazz Fest came to an end, we walked the long way back to our car, headed back to campus, and just before I was about to call it quits for the night, I decide to see one more thing.
My high school buddy Peter goes to Tulane and we both like to share our different New Orleans experiences. He takes me out with his Tulane friends to Tulane festivities, etc. and I take him out with my Loyola friends to see Loyola festivities. So last night, I decide to take Peter out to see some of the local New Orleans instrumental scene. I am a "music before lyrics" person, without a doubt, and have always enjoyed instrumental songs over songs with lyrics. So when I came to New Orleans and heard about their instrumental music scene, I had to check it out. I had never seen anything like it before. It's like the instruments are all speaking at once, yet it's not "just noise", it's brilliantly orchestrated music that intertwines. One of my favorite Loyola bands is High in One Eye (also favorite band name), so last night I took Peter to see them. At first I was worried he wouldn't understand it and not like it, but fortunately I was wrong. He couldn't believe that this music is out there. We got to the show just in time to see a bit of the other band Rabbit who I really really enjoyed and I will definitely make an effort to see them again. I love hearing new local music and the local New Orleans scene is just substantially more talented than any other local scene I've had the pleasure of watching. High in One Eye came on, and as always, played faster and louder than any band I've ever seen. Here's one of my favorites from them:
Overall, yesterday was a pleasant day. Got to see my idol, not a drop of rain fell on my head while at Jazz fest, got front row spots to see MMJ and supported some of my favorite local bands.
Whether you agree with it or not, today is a special holiday that has been going on for 30+ years and I pay great homage to today because of all the songs that have been created with the help of some good old mary-jane. The infamous 4/20 began in San Rafael, California in 1971 when teens would gather after school at 4:20pm to smoke at the Louis Pasteur statue at San Rafael High School. These groups of kids called themselves the "Waldos" because members would hang out by a wall after school. Writer Ryan Grim interviewed these Waldos who claimed that they met at 4:20pm by the statue to begin a search for a crop of abandoned cannabis growing near Point Reyes that they heard about, but they never found the stash. So in honor of those Waldos, the entire pothead world dedicates today to their failed attempt. Our own president Abraham Lincoln was known for his past use of cannabis and wrote that one of his favorite things was "smoking a pipe of sweet hemp".
When I was looking at colleges, I chose most of them based on whether they had my major (music industry studies), affordable and located in a music city. But there was one college that I would go to in a heartbeat if none of those applied....The University of Colorado at Boulder. It is the most beautiful college, in my opinion, and I absolutely love the Colorado mountains. However, I did not know that CU Boulder was the biggest pothead school in the nation. In fact, I just recently found out that they have an annual 4/20 celebration on campus. With attendance of 10,000+, CU Boulder's celebration of the hopeful legalization of marijuana is one of the largest such celebrations in the U.S. The University police have tried different methods to prevent the gather but the crowds continue to increase every year. Take a peak:
I saw the Easy Star All-Stars last Wednesday at the House of Blues. If you don't know them, they're a reggae band that cover Pink Floyd, Radiohead and The Beatles. Their album titles for these covers are "Dub Side Of The Moon" and "Radiodread"....clever. Listen to how they play "Money" by Pink Floyd....especially the intro and what they use to exchange the cash register noises in the original.
Anyways, I've had this playlist in the making for quite some time....hopefully it can be put to good use today. Some people are very picky about their cannabis jams - they like just reggae or think reggae is too cliche. Personally, I like to mix it up. Led Zeppelin is a must, but some of this playlist (at least in the beginning) is geared toward a more "trippier" experience with songs like "Drippy Eye" or anything by Animal Collective. The first song is simply there for thematic purposes. Overall, I like the diversity and hope you will too.
Enjoy:
P.S. No 4/20 day would be complete without some words of wisdom from our friend Towelie:
For the past few days, my business class has been watching the movie/documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room. We all know about Enron to some degree, but this video really puts it into perspective. Not many people know this but if I didn't love music so much, there is not a doubt in my mind that I wouldn't pursue a career in stock markets or alternative energy resources, so when my professor said we were going to watch this movie, I was a tad bit excited. Here's the trailer:
Despite the movie being extremely informative (everyone should watch it and learn from it), the music in the movie was incredible! I hate cheesy placements of songs during typical movie scenes, for example during a love scene the music supervisor decides to play Barry White - come on, it's been done a million times. But John McCullough, the music supervisor for the Enron movie, places each song perfectly. One of my favorites is the the intro scene with a view of the Enron towers and the Tom Waits song "What's He Building In There" playing in the background. The lyrics "He's hiding something from the rest of us... " definitely set the tone of what exactly the world's view was about the CEOs of Enron. In this scene as well, at about 8:30, my next favorite scene is when they discuss Ken Lay and his Baptist minister father while "Son of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield comes on:
The movie has all types of songs. Everything from Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams" to "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. Another favorite scene of mine is when they talk about the California energy crisis. Any guesses to what song they would use? Yes, it is none other than our buddies from Phantom Planet singing their ballad "California". Oh in the clip below, their phonetically spelling of "California" to "Kal-ee-'for-nyah" is to mock Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger (funny guys these directors). I recommend watching all of this clip. The tapes they found from the trading floor between Enron traders about the California energy crisis are disgusting - it's as if I'm listening to greed itself....especially around 6:15.
They also throw in at the end of the movie "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Overall this soundtrack is impeccable. Each song's original meaning was utilized correctly. Most music supervisors places songs in scenes because it "sounds" right. And though that may be the case, I really do enjoy when music supervisors places songs in scenes based up on the origination of the song - it helps the movie have comic relief (I chuckled when they played "California" by Phantom Planet) or add emphasis to a serious scene (the intro with "What's He Building" by Tom Waits). Here's a playlist of the songs I could remember in the film:
In high school, one of my friends dated a guy who always wore this shirt I thought was really cool. It was black and had these weird little creatures wearing masks on it with the words "My Morning Jacket" on the bottom. I later found out that shirt was the cover art for their album "Z". My Morning Jacket has always been that band I've heard a lot about, always liked what I'd hear, but never felt the need to go pursue them (if you know what I mean)...until now. Over spring break my brother and I watched the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There and in the movie, My Morning Jacket front-man Jim James, makes an appearance with the band Calexico covering Bob Dylan's song "Goin to Acapulco." It was the first time, in a long time, that a song really truly moved me (and the scene in the movie as well). Watching this and seeing how the song epitomizes the scene to perfection is exactly what I want to strive to do later in life if I end up working in music supervision. Anyways, here's the scene:
Originating in Louisville circa 1998, My Morning Jacket is an indie rock and alternative country (in some cases) band that got its name from the initials "MMJ" seen on a discarded coat lead singer Jim James once saw. Jim James has probably the most unique vocals I've ever heard. He utilizes spring-reverb for all facets of their sound, making even an arena filled stadium sound intimate. My favorite MMJ song is without a doubt "One Big Holiday". Everytime I hear it, I just want to run. In addition, put it in a movie - preferably a chasing scene or maybe when a character comes to some sort of self-realization. Here's my favorite live performance of it:
Their first album The Tennessee Fire was a breath of fresh air for American music. The album evokes a sort of lonely memory of a Gothic country night. Electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, lap-steel, drums and bass all join Jim James' unique (Neil Young meets Wayne Coyne) voice in a huge pool of reverb. At first you wonder if his voice will overtake the songs, but after the first chorus you realize that the beauty of these simple and emotive songs is only enhanced by the addition of this effect, and by the end of the first song, you can't even tell that it's there.
Their sophomore album At Dawn is full of the same strumming acoustic guitar, hauntingly treated vocals, elements of country and blues, and everything else that we all love about My Morning Jacket. This album seems to blend more of a Neil Young, The Band, Bob Dylan and Velvet Underground vibe. Their music is a magnificent country, rock and Americana stew. I just recently added "The Way He Sings", "If It Smashes Down" and "I Needed It Most" to my Rain playlist so it is definitely worth taking a listening to.
It Still Moves is my favorite My Morning Jacket album. It's the last album produced by Jim James which in my opinion makes the two albums following this one a little less personal. This album is reverb central with some of the best guitar songs I've ever heard. The album itself is the spacious sound of southern psychedelia, synthesis of the Flaming Lips' fever dreams and the Allman Brother's chops-flaunting excursions filtered through the country-boy-for-life sensibilities of lead singer Jim James. His vocals simply echo to the point that it sometimes sounds like it was recorded down in his native Kentucky's Mammoth Cave. The first song on the album "Magheeta" will be the first song on my Summer 2010 playlist. In fact the entire It Still Moves will mostly likely be on the playlist. "Golden" is a perfected ballad (check out Marco Benevento's cover of the song), "One Big Holiday" has one of the best intros, "Run Thru" is included in the "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs", and "Easy Morning Rebel" has just the right amount of southern love. Overall, this album needs to be added to your collection.
The infamous album cover art that started it all. Z was a different turn for MMJ, with new keyboardist Bo Koster and new producer John Leckie. This album also features well renowned musicians such as Andrew Bird on strings and whistles heard on "Gideon", "Into The Woods" and "It Beats 4 U", and M. Ward on acoustic guitar and background vocals on "Into The Woods". This is the most upbeat album they've produced with the radio-friendly "Off The Record" and calliope organ pinwheels in "Anytime". "Knot Comes Loose" is featured on my "Roscoe Road At Night" playlist and is probably my favorite song on the album. To many people this is their favorite MMJ album and it makes sense - it's well done. But for me, I prefer the raw authentic MMJ heard on the last three albums, "It Still Moves" specifically.
Released in 2008, MMJ's concept album Evil Urges is by far the most unique album. The opening track "Evil Urges" sounds like it beamed down from Radiohead's "Ok Computer" with the spacey keyboards. This album is all about those evil urges, from fantasizing about a "Librarian" to the sexual frustration of "Touch me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" My friend's favorite MMJ song is "I'm Amazed" featured on this album and I'd have to agree it is up there on my favorite MMJ songs. I have yet to listen tot his album all the way through with no interruptions, but will definitely do so soon enough.
Back in the Big Easy. Spring break is over, and it was eventful (good and bad) to say the least. A lot of things have happened recently so naturally when things get "eventful", my music library expands even further. Every time I go back home my friends and I share music. Typically, I give them music they've never heard of and they give me music that everyone else seems to know but me. It's a pretty good system. But anyways, my current obsessions are a mixture of different things: music that I plan on seeing live soon (jazz fest!), music that my friends gave me, music I'm trying to get into, and music that I recently discovered I owned but never listened to.
FIRST, let me tell you all the craziness that is about to transpire here in New Orleans (excluding Jazz Fest):
April 9-11 - French Quarter Festival
April 9 - New Grass Country Club CD Release Party
April 10 - Electronic Takeover (Maison Upstairs)
April 14 - Easy Star All-Stars feat. Dub Side Of The Moon and Lonely Hearts (House of Blues)
April 22 - J.J. Grey & Mofro (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 23 - Marco Benevento feat. Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin, & Wood) (Tipitinas Downtown)
April 23 - Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle (Le Bon Temps Roule)
April 24 - Pattie Smith (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 24 - Soul Rebels w/ Coyotes (Cafe Prytania)
April 24 - My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Band (Preservation Hall)
April 25 - "Worship My Organ" with Marco Benevento, Skerik, Robert Walter (Blue Nile)
April 25 - "Drummer Cometh" with Stanton Moore, Terence, Johnny Vidacovich, Shannon Powell feat. Jason Miles, George Porter, Billy martin, Ian Neville, etc. (Howlin Wolf)
April 28 - Garage A Trois, Mike Dillon Trio, The Dead Kenny G's and Marco Benevento Trio (Howlin Wolf) I AM GOING TO THIS WITHOUT A DOUBT April 29 - North Mississippi Allstars (Tipitinas Uptown)
April 29 - Julian Casablancas (The Republic)
April 29 - Galactic (One Eyed Jack's)
April 30 - Old Crow Medicine Show (House of Blues)
April 30 - Garage A Trois (One Eyed Jack's)
April 30 - Pretty Lights (The Republic)
April 30 - Kottonmouth Kings (Spotted Cat)
May 1 - Galactic w/ The Meters & Rebirth Brass Band (Howlin Wolf)SOLD OUT May 9 - Ludacris (House of Blues)
May 12 - Cage The Elephant (House of Blues)
June 16 - Passion Pit plus Tokyo Police Club (House of Blues)
With that being said, it is easy to say that I will be quite busy this month. If you're in town, come see these shows with me!
Current Obsessions
Marco Benevento Marry me, Marco Benevento. Pianist, organist and composer from Brooklyn. Innovator in the jazz and experimental music scene for a decade now, Marco Benevento is hands down my favorite pianist. Everything he does from the Marco Benevento Trio and Benevento-Russo Duo to Garage A Trois. Two of his bands (Marco Benevento Trio and Garage A Trois) are coming here to New Orleans to play in one show and I will be there. We're trying to get Marco Benevento to come to the WTUL radio station when he's here in New Orleans for an interview during my jazz show. If that happens, I don't even know what I'd do. He puts freakin smiley faces on the keys of his keyboard...need I say more? My goal for the month of April is to see Marco Benevento as many times as possible, have a conversation with him, and maybe, just mabye, get to touch his hands. Anyways, at the station this past Monday, I discovered his latest album "Me Not Me" which consists of his own works and various cover songs. Those cover songs include works from My Morning Jacket, Beck, Led Zeppelin, Deerhoof, The Knife, George Harrison and so forth. It is absolutely amazing. I played the Led Zeppelin cover of "Friends" at the station but later favored the My Morning Jacket cover of "Golden" the best. Take a listen:
Garage A Trois I talked about this band in my very first post, but since they're coming here to New Orleans, I feel the need to reiterate myself. Garage A Trois is a collaboration between four of the most visionary jazz improvisers: Skerik on saxophones, Mike Dillon on vibes, Marco Benevento on keyboards and Stanton Moore on drums (Charlie Hunter was originally a member playing guitar, but he left in 2007 and Marco Benevento took his place - can't complain there). Their tightly orchestrated arrangements, refined melodies, intricate sonic weaves, and positively modern approach to instrumental songwriting is what makes me what to see them more than anything this coming end of April. I only have their latest album "Power Patriot" but I've listened to a few tracks from their other albums and though different, I enjoy every one. Here's my favorite song:
North Mississippi Allstars First heard about these guys from the Black Snake Moan soundtrack with their song "Mean ol' Wind Died Down". I'm a sucker for any modern Southern rock/blues jam band (Kings of Leon USE to be a damn fine Southern rock band with a modern twist). The trio has been nominated for a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" with their first release Shake hands With Shorty. They've worked with people such as Robert Randolph, The Word and my man, John Medeski. They have a sort of Jack White flair to them, which is why I think I like them so much.
Gil Scott-Heron Rose to fame in the late 1970s, known as the "black Bob Dylan", Gil Scott-Heron is one of the most famous American poet and musician in music. He's especially known for his "spoken word" soul performances. His style encompasses a fusion of jazz, blues, and soul as well as lyrics that reflect the social and political issues of the time. Scott-Heron's proto-rap style is one of biggest influences on hip-hop. I picked up his "I'm New Here" album in the station and immediately fell in love. Especially with his song "Me and the Devil" which is an adaptation of my favorite blues player Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues". The album debuted at number 181 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It has a little bit for everyone: blues, folk, trip hop and electronica. His "post-modern" blues style makes me imagine if Massive Attack were to jam with Robert Johnson, this it what it would sound like:
Bill Frisell When people think of jazz, they think of smooth jazz. But just like rock has many different factions (indie, alternative, classic, southern, etc), so does jazz. And progressive jazz/rock/folk is one of my favorites. Bill Frisell is one of the top guitarists in the jazz world, though most of his style is progressive folk, classical and progressive country. He uses a variety of effects like delay, distortion, reverb, etc) to create unique sounds. Frisell's newest album Disfarmer is inspired by the life and photographs of Depression-era Arkansas chronicler/photographer Michael Disfarmer, who documented the lives of pre-war rural southerners. On the album, Frisell's band uses a stand-up bass, steel guitar and fiddle. He covers Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, two of my favorite musicians. Though sort of a stretch from jazz, sometimes you need some folk in your life. With that being said, go folk yourself:
P.S. Grooveshark doesn't have the new album so I had to resort to LaLa. Sorry.
