HumidCity

(Here is a guest post from my friend Bethany Butman, President and CEO of the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic. She is a dynamic force for good in the city and I am proud that she was kind enought to write this for us. -Loki, HumidCity Founder)

New Orleans’ warm, erotic humid climate, the wild foliage, the sensuous aroma of sweet olives and rifts of Jazz and funk combine to evoke a unique place and a culture, not unsympathetic to the weaknesses of the flesh. At The New Orleans Musicians Clinic (NOMC est. 1998), the United States’ only comprehensive health clinic for musicians, we are faced with sustaining a unique population during the hard times we all wrestle with since the 2005 floods.

For more than ten years, we have proudly served a “challenging’ population of musicians who personify a cluster of characteristics including “creative” and “sensitive” with shades of “deviant” and “non-conforming.” Add to this a predilection for risky behavior and a lifestyle with a wide acceptance (and even reliance) on illicit drugs, alcohol and sex. And lastly, a historical low priority on personal health and a distrust of conventional medical care. Although New Orleans musicians are celebrated around the world, at home they have a history of living hand to mouth, outside mainstream social and economic systems. Many of them pride themselves in existing in a cash-only economy, not having a bank account or paying taxes. Hence they are in effect excluded from the American health care delivery system. Read the rest of this entry »

i’ve been living in a dreamworld since fema took my trailer away… i’ve not wanted to go to sleep in fear that the bad times would start again… my house is now closer to a home … my life is again worth living

i’ve committed myself to a benefit project that has led me to a higher place… locals ranging from susan cowsill and anders osborne to members/ former members of rebirth, cowboy mouth, dash rip rock, the iguanas, the subdudes, evangeline have all come out to play… i’ve even snagged lou reed and alice cooper sideman steve hunter to contribute an acoustic version of “just a closer walk with thee”   my phone rang with the distant sounds of fernando saunders (lou’s go to guy and ian hammer/ jeff beck’s bassman) calling from helsinki offering a hand, a voice, and a song.  michelle shocked and suzzy roche also want to help…  even woody guthrie’s son arlo and grandaughter annie may join in…

all seems right in my world…

DESPITE the crime, the potholes, the government, the stupidity…

DESPITE the war in georgia AND our potentially knee-to-the-groin jerk-of-a-reaction (believe it or not, someone actually asked bobby hebert if he thought that might affect our game against the falcons)

DESPITE hurricane season, floods, and chances of OBAMANATIONS or an unABEL mcCANE (WTF?)

the music from the streets… the music from afar

as pete seeger once commented….”ah, the power of song”

(Originally posted someplace else on May 1st, 2008)

This is the kind of scene you occasionally find yourself stumbling into when you live in the greatest beat-up beat-down city on earth:

(photos on this page copyright 2008 Louis Maistros)

Me and the wife are minding our own business, performing our evening ritual of snagging some joe and peace along with Chalmette the misfit pooch down at the Sound Café a few blocks down, and what do we happen upon through pure serendipitous dumb luck? Maybe the best brass band on earth slamming down right there on the coffee shop floor. As if this weren’t heaven enough, jazz legend Dr. Michael White is there, too, sitting in on clarinet. Moments like this cannot be bought with mere cash-money – and that’s alright, because in New Orleans the best moments always come free of charge.

The Hot 8 Brass Band matters. Everything that is good about New Orleans is embodied in this little band of regular neighborhood guys. They’ve been to hell and back, have even lived through the senseless murder of their friend, teacher, leader and drummer Dick Shavers, and yet they keep on with this music, this amazing, uplifting, truth-giving music. This is cool jazz, funked to the core and set ablaze, but it’s something much more than that. It’s the rawness of the street shot out through the business end of a tuba. It’s Tabasco spiked with tears and gasoline. It’s love. It’s war. It’s life and God and the devil and everything else in the world that matters and some things that don’t and a few that fall in between and ask me if I give a damn about whatever it is because the reasons, the causes, the rationales, if there are any, can’t possibly matter in this singular moment that puts this whole fucking mess in one simple context, on one single page, down and clear and all right there. These guys are not always in tune. They’re not always sober. They’re not always tight. But they are always, always just right. In the moment. In the pocket. In the heart. My heart. Yours if you’re lucky.

So the night is cool and rare, the sun’s creeping down the sky, and it’s one of those gray, gray pissy southern skies with a dirty tint of orange twilight like a slow-rotting peach that I’ve only ever seen in New Orleans, and I’m having an epiphany moment.

I’ve had days where I’ve pondered the wisdom of staying here, days where it seems best to pack up the kids and take them somewhere/anywhere up north and just be done with it already. I’ve had days like that, and I guess I’ll have a few more.

But today is not one of those days.

Thinking about leaving is something I sometimes do. Staying is what I do every day without thinking.

Today my heart is clamped to my sleeve and bulletproof. I’m seeing and hearing this neighborhood band, these normal guys, blowing out through those horns, wailing away, kicking through songs of the 1920s like “Girl of My Dreams,” ripping them to pieces for this modern-fucked-sideways world, I’m hearing the hopped-up rage of their own songs, like “Ray Nagin,” a song that can make you cry and scream and dance all at the same time, and I’m hearing the pure funky hotgoddamn of “Let Me Do My Thing.” I’m going all the way back then fast-forward to here, ten minutes past now, with outrageous brassed-out covers of everything from “High Healed Sneakers” to Marvin Gaye’s disco sin, “Sexual Healing,” and I’m hearing my wife say over and over, “I never liked this song before, but I love it now.” I’m knowing that they’ve been through so damn much, these guys, these normal fucking guys, much worse than the troubles suffered by me and mine, but they just won’t stop, they can’t or won’t, they just keep going, taking all those hits – from behind and above and below – and they still come back up again, over and over, these guys, these normal everyday fucking guys, still raging, still preaching, still high, still defiant, still towering in spirit like it’s just another day on the job. And now I’m thinking: How dare I bitch about a single bad day? My problems are reduced to shadow tonight and these guys have lighted the way. I’ve done nothing for them, but they give me this. They give me this without even knowing who the fuck I am or that they are giving anything to anyone at all. They’re just playing. They’re just doing what they do.

And that’s New Orleans tonight.

Go visit the Hot 8 at their MySpace page where you can listen for free in streaming audio. If you get what I’m talking about, buy their CD or download a few tracks off iTunes.

Here’s the thing:

Some types of truth cannot be told in the usual way.

Louis Maistros

http://louismaistros.com

These things may not be right, but they are true.

The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros is due for publication from The Toby Press in Spring 2009.

Just a quick note to say I’ll be doing a very informal “gig” at the Sound Café (2700 Chartres St in the Marigny) on Sunday evening, June 29, at 7PM. No cover charge.

This will also be a fare-thee-well for Jesse “Bazillionaire” Studenberg, The Amazing Singing Barista of the Sound Café. Jesse’s heading back to Portland soon, so if you’ve enjoyed his caffeinated artistry you should stop by and say hello and goodbye. Jesse will also be singing and playing some of his own tunes, and he is quite talented. I’m not lying.

There will be no amplification, just acoustic guitar and voice. Like I said, informal as hell. No tip jar either – not for me, at least.

I’ll be doing songs like this one, and this one too, among others, that reflect on life in post-storm New Orleans.

You will not recognize me by this old band photo:

… because it was taken 25 (ouch! yes, 25) years ago. Trust me: I was a punk before you were a punk.

Music starts 7PM sharpish. I hope to meet a few of you fine folks there, readers & bloggers both.

Louis Maistros

http://louismaistros.com

These things may not be right, but they are true.

The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros is due for publication from The Toby Press in Spring 2009.

Dr. John has cemented himself as one of music’s few living legends. On “City That Care Forgot,” his crucial new album out June 3 on 429 Records/Savoy Label Group, The Good Dr. shares his eminence with notable guests like Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Ani DiFranco, making for an exhilarating musical experience.

Clapton, who also appears on the indelible lead single “Time For A Change,” employs his legendarily fierce guitar-work on the blistering title track, which also features poignant vocals from Ms. Di Franco. Elsewhere, Willie Nelson adds a dab of country swagger to the buoyant “Promises, Promises.”

Other guests include Terrance Simien (”Save Our Wetlands”), Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and James “12″ Andrews (”My People Need a Second Line”), and acclaimed composer Terence Blanchard, who enlivens “Land Grab” with his snazzy and cinematic trumpet riffs.

“City,” a propulsive, polemical swan song described by Newsweek writer Malcolm Jones as, “a furious album about what happened in New Orleans,” is easily Dr. John’s best work in 20 years. And, anchored by his touchingly auspicious tone poems, it promises to solidify The Night Tripper as having “more than enough variety in his New Orleanspanorama to leave the audience shouting for more” (New York Times).

If you don’t live here you can pre-order on Amazon. If you do live here support local business and buy it here.

Yessireebob! That is exactly what Bill O’ Reilly is! The man who has such respect for the “homies,” down in New Orleans is a true, blue pro. This little piece from Media Matters should bring back fond memories. (Emphasis mine)

CALLER: George Bush doesn’t care about American people. After Katrina, he passed a law making it so his contracting buddies could bring in a bunch of illegal immigrants, instead of putting Americans to work, plus it took them five days to get down there.

In response, O’Reilly said: “On the rebuilding of New Orleans, you’ve got to use contractors that can do the job. So, you can’t — you know, if you’ve got contractors who specialize in infrastructure rebuilding, you’ve got to bring them in.” He then added, “And the homies, you know, who you don’t know — I mean, they’re just not going to get the job.”

If WordPress played well with flash media I could just embed this video, but instead I will steer you over to visit Bec and take a look at what passes for grace under (minute) pressure on O’Reilly’s part. I would do so quickly though, YouTube has already pulled it and I don’t know how long it will last on break.com.

This is one of the big voices of modern day conservatives, a group who is no longer conservative by any measure I can discern. The group whose reckless approach to their duty as public servants has caused such hardship for my fellow New Orleanians in the aftermath of the Levee Failure. No matter what your political leanings you should be appalled at this behaviour worthy only of a spoiled child (with a foul mouth).

Fine example, eh?

-Loki, HumidCity Founder

Jazz Fest is always a busy and energizing time for me. Working out on the Fairgrounds, ground zero for entertainment during the season, is always fun. (Well, maybe not running through the rain with PCs wrapped in garbage bags trying to safeguard the gear, the rest is pretty great.) Its especially good this year because I actually have a team to work with. The pictures here were taken by one of the long standing HumidCity Irregulars: M. Styborski (who you may well know from his blog Nation of Morons). We’ve been putting out a good variety of nearly real time content and having fun doing it (except for the rain).

This year I have two surprising new bits of additional good fortune to share.

The first one is tomorrow. Instead of my usual ride to the Bywater on my bike I will be making my way to the French Quarter on the streetcar and heading over to Aranud’s for drinks. The lovely ladies of Tales of the Cocktail have been generous enough to ask me to be a judge, so tomorrow will be an afternoon of careful cocktail appraisal. Their office is next to my own, and we have been working together on fund raising efforts for the Ashley Morris Fund, yet despite knowing me they asked anyway. Brave or foolhardy, you be the judge.

If you’re not familiar with them click the banner below and check out their website:

The second is an odd bit of internet flotsam. I noticed a trackback in the site log that appeared to be brand new, yet when I followed it I got a surprise. Evidently my yearly anti-caterpillar rant here on the HumidCity was picked up and quoted in The New Yorker. Not only that, but the article is almost exactly a year old. I must admit to being quite amused that my words ended up there of all places not to mention puzzled at why it would take a year for a trackback to show. I’ll be damned.

NEW: CALL US! 504-709-4492

Now you can call humidcity and leave us a message! All messages are subject to the same copyright policy as comments on blog posts. Our virtual switchboard can be reached at 504-708-4492. All calls are digitized and we receive an email notification. On occasion we may use them in our posts. (Recorded messages become the property of HumidCity and are immediately licensed Creative Commons share alike.)

Tune in today, Wednesday (January 16th) from 11:30am to 2:00pm CST, as we celebrate Allen Toussaint’s birthday (January 14, 1938). From the late 50s to the present, from Devo to Irma Thomas, now’s the time to savor some Southern Nights and find those Lipstick Traces, as we listen to Allen Toussaint and those his music has touched.

WWOZ 90.7 on your FM dial!

If you are outside of the New Orleans Metro Area tune in the stream at WWOZ Online

Well there my wacky little geeks and freaks, tonight marks a (lately) rare appearance by Mr. & Mrs. Loki down at the Howling Wolf. I strongly encourage all local bloggers to meet up for the latest attmpt by The Consortium of genius to take over New Orleans.

This is a guest posting by Rob Cambre, mastermind of Anxious Sound Productions and musician par excellence! (Rob may soon be joining the Humid City team as a local music correspondant):
I hate sending out more death notices, but as many of you now know the great clarinetist and educator Alvin Baptiste died this weekend, just 13 hours prior to his scheduled performance at the JazzFest.

Many writings are out there by those who know far more about him than I do, but I was fortunate enough to see Alvin play many times over the years and spend some time talking with him at various workshops and conferences over the years, mostly through my connection to Kidd Jordan and Alvin Fielder.

The memory that looms largest however, is one of the very first jazz concerts I ever attended, which was a reunion performance of the American Jazz Quintet (which included Alvin, ED BLACKWELL on drums and Ellis Marsalis on piano) at the old
Riverboat Hallelujah on Tulane Avenue.  It was a double-bill with Alice Coltrane’s Quartet (with Roy Haynes, Reggie Workman + George Coleman), and it was my first time seeing players of that caliber in person.  A real eye-opener for this then-19 year old…especially hearing Batiste’s majesterial clarinet interacting with the dancing
drums of the great Blackwell.  I won’t forget it.

Jazz legends, artists and educators joined radio giant WWOZ yesterday to support a national effort to save Internet radio from a recent royalty rate increase that would bankrupt the industry.

In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, famed clarinet wizard Dr. Michael White, legendary trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, jazz phenom “Trombone Shorty”, Kidd Jordan and more than a dozen of the most influential voices in American Jazz called on Congress to take action and preserve Internet radio for the future of Jazz music.

“As working musicians who depend on Internet radio to reach our fans and to make new ones, we are extremely concerned that the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will close the door to what has become an essential part of our work. Internet radio is one of the precious few outlets we have to reach Jazz audiences and build new ones. If Internet radio dies, the future of Jazz could die with it,” the Jazz legends wrote in a letter addressed to Chairman Conyers.

Representatives of SaveNetRadio, a national coalition of millions of webcasters, listeners, artists and labels joined tens of thousands of Jazz fans this week at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to spread the word and gather the support of jazz artists that depend on Internet radio for exposure and airtime.

New Orleans powerhouse radio station WWOZ’s General Manager, David Freedman said “the massive new royalty fees directly affect New Orleans artists and musicians throughout the country that depend on Internet radio for air play and to reach new fans. For WWOZ, these new rates would drastically limit our effectiveness as a streaming source, and dictate that stations can’t afford to succeed. The marginalization or complete shutdown of our streaming services, which is the emerging environment, is tantamount to choking off an important voice of New Orleans culture and rendering our volunteer powered effort irrelevant.” Read the rest of this entry »

While there are no news articles to link to as yet, the entire production krewe here at the fest is abuzz with it: Alvin Baptiste, legendary jazz composer passed from a heart attack in the early hours of the morning.

EDIT: Judy Wood will do a tribute to Alvin Batiste from 5 to 6 PM on Jazz from the Market this Wednesday, May 9. It will include excerpts from her interview with him on August 31, 2006. LIsten online at WWOZ.ORG or tune in on the radio at 90.7fm if you are in the New Orleans area.

Well today was quite something. I guess its a good thing I was feeling ill and took a cab down to the Jazz Fest because all the bus drivers decided today was a good day to “be sick.” I am filled with unexpressable joy at the idea of having to not only cab it the next day or two (an uneeded expense) but also to have to compete for cabs with the teeming masses of people who would otherwise take the RTA shuttle. Lets hope that it was a one day thing.

So I knew there was rain scheduled for the day, no big deal. I was not expecting a torrential downpour. In the span of ten minutes the WWOZ VIP tent was ankle deep in water, and from what I heard it was deeper in many other places. After the mad scramble to breakdown and waterproof all the laptops and wireless set up in there it was off to the trailer. At its height I wold say there was a foot of water behind the Gospel Tent. The outdoor stages shut down, but the tents kept rocking. WWL had this to say.

The above is a view from behind the Gospel Tent.

While we lost power for awhile, the broadcast got back up in short order and we reloacted the DJ’s to a dry space. As they say, the show must go on.

More pics can be found here, or in the WWOZ Flickr Community

All in all it was quite the day. I’m glad tomorrow’s forecast seems sunnier. More after the Festival.

7am tomorrow I head out towards the Fairgrounds as Jazz Fest launches. This year is going to be very busy as I am not only acting as AP to the Program Manager for the continuous live broadcast / webcast (stream here) of the event, but I am also cordinating and producing a group blog of postings by the DJ’s, myself, and possibly a few others.

It will be a nonstop run unitl 2am Monday night when we wrap Piano Night. Then its the prep and craziness of weekend two.   By the way, for my out of town friends who may have escaped exposure to it WWOZ is worth checking out, its not like any other station on earth and its all New Orleans sound. Check out the Wiki , The Site , The Flickr Photo  Group, and (of course) wwoz_90_7fm

I should hopefully have some good pics and stories to share when its all over, in the meantime I will be out of the loop until after the first weekend of May.

Fair Warning….
The Basin Street Sheiks will be playing the Neutral
Ground tomorrow Friday April 27 at 11:00 pm. You may
want to stand clear of the area.
http://www.neutralground.org/map.htm

Also if you happen to be at Jazz Fest this Sunday,
bring your earplugs and plug them in between 12:45 and
1:30, for the godawful noise that emerges from the
kids tent just might permanently leave a fowl after
taste in your eardrum and ruin the enjoyment of
listening to music.

Just thought you should know.  I would not want you to
suffer on what would otherwise be a fine weekend.
—Burgin

http://www.basinstreetsheiks.com/

The Jazz and Heritage Fest is finally here and to celebrate WWOZ has launched their retooled website! One of the innovations that I particularly like is the ability to create your own Jazz Fest Schedule. Instead of having to dig through the details of all the acts (which is, of course, also a fun way to do it), you can select which acts you are going to and print out a personalized schedule.

Check it out!

Well the WWOZ Pledge Drive was a rousing success, listeners around the world stepped up to the plate and really amazed us. Now the promised return to news, muck raking, and sociopolitical ranting must be slightly delayed (yet again). You see tomorrow evening is Geek Diner III, and the daytime will be the begining of our move to a new apartment.

Instead here is a little post to show that the WWOZ experience has really gotten me into a Silver Machine frame of mind. As of now there will be a lot more content about the local music scene as well as other creative endeavors in the Crescent City.

Tonight Hairy Mountain played at The Circle Bar. For those interested in the pedigre of this Post Katrina rio here are a few pointers: Brooke Lamb (vocals, bass, lap steel, and clogging) is an original member of both Black Mountain and Blackula. DC Harold (vocals, bass) is known for his nadsat adventures with Clockwork Elvis. Steve Thomas (vocals, drums) is famous for many things, most of them unprintable. He is the proprietor of More Fun Comics on Oak St and a staunch supporter of the scene.

The Circle Bar gig was quite fun, in a muddy Melvins jam with Black Sabbath in Appalachia fashion. The pics are here. If you like your music murky and passionate check these cats out!

WWOZ PLedge Drive Photo Album (This will continually grow until the end of the Pledge Drive at 7pm on 3-28-07)

Groovesect is in the house! Man, there is nothing like coming into the studio and having a live show going on, the energy in the room is positively electric!
The next to last day of the drive is upon us, 7pm tomorrow is the end so get your pledge on! These funky, funky sounds that make you get up and shake your groove thang need your assistance in order to keep rolling out across the airwaves and the internet. If you have any doubts about the importance just tune your radio to 90.7fm (or grab the stream here) and listen for awhile and they will be dispelled!

One of the really great things about working here over the drive has been getting back in touch with musicians I have had the honor of working with in the past. Right now Govt Majik is tuning up to play their own brand of afro-caribbean funk, and it turns out I know the bass player from back in the old ShopweRx / Silver Machine days: Bru Brusser of the Hi Life Rescue Dance Band!! I haven’t heard this new band, but having worked shows with Bru back in the late 90’s I have high expectations for the upcoming throwdown!

EDIT: As T.R. keeps saying its “listener supported, listener supported, listener suported!!“

Hey out there in interweb land, Loki here, reporting the latest from the musical free for all that is the WWOZ Pledge Drive! Brian Stoltz was here earlier knocking out some really sweet tunes solo on his acoustic guitar. When I was speaking with him afterwards he told me that his new live CD will be hitting the stores about a week before Jazz Fest, and after hearing some tracks from it today I must say I cannot wait!

There are only three days left, and things are about to get truly out of hand. The array of musicians showing up to bring a little live music into the equation is always amazing during the drive, and the last few days are always the most intense. Over the past few days we have seen local luminaries such as Irma Thomas, Harold Batiste, and more show up in support of WWOZ. I really cannot think of any other example of a radio station being so inextricably entwined with the music scene it embraces.

The image that always comes to mind when I think about what WWOZ means to me and to the music scene is borne of the madness from August ‘05. I visualize a vast expanse of toxic floodwaters, like the ones that inundated our city. Rising up from the middle of this turgid pool rises an arm whose hand clutches a trumpet, holding it aloft above the murk.

With more than half our neighbors and native musicians scattered to the four winds the WWOZ Stream assumes huge importance, bringing a taste of home to those in that diaspora and beyond. As we fight for our survival here in New Orleans, WWOZ holds aloft the beacon of our unique musical heritage, reminding us what we are fighting for.

Harold Cagler just got finished bringing a little of the classic New Orleans funk to the studio, and welcome sounds they were! It is truly things like this that keep me going!

Pledge now, keep WWOZ on the air and on the internet!

xposted on Defend New Orleans

There are SO many things going on in the city right now: numerous news articles in the local and national media about NOLA residents arming themselves agaisnt crime, Bush crony companies (MWI) providing faulty pumps; the Corps of Engineers engaging in its usual inept shenaigans, etc. So why in the midst of this am I focusing on the WWOZ pledge drive?

It is precisely because it has nothing to do with politics. As Jelly Roll Justice put it, “I can turn to any other station in town for the politics of the situation. Sometimes I do. WWOZ is a haven, here it is about the music. There are no politics and no religion here, just beautiful sounds.” The sounds of New Orleans. After 19 months of nothing but fury and vitriol it feels good to be focussed on something that is purely positive.

I have always been a proponent of the idea that music can bridge all gaps between people, that it is a common ground where everyone can relate to each other through their mutual appreciation of the groove. I have always been a crusader for local music for that exact reason.

So……..

Despite the plethora of things to bitch about, despite the idotic decisions by the various powers that be, despite the approach of hurricane season and the state of the levees right now the priority it WWOZ, the Guardians of The Groove. I am returning to my roots until next Wed., then we will return you to your regularly scheduled muck raking!

So pledge now, help support the sound of our city!

Slip sliding away on a wave of funky goodness, Funky T is slapping some Rocky Charles platters on to get people in a giving frame of mind.

Now I’m sure you’ve already heard a lot about the different membership levels if you’ve been tuning in, that is just the icing on the cake. The real benefit is the ability to tune in New Orleans music from anywhere. Thanks to the internet you can pull up a live stream anytime and from anywhere. For the wife and I it was our lifeline while we were in exile.

Thursday after the storm we were a long way from home, stuck in NY, and suddenly the music returned. Just hearing the sounds of the Crescent City again did wonders for our state of mind. For the next 5 1/2 weeks it was part of the glue that held my own sanity together. The New Orleans sound gets in your blood, it is intoxicating and addicting. It is essential for the care and feeding of New Orleanians everywhere in the diaspora and at home. It is a divine elixir for the ears, and WWOZ is the only institution that can provide it.

Show some love, Defend New Orleans Music, join WWOZ!

“Peace, Love, and Soul!” - Funky T “You didn’t get my good side!” -Joe “Defend The Humid City! Support ‘OZ!” -Loki

xposted on DefendNewOrleans (LJ)

Alright out there Irma Thomas is in the studio, interviewing on Crossroads with Big D, it’s been a great one so far. George Ingmire is hanging out with them and asking some very incisive and penetrating questions.

WWOZ is one of our most important cultural resources. If you’re anything like me you found their stream to be a lifeline while in exile after the Storm. I almost broke out in tears when the stream came back up and suddenly a taste of home sounded from the tinny speakers of my laptop.

Everyone from here understands on a primal level that the two things that most resonate to New Orleanians are food and music. ‘OZ has been a bastion for the musical roots of our unique culture.

This is not just a radio station, it is a non profit engaged in the most important battle we face: the preservation of The New Orleans Sound in an era when it is in danger of becoming a conservatory lesson rather than an organic and growing tradition. Please consider picking up the phone and calling in a contribution. Even if it is a small one it will help. Donations can be made online here.

xposted on DefendNOLA (LiveJournal)

Continuous Liveblogging on a show by show basis will be going on at the above xpost link….

EDIT: Okay, its the second most important battle. The first is and always will be LEVEES.