HumidCity

(Discosure: It may be due to the orbital mind control lasers, but I have recently taken on the duties of spearheading the COGs new effort to take over the Internet. Just like Filbert I am unpaid and do so simply to avoid the wrath of Pinkerton. -Loki)

A few days ago I promised to share the story of my fateful misadventures at the Consortium of Genius‘ Secret Lab. Well, it has taken that long for me to recover from the experiments of those mad scientists. So now I can tell you of the secret war going on behind the scenes here in New Orleans, the battle of super science that is about to come to a head. The two most dangerous mad scientist in our city’s history are about to go toe to toe! In one corner we have a man who has pushed the boundaries of science for 49 years from his lab in the Old Icehouse. . I am speaking of none other than Momus Alexander Morgus himself! Squaring off against him is none other than Dr. Milo Thaddeus Pinkerton III, founder and leader of the COG!

Anyway, I was minding my own business walking through the Tuoro Bouligny when a flying car set down next to me and two figures leaped out. The next thing I knew I was being dragged into the vehicle by one other than Dr. A. Rachind and Dr. Z. These two enemies of everything took me back to the Secret Lab and forced me to undergo experiments so gruesome that I cannot even now bring myself to describe it. So there I was surrounded by some of the most feared (mostly for their unpredictable malfunctions) items of super-science in the city limits when Pinkerton got distracted.

It was a video call from Morgus himself. I’ve been able to hack a video of it here. While Pinkerton stepped over a line few New Orleanians ever have, I slipped my bonds and escaped. I still cannot believe he had the audacity to shout at Morgus! Sneaking past the others was easy as Dr. A. Rachnid was concentrating on peering through the keyhole of a door that said “The Harem of Dr. Z.” on it.

Volunteers in the HumidCity underground tell me that things will be coming to a head on March the seventh (next Saturday night) at One Eyed Jacks. If our operatives are correct we will see COG vs. not only Morgus the Magnificent, but also vs. Rock City Morgue!

[This is the first time in a long time Sid Noel has put on the Morgus persona, he is almost 80 years old now. I hope this is not his final appearance in character. If it does turn out to be, then it is a truly fitting one. Wait until you see the episode. It not only showcases two of my personal favorite local bands, but it also give a great tour of some classic NOLA locales in the process. 10 point to anyone who can identify which local band the guy in the comic book shop sequence plays for (the one on the stool who doesn't look up)! Good stuff and highly worth it just to see the episode on the big screen. I also gather that it is an EP release for Rock City Morgue. How can you not attend?]

Loki, Founder, HumidCity

Photos courtesy of The Official Morgus the Magnificent Website and ddagradi on Flickr

I am still overcoming the deleterious effects of my recent trials at the hands of Dr. Pinkerton. This evening I was kidnapped and dragged to the suburban Secret Lab of The Consortium of Genius. I barely escaped with my life, and would have been caught if Pinkerton had not stopped to answer a threatening phone call from none other than Momus Alexander Morgus.

I am unable to continue. Look for details of my trip to the lab and tales of the two maddest scientists New Orleans has ever seen in a post tomorrow. In the meantime I must recuperate….

*Bow 2 The COG*

Yes, it’s true…
I met Little Richard, backstage, last night after his show.
I was wearing a jeweled Elvis Jumpsuit.
I was absolutely beautiful.
But not as beautiful as Little Richard.
No one is.
No one.

I was amazed by the tightest band in rock n roll. Two monster drummers, two killer guitar players, bassist, and a full horn section (Piccolo Trumpet, Tenor sax, sax & Baritone sax) as well as Reddy Teddy, his acrobatic MC of almost 40 years. The guy still sings while doing handstands.

Little Richard was on crutches, and had to be helped on & off the stage, but once at the piano, it was amazing how he controlled this band with minor inflections and hand movements, besides playing pretty tasty stuff as though it were an unconscious afterthought. His voice was as immaculately over the top as ever. And he ruled that room with brilliant talent, charisma, charm and hair that would make God jealous. I’ve never seen so many sequins in my life.

As people would shout out proclamations of love and adoration between songs, he would stop talking long enough to say, “oh, shut up” before returning to the show. It’s amazing how many pieces we recognize as classic rock n roll standards were written by this son of Macon, Georgia , and recorded right here in New Orleans.

I was more than proud to wait around to be summoned back stage to meet the man that taught the Beatles how to scream for Long Tall Sally, the guy that gave Jimi Hendrix his first touring opportunity, the dude that started it all.

That autographed picture, “To Lord David from Little Richard”, will hang in a place of honor in my house. Forever.

Lord David

Skull Club

New Orelans

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.

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.

First post up on the WWOZ DJ Blog, some pics I took over the course of the first day.

Also a moment of humorous narcissism as Laureen at Metroblogging makes me aware that not only is there a fake Loki running around, but also that he is a much better artist than I am…

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!

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!!“

Articles will be somewhat sparse for a bit, I have been drafted by WWOZ to assist on the computer end with the pledge drive. Drop by and help preserve New Orleans Musical Culture!

watch this video by ScoutPrime over at First Draft. Go ahead, you can do it…

I think I may have passed the last of the rocks in my kidneys and am going to try to make it to this. Highly recommended!

Here are a few recent articles about New Orleans’ bounce music after Katrina and how the rap artists are asking fans to get down and dirty in a whole New New Orleans way.

This article has a Bounce Primer and slang dictionary in the sidebar for the unbounced.

Here is a NYTimes article about the history of rap in New Orleans.

This is a bounce blog with all of their articles about New Orleans.

In the months following the hurricane, New Orleans rappers and deejays — scattered from Dallas to Atlanta to Miami — released songs with titles like ‘My FEMA People,’ ‘1,000 Miles to Downtown’ and ‘F*** Katrina’ (the ‘Katrina Song’) that have remade their particular brand of hip-hop into an oral history of the hurricane and its aftermath.[1]

I’m pleased to announce the *Consortium of Genius*’s 10th Anniversary
Live Lecture, to be held Saturday, July 1st at the Howlin’ Wolf, located at 907 South Peters St. in New Orleans, LA.

This show will feature cameo appearances by all past members of the C.O.G., and parts of it will be taped for the Consortium of Genius’s 2nd television episode!  Our guests this time are Love Zombie , the band fronted by Filbert Snodgrass’s alter-ego Chris Flattmann.

• BE ON TV
• We need you loyal fans to show up early, to tape some crowd shots forour 2nd episode.  *HERE’S THE DEAL: *if you can make it there* before 5:00pm*, we’ll let you in for free!  Normal admission price for the night will be $5.  The first 75 people in will get a free CD or DVD!
• For this episode, we need people dressed in HEAVY METAL or BIKER styleclothing, so if you want to be on TV, dress appropriately!

Well I have bragging rights so I am going to throw this up. My lovely and talented finacee (as posted before) created the good Dr’s headgear for the Bonnaroo Festival. Constructed from scratch by Alexis Stahl, it hearkens back to the good old Night Tripper days as can be seen in the photos on the events website-Bonnaroo 2006 Photo Gallery.

I am quite envious. She has all the talent, all I have is a big mouth…..

Jon Pareles at the Bonnaroo Music Festival - New York Times

Dr. John was dressed as the Night Tripper in a feathered headdress and a fur-trimmed cape with mysterious markings.

Well the feathered headdress was designed and constructed by my finacee, Alexis Stahl, and the cape with the veve’s and snakes on it was created by Virtu (Veronica Russell). Those girls are flat out dangerous!

Young Audiences is looking for experienced Musicians, Visual Artists, Performers, Dancers, Theater Artists, and outdoor recreation experts to participate in our summer camp programs and we are hoping you may know someone who would be interested. Camps run through June and July and Young Audiences will have artist residency opportunities in the fall. If you know of anyone who would love this opportunity please have them email their resume to Richard at Richard@ya4la.org.