Musicians and Bands
I Think You Should Know About

 
In my musical travels, I've come across artists and bands that are incredibly wonderful, but who for whatever reasons tend not to be well-known outside of their localities, their genres, etc. I seem to have a knack for finding bands that not only I like, but the listeners to my radio show also like. So, here are some of my very favorite bands, ones that I think it'd be well worth your time and money to seek out and find. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a good place to get started.

This page is gonna get bigger and unwieldier; I'll probably have to split it up again soon. If there's something you like that's not on here, chances are that I already know about it, but haven't necessarily had the time to work on this page lately. If you're new to a lot of this stuff, this page is a pretty good start. :)

[N.B. -- Some of the reviews here are incomplete, and I may not have updated it in quite a while. I don't do this for a living, I do it in my spare time (spare time, ah ... I remember that ...). If it ain't here, rest assured I'm workin' on it, or at least planning to. If I really want to lose sleep and kill time, and if y'all are real good boys and girls and eat all your vegetables, I may even add discographies for all these bands sometime soon ...]

Bands from Louisiana

When in New Orleans (or elsewhere in Louisiana), check the local listings and if any of these bands are playing ... go see them.

Cajun and zydeco musicians

The Balfa Brothers


Balfa Toujours


BeauSoleil
Probably Louisiana's best-known Cajun band, Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil have been exploring the roots of Cajun music and bringing it to a wide audience since the late '70s. Superb musicianship, roots firmly planted in the Cajun tradition, and snippets of influence from Creole to zydeco to rock and Caribbean sounds. Their most recent release, L'Amour ou la Folie, is now out on Forward/Rhino Records.

Boozoo Chavis


Clifton Chenier
He may have left us in 1985, but he was, still is, and forever shall be The King of Zydeco. No aficionado of zydeco music can do without Clifton's music, which paved the way for nearly all that is zydeco today.

John Delafose


Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
Steve's been wowing everyone since he was about 19, and he and his band are on the forefront of the Cajun music scene, keeping the music true to the tradition and as fresh as today. This is one of the bands who's going to be bringing Cajun music full-force into the next century.

Zachary Richard


"Traditional" and new New Orleans music (i.e., non rock and roll)

I know some people are going to quibble over semantics, as in what "New Orleans" music really is. It's a lot of things, actually. It's old and new, it's a variety of styles, but no matter what it is, it's music that to me is very identified with the city, like most of these cats:

James Booker


The Iguanas
One of New Orleans' most popular bands, and one of the most fun. These guys and Cowboy Mouth are right up there at the top for me. Imagine traditional Tex-Mex joined at the molecular-genetic level with New Orleans R&B, filtered through a funky second-line groove (from Rene Coman on the bass and Doug Garrison on the drums), with blazing guitar and accordion from lead vocalist Rod Hodges, and Joe Cabral and Derek Huston's twin tenor saxes in tight harmony, and you'll begin to get the idea. Strong songwriting, incredibly danceable ... a great time is guaranteed. Catch them most Sundays at the Maple Leaf, also at Cafe Brasil and Mid-City Lanes.

The Meters, and The funky Meters
The original Meters -- Art Neville, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr. and Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste -- were the progenitors and godfathers of New Orleans funk, and were the funkiest band who ever lived. Scads of instrumental gems, songs that entered the New Orleans consciousness forever, and a backup band to end all backup bands. Many of their recordings fell out of print and became treasured collectors items, but now a wonderful release from Rhino Records has collected some of their best tracks on a 2-CD set called FUNKIFY YOUR LIFE: THE METERS ANTHOLOGY. And the Meters are still around, although in a slightly different form. They reformed several years ago, although with Russell Batiste on drums instead of Zig. And Leo left the band a couple of years ago, to be replaced by former Neville Brothers' band lead guitarist Brian Stoltz, at which time the band changed their name to The funky Meters. They still play around town and at Jazzfest, and they're still the funkiest band around.

The Neville Brothers
The godfathers of "New Orleans music", this venerable family has kept funkin' New Orleans for almost 30 years, and for almost 20 as The Neville Brothers. Art, Aaron, Charles and Cyril masterfully blend R&B, soul, funk, jazz, second-line, black Indian grooves, rock 'n' roll and even rap into the funkiest evenings you'll have anywhere. If they're playing in New Orleans, or in your vicinity when they're touring, don't miss them.

The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars
Klezmer is the traditional, dance and wedding music of Eastern European Jews. However, since most of these fellas are New Orleanian Jews, you'll hear klezmer with a local twist, with elements of traditional jazz, funk, and other New Orleans rhythms sneaking in. The result is an incredible amount of fun. The All-Stars play klezmer music from the tradition, and compose new song and tunes as well (and y'all know I love that kinda stuff. Catch then at Café Brasil and venues all over town.

Professor Longhair
"The Bach of Rock", as he was dubbed by Allen Toussaint. One of the greatest piano players and most influential musicans ever to emerge from New Orleans music.

The Radiators
Fish Head Music from New Orleans, for the last 18 years, going stronger than ever.

New Orleans Rock Bands

The Normals


The Cold


Cowboy Mouth
Balls-out rock and roll, with heavy country and folk influences, great songwriting, four lead singers, brilliant harmonies, and enough energy on stage to power a small city for several weeks ... Cowboy Mouth is New Orleans' finest. John Thomas Griffith, Fred LeBlanc, Paul Sanchez and newly joined-up bassist Rob Savoy put on some of the most amazing shows you'll ever see, and they write terrific songs, too. See them wherever and whenever you can. (The above link is their official homepage, which contains their monthly newsletter, touring info, merchandising, pics, and more.) They have four albums out; buy them all:
  • WORD OF MOUTH, Domino Records
  • MOUTHING OFF (LIVE + MORE), Viceroy Records
  • IT MEANS ESCAPE, Monkey Hill Records
  • ARE YOU WITH ME?, MCA Records
Paul Sanchez currently has three excellent solo (mostly) acoustic albums out:
  • JET BLACK AND JEALOUS, Little Fish Platters (sold out of its run, last I heard)
  • WASTED LIVES AND BLUEGRASS, Monkey Hill Records (available nationwide)
  • LOOSE PARTS, self-released
Fred LeBlanc has two solo records; an EP entitled "dammit", which was at first only available on the World Wide Web (very cool), and a new one called "...playing the game of my life". They're available through the Mouth's website.

Dash Rip Rock
I had left these guys out of this list, and was duly admonished in email by several Gumbo Pages readers. I must confess that I haven't been all that much of a Dash fan since Fred LeBlanc left to form Cowboy Mouth. They're still a lot of fun, though -- Bill Davis on guitar, Ned "Hoaky" Hickel on bass, and new drummer Kyle Melancon, who replaced longtime drummer Chris Luckette (formerly of The Normals and The Cold ... hey, y'all remember them?). Best described as a punkabilly band on speed, they're a hoot live (much better than on record, in my not-so-humble opinion). They have seven records out, mostly on Mammoth Records; the new one is called Get You Some Of Me, on Sector 2 Records.

Lump
Funky, jazzy, noisy and extremely fun alternative rock from the Crescent City. Imagine a band with a touch of fIREHOSE, a touch of Nels Cline, a touch of Fred Frith, complex time signatures ... and with their own very unique sensibility. You've really gotta hear these guys. Lou Thevenot on guitar and vocals, A.P. Gonzales on drums, Mike Joseph on bass, trumpet and vocals, and The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars' Ben Ellman on saxes and harmonica. Their debut album is called SLOPPY ATROCITIES, is out on Airline 61 Records, and has to the best of my knowledge the world's first "pop-up" CD booklet.

the subdudes
Soulful, funky, infections New Orleans folky funky rock, from a buncha hometown boys who've relocated to the chillier wilds of Colorado, but are a hometown band nonetheless. Unfortunately, they recently broke up, but check out all their albums anyway. Great stuff. Two of the guys formed a new band in New Orleans called Tiny Town; check 'em out live if you can.

Bands/Artists from Ireland

Notes/reviews in progress.

Altan


The Bothy Band


De Dannan


Dervish


Ron Kavana, of Alias Ron Kavana and The Bucks


Kíla


Moving Hearts


Planxty


Solas

Great Roots and Traditional Music

Cordelia's Dad and Io
This fantastic Massachusetts-based band plays American traditional music. Look for their marvelous (almost) all-acoustic album Comet, as well as their first two albums Cordelia's Dad and how can i sleep?, now available on Omnium Records. They've got a recent all-rock album of original material called road kill, but haven't played electric music in over a year -- their electric incarnation (minus Laura, their fiddler) is called Io, and has a new 7" out. Don't forget to check out their Web site at the link above, where you can get lots of band info as well as ordering their records. One of my favorite bands in the world.

Hedningarna
This astonishing Swedish band takes music from the Swedish tradition and plugs it in, fuzzes it up, takes it to beyond-modern and occasionally surreal levels, but it's still traditional music. Sorta. You have to hear them to believe them. Hear them. There's a cool unofficial fan page too.

David Lindley
Mr. Dave, of El Rayo-X fame, has these days been performing almost exclusively in an acoustic setting, surrounded by a menagerie of stringed instruments. Until recently he had been accompanied by Hani Naser on hand percussion, and is now working with a percussionist named Wally Ingram. To see these guys play is to be astonished, to be lifted to heights of roots music heaven you'll rarely experience anywhere else. Mr. Dave has eschewed record companies, and puts his CDs out himself now. To get his superb CDs -- OFFICIAL BOOTLEG: LIVE IN TOKYO, and OFFICIAL BOOTLEG #2, PLAYING EVEN BETTER -- send a money order for US$17 for each CD ($15 plus $2 postage) to:

The National Endowment for I, Mr. Dave
P.O.Box 370
Upland CA 91785-0370

Mr. Dave's got a new album out with Wally on Ulftone Records out of Germany entitled TWANGO BANGO DELUXE.

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Chuck Taggart (e-mail chuck)