Music Saved My Life: No Cliche

August 01, 2017

Music Saved My Life: No Cliche

When I look at a music sheet, the notes look like a foreign language. Despite my ignorance, I love music. I'm an insane collector. I could give many DJ's a run for the amount of music I have on my hard drive. I also have vinyl and hundreds of CD's.

In 1978, my cousin Dwight from Chicago came to stay with us until he got job and apartment settled. That Christmas, he bought me Funkadelic's "One Nation Under A Groove" and The Commodores "Greatest Hits." on vinyl. Dwight was god. I remember asking my parents every year after that for a gift card to Warehouse Music. Instead I got coats, a desk and limitless amounts of shirts from Lord & Taylor. So I put my allowance to work. I bought Prince's "1999" from Peaches Records. Despite the hits, "Something in the Water Does Not Compute" was my favorite track. I would walk to Metronome on Magazine St - mind blown by the décor and selection. Jim Russell Records became my best friend whom I introduced to other friends. The new Run DMC, new LL Cool J, new Whodini and new Public Enemy cassettes were all bought from Jim Russell.

My Dad and Uncle Willie had great vinyl collections. I would sit for hours in the living room listening to the music. Of course I was a Hip Hop baby but their collections had me enamored with Jazz, Classic Rock, Soul - I'm talking Lenny Williams and O'Jays soul. My militant dad somehow had Led Zeppelin's discography on vinyl. I liked the band Chicago when they were called The Chicago Transit Authority. As I got older, the mid 1980's had me into The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ocean Blue, The Cure, Peabody and The Smith's. I was still a huge Hip Hop fan but no one could tell me that Harriet Wheeler from The Sunday's wasn't the shit.

I still collect music. Not as often so I gorge on it when I have the time and funds. My life has a soundtrack. I know all the songs. Camp Lo's "Luchini" got me to work on time. Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" put a romantic blanket over my grimy bar adventures. Little Brother's discography made a great road trip. Warren G's "Regulator" was the track for 1996 Freak Nik. Now I live music vicariously through my daughter Sydney. She's what I wanted for myself. I wanted to play the guitar. I wanted to play the piano. She can also play the violin. She can play multiple instruments and may double minor in college with music as one of the minors. I liked live music venues but now that I've picked up a camera, I love them. As a music fanatic, I'm in the best city in the world. The camera and music marriage has enabled me to meet some great musicians and great people.

Not sure when I first met Arsene Delay but I'm so glad I did. She's a New Orleans 7th Ward soul who was raised in a musical family. I don't mean her Mom or Dad may have sung a bit. I mean her parents are musicians and singers. Her Aunts and Uncles are musicians and singers and she probably has multiple cousins who are musicians and singers. She's a musical prodigy. She may refute that but I believe she is. The other side of that prodigy is the work she has put in her craft. She has a Master's Degree and she attended the California Institute of the Arts. Someone in her presence can play a good sounding song that has her tapping her feet but the notes are off. Inside, she's grinding. If she were able to teach at that moment, I imagine her saying... "Again." Patiently but firm. Arsene is a jewel who I love. In the short time we've known each other, I feel we are kindred spirits socially and musically. Musically as in her being Prince and I'm Apollonia (No Talent) but kindred spirits none-the-less. If you don't catch her at one of her residencies at Buffa's Bar or with the Bayou Saints on Frenchman St, buy her CD, "Coming Home."

Iris P is everything that is wrong with the New Orleans music scene. She's awesome. The business side of the scene is sometimes horrible for the artists. Iris exudes energy. Whether she's fronting The Greats Band or Billie Davies' jazz ensemble, she brings it. Many times the bar, club or promoter don't want to bring her the money. She has done gigs where her and her band members have split $20. Bars and clubs in New Orleans aren't required to pay music artists. Most artists work on tips and/or a percentage of alcohol sales. This form of music slavery almost broke Iris. She wanted to quit but she's persevered. She's a talented hair stylist but music feeds her soul. I could have been a chemist like my Dad but creative arts feed my soul. An English degree fulfilled me. Photography has made me understand what content means. Music does the same for Iris. She's a performer. She's a singer. She looks great doing it. I can see the spirit of the music move her.

Gentrification is cutting the New Orleans music scene with a thousand knives. I don't think this is realized. Not many musicians can comfortably live in the new New Orleans. A recent Nola.com article stated an annual income of $62,000 is now required to live comfortably in New Orleans. This is a city of hospitality and underground musicians. There are 2, maybe 3 fortune 500 companies in New Orleans. Talent is not enough to live and prosper here. Bar and club owners are bludgeoned with city taxes. There are at the mercy of whimsical City Hall ordinances. Money that could be used to pay musicians goes into the pockets of our politicians and their cronies. New Orleans has been a scam city since its inception but somehow music and entertainment have endured. Now that I have new life with my camera and it's marriage with music, I hope artists like Tank & the Bangas endure. I want hip hop from Mob SkiiWii and Polo T to blow up. I want to continue to see that passion from Vegas Cola and the Cool Nasty Band. It's a crime that Doreen Ketchens doesn't have a venue residency. Tonya Boyd Cannon is somehow not signed to a major music label. The ghost of a jazz great said take this dude. That dude is Mario Abney.

Vegas Cola:

The proliferation of music in New Orleans can be dizzying. Who do you see? What bar or club to frequent? Who got that new shit? Who got the old vibe? Who can make me forget the world tonight? I just want to bob my head. I don't dance anymore. Maybe losing myself on the dancefloor wouldn't hurt. Soul, Pop, Rock, Folk, Country: That's just Arsene Delay. The spectrum of music in New Orleans is tremendous. I hope it doesn't die slowly like Hip Hop has on the radio. Remember the 1990's when vastly different artists like NWA, Digable Planets and Heavy D all got major airplay? I don't want a New Orleans music scene of just Cowboy Mouth, The Topcats and some Cajun Band that can survive because of bad stereotypes tourists seem to like.

Doreen Ketchens: