Would You Like Fries With That? #2

I'm sitting here typing this wondering how much longer I'll have power.  I've already lost it once today for about two hours.  Isaac is bearing down on New Orleans almost exactly seven years since Katrina.  There's no comparing the two hurricanes.  Isaac I'm sitting in my home, intending to ride out the storm.  By this time in Katrina's path I was up in Tennessee staying at my Uncle's house.

It's always a decision on whether to leave for a hurricane.  For those that don't live down here you might be sitting there scratching your head and wondering what there is to think about.  There's a hurricane coming, get out of town.  For those of us that call New Orleans home (and even though I'm not in the city proper but live across the lake on what is called the Northshore I consider myself from New Orleans) hurricanes are part of our lives.  It's not a perverse sense of courting danger, even though it might seem that way with Hurricane Parties and such going on as a storm advances towards the city.  You don't live in this area for long without realizing that more so than in a lot of other cities and states the weather is part of your life here.  You consider the weather to be part of the city and something you have to live with and just learn to accommodate.  I've lived elsewhere and while you talk about the weather somewhere else you live with the weather here.

So when word comes that there's a storm brewing out in the gulf you start wondering if it will come here.  Even when they start out heading towards Florida and are projected to come on land in that state you know that hurricanes never follow the path expected.  Isaac was not supposed to be a problem for us, maybe some rain, but that was the extent.  Now it's bearing down for the mouth of the Mississippi.  Luckily it is a fairly weak hurricane, as far as that goes.  Weak being relative here, any wind that comes through at 100 plus miles and rainfall of perhaps twenty inches is still more than strong enough to cause a lot of damage and destruction.

Right now the wind is whipping through, every now and than you can feel it shake the house.  Looking outside the trees are bending to the strength of the wind.  Still the wind is nowhere where it'll be, maybe at the moment around forty miles an hour, double that coming.  The hurricane is coming ashore and heading towards us.

At first I was going to ride Katrina out.  I went to work that Sunday morning to finish preparing the store where I worked as best as possible for a hurricane and boarding up the last of the windows and doors.  When I went to bed the night before I had resolved to stay.  My parents were going to head towards Tennessee to stay with relatives of my Mom.  That morning the news was reporting that Katrina was likely to be a category 5 and heading right towards the city.  As I worked getting the store prepped I decided that I should head out and not risk it.  I called my Mom and Dad and told them I would be coming with them.

Even though I've decided to stay for Isaac and the strength of this storm will be nothing like Katrina there is always that moment when you stay that you second guess yourself.  I've stayed for most hurricanes, only leaving for a few and there is always that moment you wonder.  You're sitting there, more than likely in the dark because the power is gone, and the walls are rattling from the wind and you can hear the roar of the wind from outside and you think to yourself that maybe this was a mistake.  It goes, but there is always that moment you have to wonder.

After Katrina there was a lot of music made from the storm and the negligence of aid afterwards.  I've written on this site before about Bruce Springsteen's show at the first Jazz Fest after the storm.  Listening to John Boutte take the Randy Newman song "Louisiana 1927" and remake with the truth of Katrina is enough to bring tears to the most hardened of hearts.  But of all the songs I've heard about the storm my favorite is "Washed by the Water" by Will Hoge.



This version of "Louisiana 1927" features Paul Sanchez, John Boutté, John Thomas Griffith, and Sonia Tetlow perform an updated version of Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927 at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago, July 24, 2006. 

Take care.

ALBUM REVIEWS

Hummingbird, Go!
by Theresa Andersson

This is the fifth release of Theresa Andersson. Each album is different from the previous. Her albums have ranged from jazz to americana to pop. Her live shows show a different side of the singer, where she truly lets go and rocks out a lot harder than she has shown yet on disc.

Her newest album is a departure from what she has done so far. Her last album was the self named ep that came out right after Katrina. The hurricane actually stopped the work on the album she was working on and the singer and her record company wanted to get something out for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Theresa is one of the top sellers at the record tent at the Fest. So they took what they had done for the album and made it an ep. And created one of the best for the year of 2006. That album was closer to Americana than her previous work.

Her newest album followed the same sort of trajectory of that one. For this year's Jazz Fest she again wasn't finished with the full album, so she released an ep "I The River" in time for the Festival. The full album "Hummingbird, Go" has finally been released this week. Of the five songs from the ep only 3 appear on the album. Anyone expecting Theresa to continue on the path towards Americana will be disappointed, but she has crafted something completely different and good.

For this album this was pretty much a one woman show. Theresa pretty much plays all the instruments on this album, which consists of the normal ones but also bottles and whatever else she could find in her kitchen to carry a tune. She recorded the album in her kitchen. Fellow Swedish poets Ane Brun and Jessica Faust supply the lyrics to Theresa's music and the whole thing was mixed by fellow Swede Tobias Froberg.

The album is a pop masterpiece. The songs are fun and sing a long. This is different from her latest work and from her previous live shows, but it is very good. Her singing has never sounded better and the music is a wonder. The songs mix the pop of her native country's group Abba with New Orleans and Amerciana to create a psychedelic potpourri. On "God's Highway" she moves closest to her previous style of Americana. The opener "Na Na Na" is an otherwordly gem that would have made a great summer hit.

Buy the album, and if she tours near you catch her live show, it's amazing watching her re create the one woman act of recording the album live.

Interview: Susan Cowsill

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

Yes, it was MY first performance on the Ed Sullivan show three years after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan!


2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

My all time favorite women singer/songwriter is Karla Bonnoff,,,,,I also love U2,,,,Wiskey Town featuring Ryan Adams...But my all time fav record is Richard Harris singing Jimmy Webbs music


3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

Playing for the first time at our home town bar The Carrollton Station in New Orleans after having been evacuated for four months. We were the first band to come home, and I believe the first band to play at the club since the storm. It was the most meaningful night of music I have ever played to the most loving and "in need audience" I have ever played for in all my years as a preformer.


4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

Absolutley it can,,,It has! Just look at Bono,,,Farm Aid....George Harrisons Bangledesh.



5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Oh my god!!!!! How hasn't it changed it? The industry I mean. My music?? Not at all. My music, all of our music is unchangeable , it is simply music, our emotions expressed in lyric and sound,,,,,,yeah, thats my answer.


6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Oh this is an easy one, but can I be more than one pair??? Ok. First I am a pair of desert boots with the laces up the front, then I am a pair of fluffy but raelly worn in slippers, preferably velvet outside and lamby fur inside and lastly and mostly,,I am no shoe at all.

Springsteen at Jazz Fest 2006

This is another post from my other blog altjiranga mitjina from last year. It also may seem to miss the point of this site, providing a place to promote those that needs promoting. Mr. Springsteen needs little in the help of promotion. But this site is called "Voices to hear" and while it is intended mainly to give those that need a push that push, we dont' want to ignore something just because it comes from a Big Name. Plus this post talks about why music is so important and what it can mean to us.

It's been almost a week since the end of last week's Jazz Fest. I'm sure most of you have heard about Springsteen's appearance at the Fest. In Springsteen lore there are tales of his legendary concerts: the appearance at Bottom Line where Jan Landau came up with the future of rock and roll quote, his first London show, and others. These are the shows that his fans talk and write about, the ones that every Springsteen fan wishes he had been present at. Now you can add another one to that list.

I've seen Springsteen a few times over the years and he always gives a good concert. He puts on a good show, he knows how to play to the crowd. He doesn't stint on his time, he puts it all out there for his fans to see. But no show by Springsteen that I've seen comes close to this show. In fact I'm trying real hard to think of any show that I've seen that can compare to this one.

I talked in a previous post about the importance of this Jazz Fest to the city of New Orleans. In this one concert Springsteen shows he understands what is important and delivers on it. I'm not a religious person and I have never gotten what such a person gets from going to church, until this show. This might be the closest I have come to finding my religion. I've always thought music was the closest I've come to following a religion and today I was in church.

Springsteen opened with a rocking version of "Mary, Don't You Weep" and continued with his versions of the songs off his newest cd "The Seeger Sessions." He added "What's A Poor Man To Do", a song originally wrote in 1929 after the crash of the banks that eventually lead to the Depression. He kept the first verse, but wrote his own second and third verses to fit the destruction and aftermath of Katrina. And he dedicated it to President Bystander.

But the most moving moment came during his own song, "City in Ruins." This song started with him alone on his guitar. As he sang the lyrics it was obvious that this song could have been written for New Orleans after Katrina. And than when the band kicked in with the chorus of "Rise UP!" Hands went in the air, waving back and forth. But many of these hands kept returning to faces, to wipe away the tears. I don't know if I've ever been moved to tears at a concert, but I found myself wiping my own eyes.

Springsteen ended with his version of "When the Saints Come Marching Home." He sang it almost as a hymn. It was one of the most beautiful versions of the song I have ever heard.

This concert went from joy to despair, from laughter to tears. Springsteen made the truth of the importance of the Jazz Fest on this day.

Susan Cowsill

This week’s voice to hear has been singing for over thirty years, but only recently released a solo album. Susan Cowsill has been singing and playing guitar since she was in kindergarten. Her family The Cowsills were the real life inspiration behind the television show The Partridge Family. In the sixties they had hits with the songs "Hair," "The Rain, the Park and Other Things (Flower Girl)," and "We Can Fly." At the tender age of twelve Susan decided to retire from the music business.

Her retirement didn’t last long. Before almost any time she was back performing with acts such as Dwight Twilley, Hootie and the Blowfish and other musicians. She still was singing in the background, not taking the forefront yet. In the 90’s her musical family reunited for a new album and tour.

Living in L.A. she met Vicki Peterson, formerly of the Bangles and the two formed a power pop duo called the Psycho Sisters. The basis of this musical act became a life long friendship and years later they became sister-in-laws when Vicki married one of Susan’s brothers.

While performing in L.A. the two met some other musicians that were forming a new group called the Continental Drifters. One of the members of this group was Peter Holsapple, formerly from the critical acclaimed group the dBs. Peter and Susan ended up marrying and having a child together. The group slowly found its way to New Orleans until all the members were living in the Big Easy.

For ten years the Continental Drifters put out five albums of quite simply wonderful glorious music. The group has multiple singer/songwriters so every album is a mixture of songs from the different members. Unfortunately great music doesn’t always equal great sales and finally after a decade the group and marriage of Susan and Peter go their separate ways.

Finally Susan is ready to release a solo album. Just Believe It comes out and is proof that Susan is just a talented lead as she is part of a band. Susan’s songs are Pop music mixed with some of the Louisiana flavor and a sprinkle of country and rock. “I Know You Know” is one of those songs that just makes you want to sing along. Instead of the…I’ll be nice and not say what I think of a lot of the current “musical hits,” this song should have been a hit.

After Katrina every other artist from New Orleans had a “Katrina song.” Susan was no exception except I think she had one of the best, if not the best of the bunch. Her song was called “Crescent City Snow” and it incorporated so many elements from New Orleans in it.

I’ve seen Susan live multiple times. She always puts on a fun show. She loves to talk to the audience and have fun with them. I’ve seen her open for the Bangles, play Jazz Fest, open for Better Than Ezra, headline her own show. Every month at Carrolton Station in downtown New Orleans she does a Covered in Vinyl show, where she recreates a classic album in its entirety. She’s done songs from Fleetwood Mac, U2, Led Zepplin, Joni Mitchell, Mamas and Papas, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles and many others.

In addition to her solo album she has released an album of live outtakes from different Covered In Vinyl shows and has two live albums from her appearance at Jazz Fest available. Also check out her albums with the Continental Drifters and her family The Cowsills. For someone with just one album out officially she has a lot of music out there to sample.

"Just Believe It"

Theresa Andersson

She put out one of the best albums of the year in 2006, but most people have never heard of her. Outside New Orleans she is hardly known, if at all, by most listeners. Her name is Theresa Andersson and she is another transplanted native to the crescent city. Originally from Sweden Theresa moved to New Orleans with her boyfriend at the time Anders Osborne. Anders is another local singer/songerwriter. After living together the two broke up and Theresa went her own way, first moving to Nashville than Austin until she finally found her way back home to New Orleans.

Theresa is a singer and multi-instrumentalist, playing everything from guitar to the banjo to her preferred choice the violin. But don’t expect sweet classical sounds to come from her violin. She makes her violin wail like a heavy metal guitarist does his guitar. Her singing style is reminiscent of Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. She can sing anything from a sweet ballad to a more rocking tune.

To date she’s released four albums, from the debut titled Vibe to the now out of print No Regrets to Shine and her latest the self titled ep. Her most recent was supposed to be a full length but a little something called Katrina interrupted the recording process. Afterwards she decided to release what she had finished as a five song ep. This small album was one of the best pieces of music that was put out in the year 2006. Every song on it was a gem, from the Lucinda Williams cover of “Jackson” to the surprise cover of the Madonna song “Boderline”. If you’re not a fan of Madonna, don’t worry, this song does not sound anything like the Material Girl. I listened to it twice before I realized where I had heard the original song.

Theresa is not a writer of her own material, but she has a great ear for picking wonderful tunes to record. I think this is important. Too many singers want to write their own material, even if they’re not capable of it. I think it shows great wisdom for a singer nowdays to chose other writer’s material and not think they have to write all their own material.

In concert Theresa shows a lot harder rocking side than she has so far on disc. She makes her violin wail like a banashee in concert. Her version of Gillian Welch’s “I Want to Sing Rock and Roll” is a classic that deserves to be recorded.

She is currently working on a new record that should be out by the end of summer. This is a release you should mark down and make a point of getting when it comes out. If it’s half as good as her last one it will be great.

"Borderline"

Will Hoge

I've seen a lot of great musicians. I've listened to a lot of great albums. One of my favorites at the moment is Will Hoge. Will is a singer/songerwriter/band leader from Nashville Tennessee. He's had one album on a major label, Blackbird On A Lonely Wire, that came out on Atlantic Records. Due to creative differences he left the label to put his music out on his own. Since than he's put out more than a few albums. His first album was Carousel, followed by his Atlantic debut and than his more recent offering is The Man Who Killed Love. Two recent live albums are During the Before and After and Again Somewhere Tomorrow.

Will brings a passion and honesty to his music that is missing in many of today's biggest name stars. He writes his songs from the working man's perspective. He writes about love and life in a way that matters. He's not afraid to write political songs either. His Bible vs. Gun is one of the best anti-Iraq songs I have heard. After Katrina he wrote a song called Washed by the Water that to me is one of the best songs about the destruction caused by the hurricane. The first night I heard him play this song live I have to admit to having tears in my eyes, like most of the people at his concert that night.

As good as his live albums are Will shines live. He is one of the best performers I have ever seen live. His concert at Bonnaroo is one of the best shows I have ever seen. The passion he brings to his recorded music he more than doubles when he performs them live. On stage Will is a presence to behold. He sings his music with a love for music that it lacking in so many other singers. Will's knowledge of music is deep, he isn't interested in just who the newest pop star is or what they are performing. Not long after Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's pianist died, I saw Will live. On stage Will dedicated a song to the man and told of his brilliant contributions to rock and roll. How many bigger stars would even know who Johnnie Johnson was?

So if you have a chance to see Will Hoge live don't miss it. Try his cds. I've turned quite a few people on to Will Hoge and no one has complained yet. He's that good.