NOLA Progress

It seems the Frogs are settling down into the deep rhythm of New Orleans life and enjoying all the city has to offer. We've been eating good food and seeing even better music almost every night. If one knows where to go Uptown on the right night, the networking possibilities are varied and highly beneficial to artists of all breeds. It seems all of New Orleans found out about Mountainside Mardi Gras at once this week and my voice-mail has been inundated with calls from artists, managers and other potential helpers and hangers-on.

Frogs Gone Fishin' has managed to improve our gig count and will be playing at Tulane University and Banks Street Bar among other places. Our hip-hop counterparts Soul Capital are opening for Lupe Fiasco next week and have tentatively asked us to be their backing band.

It's clear progress is being made on both the playing and promoting side of things which in turn, opens up around five minutes in my schedule for pondering the deeper issues of this new scene which we are now immersed in. A quick glance around Uptown and things seem to bustle and flow along in the crescent city. A broader look, and New Orleans still has a long road to travel.

Part of the issue with understanding the so-called "rebirth" of New Orleans comes with the perception that immediately before Katrina, New Orleans was a shiny beacon of a city. New Orleans had problems including one of the highest murder rates in the nation in the late- 90's. No one has ever said the crumbling roads and deteriorating houses weren't a part of everyday NOLA life before Katrina.

Katrina did destroy some specific parts of the city and the lower 9th ward is still largely a wasteland. My point is that New Orleans exists in a natural state of decay and to cite Katrina as a sole contributor of destruction that now requires a "rebirth" is to deny the city's overall history and current-day vibe. And as the wetlands encroach and the city sinks even further below sea level, the population's spirit here is strong, not in "rebirth", but strong as it has been through all the other problems New Orleans has endured. The struggle of the black man here is as hard as in any large American city and two recent stories illustrate my point.

Last week a black man was gang-beaten by police after he "attempted" to fire a 9mm handgun in their direction and the gun "wouldn't fire". I don't know if you've ever fired a handgun, I have. I recommend doing so, safely at a firing range, before forming an opinion about policy on the subject. Handguns on the streets of America are some of the most reliable machines of the planet, according to a police officer I know. Defensereview.com says of the standard Glock: "I must have fired over 1,000 rounds through it without any kind of malfunction. It fed every kind of bullet, every time". The magistrate posted a $300,000 bail for the man.

Secondly, there is a benefit concert tonight for a famous sousaphone player who started an even more famous brass band in 1977(!), a band that still plays today. Over the past year he's had heart problems and there have been various benefit concerts in his name. Tonight's concert is not for that reason, not because he has passed on, but because police apparently pulled him off-stage during a gig last week for not paying child support.

I would never say pointing a gun at police or neglecting child support is OK. But, the way police and the government in general treat the population here is oftentimes surprising.

Although NOLA might be in a state of decay, this is not a bad trajectory by any means. All things are in a state of decay. Decay means "to break down". When musicians say "break it down" the band cuts to bass and drums. In this there is rebirth, stripping off the busy layers to a more simple way of doing things.

Until New Orleans and Louisiana can strip off the old way of doing things, there will be no rebirth. The Obama administration also needs to pay special attention to the Gulf Coast, a region which was ignored by fact or de facto, during the Bush years. We started bombing Iraq the year before I went to college in New Orleans and three years before I was to evacuate New Orleans for Katrina. I still get very angry and emotional when I see bumper stickers that say "Make Levees, Not War". This is where I insert a cliche comment about how valuable the Gulf Coast is to our nation's culture and resources. Beyond the fact that you probably went to elementary school and/or have heard of this little thing, the "Louisiana Purchase", I won't tell you about New Orleans because I want you to come here and find out for yourself.

The musicians here (I'm one of them now) depend on tourism to pad the city's devoted music fanship attending the world-class clubs, Uptown and Downtown. I just realized by no premeditation that my last post ended with a solicitation for visitors to New Orleans. It's by no accident I end up talking about how everyone should come visit. Plus, we have a sweet futon you can stay on.