The brassy funk of Bonerama may seem like an odd complement to OK Go’s bouncy power-pop, but in the interests of Katrina relief for New Orleans musicians, they found a way to make it work. The two bands met when OK Go lead singer Damien Kulash played with the iconoclastic tromboners at one of Tipitina’s Musicians Bringing Musicians Home benefit shows, and decided to take their partnership off the stage and into the studio. On the music website melodic.net, the band commented, “Now the world can hear what we would sound like if we were the trombonic soul orchestra we’ve always dreamt of being.”

The EP includes cover versions of David Bowie’s “Rock n’Roll Suicide” and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” with guest vocals from Al ‘Carnival Time’ Johnson. 100% of the proceeds, including, apparently, iTunes’ share, will be split between Sweet Home New Orleans and a fund dedicated to building Carnival Time a home in the Habitat for Humanity Musicians’ Village. The digital-only 5-song EP You’re Not Alone hits cyberspace on Mardi Gras Day as an iTunes exclusive. But the real question on fans’ minds, of course, is can you play a trombone on a treadmill?

For those who missed Disney’s press release in March (hey, we didn’t have a blog then), be aware that the Empire of the Mouse has set its all-powerful sights on New Orleans as the setting for its next feature animated film, slated for release in 2009. The Frog Princess, set in 1920’s-era New Orleans, tells the story of a teenaged Creole girl (whose official name is still in development) in a Jazz Age Crescent City populated by both good and evil voodoo practitioners, a jazz-singing alligator named Louis, spoiled Uptown debutantes and a very Tennessee Williams-sounding character by the name of Big Daddy LaBouff. Read the rest of this entry »

A good time is a good cause in my book, and in the pursuit of such I’ve racked up some pretty high bills at Galatoire’s Restaurant — but nothing even close to the money that was thrown around inside the landmark Creole restaurant this week in the name of truly worthy causes.

Monday marked the latest in a series of events Galatoire’s has hosted to auction off seats to its most coveted lunch dates, with the proceeds benefiting local nonprofits. In less than an hour, the restaurant raised $58,000 to benefit the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) and the Citizens’ Organization for Police Support in the 8th District (COPS 8). In return, the winning bidders get the right to reserve their seats for lunch service on Feb. 1, the Friday before Mardi Gras.

Galatoire’s has held similar auctions for seats to its Friday lunches before both Christmas and Mardi Gras since 2006. It was a novel solution to what had become a real problem for the restaurant. These lunches before the big holidays are serious traditions for some people and are well-known as rollicking, rambunctious upper-class bacchanals. Galatoire’s does not accept reservations for the first floor dining room, where most people Read the rest of this entry »

On the morning of Bobby Jindal’s inauguration as governor, I was scoping things out at the state Capitol when a long-time wag asked me with a smile, “So, is it a new day?”

I hadn’t yet seen the Team Jindal talking points for the day, as she obviously had, but I gleaned from the question that “It’s a new day” (see, e.g., all of Treasurer John Kennedy’s sound bites from that day) was the administration’s official morning mantra.

I thought about her question for a second or two, recalling past inaugurations I had covered (back to at least Edwin Edwards’ “Third Coming” in 1984), and I answered, “It’s a MON-day.”

We both shared a laugh and a nod. Read the rest of this entry »