From Pitchfork:

Alex Chilton, the legendary singer, songwriter, and performer who created music with the Box Tops, Big Star, and as a solo artist, died today. Chilton was in New Orleans and was scheduled to play in Austin this weekend with the reunited Big Star as part of SXSW. According to the paper, he complained of feeling ill and was taken by paramedic to the hospital. Cause of death has not been confirmed, but the Commercial Appeal reports that it is believed to be a heart attack. Chilton was 59.

It was a beautiful Sunday in New Orleans … the birds were singing … the streetcars were clanging … people were strolling … and then … the Fu Fighter said goodbye. From the Cleveland Browns’ official Web site:

The Cleveland Browns today signed linebacker Scott Fujita and offensive lineman Tony Pashos to multi-year contracts as unrestricted free agents, the team announced. Fujita, an eight-year veteran, spent the past four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Pashos, a veteran of seven NFL seasons, spent last year with the San Francisco 49ers.

“We are extremely happy that we were able to get Scott and Tony signed so quickly,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “They are two players we had targeted from the start of free agency. Both are smart, tough and physical - the type of players that the Browns are looking for.

“Scott possesses tremendous size for a linebacker, and this will allow him to play inside or outside in our 3-4 defense. He has been a starter throughout his career, has been exposed to several different defensive schemes and has been successful in all of them. He is a great leader and played a big part in the success that the Saints achieved last year.

See ya, Scott.

Goldmine, La.’s Dale Hawkins, the swamp rock pioneer and author of rock ‘n’ roll classic “Susie Q,” died Feb. 13 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 73.

Released on the Chess imprint Checker in 1957, Hawkins’ “Susie Q” went on to become one of the most covered songs in rock music, most famously by Creedence Clearwater Revival on its 1968 debut. He went on to be a record producer, label executive, and everything in between, and in 2007, Hawkins became a Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee. His last performance in New Orleans was at last April’s eighth annual Ponderosa Stomp, alongside other Louisiana music greats.

The New York Times has the full story.

[This is a longer version of my Gambit column, which will appear in print on Sunday, Feb. 7 — the day the Saints win their first of several Super Bowl titles.]

Back in 1985, when then-Mayor Dutch Morial was making one last effort to change the City Charter so that he could run for “Just 3” terms as mayor, I introduced visiting NBC correspondent Ken Bode to one of Morial’s confidants, a rotund political operative named Maurice “Hippo” Katz.

“So tell me, Hippo,” Bode asked, “what job will you be getting in the third Morial Administration if this thing passes?”

Hippo, who stood all of about 5 feet 8 inches, drew himself up and said, without missing beat, “Mr. Bode, I don’t want a job … I want a position.”

The response was vintage Hippo — and vintage New Orleans politics. Bode still tells that anecdote whenever the subject of New Orleans comes up. When I called him last week to tell him that Hippo Katz had died at his home the night before, we shared a bittersweet chuckle at that and other Hippo stories. He was one of a kind.

A Runyonesque character who never forgot that the essence of politics is people, Hippo had a heart as big as himself. He liked everybody, and everybody liked him. He had a great laugh, and he laughed often — a high-pitched, almost childishly giddy, “Hee-hee-hee-hee!” As much as he enjoyed the game, Hippo took politics seriously. He had a great mind for it, not just for numbers and analysis, but also for people.

Read the rest of this entry »

We didn’t go to the Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund Brass Band Blowout at Howlin’ Wolf on Saturday night, but Liprap did and you can read an extensive report over at her blog:

If one show can encompass all of what makes New Orleans great, I think I experienced it this past Saturday night and kept with it into Sunday morning. …Can’t think of a better way to help commemorate the dearly departed, aside from bringing the crime rate way, way, waaaay down in this city. After all this time, we are still hurting, but we will not go quietly. Whatever deity might be out there will be getting one brassy kaddish coming up from our numbers quite regularly. Magnified and sanctified will be the names of the fallen with every note played and every beat in time.

And look: video of the Stooges Brass Band tearing it up:

Speaking of video: there’s no logical place to put this on the Blog of New Orleans, but it must be seen — the #1 star of Bourbon Street, Miss Chris Owens, doing the #1 song of 2009, Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”:

Photo by Mark Folse

You’ve probably already heard that the traditional New Year’s Eve bonfire won’t be lighting up Mid-City this year (go here to read Gambit’s story about the bonfire drama last year). Tonight, Mary Hogan of the group Save the Bonfire sent out the official message:

Thank you to everyone who pledged a donation to keep the bonfire burning for 2010. Unfortunately, although we came very close to meeting our funding needs, the liability and legal paperwork prevent us from moving forward.

There will be no legal bonfire this year. Anyone attempting a fire will be subject to arrest.

We’re hopeful that next year we’ll have in place all that is necessary to have a bonfire. Watch this space for details.

From what we understand, the group was only a few dollars shy of its goal … but getting a signatory (who might be legally responsible if anything went wrong) was the snafu this year. Bonfire bummer.

Scott Walker: Believer in the Power of the Pillow.

Those who follow our Twitter feed know about the awesome mojo of the Ernie & Antoinette K-Doe Memorial Sofa Pillow. In a nutshell: if the Black and Gold begin to choke and wheeze during the 3Q or 4Q, the Pillow is turned to face the television, where the powers of Ernie and Antoinette begin to work their magic.

Coincidence? Or something more? All we’ve got to say is: 13-0, baby.

Anyway, we offered up the Pillow to whichever TV station was smart enough to realize what a scoop they had on their hands, and Scott Walker of WDSU-TV — who has written about the Pillow’s powers in the past — jumped at the chance to scoop his blowdried brethren.

Tune in to WDSU’s “Saints on 6″ pregame show Sat. at 6 pm to see Scott demonstrate the Pillow in action (and get your daily dose of Mackelitude) — but don’t forget to give an eye to WGNO’s own “Who Dat Hysteria” (a real pregame show, as the matchup will be on WGNO), co-hosted by Gambit contributing writer and anchorsportsdude extraordinaire Adam Norris.

It was looking bleak for the Saints today in the third quarter. Mighty bleak. But what could be done? They were in D.C. and we were all here: powerless and faraway in our own little faubourgs and wards.

The only remedy I could think of was to pull out the Ernie & Antoinette K-Doe Memorial Sofa Pillow (with the picture from their wedding) and point it at the TV, letting its beyond-the-grave powers work their mojo.

And, suddenly, things began to change…

Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Thank you, Ernie. Thank you, Miss Antoinette.

Longtime neighborhood activist Pam Dashiell died this morning. She was the current co-director of the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), which assists returning residents by helping them acquire building materials as well as training them to rebuild homes that are energy efficient and sustainable.

Dashiell, 61, was originally from Roxbury, Massachusetts, and moved into the Holy Cross neighborhood 20 years ago. She served a number of years as the president of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association (HCNA) http://www.helpholycross.org/ and was instrumental in assisting the neighborhood as it recovered from the flooding caused by the levee failures following Hurricane Katrina. Charles E. Allen III, also a former president of the HCNA and the association’s current board chair, says it was Dashiell that motivated him to join in the fight to save the area.

“It was right after Katrina, October ’05. She said, ‘Charles I’m so glad you’re back in town,’” Allen laughs, recalling the conversation. “She said, ‘Now look, our vice president isn’t coming back to the city, so I need a vice president and you’re it.’”

Allen wasn’t the only one taken in by Dashiell’s nonstop support for her neighborhood. Gambit’s Clancy DuBos was the chairman of the board of the Holy Cross School before and after Hurricane Katrina. He worked with Dashiell during this time, and considered her Holy Cross’s “Rock of Gibraltar.”

“She was always a person of goodwill, fairness and objectivity,” DuBos says. “She was just a tireless advocate.”

In addition to her service with HCNA and the CSED, Dashiell was a founding member of Citizens Against the Widening of the Industrial Canal; a former program coordinator for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade Holy Cross/Lower Ninth Ward Initiative; board member of Smartgrowth Louisiana, the Alliance for Affordable Energy, the National Center for Community Health Research; and she was a member of the New Orleans’ Neighborhood Conservation District Committee. She is survived by a daughter, Alyssa Sanchez, and a grand daughter.

Funeral arrangements aren’t known at this time.

Jo “Cool” Davis, Billy Iousa and the Restless Natives, DJ Terry Martin and the Watson Memorial Gospel Choir will be among the entertainers on Sun., Oct. 11 as the Magazine and Prytania neighborhood communities show their support for the family of Roy “the Postman” Rondeno, who died Oct. 2 after a car accident Uptown.

Julie Thomas, one of the organizers, says the benefit, which will be held from 1-5 pm in the CVS parking lot at 4920 Prytania St., will cost $40 for adults and $20 for those under 17. Participating restaurants and liquor suppliers include Kyoto, Upperline, La Thai, La Crepe Nanou, La Boulangerie, St. James Cheese Company, The Wine Cellar, Kingpin, Felix’s, The Gumbo Shop, Galatoire’s, Vizard’s, Reginelli’s, Mr. B’s, Restaurant One, Mr. John’s Steak House, Patout’s, Creole Creamery and Pizza Hut (among others). There will be a silent auction, as well as a live auction with guest auctioneer Garland Robinette.

Thomas says the event needs a few more musicians and volunteers. If you’d like to step up, give her a call; her number is on the event’s Facebook page.