Home of the Groove

Based on the premise that the true Home of the Groove, at least on the North American landmass, is the irreplaceable musical and cultural nexus, New Orleans, Louisiana and environs, this audioblog features rare, hard to find, often forgotten, vintage New Orleans-related R&B and funk records with commentary. Some general knowledge of N.O. music is helpful here, but not required to get your groove on.

: Name: Dan Phillips; Location: Lafayette, Louisiana, United States

I currently host a weekly show, "Funkify Your Life", on KRVS 88.7 FM in Lafayette which includes music covered on HOTG and more. You can listen-in live Thursdays at 2:00 PM or to the rebroadcast Fridays at 9:00 PM, or stream shows on demand and see playlists at the station website under the Programs tab. I am a former resident of Memphis, TN, where I did a weekly radio show called "New Orleans: Under the Influence" from 1988 to 2004 on WEVL 89.9 FM. I've been collecting and researching this kind of music (& others) even longer.

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Individual audio files are accessible for a limited time after posting. Link to access audio will be on the song title. No link? Audio's outa here.

When you hit a song link, a player streams it in a separate window. For other listening options, right click on the player when it comes up.

Note: Audio files on this blog are not high resolution (usually 128k) and are posted for reference purposes only. Please do not link directly to them. Use caution if booty shaking while operating vehicles or heavy machinery. Whenever possible, please buy music by these artists!!!

EMAIL: hotgblog (AT) gmail (DOT) com

ARTISTS & LABELS (or reps thereof): On da blog, my focus is mainly hard to find, out of print or otherwise obscure New Orelans-related music on vinyl records from the 20th Century.. If you want to send along recent funky music to be considered for play on my weekly KRVS radio show, please email me for format requirements, etc.

COMMENTS, corrections, or further enlightenment are encouraged and appreciated. Due to a big spam attack, the comments section is now moderated. Legitimate comments will be posted after review. Thanks for your understanding...and patience.
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QUOTES OF NOTE:
"New Orleans is of such key importance to American music because historical factors combined to make it the strongest center of African musical practice in the United States, and, cliches aside, that practice really did travel up the Mississippi and did spread overland." - Ned Sublette, from Cuba And Its Music

"I heard a group called Huey Smith & the Clowns, out of New Orleans. Now this is where funk was really created! That's where funk originated.... I couldn't understand how to do it, so this drummer from Huey Smith's band [Hungry Williams] showed me how to play [it]." - Clayton Fillyau, drummer for Etta James and James Brown, on the origins of the 'James Brown Beat', in The Great Drummers Of R&B, Funk & Soul, interviewed by Jim Payne.

"A lot of those New Orleans drummers would come through, and I got a lot of stuff from those guys....Tenoo [Coleman] was...as funky as any of them..... I learned some of that funk by listening to Tenoo." - John 'Jabo'Starks, drummer for Bobby Bland and James Brown, to Jim Payne as above.

"At the risk of sounding egotistical, a lot of the broken up stuff that these guys are playing now stems from the stuff that I had started doing." - Earl Palmer, on his early days drumming with Dave Bartholomew's band, to Jim Payne, as above.

"With funk, it's almost more what you don't play than what you do play. I like those long silences between riffs, I like the empty spaces. Those empty spaces, when you stop and let the groove wash all over you, make the difference between fake funk and real funk." -Art Neville in The Brothers Neville

"Thank the good Lord for the funk musicians." -Jon Cleary ("Pin Your Spin")

"Without New Orleans, there would be no America." -Keith Frazier, Rebirth Brass Band, 2005.

"....don't be fooled. This city is deeply wounded. I'd say it's like an amputee with phantom memory." -David Freedman, WWOZ, post-Katrina.

"If there was no New Orleans, America would just be a bunch of free people dying of boredom." -Judy Deck, in an e-mail to Chris Rose at the Times-Picayune

"I'm not finished!" - Wardell Quezergue's final comment of the night after accepting the 2008 Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement In Music Award from Offbeat

"I discovered New Orleans along the way, and that made a big difference - It loosened me up." - Richie Hayward, the late drummer for Little Feat.

"National Funk Congress Deadlocked On Get Up/Get Down Issue" -The Onion

"Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life" -ditto dat

February 20, 2006

Irma On Irma

The Times-Picayune has a nice little interview with Irma Thomas, in which she talks about her new CD project, among other things, and also says, ". . . my turn is coming. This is going to be my year. This is going to be the year that they sit up and take notice that Irma Thomas is still around and doing OK." May it be so, Irma dear.

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Thanks, it is a nice interview. She deserves the attention, the credit, the respect. I am looking forward to her performing in the Boston area this week - http://www.regattabarjazz.com/ Also, a copy of her out of print album "Something Good-The Muscle Shoals Sessions" (2000) just sold today on e-bay for $63 (I was outbid).; 11:04 PM, February 20, 2006
Dan Phillips said...: Wow. Irma's stock is truly going up in the world at large, if ebay auctions are any gauge. Glad she is playing up your way, anon. Hope you get to enjoy the show. Interesting that she is shown as
Irma Lee Thomas Jackson (the last three names being her maiden and two married names) in the listing of band members at that link you gave....; 1:17 AM, February 21, 2006
Anonymous said...: I saw Irma’s performance last night and it was wonderful. My wife and mother also liked it – they had never heard her before. Irma took requests from the audience. My favorite was “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh”, a Bill Withers song that she said is on a new compilation “I Believe To My Soul”. It is available at Starbucks (I know because I went out and bought one this morning) and includes contributions from Allen Toussaint and others. For each purchase, Starbucks will donate $10 to the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Recovery fund.

Irma’s voice and singing keeps getting better and better. I liked her band, The Professionals, which include
Emile Hall - sax
Robert Harvey - bass
Arthur Bell - guitar
Percy Williams - trumpet
Larry Campbell - drums
Kim Phillips – keyboard

They did a nice version of Big Chief, and there was plenty of Mardi Gras spirit in the room. The place was full, and both performances tonight are sold out. A review of one of her performances is at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/02/25/soulful_thomas_keeps_fans_guessing_and_coming_back/

Peace - Anon from Boston; 5:02 PM, February 25, 2006
Dan Phillips said...: Thanks for the mini-review, anon. I agree with you about Irma's singing. Her voice just gets richer - hope she can, too. I also recommend 'I Believe To my Soul'. Can't wait for her new CD.; 11:59 PM, February 25, 2006

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February 20, 2006

Irma On Irma

4 Comments: