Gambit Digital Edition: November 13, 2023

November 13-19 2023 Volume 44 Number 46

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NOV. 13 — NOV. 19, 2023 VOLUME 44 || NUMBER 46

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The big takeover?

Is Gov.-elect Landry paving the way for a state power grab in New Orleans?

Arts & Entertainment ........ 5 Hip-Hop at 50 Q&A: Dion “Devious” Norman....17 Eat & Drink.....................21 Music Listings................. 28 Going Out...................... 30 Puzzles ..........................31 C OV E R P H O TO E L E M E N T S

BY G E T T Y I M AG E S C OV E R D E S I G N BY D O R A S I S O N

@The_Gambit @gambitneworleans

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5

Spin it

Oak Street Po-Boy Festival

The festival features creative and traditional po-boys and other items from more than 30 vendors, including restaurants on Oak Street and booths lining the blocks from South Carrollton to the levee. There also are multiple live music stages, art vendors, kids’ activities and more. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 19. Admission is free, but wristbands are required to purchase food from vendors. Visit poboyfest. com for wristbands and information.

Raj Smoove on Money Fresh and early 2000s hip-hop | by Jake Clapp RAJ SMOOVE GREW UP SURROUNDED

BY GREAT NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS.

His father, Roger Dickerson Sr., is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated pianist and now retired educator who introduced his son to Allen and Reggie Toussaint.

As a young teen, Raj Smoove became intrigued with DJs and hip-hop culture and worked his way up to becoming a popular DJ during high school and at Dillard University. In 2000, Raj Smoove became the DJ for Cash Money Records and Ruff Ryders Entertainment on their joint national tour and produced for Lil Wayne and Sqad Up in the years following. Lil Wayne once dubbed him “the greatest DJ in the world.”

Raj Smoove also runs The Gentilly Agency, which works with artists like Flagboy Giz, HaSizzle, DeeLow Diamond Man, Kr3wcial, 504IcyGrl and more.

This interview is part of an ongoing series of Q&As with New Orleans artists about the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

Read more online at gambitweekly.com.

What was your introduction to hip hop?

Raj Smoove: The movie “Beat Street.”

The whole story was about a DJ. The DJ was the hero of the movie, there were cool deserted buildings, parties, Doug E. Fresh and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Melle Mel were part of the final musical production. There was this whole cool scene where the dude is in his bedroom showing Rae Dawn Chong, the female lead, how to put the beat together with his cassette deck and turntable, and I was like, “Yo, that’s really cool — the DJ can get the girl!”

Who was the first New Orleans hip-hop artist you admired?

Raj Smoove: Of course, the first big record was “Buck Jump Time” with Gregory D and Mannie Fresh. That was the first New Orleans hip-hop record I was made aware of.

But as far as the DJ side, I used to listen to [WYLD] FM 98.5 and DJ Rob Fresh would do live mixes from the radio station. They had a small club in the basement of the station and they would broadcast live from there. It was called “The Underground.” He used to DJ live on the air, and it was amazing for me to be able to hear somebody live, going back and forth on the turntables and doing mixes and scratches and everything.

That used to inspire me. I would go to the record store the following week and go buy some of the records that he used, to try to figure out how he did his mixes.

And then the first person that I actually saw live in person go back-to-back on turntables was DJ Money Fresh. That was at McDonogh 35 when I was a freshman [in 1991].

Money Fresh, he and his group at the time called Suave Productions performed, and he went all around the turntables, back spinning.

It was amazing for me. I’m 14 years old, and I’ve heard stuff on records, people scratching, but to actually see somebody do it. That was the first time I saw it in person.

What comes to mind for you when you think about the early 2000s in New Orleans hip-hop?

Raj Smoove: It was an amazing time.

Cash Money was killing it. Like everything they put out was going platinum.

No Limit was still on the scene doing their thing. It was music from the city that was relevant on a nationwide level.

So for me getting to go out and be on tour and being able to meet DMX, and all the Ruff Ryders, I met Aaliyah, and just being around the folks that I looked up to — I was a fan, but I’m actually out here doing this as part of my career path. That was an amazing time. My first time really going on tour and getting to see the country from that perspective. That was great.

And then the whole Young Money thing: I don’t think we really realized what it was we were doing at the time, and I wish there were some things that had been done to capitalize on it a little bit better, but that whole movement was extremely influential on the mixtape game at large.

What we were doing was before a lot of the mainstream mixtapes started popping off. It was cool to be ahead of the curve on that stuff. It was just a good time. It was like every day is a party, I wake up and got to do what I love. I still get to do that, so it’s been an amazing run.

Words & Music

Raj Smoove PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

That whole time period really helped springboard me and put me onto a track that I could have a successful career doing this full time.

The literary and music festival features authors, interviews, performances and more. Melissa Weber, aka DJ Soul Sister, talks to Danny Bedrosian, keyboardist for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Weber also talks with Dawn Silva, a vocalist who performed with Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament Funkadelic on Friday, Nov. 17. New Louisiana Poet Laureate Alison Pelegrin is featured in the closing slot on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Events run Nov. 15-18 at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice. Visit wordsandmusic.org for schedule and details.

What has been New Orleans’ biggest contribution to hip-hop?

Raj Smoove: Bounce is probably the simplest answer. That might sound kinda generic, but bounce is definitely something that is completely ours. And you can see the influence 30 years later still through a lot of big records, a lot of big artists, producers. They’ve taken some of those bounce elements and incorporated that into their songs, into their hits.

That energy, that vibe — I think our genre has had an opportunity to saturate hip-hop as a whole.

This being the 50th anniversary, what has hip-hop come to mean to you today?

Raj Smoove: Hip-hop has been part of my life since I really got bitten by the bug, and I got interested in doing music. From trying to break dance on the cardboard U-Haul boxes, up to getting my first mixer and getting my first turntable, to the fact that creating hip-hop and DJing has taken me everywhere — it has provided for my family and my friends’ families and put food on the table. I am hip-hop. There’s not that much separation between what hip-hop is and who I am.

Ivan Neville plays Bridge House/Grace House’s Sober Fest on Nov. 18.

PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Sober Fest

Ivan Neville & Friends, George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Camile Baudoin and more perform at the alcohol-free festival at The Sugar Mill on Saturday, Nov. 18. The event is family friendly, and there will be food trucks. The festival is presented by Bridge House/Grace House, which offer residential substance abuse treatment programs. Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance via eventbrite.com or $15 at the gate.

PAGE 27

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A R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T

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6

OPENING GAMBIT

NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

Already dreamin’ about them good Thanksgiving leftover sammiches

# TC OH EU N T

T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

The New Orleans Health Department will use a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support a community violence intervention program directed by Ubuntu Village NOLA. The program will include a team of trained individuals working to reduce violence in city neighborhoods through education and mediation before conflicts turn deadly. The National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform also will lead a strategic planning process for a violence-prevention strategy.

58

THE NUMBER OF DAYS FROM NOV. 11 UNTIL JEFF LANDRY BECOMES GOVERNOR.

Tristan Rider exhales at Crescent City Vape along St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, La., Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018.

ADVOCATE STAFF PHOTO BY SHAWN FINK

Landry’s inauguration will take place on Jan. 8, giving Louisiana a Republican governor for the first time in eight years.

Landry has announced 14 transition councils to help guide him on policy, including one focused specifically on New Orleans.

Louisiana will implement restrictive vape law despite pending lawsuit The Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal disregarded at least 5,000 pro se appeals from Louisiana prisoners over the course of 12 years in the 1990s and early 2000s, according to court records. ProPublica reported that it’s likely the appellate judges didn’t even look at those petitions after secretly deciding to ignore appeals from prisoners representing themselves. That allegation first came to light in 2007 in a letter by a high-level court employee who soon after took his own life.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola has systemically ignored the medical needs of people incarcerated there and has violated their constitutional rights, said U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick. Dick also has ordered federal oversight of the notorious prison by three “special masters” who are tasked with developing plans to address the violations, The Advocate reported.

THE STATE WILL IMPLEMENT ITS NEW VAPE LAW DESPITE A PENDING COURT CASE after a judge opted

not to grant a temporary restraining order that would have kept the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control from restricting the sale of certain products.

After a weeklong delay connected to the lawsuit, the ATC will publish its V.A.P.E. Directory on Friday, said agency Commissioner Ernest Legier. The release of the directory, which was created by a law passed earlier this year, will lay out which vape products retailers can sell; it is widely expected to result in a ban on flavored vapes.

That means only a handful of companies will be allowed to sell vape products in Louisiana, including R.J. Reynolds and Altria, major tobacco companies that sell Vuse and NJoy vapes, respectively. Both companies lobbied on changes to the bill, including the registry.

Effectively, the law could ban the vast majority of flavored vapes being sold in Louisiana. A wholesaler testified in a committee hearing that the list would tamp down on popular disposable vapes such as EscoBars, Puff Bars and Elf Bars.

Judges can grant temporary restraining orders in emergency

circumstances without holding a hearing on the case, said Legier.

But the law isn’t out of the woods yet. Whether it takes permanent effect in Louisiana depends on 19th Judicial District Court Judge Wilson Fields, who will decide in the coming weeks whether to grant an injunction stopping the ban at the request of a retailers’ group called the Louisiana Convenience and Vape Association.

Attorneys for the association and for the two state agencies it is suing, the ATC and the Department of Revenue, briefly appeared before Fields in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, when he said he rejected the proposed restraining order and granted a motion to continue the hearing on the injunction to a later date.

That motion came at the request of both parties and will give the plaintiffs time to add the state attorney general as a party in the case.

“When you make a constitutional challenge, it’s required that the attorney general’s office, the AG, is involved,” said Legier.

The vape association’s lawsuit argues the vape restrictions violate the Louisiana Constitution.

— Meghan Friedmann & Sam Karlin / The Times-Picayune

C’EST W H AT

?

What policy area do you least trust Jeff Landry with as governor?

45.2%

ANYTHING IMPACTING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

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HEALTHCARE

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7

City Council inches forward on street vending debate THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL THIS WEEK IS EXPECTED TO APPROVE District C Council Member

Freddie King III’s new street cart vending ordinance, which would expand the ability of the five currently permitted pushcart vendors to operate citywide.

The proposed ordinance also would explicitly subject all vendors to uniform city health, safety and permitting rules. If passed, it will be the first in a series of steps

by King to rework vending rules in the French Quarter, where the iconic Lucky Dog carts have long dominated.

Lucky Dog’s de facto monopoly in the Quarter is the result of a 1972 ordinance grandfathering that company and a now-defunct flower cart vendor in the Quarter and barring all others.

The ordinance was challenged all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed the city’s right to limit street vendors and to grandfather into law longstanding vendors that had become part of the Quarter’s ambiance. Lucky Dog was not party to the litigation, nor has it weighed in on council actions regarding street vendors.

In addition to the pending ordinance, which King expects to pass the council on Nov. 16, he is also

working on a broader measure that would expand street vending further.

King aims to allow more than a dozen additional small businesses to obtain licenses to operate pushcart vending stands.

Meanwhile, King and other city leaders are also trying to figure out how to handle other forms of vending in the city, particularly at second lines and along St. Claude Ave. New Orleans doesn’t lend itself to one-size-fits-all regulation, as the council’s handling of parklet rules demonstrates. Those rules, which King also quarterbacked, were intended to make permanent a pandemic-era Cantrell administration program allowing businesses to use parking spaces as outdoor seating areas.

The council’s initial regulatory effort included restrictions favored by some French Quarter and Marigny interests. They were so restrictive, however, that they banned parklets at bars and restaurants with strong neighborhood support. As a result, King worked quickly with the administration and business owners this past summer to amend the original ordinance.

New Orleans City Council member Freddie King III PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

King’s district covers a wide, diverse swath of New Orleans and includes areas that comprise the cultural and economic heart of the city — the French Quarter, Algiers Point, Marigny and Treme, to name a few. That often requires the constituent-focused King to balance the competing interests of neighborhood residents, culture bearers and tourism leaders.

From selling hot dogs in the Quarter to hawking soft drinks on Sundays on Claiborne, street vending has a long history in New Orleans. It’s a vital part of the city’s unofficial economy upon which many residents depend to make ends meet. What works in one neighborhood won’t necessarily work elsewhere. Indeed, many believe regulations aren’t even appropriate in some areas, as our Kaylee Poche showed in her cover story last week.

Street vending is one of New Orleans’ thorniest issues. It ignites passions in virtually every political corner of the city. Regardless of your take on street vending, King deserves credit for taking an incremental approach to the pushcart rules.

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Jeff Landry will have options, but not unchecked power, to fight crime

holidays

GOV.-ELECT JEFF LANDRY SHOWS EVERY SIGN OF WANTING TO GET OFF TO A FAST START when he takes

office on Jan. 8. He has instructed his transition committee and subject-matter subcommittees to recommend specific policies that he can implement either by executive order or via legislation.

That’s a smart move, and not uncommon for new governors.

Many in New Orleans have expressed fears that Landry is planning some sort of “takeover” of the city, based on the absence of city officials on his New Orleans committee.

It’s too early to say what any of Landry’s transition committees will recommend, but the state constitution and statutes, along with prevailing jurisprudence, offer assurances that no governor can single-handedly “take over” any local governing body.

That doesn’t mean Landry won’t have an impact. He most certainly will — within limits and under specific conditions. The new governor also will have to weigh significant political factors before issuing executive orders or proposing new legislation.

Landry focused on the issue of crime during his campaign, and he plans to call a special legislative session soon after taking office to deal with that issue. This will be a key area for Landry, and he wants to make a splash.

But, there’s no way lawmakers could give Landry power to, say, overhaul the New Orleans Police Department, which is protected by the city’s home rule charter — and governed by a federal consent decree.

Moreover, the state constitution expressly protects local governments with home rule charters that predate the 1974 constitution from executive as well as legislative intrusion. New Orleans is one of several large parishes covered by the provision.

So what could Landry do?

He could, for example, order the Louisiana State Police to start patrolling Interstate 10 in New Orleans, which has been plagued by a spate of fatal shootings.

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PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

He also could also ask lawmakers to authorize him to send in state troopers or other state law enforcement personnel to supplement NOPD patrols in the French Quarter. The Quarter, too, has seen a spike in petty as well as violent crime, which poses a major threat to the hospitality industry.

State law and court decisions limit what governors can do via executive orders. The statutes allow governors to issue executive orders in cases of emergencies or disasters, and those terms are narrowly defined. “Crime waves” are not expressly addressed.

Ironically, Landry’s own success in a lawsuit against one of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ early executive orders could constrain him. That case yielded a court opinion stating that executive orders cannot go “beyond a mere policy statement or a directive to fulfill [existing] law.”

Governors still wield enormous influence over the legislative process, however, and Landry will have a Republican legislative supermajority.

Getting local officials on board with his ideas could be a challenge, but only insofar as all local governments depend on the state for operating and capital improvement funds, which governors influence heavily.

It will be interesting — and hopefully reassuring — to see what Landry does to fulfill his crimefighting promises.

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Dear Gary,

THE RESTAURANT YOU REMEMBER WAS RUGGIERO’S,

located at 911 Decatur St. between the Central Grocery and Progress Grocery stores. Owner Gregory Ruggiero, a barber and Italian immigrant, opened his first French Quarter business, a barbershop, on Dumaine Street in 1921. He moved to Decatur Street in the 1930s.

“Why not have a barbershop in a bar, particularly if you are a barber?” asked writer Pepe Citron in a September 1973 States-Item profile. “Mr. Ruggiero feels that way. He’s a barber whose legs just can’t take it anymore. And so his barbershop stands polished, clean and lonely in an unobtrusive corner of his restaurant-bar on Decatur Street.”

In their book “Lost Restaurants of New Orleans,” Tom Fitzmorris and Peggy Scott Laborde remember the unusual restaurant-bar-barbershop.

“The tonsorial parlor was separated from the bar and the dining room (it was between them) by walls and windows,” Fitzmorris wrote. “If you wanted a haircut, you had to pass through the bar and

ain’t dere no more: the former site of Ruggiero’s.

SCREEN CAPTURE FROM GOOGLE MAPS

expose yourself to the aromas of the red sauce and the rest of the food.”

In the 1973 article, Ruggiero explained that his wife and son Mario helped him run the place. “I started in a small way, food home cooked and cooked to order, and gradually the public trusted us, we got a name, an established trade, and then the tourists.”

In his 1970 book “The New Orleans Underground Gourmet,” restaurant critic Richard Collin called Ruggiero’s “one of the old standbys in the French Quarter, serving Italian food and freshly shucked oysters at reasonable prices.” He singled out Spaghetti Ruggiero, a dish combining spaghetti, oysters and mushrooms in a light garlic sauce.

According to Fitzmorris, Ruggiero’s closed around 1977.

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BLAKEVIEW SEVENTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, NEW ORLEANS HOSTED INTERNATIONAL ROYALTY, as King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece visited the city. According to The New Orleans Item, it was the first visit of a reigning king and queen to New Orleans since 1876, when Brazilian royalty visited.

The Greek monarchs’ 48-hour visit to the Crescent City began Nov. 19, 1953, with their arrival by train. At a ceremony at City Hall (which was then located at Gallier Hall) they were welcomed by Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison and members of a reception committee headed by the honorary Greek consul, William “Bill” Helis Jr., and his wife Venus.

In his remarks, Morrison mentioned that Greek mythological names and legends “annually come to life in our city through…some of New Orleans’ leading Carnival organizations” and how the Greek influence in architecture is prevalent, including at Gallier Hall itself.

The monarchs held a news conference in the Roosevelt Hotel, where they stayed during their visit. They were also feted at a reception at International House and dinner at Antoine’s, hosted by Gov. Robert Kennon.

The next day, the royal visitors toured the city by car (with stops in the French Quarter, at Tulane University and Hynes School in Lakeview) and by water, as guests of the Port of New Orleans. They also enjoyed a luncheon at the New Orleans Country Club.

They attended religious services and an afternoon reception with the local Greek community at the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, then located on North Dorgenois Street. The royals returned to the Roosevelt for a farewell dinner, before boarding a train for Richmond, Virginia, the next stop on their U.S. visit.

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TAKEOVER? Is Gov.-elect Landry paving the way for a state power grab in New Orleans?

BY KAYLEE P OCHE & JOHN STANTON

“Instead, criminals are allowed to plead down to a lesser offense and serve less jail time. As a result, the lawbreakers are back on the streets sooner — committing crimes — instead of serving the time they deserve,” the site reads. “Jeff Landry will work to hold these district attorneys accountable when they fail to do their jobs.”

While Landry and his allies say he has no intentions of taking over New Orleans, his campaign rhetoric — combined with the lack of local elected representation on the New Orleans committee — has all the hallmarks of efforts by conservative Republicans elsewhere in America to wrest local control from majority-Black cities and Black-led communities.

“It’s anti-democracy, sets a dangerous precedent and smacks of racism,” said Shawyn Patterson-Howard, who is the mayor of Mount Vernon, New York, and president of the African American Mayors Association.

IN AUGUST, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ousted District Attorney Monique Worrell, in part for prosecuting police for civil rights and corruption violations.

In April, Mississippi’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation expanding state police jurisdiction in Jackson, a majority-Black city whose mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, is Black. The bill, which is currently being challenged, would also grant the state more control over the city’s judicial system. It’s Mississippi Republicans’ latest measure curtailing the capital city’s home rule authority.

And in May, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who is Black, narrowly defeated an effort by state Republicans to take over the city’s police department.

“Republicans run on small government … and yet when it comes to cities run by Black mayors, they’re for big government overreach. It’s just that simple,” Patterson-Howard said.

Each of those GOP power grabs in majority-Black cities occurred after a sustained public relations push by Republican state leaders who used crime statistics to paint the targeted cities as lawless and fundamentally unsafe.

More than a dozen state legislatures have proposed or enacted bills targeting majority-Black and Black-led communities, often citing public safety concerns. As PattersonHoward pointed out in an interview with Gambit, the power grabs aren’t isolated efforts.

G AMBIT > BESTOFNEWORLE ANS.COM > NOVEMBER 13 - 19 > 2023

THE BIG

LOUISIANA GOV.-ELECT JEFF LANDRY has assembled a team of 27 New Orleans area business, political and community leaders to provide him with New Orleans-specific policy and legislative proposals as he prepares to take office in January.

After winning Louisiana’s jungle primary outright in October, Landry announced he was creating a series of special advisory councils to recommend policies for his administration.

While most tackle broad issues such as health care, Orleans is the only parish that Landry has singled out for special attention.

Landry made crime his top issue as a candidate. His commercials and statements often featured crime scenes in New Orleans to illustrate his point.

The New Orleans committee held its first meeting Wednesday, Nov. 8, with at least two more meetings scheduled. According to Landry, meetings will be private, but the committee will release public reports with their recommendations.

On one level, it makes sense for an incoming governor to have policy and legislative proposals specific to New Orleans. The city is a major economic driver in Louisiana, and New Orleans has its own set of unique circumstances and problems. That makes a tailored approach sensible.

Notably absent from the committee, however, were Mayor LaToya Cantrell, City Council President JP Morrell, Sheriff Susan Hutson, District Attorney Jason Williams and new New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Indeed, only one elected official from the city, state Sen. Royce Duplessis, is on the committee.

In a 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson, Landry said New Orleans “is being run like a Third World country.”

He warned he would use the executive branch’s immense authority in Louisiana to force the city to implement his preferred policies.

“We have one of the most powerful executive [branches] in the country.

The governor is extremely powerful.

He has the ability to bend that city to his will. [Current Gov. John Bel Edwards] just doesn’t … but we will,” Landry said in one of his first policy pronouncements as a candidate.

Landry’s campaign website featured a page dedicated to crime in New Orleans, where he cited “local district attorneys failing to prosecute criminals for the crimes they commit” as “one of the biggest problems in our criminal justice system.”

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She argued these power grabs are part of a broader effort by conservatives to curb progressive policymaking at the local level.

According to a U.S. Conference of Mayors-sponsored study, state-level Republicans have targeted cities for a variety of reasons — including environmental standards, gun safety rules, ride-sharing regulations, minimum-wage rates, and even municipal broadband initiatives.

Progressive district attorneys also have faced recall petitions and saw state lawmakers reduce their prosecutorial authority and discretion.

A year before DeSantis ousted Worrell, he removed Tampa District Attorney Andrew Warren, a Democrat, after Warren said he wouldn’t prosecute providers of abortions or gender-affirming care to transgender people, even though state laws banned both.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld that decision.

“Cities that have progressive-leaning leadership are at the mercy of conservative legislatures,” Patterson-Howard said.

NEW ORLEANS COMMITTEE MEMBER AUSTIN BADON, the former clerk of First City Court and a former state lawmaker from New Orleans East, said the transition council’s first meeting focused primarily on crime and public safety — with a wide-ranging definition of that topic.

Badon said the committee discussed getting state agencies, like the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Department of Alcohol and Tobacco and the Department of Revenue, to be “more active” in the city.

Particularly, he said, they talked about using state agencies to help crack down on unlicensed vendors throughout the city.

The debate about street vending, a longstanding tradition in New Orleans, has come to a head this year, with several enforcement sweeps in areas such as the French Quarter and along the St. Claude Avenue corridor. Many smaller street food vendors say they can’t afford city permits, which require — for health and safety reasons — either partnering with a bar or restaurant to operate out of their kitchen or renting commercial kitchen space.

When asked if the committee considered solutions for making it easier for street vendors to get licensed, Badon took a hardline stance. “No, the rules are in place for a reason,” he said. “If you can’t play by the rules, then you can’t play.”

“Unfortunately, in our city, it’s just been allowed to go on for too long,” he added. “We have to put a stop to the just rampant lawlessness.”

Badon, a Black Democrat who worked on Landry’s campaign, said the committee talked about possible tax, housing and education incentives to recruit law enforcement officers. The committee also talked about the impact of the federal consent decree that has governed the NOPD for more than a decade.

Badon also said committee members brought up what he described as the need for parents to “step up” and “do a better job of raising their children” to prevent juvenile crime. “If they don’t do it, the state is going to do it,” he said.

Badon gave no specifics on how the state would get parents to do that, nor did he mention factors such as poverty and incarceration that make it difficult for some parents to spend time with their children.

Additionally, the committee discussed New Orleans’ unhoused population. The city is currently in the process of a massive effort to block off encampments and relocate people living there to subsidized apartments.

Badon said he always thought the state Department of Transportation and Development should “do a better job of maintaining their right of ways” and do more to make sure unhoused people are not living under bridges and overpasses.

He added that “enhancing medical facilities” and funding for the Louisiana Housing Corporation, the state’s housing office, were part of the discussion.

THOUGH THE COMMITTEE FOCUSES ON CRIME, Landry appointed no city law enforcement officials or judges as members.

Instead, Landry tapped Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto, former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro and Cannizzaro’s daughter Laura Rodrigue, who is an attorney for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and served as lead

attorney for the failed Cantrell recall campaign. He also included businessman Rick Farrell, the recall campaign’s primary funder.

Lopinto told Gambit he believes he was consulted because his department helps provide law enforcement officers for special events in New Orleans.

Committee member Becket Becnel, a LaPlace attorney and New Orleans restaurant owner, said he believed crime contributed to the tourism slump this summer, mentioning District Attorney Williams in his comments about it.

“Is it solely because of the economy or is it also because of media reports about crime and issues with the district attorney?”

Becnel said.

However, Becnel noted that DA Jason Williams “has already [changed] his opinions on crime and multiple offenders in juvenile crime that obviously are working.”

That comment was an apparent reference to Williams backtracking on his campaign promises never to prosecute juveniles as adults or use the state’s multiple offender law to impose longer prison sentences on repeat offenders.

When asked if he thought power-stripping measures akin to those in Jackson could be on the table for New Orleans, committee member Michael Hecht, president of business and economic development group GNO Inc, said he wasn’t sure.

“I do not know,” he said. “That said, I expect a wide range of possibilities to be discussed.”

Badon was more specific. “It was discussed quite a bit,” he said.

“The governor will never instill his will upon the city of New Orleans if the city does not want it. He is not going to come in and just run roughshod over the city if it’s not something that the city of New Orleans wants.”

Echoing that, Becnel, a Democrat, said neither the committee nor the governor would be giving the city “any ultimatums.”

“We are not going to try to tell the city how to run their city,” he said, “but we’re going to try to make sure that we give them input.”

Landry takes office on Jan. 8.

15 G AMBIT > BESTOFNEWORLE ANS.COM > NOVEMBER 13 - 19 > 2023

GOV.-ELECT JEFF LANDRY’S NEW ORLEANS TRANSITION

COMMITTEE

Gov.-elect Jeff Landry

Austin Badon

PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK / THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

District Attorney Jason Williams PHOTO BY MISSY WILKINSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Boysie Bollinger, shipping magnate and major GOP donor

Kelisha Garrett, COO of the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce

Austin Badon, former New Orleans Clerk of First City Court and former state lawmaker, worked on Landry’s campaign

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DEVIOUS

50

IN THE DETAILS

BY JAKE CLAPP DION “DEVIOUS” NORMAN grew up in Hollygrove as hip-hop started to take hold of New Orleans. He had a frontrow seat to early groups like The Ninja Crew and New York Incorporated and dance crews like the Hollygrove Creepers. After The Ninja Crew disbanded, Devious began performing and recording his own music with DJ Baby T in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.

After the release and popularity of DJ Irv and MC T Tucker’s “Where Dey At,” the first bounce music release, Devious was hired by Soulin’ Records to produce another song in the new party style. Derrick “Mellow Fellow” Ordogne pointed Devious to DJ Jimi, who was a fixture at Newton’s in Uptown and had picked up on “Where Dey At,” adding his own vocals and spin.

Devious, Mellow Fellow and DJ Jimi dropped “(The Original) Where They at” and the B-side “Bitch’s Reply,” released in 1992. Both songs have now been sampled by a number of artists, including Beyonce, Cardi B and City Girls.

Devious is a multi-time ASCAP Award winner and continues to record his own music, including his latest mixtape, “Memories 3.” Gambit talked at length with Devious about his work, early New Orleans hip-hop and the start of bounce music. Turns out, Devious isn’t just a legendary musician, he’s also a walking encyclopedia of New Orleans hip-hop

history. Below we present excerpts from that interview.

Read the full interview online at gambitweekly.com.

On hip-hop’s early years in New Orleans WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY, I used to listen to hip-hop on local radio shows.

They had an AM radio show, and they had WAIL [105 FM] and DJ Slick Leo. He used to DJ, and the same music you heard in New York, you heard it here.

I grew up in Hollygrove, and there was a guy named Ghost. He was the owner of Ghost Town, the club where bounce was started. But before bounce started, Ghost used to throw concerts. The name of his company was Ghost Productions, and he threw all of the hip-hop concerts at the Municipal Auditorium.

So New Orleans has been connected to hip-hop from the beginning. We saw KRS-One, MC Shan, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Slick Rick, Run-DMC, 2 Live Crew, all of these cats came to New Orleans from the beginning. I saw all of these cats between middle school and my introductory days in high school.

New Orleans was basically the down south cousin to New York without it really being known.

On growing up in Hollygrove WE USED TO FREESTYLE in the classroom, like fifth and sixth grade. And MC T Tucker and DJ Irv performing together in the early ‘90s PROVIDED PHOTO BY POLO SILK

Dion ‘Devious’ Norman PROVIDED PHOTO BY TIREN ANTONY STUDIOS

while we were doing that, Gregory D, Sporty T and DJ Baby T started a group called The Ninja Crew. They made the first hip-hop record in New Orleans, “We Destroy” and “Baby T Rock.” Most of these cats were from Hollygrove — I think Greg is from another area and Sporty was from Uptown, but they would all be in Hollygrove by Baby T and DJ Kenny D’s home with the Technics 1200s.

I heard that record on one of those radio stations, and that is when the fire started.

On New Orleans hip-hop before bounce I MADE “STREET LIFE” [in 1989 with DJ Baby T]. That ended up being on the radio and being on the “Star Wars” program on [WYLD] FM 98. We did Jazz Fest and all of that.

Around the same time, Warren Mayes is getting ready to make his first couple of records. And 39 Posse is getting ready to make their first couple of records. And you have others like MC L, DJ Rob Fresh, and Little Ham, who used to be with Polo [Silk]. And you have Bust Down and Ice Mike and Tim Smooth and MC Thick. And that’s the original rap music before bounce.

On ‘Where Dey At’ T TUCKER COMES INTO [Ghost Town] and starts to perform on top of the pool table. DJ Irv is still the DJ. He’s playing The Showboys instrumental (“Drag Rap” aka Triggerman), the same one that he played when the rappers were there. Now, it’s weird because this dude

don’t really rap, but he’s interpolating Ice Cube. Cube had just broke up with NWA and made an album, and one of the songs on the album was “The N**** You Love to Hate.”

So T Tucker [interpolates the hook] and the people are going crazy. And as the weeks progress, he’s adding more lyrics. He goes from “I’m the n****” to “boot up and shut up” to “fuck David Duke.” And then he started singing the bouncy stuff.

[At Ghost Town], once hip-hop started playing, it was mostly Hollygrove and Uptown people in it, but it was packed. When MC T Tucker won that competition as a substitute entertainer that night, the whole city came to Ghost Town after that. They started putting the performance on Maxwell tapes, and that’s when my friend [Aaron] Charlot comes in at. Charlot was the executive. Charlot did the deal with Irv and Tucker, so he took what was basically a mixtape performance and made it a retail record.

See, Irv was doing this with T Tucker and DJ Jimi. They had a whole underground circuit that nobody knew about.

DJ Jimi was making promises to Juvenile and Pimp Daddy that they were going to be on his album. They used to all hang out and do it together. Juvenile and Jimi and Pimp Daddy and all of them was already running it. And in the 10th Ward, you had Tucker, [Everlasting] Hitman and Jubilee. They were already running it. So there was already an underground scene, but nobody knew about it because nothing was published [as a record].

PAGE 29

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Sharing influences

FORK + CENTER

plates serves a tapas-style menu in the Warehouse District | by Beth D’Addono FARRELL HARRISON, CO-OWNER OF NEW WAREHOUSE DISTRICT RESTAURANT PLATES, will always remember

the time his parents took him to the now shuttered Mimi’s in the Marigny.

“I was 13,” recalled the Chalmetteborn chef. “It was the first time I’d ever been to a bar.”

It was also the first time he tasted tapas and the Spanish cheese Manchego, melted atop a creamy version of mushroom toast.

His own version, which he worked on for years, is one of the winners on the small plates portion of the new restaurant’s menu: wild mushrooms, sauteed with a hint of sherry and crowned with a fried egg mound atop a raft of sourdough baked by pastry chef Ryan McDougall.

Harrison and his partner, general manager Brian Weisnicht opened the 150-seat restaurant in September inside the historic Cotton Mill building.

The glass, brick and wood-accented industrial space formerly housed the Mill restaurant Sac-a-Lait, and for a long time, Sun Ray Grill.

The partners met years ago when Weisnicht, a Pensacola native, managed food and beverage at the NOPSI Hotel and Harrison took a job in the kitchen at its Public Service restaurant. Although their careers diverged, with Harrison tapped as chef de cuisine at Josephine Estelle and Weisnicht managing Cochon and Gianna for the Link Restaurant Group, the pair stayed in touch.

“We’d meet up at Brian’s house (in Venetian Isles) to go fishing and have crawfish boils,” Harrison said. “About a year ago, we started talking about opening something for ourselves, instead of running restaurants for somebody else.”

Harrison, who trained at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University, and Weisnicht, who studied at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, quickly found themselves on the same page. The duo did wildly popular tapas pop-ups at Sidecar Patio & Oyster Bar for months leading up to the opening.

“We have the same style and philosophy about food and how we like to take care of guests,” Weisnicht said.

Plates’ menu focuses on shareable plates that draw from the city’s global influences, from Spanish and French to Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, German, Cajun and African. Patatas bravas get some heat from piquillo pepper and pimento. A dish like the tapas classic garlic shrimp is given a French accent with black garlic soubise and finished with house-made chili crunch, Vietnamese style.

A few other popular items include tuna crudo bathed in a bright, tomato vinaigrette, drops of lemon aioli adding silky richness to the dish. Marinated white anchovies are treated with persillade and mustard seeds, and blue crab claws arrive in a sea of nuoc cham swimming with carrots and herbs.

On the hot side, besides the wildly delicious mushroom toast, there is a saffron pork ragu over house-made pasta, grilled lamb skewers marinated with ras el hanout, an earthy North African spice blend served over yogurt drizzled with olive oil and spiked with fresh herbs.

Large plates include a sliced flank steak with more fresh herbs, this time as an Italian salsa verde, a crispy coq au fin with mushrooms and red wine jus and a seared gulf fish of the day.

Or, diners can let the chef feed them, with a $55 four-course meal served family-style.

The bar, under the watchful eye of the Madrid-born Paula Echevarria, offers sherry-forward cocktails,

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Sake stop

WHILE THE PIECES ARE COMING TOGETHER FOR A NEW PIZZERIA in

Algiers Point, a new bar is brewing just next-door that will bring something different for New Orleans.

Rice Vice is a sake bar created by a sake brewery in Nashville, and it has earned a devoted local following and drawn national attention.

The New Orleans edition of Rice Vice is now under construction at 143 Delaronde St. That’s a small spot in a one-time barbershop, and shares a wall with Nighthawk Napoletana, the pizzeria now slated to open later in the fall in the former location of Tavolino. Rice Vice is expected to open early in 2024.

This will be a tiny bar, with about 400 square feet and 20 seats. The design will be based on the Nashville location, which is done in cedar and pegboards.

It will serve cocktails, with some made from sake, and others from a full range of spirits. But the identity of Rice Vice, of course, is the sake itself. plates General Manager Brian Weisnicht with Executive Chef Farrell Harrison PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER / GAMBIT

beer, wine and espresso martinis on tap and a thoughtful wine list focused on small sustainable producers and curated by Weisnicht.

For dessert, a just sweet enough Spanish almond cake served with hibiscus syrup, marcona almonds and honey ice cream is the perfect finale.

Other choices include chocolate pate, Manchego cheesecake and a seasonal sweet potato pie.

As for the restaurant’s name, it plays out on a wall of mismatched china culled from family cupboards. Diners eat on more of the same, charming vintage plates sourced from an enterprising eBay entrepreneur. “To us, the fact that these have been on tables for generations speaks to our commitment to hospitality,” said the chef.

?

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

HOW

CHECK IT OUT

plates

1051 Annunciation St., (504) 582-9020; platesnola.com

dinner daily, lunch Fri., brunch Sat.-Sun.

dine-in

Tapas-style, globally influenced small-plate dishes

Rice Vice is the Nashville sake bar from Proper Sake Co. PROVIDED PHOTO BY ALEX CRAWFORD

“The whole point is to lower the barrier for people who want to explore this,” says Rice Vice founder Byron Stithem. “It can be as deep a learning experience as you want to make it.”

Stithem worked around the Nashville restaurant scene and developed a fascination with all things fermented.

He fixated on sake as a particularly rich vein of this pursuit and has explored it around Japan.

“There was a time when I was working in New York and had access to all this great sake,” Stithem says. “When I came back to the South, the only way I could get access to something like that again was to make my own.”

That led to his brewery Proper Sake PAGE 21

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Co., and Rice Vice opened as a bar to showcase his creations and a broad spectrum of sakes brought over from Japan, including some scarcely found in the U.S. Earlier this year, Rice Vice made Esquire magazine’s list of the best bars in the U.S. (Anna’s, Tell Me Wine Bar and the Chandelier Bar in the Four Seasons Hotel are three New Orleans bars on that list).

A long running friendship brings it to New Orleans. Bryson Aust is his business partner in Nashville and has been campaigning for a New Orleans location for a while. The key was the right location, and they believe they’ve found it.

Aust, who lives in Algiers Point, also is a partner in Nighthawk, along with Adrian Chelette (previously of pizza spots Ancora and Margot’s) and Brett Jones, who runs the Barracuda Taco Stand, with a location nearby in Algiers Point.

Aust and Stithem are developing Rice Vice as a separate business, but they see much symbiosis with neighboring Nighthawk.

“Italian food and sake are great together; it’s umami on umami,” Stithem says.

New Orleans briefly had its own sake brewery and taproom at Wetlands Sake, but this shut down earlier this year.

Rice Vice will bring in Stithem’s sake from Nashville to pour from 10 to 15 taps, and will have a collection from other producers, from old school Japanese types to modern styles.

“I started out as someone with an American understanding of sake, that there was hot and cold, filtered and unfiltered, and that was it,” Aust says. “But it really does run as deep as wine.”

Aust also is a partner in Barracuda.

He’s deeply invested in the neighborhood, and believes Rice Vice, though small, can make a big impact in drawing more business here.

“If you’re visiting New Orleans, I think it’s the kind of thing you’d take a ferry to come and have some of the best sakes in the country,” he says.

— Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

Moving on Magazine

THERE’S BEEN SPECULATION FOR YEARS ABOUT WHAT MIGHT TAKE OVER the Magazine Street building

at the corner of Pleasant Street, a prominently placed but long-empty spot on a stretch filled with shops, restaurants and bars. Now the answer is a familiar name from just down the street.

Tracey’s Original Irish Channel Bar is planning to relocate from its current home at 2604 Magazine St. to 3226 Magazine St. The new Tracey’s taking shape will be different from the one people know now, and much larger.

Owner Jeffrey Carreras says he was spurred to make the move after 13 years by a location with much more space for about the same lease rate he’s paying now.

“It will be different, but this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while,” he says. “I always thought we could do more with it.”

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PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Tracey’s today is known for its sports bar atmosphere, po-boys from the kitchen, crawfish in season, and the block party that blooms around it when the St. Patrick’s Day parade courses down Magazine Street each March.

The new Tracey’s will extend over two floors, with about 9,000 square feet total. The ground floor will function more as a restaurant with table service, open to all ages, while the second floor will be more of the sports bar, Carreras says.

The menu will expand with more comfort food style plates, like fried chicken, and the large kitchen facilities here give room for catering.

The second floor is configured as three rooms that connect through tall doors and can be divided for private parties. Each opens onto a broad balcony over Magazine Street.

There will be some 46 TVs across the two floors for games and a room dedicated to pinball machines upstairs. Carreras is applying for the liquor license now.

The last day for the current Tracey’s location will likely be in early- to mid-December. Carreras plans to open in the new location on Dec. 26. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

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Matthew Nguyen Chef

by Will Coviello MATTHEW NGUYEN GREW UP IN THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY in New

Orleans East, and he fell in love with sushi when he got interested in restaurants. He has worked at New Orleans area spots including Yakuza House, Ninja and Rock-n-Sake. Now, he and former LSU and NFL player Malachi Dupre have opened Kenji Omakase, a sushi spot in the International House Hotel. It brings in fish from Japan and offers a tasting menu for two seatings Thursday through Saturday. Find information at kenjinola.com or @kenjinola on Instagram.

How did you get interested in sushi?

MATTHEW NGUYEN: I was born and raised in New Orleans East. I have always wanted to be a cook. My parents immigrated here from Vietnam.

My grandmother raised me and my brothers after my parents passed away at a young age. What inspired me to become a chef is my grandma. She always worked two jobs. She worked at Dominique’s in the French Quarter, and she would work in the morning at the Sheraton Hotel. She started as a prep cook, and she moved on to cooking breakfast and omelets and things like that for the cafe. She’s been there for about 35 years.

My dad passed away when I was 14.

It was such a big burden for my grandmother to raise my brothers and me.

I had aunts and uncles that moved to Frisco (Texas) after Hurricane Katrina, and after I lost my dad, my family was like, we’re going to move you to Dallas.

The first restaurant I worked at was a conveyor belt sushi place. I was 17. I was in high school in Frisco. I was one of the guys in the back making rolls. I was trying to get acclimated in the food service industry. I didn’t really know how to hold a knife. My boss was like, “Hey, my grandma works faster than you.” It was the greatest time of my life — the most humbling time of my life.

In 2018, I moved to Miami, and I landed at a special place called Omakai Sushi. I met executive chef Aaron Pate, and he taught me everything about the fundamentals and being a sushi chef. He taught me the techniques of cutting, of curing, salting and different sauce preparations; how to master

WINE

your rice. It built the foundation of being a sushi chef.

When Covid happened, I relocated back to New Orleans.

Nobody was hiring, so I started my own private dining company. We called it Kyo Dai 93. We went to your house and would have a 15-course sushi dinner. We did about 60 parties from 2020 to 2021.

OF THE

WEEK

What is the plan for Kenji Omakase?

N: I was traditionally trained, but I want to do food that represents me and my experiences over the years I have been working. It’s tradition meets innovation. I am first-generation Vietnamese American.

I am Japanese trained, but I have that Louisiana-Southern palate. This is my 12th year making sushi. It’s very clean, very simple. All of my food speaks for itself.

Our fish is going to be mostly from Japan. We actually have connections directly to Toyosu Market in Japan. We have to go pick it up at the airport.

On the menu, we will have some dry-aged fish. We ordered a professional-grade dry ager. This one was built in Germany.

Aging Japanese fish is like aging beef.

You’re extracting moisture content and letting all the umami and acids build up. It’s amazing what you taste. It’s a lot different moisture content-wise, umami flavor-wise and mouthfeel-wise. You just need a little bit of wasabi, soy sauce and rice, and you’re good to go.

We’re going to have dry-aged bluefin tuna from Japan. There’s akami, chutoro and otoro (cuts of tuna). We’re going to dry-age that for seven to 14 days. We’re going to have Ora King salmon from New Zealand, madai from Japan, kinmedai, which is like a snapper. We’re going to have king fish and blackthroat snapper.

We’re going to get Japanese flounder, hirame. It’s very succulent. We’re going to cure that in a kombu first, and then dry age it. Kombu is kelp that’s been dried. It’s a traditional way to cure fish. It dries out the outer layer of the fish and concentrates the flavor.

Matthew Nguyen PROVIDED PHOTO BY MIKEY RICKS

What will your omakase menu look like?

N: We’re going to have 80-90% raw food. The first dish will be a Kumamoto oyster. They are small and sweet.

We’re going to have our own toppings and garnishes.

Then we’ll move onto a small sashimi course. That’ll be our premium daily selections. There will be three or four fish and homemade soy sauce and fresh ground wasabi.

We are going to do a steamed egg custard dish called chawanmushi. It’s a steamed egg with dashi made with bonito flakes and kombu. Our chawanmushi is going to change seasonally.

We’re going to have king crab, caviar and uni in ours.

There are going to be eight to nine nigiri pieces. It’ll range from the three different cuts of tuna to aji, shima aji or kanpachi.

It’s important to me that my upbringing is represented in some of the dishes.

I will introduce a dish dear to me in the winter and spring. In winter, I will introduce a lemon grass miso soup. I love cooking with lemon grass. In spring, I am going to add bo la lot. It’s beef wrapped in betel leaves. It’s wrapped in the leaf and grilled. It’s cooked with onions, garlic and spices.

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25 G AMBIT > BESTOFNEWORLE ANS.COM > NOVEMBER 13 - 19 > 2023

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26

O U T T O E AT C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M

Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

8 Fresh Food Assassin — 1900 N. Claiborne Ave., (504) 224-2628; Instagram, @8freshfoodassassin — Chef Manny January’s serves lamb chops, T-bone steaks, salmon, crab cakes, deep fried ribs, fried chicken and seafood-loaded oysters. No reservations.

Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Acorn — Louisiana Children’s Museum, 12 Henry Thomas Drive, (504) 218-5413; acornnola.com — Blackened shrimp tacos are topped with arugula, radish, pineapple-mango salsa and cilantro-lime sauce. No reservations.

Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sun. $$ Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream. com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and more.

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant.com — Gulf Drum Yvonne is served with brown butter sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$ Banana Blossom — 500 9th St., Gretna, (504) 500-0997; 504bananablossom.com — Jimmy Cho’s Thai dishes include smoked pork belly and pork meatballs in lemon grass broth with egg, green onion, cilantro and garlic.

Reservations accepted for large parties except weekends. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Bamboula’s — 514 Frenchmen St.; bamboulasmusic.com — The live music venue’s kitchen offers a menu of traditional and creative Creole dishes, such as Creole crawfish crepes with a goat cheese and chardonnay cream sauce. Reservations accepted. Lunch, dinner and late-night daily. $$ The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 315-7001; 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola.com — Basin barbecue shrimp are served over cheese grits with a cheese biscuit. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lakeview: Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. Slidell: Lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$ Broussard’s — 819 Conti St., (504) 581-3866; broussards.com — Rainbow trout amandine is served with tasso and corn macque choux and Creole meuniere sauce. Reservations recommended. Outdoor seating available.

Dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$ Cafe Normandie — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The menu combines classic French dishes and Louisiana items like crab beignets with herb aioli. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 2741850; thecommissarynola.com — The central kitchen for Dickie Brennan restaurants has a dine-in menu with a smoked turkey sandwich with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$ Curio — 301 Royal St., (504) 717-4198; curionola.com — The creative Creole menu includes blackened Gulf shrimp served

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up with chicken and andouille jambalaya.

Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — A menu full of Gulf seafood includes char-grilled oysters topped with Parmesan and herbs.

Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse.com — There’s a seafood raw bar and dishes like redfish with lemon buerre blanc. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse — 716 Iberville St., (504) 522-2467; dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com — A 6-ounce filet mignon is served with fried oysters, creamed spinach, potatoes and bearnaise. Reservations recommended. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$ Down the Hatch — 817 St. Louis St., (504) 766-6007; 1921 Sophie Wright Place, (504) 220-7071; downthehatchnola.com — The Texan burger features a half-pound patty topped with caramelized onions, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and a fried egg.

No reservations. Lunch, dinner and latenight daily. $$ Dragonfly Cafe — 530 Jackson Ave., (504) 544-9530; dragonflynola.com — The casual cafe offers breakfast plates, waffles, salads, coffee drinks and more. Delivery available.

Reservations accepted. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sat. $$ El Pavo Real — 4401 S. Broad Ave., (504) 266-2022; elpavorealnola.com — Sauteed Gulf fish is topped with tomatoes, olives, onion and capers and served with rice and string beans. The menu includes tacos, enchiladas and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and early dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar — 739 Iberville St., (504) 522-4440; 7400 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 304-4125; felixs. com — The menu includes raw and chargrilled oysters, seafood platters, po-boys and more. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Frey Smoked Meat Co. — 4141 Bienville St., Suite 110, (504) 488-7427; freysmokedmeat. com — The barbecue spot serves pulled pork, ribs, brisket, sausages and and items like fried pork belly tossed in pepperjelly glaze. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Froot Orleans — 2438 Bell St., Suite B, (504) 233-3346; frootorleans.com — There are fresh fruit platters and smoothie bowls such as a strawberry shortcake and more using pineapple, berries, citrus and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available.

Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Juan’s Flying Burrito — 515 Baronne St., (504) 529-5825; 2018 Magazine St., (504) 569-0000; 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-9950; 8140 Oak St., (504) 897-4800; juansflyingburrito.com — The Flying Burrito includes steak, shrimp, chicken, cheddar jack cheese, black beans, rice, guacamole and salsa. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$

Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — The eclectic menu includes a Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, ham, cheese and pickles. Delivery available. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Kilroy’s Bar — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The bar menu includes sandwiches, salads and flatbreads, including one topped with peach, prosciutto, stracciatella cheese, arugula and pecans. No reservations. Dinner Wed.-Sat. $$ Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches, salads and a NOLA Style Grits Bowl topped with bacon, cheddar and a poached egg.

Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 513-2606; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes filets mignons and bone-in rib-eyes, as well as burgers, salads and seafood dishes.

Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$ Luzianne Cafe — 481 Girod St., (504) 2651972; luziannecafe.com — Cajun Sunshine Beignets are stuffed with eggs, bacon, cheese and hot sauce. No reservations.

Delivery available. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sun. $$ Martin Wine & Spirits — 714 Elmeer Ave., Metairie, (504) 896-7350; 3827 Baronne St., (504) 894-7444; martinwine.com — The deli serves sandwiches and salads such as the Sena, with chicken, raisins, blue cheese, pecans and Tabasco pepperjelly vinaigrette.

No reservations. Lunch daily. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. The menu also has noodle dishes, teriyaki and more. Reservations accepted. Delivery available. Lunch Sun.Fri., dinner daily. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves Italian dishes and specialties including chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca.

Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant.net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Delivery available.

No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as seafood platters, po-boys, grilled oysters, salads and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nice Guys Bar & Grill — 7910 Earhart Blvd., (504) 302-2404; niceguysbarandgrillnola. com — Char-grilled oysters are topped with cheese. The menu also includes wings, quesadillas, burgers, salads, seafood pasta and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$ The Original Italian Pie — 3629 Prytania St., (504) 766-8912; theoriginalitalianpieuptown.com — The Italian Pie combo

includes pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, black olives, mozzarella and house-made tomato sauce. No reservations. Dinner and late-night Tue.-Sat. $$ Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro — 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar’s menu includes Creole pasta with shrimp and andouille in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available.

Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$ Palace Cafe — 605 Canal St., (504) 523-1661; palacecafe.com — The contemporary Creole menu includes crabmeat cheesecake with mushrooms and Creole meuniere sauce.

Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$ Peacock Room — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3073; peacockroomnola.com — Black lentil vadouvan curry comes with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and basmati rice. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$ Rosie’s on the Roof — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The rooftop bar has a menu of sandwiches, burgers and small plates.

No reservations. Dinner daily. $$ Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 934-3463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, littleneck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended.

Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$ Tacklebox — 817 Common St., (504) 8271651; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, and dishes like redfish St. Charles with garlic-herb butter, asparagus, mushrooms and crawfish cornbread. Reservations accepted.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — A Marilynn Pota Supreme pie is topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. There also are salads, sandwiches and more. Delivery available.

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 1433 St. Charles Ave., (504) 354-1342; 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — Peruvian lomo saltado features beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, served with fried potatoes and rice.

Outdoor seating available on Magazine Street.

Delivery available. Reservations accepted.

Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$ The Vintage — 3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144; thevintagenola.com — The menu includes beignets, flatbreads and a veggie sandwich with avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper and pepper jack cheese. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Zhang Bistro — 1141 Decatur St., (504) 8268888; zhangbistronola.com — The menu of Chinese and Thai dishes includes a Szechuan Hot Wok with a choice of chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu with onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, jalapenos and spicy sauce.

Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$

27

PAGE 5

Greensky Bluegrass

Greensky Bluegrass has banjo and mandolin players and “bluegrass” in its name, but the band leans into rock sounds and was popular on the jam band circuit. The group released the album “Stress Dreams” last year.

Lindsay Lou opens at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at The Joy Theater. Find tickets via thejoytheater.com.

The Bald and the Beautiful

Drag performers Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova record a live version of their podcast The Bald and the Beautiful, on which they discuss beauty and entertainment and interview guests. Both are veterans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Mattel also has released several pop and Americana albums. At 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Orpheum Theater. Find tickets via orpheumnola.net.

Modigliani Quartet

The renowned Parisian ensemble is on a U.S. tour, which includes a stop in New Orleans at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13. The program includes works by Mozart, Shostakovich and Beethoven. The concert is presented by Friends of Music at Tulane University’s Dixon Hall, and there’s a pre-performance lecture at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets $35 via eventbrite.com. Find information at friendsofmusic.org.

Derek Hough

In his career, Derek Hough has done everything from tap to ballroom and Latin dance. He’s been a judge on “Dancing with the Stars.” Currently, his Symphony of Dance tour features him and a cast of dancers showcasing a variety of styles set to live music. At 8 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 16, at Saenger Theatre.

Find tickets via saengernola.com.

Alexis Lombre Trio

Chicago-born pianist and vocalist Alexis Lombre has played in the bands of Jon Batiste, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Jamila Woods, but she recently has been increasingly recognized in national circles as a progressive, genre-fluid bandleader in her own right. She has played New Orleans in the past with Batiste but returns as a bandleader with bassist Amina Scott and drummer Brian Richburg Jr. at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 13, at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. Tickets are $25 via snugjazz.com.

Palestine Benefit Show

Wit’s End Brass Band, Phoebe’s Greek Band, Los Guiros, Los Nortenos Del Sur, Sabine McCalla and Chris

Acker will perform at a benefit show supporting Palestinian people and relief efforts on Thursday, Nov. 16, at BJ’s Lounge. There also will be food, arts, childcare for people with kids and other vendors. The music starts at 6 p.m. and admission is $10-$20 suggested donation (no one turned away for lack of funds). Money raised will go to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and other organizations.

The Head and The Heart

Seattle-based indie folk band The Head and The Heart last year released its fifth studio album, “Every Shade of Blue,” and has spent a lot of 2023 playing major venues on the road. The band again sold out the Red Rocks Ampitheatre, had a co-headlining tour with New Orleans’ The Revivalists and threw their own two-day festival in Napa, California. The Head and The Heart are back on the road and will play the Orpheum Theater with Yoke Lore at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. Tickets start at $35 via orpheumnola.net.

Fall

BARS ARS AN AND COCKTAILS OCKTAIL issue

Zak Toscani

Comedian Zak Toscani came up in a bustling Portland, Oregon, scene before moving to Los Angeles, where he co-organized the popular weekly stand-up show Faded with comics David Gborie, Sean Jordan, Bri Pruett and Mike Mulloy. Along with regularly touring, Toscani has been a frequent guest on the podcast “All Fantasy Everything” with Ian Karmel, Gborie and Jordan. The last few years, Toscani has been on a house show tour, playing backyards and homes across the country along with larger venues. He stops in New Orleans at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Sports Drink in the Irish Channel.

Tickets are $10 via eventbrite.com.

Papa Plays the Nite Tripper

Just ahead of Dr. John’s birthday on Nov. 20, John “Papa” Gros pays tribute to the late New Orleans icon with a show at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Tipitina’s.

Gros will be joined by Leo Nocentelli, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, John Fohl and David Barard of Dr. John’s former band The Lower 911, and Kiki Chapman and Yolanda Robinson of Solid Harmony.

Tickets are $30 via tipitinas.com.

All “drink” ads receive a FREE cocktail feature in this issue

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Sorrenteaux Boards

Tashi Delay

New Orleans musician Emily Seabroke recently released the debut album for her “post-punk, electroclash cyborg” project Tashi Delay. Catch many of those new songs when Tashi Delay plays with Drugstore Lipstick at 10 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 19, at Saturn Bar.

NOV. 10

so orrenteaux www.sorrenteaux.com 143 Allen Touissant Blvd

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MUSIC FO R CO M P L E T E M U S I C L I ST I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S TA K I N G P L A C E IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA, VISIT C A L E N D A R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M

To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

MONDAY 13 BAMBOULAS — The Rug Cutters, 1:15 pm; Jon Roniger Band, 5:30 pm; Ed Wills Blues 4 Sale, 9 pm BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — Smokehouse Brown Red Bean Blues Band, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Lee Matinee All Star Band, 1:30 pm; Floyd And Thunderbolt Trio, 5 pm; Richard Scott and Friends, 8 pm

TUESDAY 14 APPLE BARREL — NOLA Groove Collective, 10:30 pm BAMBOULAS — The Villians, 1:15 pm; Giselle Anguizola Quartet, 5:30 pm; Andy J Forest Blues, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 1 pm; Colin Myers Band, 5 pm; Fritzels All Star Band w/Jamil Sharif, 8 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM — NPS Arrowhead Jazz Band, 2 pm SANTOS — Illiterate Light with Gold Connections , 9 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm

WEDNESDAY 15 BAMBOULAS — J.J and the A-OK’s , 1:15 pm; Boardwalker and The 3 Finger Swingers, 5:30 pm; Roule and the Queen, 9 pm BLUE NILE — New Breed Brass Band, 9:30 pm CAFE NEGRIL — Colin Davis and Night People, 6 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard "Piano" Scott, 1 pm; Bourbon Street Stars, 5 pm; Fritzels All Star Band W/Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm

THURSDAY 16 BAMBOULAS — Miss Sigrid and The ZigZags, 1:15 pm; TRS, 5:30 pm; Wolfe John’s Blues, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Where Y'at Brass Band, 9 pm BORASSO SPIRITS — Joe Ashlar, 8 pm CAFE NEGRIL — Sierra Green and the Soul Machine, 10 pm CAPULET — Mia Borders Trio, 6:30 pm DIXON CONCERT HALL — Tulane Orchestra Concert, 7:30 pm

FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard "Piano" Scott, 12:30 pm; Doyle Cooper Band, 2:30 pm; John Saavedra Band, 6 pm; Fritzels All Star Band W/ Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART — Casmé, 6 pm ORPHEUM THEATER — LPO's "Porgy & Bess: A Symphonic Picture", 7:30 pm PEACOCK ROOM, HOTEL FONTENOT — Da Lovebirds with Robin Barnes and Pat Casey , 8 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — Rusty Metoyer & Zydeco Krush, 8 pm THE JOY THEATER — alt-J, 8 pm

FRIDAY 17 BAMBOULAS — Stephen Brashear and Co., 11 am; The Melatauns, 2:15 pm; Les Getrex and Creole Cooking , 6:30 pm; Bettis and 3rd Degree, 10 pm BB'S STAGE DOOR CANTEEN, NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM — Wartime Piano Happy Hour , 4 pm BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — Victoria Douton and Juana La Tia, 9 pm BLUE NILE — The Caesar Brothers, 8 pm BLUE NILE BALCONY ROOM — Trumpet Slim & Brass Flavor, 10 pm; To Be Continued Brass Band, 11 pm BOURBON STREET HONKY TONK — The Bad Sandys , 8 pm BUFFA'S BAR & RESTAURANT — Burris, 8 pm CAFE NEGRIL — Higher Heights Reggae Band, 10 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Zahria Sims Collective, Sweet Magnolia, 9 pm CILANTROS MEXICAN CUISINE — Christian Serpas & Ghost Town, 6 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Sam Friend, 2:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm;ritzels All Star Band W/Kevin Ray Clark, 9 pm GEORGE AND JOYCE WEIN JAZZ & HERITAGE CENTER — Charlie Halloran & the Tropicales, 8 pm NOLA BREWING TAPROOM — Lynn Drury, 7 pm PIROGUE’S WHISKEY BAYOU — Dick Deluxe, 8 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — The Rouge Krewe, 8:30 pm SANTOS — Beach Angel, Sick Ride, 9 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Cha Wa, 8 pm

SATURDAY 18 BAMBOULAS — The Jaywalkers, 11 am; Boardwalker and The 3 Finger Swingers, 2:15 pm; Johnny Maestro Blues, 6:30 pm; Paggy Prine and Southern Soul, 10 pm

Brass-a-Holics plays Blue Nile Saturday, Nov. 18 at 11 pm PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — NOW Liveband Karaoke, 9 pm BLUE NILE — George Brown Band, 8 pm; Brass-A-Holics, 11 pm BLUE NILE BALCONY ROOM — Los Guiros, 10 pm CAFE NEGRIL — Sierra Green and the Soul Machine, 10 pm DMACS BAR & GRILL — NOLA Groove Collective, 8 pm DUPLICATE - THE JOY THEATER — Greensky Bluegrass, 8 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott , 12:30 pm; Steve Detroy Band, 2:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm; Fritzels All Star Band w/Jamil Sharif, 9 pm GEORGE AND JOYCE WEIN JAZZ & HERITAGE CENTER — Wendell Brunious, 8 pm PEDRO'S TACOS + TEQUILA BAR — Christian Serpas & Ghost Town, 6 pm PIROGUE’S WHISKEY BAYOU — Greg Schatz and the Friggin' Geniuses, 8 pm ROCK 'N' BOWL — Bag of Donuts, 8:30 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Chucky C & Friends, 7:30 pm; The Nayo Jones Experience, 9 pm TIPITINA'S — John "Papa" Gros, 9 pm WILD BUSH FARM AND VINEYARD — Deltaphonic, 6:30 pm

SUNDAY 19 BAMBOULAS — Youse, 1:15 pm; Midnight Brawlers, 5:30 pm; Ed Wills Blues 4 Sales, 9 pm BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — Tuba Skinny, 3 pm BLUE NILE — The Baked Potatoes, 8 pm; Street Legends Brass Band, 10:30 pm BOURBON STREET HONKY TONK — The Bad Sandys, 8 pm CAFE NEGRIL — Vegas Cola, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Doyle Cooper Band, 1:30 pm; Lee Floyd & Thunderbolt Trio, 5 pm; FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Fritzels All Star Band w/Mike Fulton, 8 pm JAEGER'S SEAFOOD AND OYSTER HOUSE — Monster Crawfish, 4 pm NOLA BREWING TAPROOM — The Shanks, 3 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — The Wolfe Johns Blues Band , 7:30 pm URBAN SOUTH BREWERY — JW Jones , 8 pm

SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

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Dion ‘Devious’ Norman performs at the Praline Connection in the ‘90s PROVIDED PHOTO

On recording DJ Jimi’s ‘Where They At?’ AROUND THIS TIME, Devious had recorded “Street Life” with Baby T and was working on a new album with DJ Mellow Fellow.

We make this album, I do two Jazz Fest performances singing certain songs from it, but I never get to release it because they’re shopping me a deal. In the midst of them shopping me a deal, bounce music and this party music is starting to come out.

All of this is going on while I’m still doing this new album, but I’m not paying attention that the music is starting to change from lyrical or early day hip-hop to party music and raunchy lyrics. I’m not paying attention to that or how it’s gonna impact me.

I finish the album, and I go to the studio, and they say, “Hey man, you gotta make a booty record.”

That’s what they called it. DJ Mellow Fellow tells me, “Hey man, I know a dude who had something to do with starting that new party music in New Orleans.”

Mellow tells me to go and meet DJ Jimi. DJ Jimi takes me to his house on Freret Street, pulls out a VHS tape, singing “Where Dey At” and DJ Irv is the DJ on the tape.

So me and Mellow went in the studio and spent like 40 hours making the single with DJ Jimi. We were in the studio for about 40 hours recording two records. We had to turn the lights down and make it club-like.

Once we made the record, it sold like 10,000 copies in three days. We were going to Lake Charles to judge a bikini contest, and Davey D (on WQUE 93 FM) played T Tucker and DJ Jimi

on the radio back-to-back all night.

He just thought it was so funny that they had two records that was similar and kinda going at each other. After Tucker went to jail, DJ Irv went on tour with DJ Jimi — that’s how close it was.

On New Orleans identity and bounce HIP-HOP STARTED with two break beats. Bounce music started with two break beats. It’s the same thing. The only difference is New Orleans got the cultural part. The chants. The raunchy lyrics. The call and response. The second line influence. Uptown influence.

Downtown influence. That’s what make New Orleans more creative because we’ve got the cultural part that you can’t find in New York.

On New Orleans’ importance to hip-hop WE REALLY WERE IMITATING OURSELVES, though. The Meters is one of

the most sampled groups from New Orleans in hip-hop. Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D & the Boyz, LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim, NWA, every one of those early hip-hop records had Meters sample on it. “Peter Piper” [by RunDMC] is a record with a sample of Bob James’ “Meet Me at the Mardi Gras.”

All these music towns, like Memphis, New York and New Orleans — all the way back to the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance, it’s the same people just traveling to different points. So the million dollar question is how did The Meters influence early hip-hop, and how did early hip-hop influence New Orleans, and then early hip-hop in New Orleans creates bounce.

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GOING OUT

Yes men

Troy Duchane performs on the opening night of Hell Yes Fest.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY ASHLEY ZOERNER

by Will Coviello

IN THE 10 YEARS SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED, HELL YES FEST HAS PRESENTED AN ARRAY OF LOCAL AND TOURING COMICS, includ-

ing Doug Benson and Sarah Silverman.

The 10th anniversary lineup features 75 comedians, with many touring and up-and-coming comics based in New Orleans. The festival runs Nov. 13-20 at venues across New Orleans.

The biggest showcase is opening night at the Joy Theater with comics Tee-Ray Bergeron, Mark Caesar, Troy Duchane, Shep Kelly, Ryan Rogers and more.

At 23 years old, Duchane is one of the younger comics, but he’s already been doing comedy for five years.

Caesar gave him his first five-minute set on a local stage when he was 18.

“I wrote some stuff, I had material prepared,” Duchane says. “When I ran out, I started talking about how I had some tight jeans on and I am gonna catch a diaper rash or something like that. For every good joke, the host would ring a bell, and that meant you should keep that joke. I got a lot of bells.”

Duchane was hooked. He had graduated from Warren Easton Charter High School and started studying

theater at Bethune Cookman University in Florida.

“I wanted to study anything that would help me with comedy,” Duchane says.

He transferred to Southeastern University, and he kept doing local comedy shows and open mics.

Comedian Trixx saw Duchane at a show at Hi-Ho Lounge and recommended him to bookers at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.

Duchane performed there and is scheduled again in April. He often tours for shows from Atlanta and Houston.

Locally, Duchane produces and hosts three regular shows. He and Ben Bauman co-host the weekly show Comedy Knockout at Comedy House. Duchane also hosts Dat’s Funny every other Monday at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge. And on the first Thursday of the month, he hosts Tell Me a Joke at Pirogue’s Whiskey Bayou in Arabi. Duchane also posts short sketches on Instagram (@troygotnext) and does the podcast Jokes in Journeys.

In addition to the Hell Yes opening night, Duchane is representing New Orleans in a West Coast versus Gulf Coast shot at The Howlin’ Wolf on Friday, Nov. 17. The festival has several regional showdowns, including New York versus New Orleans and Los Angeles versus Louisiana. The battles go round for round with comics from each side.

Many festival events are at Comedy House, which is run by festival founder Chris Trew and Tami Nelson.

They also are co-founders of the New Movement, which closed in 2018.

Festival highlights include Rosie Tran headlining a show Friday, Nov. 17, at Comedy House. Tran splits time between New Orleans and Los Angeles, has starred in a half-hour special called “The Hanoi Honey” and does podcasts on topics ranging from comedy to sex and cryptocurrency.

Ryan Rogers, who created the LGBTLOL Queer Comedy Fest, will host a queer comedy showcase called Hell Yasss Fest on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Comedy House.

The festival also includes several live podcast recordings. Deadair Dennis Maler explores comedians’ other jobs in So What Do You Really Do. On Alien Murder Sex, hosts Lauryn Petrie and Adrianne Kuss talk about true crime and the paranormal and review porn.

The festival’s grand finale is The Open Mic From Hell, a show hosted by Trew at Comedy House on Monday, Nov. 20.

For a list of festival events and tickets, visit linktr.ee/hellyesfest.

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80 Puts into operation 85 Partner of neither 86 Land of Lima and llamas 87 “So that’s it!”

88 Halt hubbub?

91 Is scornful of 93 Pork product 94 Ocean trip 95 Oolong and Darjeeling

97 List details 98 Isn’t truthful with 99 Orch. section for timpani, triangles, etc.

100 Jet to JFK, once 101 Tater Tots maker 104 Give solace to actor Mike?

109 Win the contest?

113 — Grande 114 Meadow 115 From Havana, e.g.

116 Noting the differences between cutting utensils?

121 Nuclear trial, in brief 122 Respectful tributes 123 Hint-giving columnist 124 Old Persians 125 Unity 126 Plaits of hair DOWN 1 Part of YMCA: Abbr.

2 Computer support whiz 3 Supply with new weapons 4 2,100, to Caesar 5 “— you in?”

6 Communal 7 Vodka brand, familiarly 8 Suffix with 6-Down 9 Abbr. for those with only one given name 10 “Gee, I would never do that!”

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16 Slimy shore deposit in some spa treatments 17 Sleeve ends 18 Bandleader Shaw 19 Takes it easy 24 — Work (“Down Under” band) 29 Industrial city in southern Poland 31 Pal of Tigger 32 Maligned in print 33 “The Hunger Games” star, in tabloids 34 Acquire 38 D.C.’s land 39 Rustic denials 40 Tempo 41 DEA agent

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42 “Battle Cry” actor — Ray 43 “Kapow!”

44 Watermelon waste 45 “So that’s it” 46 Work to get 47 Mark for life 48 Suffix with kitchen 50 Watermelon waste 52 Big GOP get-together 53 It splits light 56 Aliens’ ship 60 Clean a spill on the floor 61 Ltr. encloser 62 Slalom, say 66 Jean of Dada 67 Bog grasses 68 Lot division 69 Vacation travel, often 70 Window part 71 Twice tetra72 Quark locale 74 Price to play 75 “Li’l ol’ me?!”

76 For the time being 77 Portend 78 “Excuse me” 79 Fling 81 Mishaps 82 Ripped into 83 Tall birds

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

84 “The Power of the Dog” co-star Kodi — -McPhee 89 Spanish for “bear” 90 Spongy ball 92 Teeny-tiny 96 Oak nut 98 Enzyme in fat breakdown 99 Thick soup 100 Dracula creator Bram 101 Philosopher with a “razor” 102 Way to travel 103 Plant firmly 104 Channel that televises hearings 105 Correct 106 “Blue Suede Shoes” singer 107 Della of song 108 RSVP card encls.

110 Say again 111 Great benefit 112 Single-named plus-size model 117 Apt., e.g.

118 Mag. edition 119 Mets’ div.

120 Platform for iDevices

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