looka! surviving New Orleans musicians

September 2, 2005 7:19 AM

Longtime Mefi member chuq offers a tiny respite from the misery with his report on the survival of many of Louisiana's beloved musicians, including the good news that Fats Domino was rescued from his roof. More coverage here and here. (more)
posted by madamjujujive (38 comments total)

Among the many Mefites with New Orleans ties, chuq's Gumbo pages have provided a loving and colorful tribute to the food, the music, and the vibrant culture of joie de vivre that has characterized this special place.

Here is another story about Katrina's impact on musicians and other celebrities with local ties to the area.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:21 AM on September 2, 2005

Oh how good...
posted by Captaintripps at 7:22 AM on September 2, 2005

Thank you! I'm very happy to have been made aware of this terrific web site, as well.
posted by Miko at 7:22 AM on September 2, 2005

Here's another story!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:23 AM on September 2, 2005

Great post. Just what I needed in the face of the horror. Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 7:24 AM on September 2, 2005

Fats Domino was rescued from his roof.

Thanks madamjujujive. A little bit of good news.
posted by three blind mice at 7:25 AM on September 2, 2005

Fats Domino was rescued from his roof.

This is good news. The Fat Man was not meant to go out like that.
posted by jonmc at 7:34 AM on September 2, 2005

Whew. I know I should care for everyone caught up in this disaster but it really bothered me that Fats might have been lost in this. His "Walking to New Orleans" was just a sublime piece of pop music.
posted by Ber at 7:38 AM on September 2, 2005

I was certainly glad to hear that Fats Domino made it through safely, but am somewhat ashamed to admit that I was previously unaware that Mr. Domino was, in fact, still alive in the first place.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:39 AM on September 2, 2005

Browsing the Gumbopages' archives will really make one realize the glorious New Orleans culture, cuisine, and music that is now an endangered species. Sure, there will always be New Orleans culture, but how long before oyster po' boys, mardi gras indian crews, and muffaletas become memorials to a lost "Yat" homeland - like bagels and bialys are to ashkenazic jews.
posted by zaelic at 7:46 AM on September 2, 2005

Thanks. I was worried about Irma Thomas and Alain Toussaint; word was they were last seen inside the Superdome.
posted by muckster at 7:52 AM on September 2, 2005

I was previously unaware that Mr. Domino was, in fact, still alive in the first place.

Thankfully, Fats Domino is still with us. Another Louisiana musical legend RL Burnside passed away just a few days ago. (Klangklangston FPP.)
posted by three blind mice at 8:00 AM on September 2, 2005

"his report on the survival of many of Louisiana's beloved musicians..."

Except, of course, that he's not mentioning that Alex Chilton is missing.
posted by insomnia_lj at 8:00 AM on September 2, 2005

Alain Toussaint made it to New York.

Alex Chilton is missing, too.
posted by Vidiot at 8:01 AM on September 2, 2005

And I believe that Snooks Eaglin and Antoinette K-Doe (widow of Ernie) are missing as well.
posted by Vidiot at 8:04 AM on September 2, 2005

Good news on Toussaint. A musical genius.
posted by docgonzo at 8:47 AM on September 2, 2005

Arrgh. I'm emotionally all over the place. Half of me wants to cheer, half of me wants to snark, "Thank god the famous people are OK!"

I guess they aren't mutually exclusive. I can be happy about every rescue/survival story and still be angry about the people who were left behind.
posted by straight at 8:58 AM on September 2, 2005

half of me wants to snark, "Thank god the famous people are OK!"

C'mon straight. Fats Domino was a black man. Any black man saved out of this mess has gotta count for something.
posted by three blind mice at 9:12 AM on September 2, 2005

was is a black man.

Sorry Fats.
posted by three blind mice at 9:13 AM on September 2, 2005

What about Trent Reznor?!
posted by xmutex at 9:23 AM on September 2, 2005

Gatemouth Brown? I hope he's ok.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:25 AM on September 2, 2005

Gatemouth is reported as safe, KevinSkomsvold. I am happy about that!
posted by madamjujujive at 9:31 AM on September 2, 2005

Have you seen all the horrible pictures?
Damn, what a bad thing it is...

I think it's news not worth to print how many have been rescued. it's all the dead people that count...
posted by seitensprung at 9:45 AM on September 2, 2005

ALEX CHILTON IS MISSING? Oh fuck, I completely assumed he either made it out initially or was in New York to begin with. oh jesus.

I have to admit I started crying when I heard that Fats Domino and Alain Toussaint were okay.
posted by scody at 10:24 AM on September 2, 2005

sorry seitensprung, I disagree. I've seen the horrible pictures, been seeing them nonstop almost all week, I am sick with grief over the loss of life and the decimation of a wonderful city and culture that I love.

But I can grieve for the dead and rejoice for the living. It's natural to have care and concern for the people who help to define the culture of a place we love.

And I might add that blues celebrities aren't usually cut from the same cloth as the media-driven celebrities we have foisted on us. Few are wealthy, and many still live in and among the poor neighborhoods where they were born. I am grateful that some of these icons survived. At some later point, they will have more power to give comfort to the dispossessed because they were part of the tragedy, and strong testimony to the suffering through their music. I hope that in a hundred or two hundred years, blues performers will be giving testimony to these events through the songs they write.
This is the blues.
posted by madamjujujive at 10:33 AM on September 2, 2005

Here is Alex Chilton's Yahoo group. There are very informative posts there, from people who know him. They make it sound like nobody has heard from him in days.
posted by NoMich at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2005

Dammit. I meant to say, here is a Yahoo group devoted to Alex Chilton. I didn't mean to make it sound like he ran his own group. Sorry.
posted by NoMich at 10:50 AM on September 2, 2005

Great links, madame, as always.
posted by mkhall at 11:08 AM on September 2, 2005

Well put madamjujujuive, I apologize for letting my anger turn into snarkiness.
posted by straight at 11:17 AM on September 2, 2005

Think nothing of it, straight - we are all hurting.
posted by madamjujujive at 11:57 AM on September 2, 2005

thanks for the link, nomich. damn, damn, damn -- it sounds like friends begged Alex to leave but he boarded up his house (in the 9th ward) and insisted he'd stay put. shit.
posted by scody at 12:00 PM on September 2, 2005

Via the Chilton list: statement by Bill Cunningham from boxtops.org, including some additional artists I don't think I'd seen mentioned elsewhere:

New Orleans is world famous for its contributions to music and art. Artists who have reportedly been caught up in the New Orleans hurricane disaster include Allen Toussaint, The Nevilles, Big Star and Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton, Irma Thomas, Chuck Carbo, Clarence Henry, Frankie Ford, Harold Battiste, Cosimo Matassa and numerous others.
posted by scody at 1:38 PM on September 2, 2005

Just came across this interesting graf on the Gumbo Pages -- you can reach it via clocking on the "language of New Orleans" link:

Unlike the Gatorlander, who is always consumed with the particulars of trying to live the modern life, the Yat is convinced that modernity is a disaster. Naturally enough then, the Yat feels most alive in the most disastrous of circumstances. The average New Orleanian housewife, as Bunny once noted, has an internist's working knowledge of every possible disease that can be caught in these parts. The man who holds the attention of the barroom is the guy who can top everyone else's hard luck stories. The Great Flood of May 3, 1978 was the most exciting of recent times, at least until another Hurricane comes. Even Carnival is talked of by the Yat in the most matter-of-fact ways, only the abominations of tradition being noteworthy.

posted by Miko at 2:48 PM on September 2, 2005

As usual from madame jjj, this is just a terrific (and largely heartening) post, and one thing I've been wondering about. New Orleans musicians are not celebrities; they are national treasures who have cross-cultivated and kept the beat of American music for generations. It's only natural to be concerned about them.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:56 PM on September 2, 2005

xmutex: Trent realized he was using New Orleans as a place to hide and drink, got sober, moved to L.A., and sold his house in NOLA earlier this year. He posted on NIN.com how stunned he is by all of this; he was scheduled to headline this year's Voodoo Festival, but who believes that will go forward as planned?
posted by dhartung at 6:13 PM on September 2, 2005

Vidiot: And I believe that Snooks Eaglin and Antoinette K-Doe (widow of Ernie) are missing as well.
----
From list of rescued: Snooks Eaglin (and family of 12, now homeless)

Wow. I posted earlier in the Fats D thread about Snooks, who can barely move and is blind. I'm thrilled he's alive, at least. A living national treasure and an awesome, awesome musician.
posted by realcountrymusic at 8:05 PM on September 2, 2005

Looks like this show is still going on:

BB King's NYC - Sat 9/3
NEW ORLEANS SUPER-FUNK JAM Featuring: LEO NOCENTELLI(THE METERS) & STANTON MOORE, ROBERT MERCURIO & RICH VOGEL(GALACTIC)
posted by muckster at 9:05 AM on September 3, 2005

Alex Chilton made it through the storm and has been seen at a local bar, but has no local phone service so he hasn't called anyone. This is from a post at Alex's Yahoo group:

I can confirm that the owner of Molly's, Jim Monaghan (I may have misspelled his last name), says he saw Alex on Wednesday and that he was fine, according to his employee Mike who saw him (I called there a minute ago and asked). The phone number has been working there, but not some places. I believe this is the point at which we should realize that Alex is ok and we should stop worrying and let him do
whatever he's in the middle of dealing with but that he is ok. Thanks patrick!
posted by poetdancer at 1:54 AM on September 5, 2005