I last left you funking it up to The Jackson 5 with a bunch of metalheads. I would like to fast forward in this story to what happened to me when I finally found my way to New Orleans. I arrived in the city on New Year’s Day 2000 but still had no idea about the music here. I got a job waiting tables at the convention center and it was there that I first overheard the talk from the older guys on the job about The Neville Bros, The Meters, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, Tipitinas… They would talk like they were experts, and they probably were because they had grown up uptown and lived that history. I knew who Aaron Neville was because he had had some crossover hits that made it to my ears. I also had heard of Ivan Neville through one of his tracks on that Christian Slater movie, “Pump UpThe Volume (1990))”. But other than that I was like most of the people in the country, ignorant. My apartment was right off of Napoleon Ave so I decided to check out Tipitinas. Turns out it was Mardi Gras and they were looking for help. I got the job and wound up working security for what felt like 10 days straight! I soaked in all that Tipitina’s had to give. Professor Longhair, dozens of posters of (what I know now were) incredible shows lining the balcony, rare James Brown pumping through the PA and getting the people “greased” up (a serious lesson in funk itself!!). The energy was building already! When George Porter Jr. and His Runnin’ Pardners (with John “Poppa” Gras on B3 and Russel Batiste Jr. on drums) hit the stage, the sounds and grooves and something else I couldn’t quite figure out (The Funk) hit me! It changed the way I thought about music. It sounded better than anything I had ever heard!! Now when I say sounded better you have to understand I mean that I had been in bands and doing sound and going to concerts all of my life. Until this moment I truly had no idea how bad sound was everywhere else!!! The music coming out of those purple Turbo Sound speakers was so loud and full and yet didn’t hurt my ears one bit! I could even have had a conversation with the person next to me if I had wanted to (which I didn’t cause all I wanted was to listen to the music!). But that was only part of it. After marveling at the quality of the sound, I started focusing on the music. It sounded so good because they were playing everything “right”! I’m not saying that as some sort of judge or critic, but more that when something is right, it’s just right. You can’t explain it. You can just feel it. Every note, every hit, every riff, put exactly where it felt like it should. And it was FUNKY!!! And everybody felt it together. Everyone was smiling, including the band. I was amazed at the positivity and great vibes. That moment of discovering funk music and great sound and positive energy made me a funkster for life. I have always felt that if everyone could have the same type of experience that I had that day at Tipitina’s, they would feel the same. As a matter of fact, that is the driving idea behind The Funky Uncle Lounge! Since a good amount of people will never step foot in Tipitina’s or a club like that, then we will to bring the club, quality sound, and Funk experience to them!!! Exciting times indeed!
That's all for now, so,
Until...
We Meet...
Again!