Back to the Candlelight..

I know its time to write about the big ride BUT, as I continue to go thru my photos and videos from my Mardi Gras trip I came across this video that I took at the Candlelight Lounge in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans that features the world famous Treme Brass Band every Wednesday night. For folks that know New Orleans, one of my favorite spots used to be Donna's Brass Bar and Grill on N. Rampart St at the top of the French Quarter. Unfortunately, Donna retired to Florida a couple years ago and the club is no more. In my opinion, that used to be THE place to see brass bands in New Orleans. The setting and music was fantastic and the crowd was this great mix of musicians, locals and tourists. Other musicians would drop in during the show to sit in on the way to another gig or regular folks who just felt like dancing would just come in off the sidewalk- do their thing for maybe only 1 song or so and then head back out. It was wild. In my opinion, the Candlelight is very much like Donnas. Its a real neighborhood "joint"in the best sense of the word. The music is great, there are free red beans when Treme plays (Hint: Don't try to help yourself- they have folks who will bring the food and drinks to you at your table; I made the mistake of trying to go up on my own for seconds and got yelled at by the bartender!). Anyway, the crowd here has that "Donna's" mix: local folks from the neighborhood and tourists all mixed up together having a good ol time. Video doesnt do the scene justice but gives you a little bit of a feel for what this place is like. So kick back, crack open that High Life and enjoy. (Note: video was taken using my regular ol point n shoot camera in movie mode so not top quality)

2012 Krewe of Mid-City: Pre-Parade Photos

Here's some pictures taken at hotel and at the parade staging area before our parade.

Parade Part 1: Lets roll...

My Costume

Woke up early Sunday morning at hotel and put on the 

Loaded!

tv news. Rainy weather was gone- today was gonna be sunny and cool- perfect parade weather. Around 8:45am my wife and I headed downstairs to the krewe pre-parade breakfast. You could feel the excitement in the air and everyone was in a good mood. After breakfast, riders headed to ballrooms set up as dressing rooms where costumes were laid out on tables by float location. I slipped on my costume and- following the lead of all the other guys around me- started to trim my mask to a custom fit ( masks are required for all riders during the parade; they are plastic and can get pretty hot so most riders cut eye and mouth openings bigger and make other modifications for a more comfortable fit). Now the room was really buzzing , a brass band was playing and energy level was up- it was getting close. Our table - which was made up of my fellow riders on 

Me and the King!

Float #3-the band float- met briefly as a small group with our float captain who gave us a quick pep talk, wished us a good ride and then presented us each with a commemorative throw to wear during the parade that featured a small ( working!) saxophone. The larger group was addressed by the krewe officers- going over the official do's (have fun, make sure to make eye contact before throwing to folks in the crowd, wear your safety belt and mask at all times on the float) and dont's ( no smoking on floats, no alcohol-wink, wink, and no cell phone calls- this looks like you are ignoring folks watching the parade). After a couple more brief speeches by krewe officials and a brief address by our King it was time for the new rider initiation.I can't tell you what was done bc it's a secret (believe me it was nothing weird)-but lets just say it was a real eye-opener. I was actually surprised to see how many other new folks there were- pretty impressive. After this brief ceremony, we got our bus assignments , got masked up

( that's a technical parade term ) and we headed out for the walk thru the hotel lobby to the buses outside that would take us to the starting line. On walk out we were accompanied by our brass band and krewe members gave out beads to the families and friends who were there to see us off as well as to folks who just happened to be in the lobby at the time.I managed to spot- and startle - my wife who was watching us march by.. Wearing this mask was gonna be fun! We loaded up on the buses and headed out for the 30 min ride to start of the parade. As we approached the parade staging area traffic started coming to a halt- everywhere you looked there were buses, horses, floats, marching bands and krewe members from other parades milling about. The buses stopped and we filed off- time to find your float, get into position - I was Float 3, Position 4, Neutral Ground (vs Sidewalk) side- and start readying your beads and throws. I was walking w my krewe buddy Arthur and we were able to find his two kids who were riding on the Jr Maids and Dukes float. He was able to get them to their float and help them climb aboard. Then it was off to find our float. We found Float #3 climbed aboard and then climbed some more across the bags of beads and throws (see photo above) that literally filled the float up to the top of the side walls. We had about 20 minutes to get our beads organized and start prepping stuff to throw. As I fumbled around with my bags and beads, trying to figure out what was what and how I was gonna set things up I realized- this was really happening- right now...

Me and my KMC Krewe buddy Arthur before the parade

Endymion Parade 2012: Slideshow

Here’s a slideshow of a few pictures I took mainly before Endymion Parade rolled because weather conditions at beginning of parade were less than ideal and as weather got better I was too busy trying to get beads and throws.

Dont Rain on Our Parade...



Our Camp



A view of the Neutral Ground



Got up early Saturday. Watched Special Morning Weather Report on TV at hotel...was not looking good: call remained for 100 percent "chance" of rain starting late am and going into late afternoon or even early evening. 2 of the early (noon) parades had already rescheduled. So far the biggest parade of them all- Endymion- was still scheduled to roll at 4:15pm. Last year this parade was cancelled due to rain and rescheduled- as well as moved from its traditional Mid-City route which was a really big deal..so far tho looked like the parade would still be on today. Our plan was to have some breakfast then cab it (Canal Streetcar and buses were not running due to parade) up to sis's house which is only 1 block off the beginning of the Endymion parade route. I realized we were close to Mother's Restaurant so that's where we went for breakfast- as we ate our biscuits,sausage and eggs- we noticed a group of Endymion krewe members waiting in line- costumes and bags in hand- so was really looking more and more like the parade was going to be a go..Finished breakfast and made our way up to my sister's. Canal Street and all streets along the parade route had folks setting up their spots for the parades...Some people had tents, chairs, ladders or whole campsites. These actually started appearing about 3 or 4 days before today- people down here take parades- and especially this parade- pretty seriously. There also were parking lots along the route with RVs and other parade "campers"- this was gonna be something special...Around noon, arrived at sis's and we decided we should go mark out a spot on the route. I found some old paint cans, a piece of wood and a tarp and we headed over to the avenue. Crowds were continuing to gather- despite the dire weather forecast- and we spoke to a group who had been camping out since the nite before (one young guy said his older brother pays for them to have their own port-o-potty if they will stay out overnite and "guard" the family spot). Anyway, we found an empty spot (there were'nt many- people had even taken to spray painting the grass with their marks in order to save a spot) and set up our camp (see picture at top). That done we went back to sis's house to wait and see re: weather..Right now was nice and warm- overcast but not raining...more and more people were gathering- but it was only 1 o'clock...still a few more hours til parade to start..While hanging out at my sister's we kept an eye on weather report-everything pointed to the worst weather coming right before parade time-in fact it was now being reported that the parade had been pushed back to 5:30 from 4:15pm to try and get better weather but all indications were the parade was going to roll. About 3:30 pm it started pouring- we were lucky because we were sitting inside but there were hundreds-maybe even thousands- who were congregated on the neutral ground (ie grass median down the parade route) or along the streets who were now getting wet. The rain slowed and then re-started for the next hour. Finally, around 4:30 we decided to head over to our spot- we took our umbrellas and other rain gear. Just about 5:30 when the parade was to roll it started to rain again- not pour but it was coming down pretty good. At this point- the parade was going to roll no matter what..and roll it did- the first couple of floats came by and they were empty of people- because of the rain the royal court and King and Queen were not on the float (Note: this is a "super krewe" with almost 1500 riders; they have a huge after parade party in the SUPERDOME!...they drive their floats right into the stadium and have their big party with thousands of krewe members and their families). The parade continued and the rest of the floats did have riders and there were lots of throws. After a while the rain tapered off and it was just wet. Everyone who was out on the route had a good time and cheered on the riders and the numerous high school marching bands who had braved less than ideal weather to put on a show. All in all, it worked out but definitely not the best conditions for a parade.
See video below of BEFORE the parade as the floats are being moved into position.

FREE Music : Post-Mardi Gras Brass Band Cardio Workout

Here's how it works, send me your email address to rammgm@gmail.com. I will use it to subscribe you to my blog  and then email you a link to download a zip file that contains 45 minutes of brass band music that you can use to work off all that King Cake (and King Cake Vodka) you ate and drank during carnival. If you can't get your heart rate up listening to this music then you must already be dead! (NOTE: if you already subscribe to my blog via email-thank you; just shoot me an email and I'll hit you back with the link). Thanks for reading and subscribing.

Ballin'....





...My last post was about the Muses parade which is the Thursday before Mardi Gras..that brings us to Friday night and the Krewe of Mid-City "Bal Masque"...My wife and I got up Friday morning at my sisters in New Orleans' Mid City neighborhood and prepared to transition to our downtown hotel for the next three nites to be closer to all of my pre-parade krewe activities. So we re-packed our bags and grabbed our formal wear (the Mardi Gras balls are very formal- tuxedos and floor length gowns are required). We called a cab (NO Travel Hint: United Cabs is the way to go- put this number in your phone if you are going to New Orleans: 1-504-522-9771. Call 'em and they will pick you up anytime of day or nite ). Cab got us to the Sheraton down on Canal Street in the Central Business District. Hotel was a bit of a madhouse, but we were able to get checked in and our room was ready early which was a bonus. Turns out our room was on the 44th floor (see view at bottom of post) which is literally the highest I've ever been in New Orleans (pun intended). Anyway we dumped our bags and then headed out to do some walking around in the French Quarter and to find something to eat (dinner would not be served at the ball until 10pm). We ended up eating at one of our favorite places Bourbon House on Bourbon St. near Canal (NO Travel Hint: If there is a long line at the Acme Oyster House, go up the street towards Bourbon St to Bourbon House; it is usually a lot less crowded; they serve the same P&J Oysters at the oyster bar and they have a killer shrimp creole; oh, and don't forget to ask for bread- they give you a little loaf of fresh french bread w butter which is fantastic). Anyway, after eating we headed back to hotel to hang out til we needed to get dressed. We invited our friends who had 2 kids in the Royal Court to come up and use our room to get ready as well. Then it was time for the ball. It was held in one of the huge hotel ballrooms- tables were set for 690 people and most importantly there was an open bar. (The ball started at 7pm; dinner was scheduled for 10pm and apparently there are a group of folks who traditionally stay to the end of the party which was to be 3AM!). Anyway, the ball was interesting- we ended up seated at a table with the King of the krewe since our friends were friends of the King and his wife and they did not have other family. (My friend joked that I had nowhere to go but down since here I am, a first timer, never even having thrown a bead, sitting with the King at the ball). The first part of the proceedings was the "tableaux" which is a narrated introduction and procession that formally introduces members of the royal court, the captains and other officers of the krewe (all in costume) and of course the King and the Queen. The narration followed this years theme ("Apocalypso: Party at the End of the World") and included a promenade by female royal court members whose dresses corresponded to each of the floats in the parade decorated to represent different countries and their traditional dances. Anyway, these proceedings went on for about 2 hours and culminated with a formal walk by the king and queen and their court around the ballroom floor to greet their subjects. (Note: Photography was not allowed, so unfortunately I can't share any pictures of the goings on). After this was over, their was an opportunity for all to approach the King and Queen on their thrones to pay respect before returning to our seats for dinner. That concluded the formal portion of the nite- the bar re-opened, dinner was served and the dance music began. If there is one thing New Orleans people (or people visiting New Orleans) know how to do it is to have a good time. Immediately after dinner ended, the dance floor was full of folks - young and old- having a good ol' time and we joined right in. Alas, around midnite, my wife and I headed back upstairs to our room..The end of another good day. 

Whew...Carnival over and...

..back home since early early (actually way too early) Thursday morning..planning to pick-up blog posts from where I left off last week. As soon as Friday hit, lots of stuff started happening so did not really have time to update..so stay tuned!

If it's Thursday Nite it must be MUSES

Thursday nite my wife and I went to our first major Mardi Gras parades. There are usually 2 or 3 -one right after another on same route- each nite starting this week thru Mardi Gras day..Thursday nite the week before Mardi Gras has become MUSES Thursday..this is an all women krewe (about 1000 riders,34 floats) who have in the past 10 years become one of the most popular nite-time parades. They are known for their unique throws and especially the coveted MUSES shoe (Click here and here for a slideshow of this years models). We met up with my krewe buddy, his wife and 2 kids at a spot on St. Charles Ave where a lot of family and local folks line the route (the closer you get to downtown and the French Qtr the rowdier and less family friendly the crowds become). The parades started passing us by about 8pm and continued thru about 11:30pm...it was non stop action, noise and fun. Floats, marching bands, other marching groups in costume paraded by throwing beads and other stuff to the crowd . All of the floats for nite time parades are lit, so they look great in the dark. MUSES floats in particular look great. We got lots of beads and other loot during the parades but as MUSES was coming to an end we were still unable to score that coveted shoe..and then it happened- I know this will be hard to believe- but as the last MUSES float was rolling by (and it happended to my turn to go out to the float to ask for throws) I spotted a woman on the top of the float holding what appeard to be a  shoe...I started to run alongside the float keeping an eye on her and she threw the object over the side..well you probably already guessed but I managed to-in stride- catch the object as I ran alongside and as it hit my hands I knew immediately...I had a MUSES shoe...unbelievable..here it is:

it's time to load the beads

Thursday was bead loading day for my Krewe of Mid-City. Since our Krewe is still relatively small- krewe members come together this day to load the beads & throws for the parade onto the floats at the float den ..it's a kind of controlled bedlam w forklifts, wheelbarrows, hand carts and plain old people power moving the pallets of beads off of trucks and up ladders onto the floats . It was really hard work but is a necessary exercise for pre- parade prep. Everybody was focused on getting job done but also had time to laugh. & visit w each other..very rewarding day but again a reminder of the work necessary to make these parades happen.(Note : have some pix of bead loading but will have to offload from my camera to my pc for posting at a later time. )

More cowbell?

So last post was Wed from Candlelight Lounge..well shortly after that post things really got fun. At one point I was handed a drum stick and what must have been a 5 lb cowbell to play along- from my seat- w the band ..it was a blast- me banging away on the cowbell, the Treme Brass Band playing at full tilt, 3 or 4 folks in crowd playing tambourine ( including Rosalie Smith, the Tambourine Lady who jumps on stage at Jazzfest w different bands to do her thing) and pretty much everyone in the place up and dancing..there was one last special treat- at some point i noticed that the drummer for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band -Lil Joe Lastie - had wandered into the clun and in no time there he was playing drums w the band...and this was only Day One!...

NO by Candlelight..

...lounge..gotta love it Treme Brass Band featuring Benny Jones & Uncle Lionel.. What a way to start our trip- Damn!

It's time...

..for my wife and I to head down to New Orleans. Flight leaves in a few hours and sister will pick us up at airport. Thought I'd point folks to a couple different sites where they can read up on the different krewes and parades. Most of the New Orleans Local TV stations (WWLTV, WDSU,WGNO) have pages dedicated to Mardi Gras and Carnival. On the Channel 6 WDSU site they have brief video overviews of each krewe as their parade dates approach (hoping they will put one up re: Krewe Of Mid-City sometime before Sunday). Go HERE for link (you have to scroll down to middle of page to find "Video" section). Speaking of Krewe Of Mid-City, the MyNewOrleans.com website picked our parade as one of the best Daytime parades. Go HERE for that article. Well, as they say in the song, I've got my ticket in my hand and I'm goin down to New Orleans!

Beads, Doubloons and Plush..Oh My!

So I think most folks know that there are beads thrown (from floats, from balconies) at Mardi Gras. What I don't think most people know is how much time, effort and money is spent in getting the beads, loading them onto the floats and what this process entails for any individual krewe or what it means down to the individual parade float rider. (Warning: There is going to be some math in this post). Anyway, I had no clue about the volume of beads that it takes for one rider let alone one krewe to put on a parade. It's mind boggling. I got my first inkling when I went to the Krewe of Mid City new rider den party last spring. As I was shown around the float den, we came across a palette(!) stacked with bags of beads that was maybe 4 feet high- I was told that this was a typical amount of beads for 1 rider in the parade. More recently, when I volunteered at the ARC of Greater New Orleans bead recycling program I got another insider view of the volume of beads that go into putting on Mardi Gras. The recycling warehouse was full of thousands of 3o lb sacks of beads in all sizes and colors (as well as mountains of plastic cups, stuffed animals and other trinkets)- and this was just the beads and other items that were being recycled- let alone the new ones that were being purchased by all the krewes for all the parades that occur in the 2 weeks of carnival across the NO region! Anyway here's a quick breakdown- when you are talking about beads for an individual rider (here comes the math) you talk in terms of dozens or even grosses (12 dozen dozen beads= 12x12=144 individual bead necklaces) of beads. Here is the typical bead inventory for a "light throwing" rider in a 2-3hr parade: 6 doz krewe logo beads, 1 gross special logo beads, 6 doz addtl special logo beads, 1 gross other bead types,4 gross (48 doz!) 36" beads, 32 doz 48"beads, 40 doz 48" metallic beads, 12 doz 60" larger size beads..you get the idea- for a "moderate" or "heavy" thrower you can double or even triple these amounts (in volume and in cost)...riders typically purchase bead packages from their krewe which goes towards helping to fund the parade (decorate the floats, pay the marching bands, tractor drivers,etc etc)...in addition to beads (which come in all kinds of lengths-most typically 48",but also 33", 42"and 60"- and individual bead sizes- denoted in millimeters- from 8mm up to 12mm) there are also various other "throws" that get tossed to the crowds. These are limited in scope only by the individual krewes imaginations (and wallets) but fall into a few main categories: Plush toys (ie stuffed animals) w/ or w/ out krewe logos, doubloons (plastic and/or metal coins that typically have the krewe logos embossed on them- usually ordered in quantities of 200 or more for a single parade for each rider) and other krewe-branded "trinkets" (things like plastic cups, drink koozies, frisbees, footballs, even food items like bags of potato chips or Moon Pies!) which are ordered by the dozens again by each rider on a float-holy cow!...again, if it can be bought in quanity, can have a logo put on it and you can throw it from a float w/ out killing somebody, some krewe has or is throwing it during a parade..For my first ride I bought a basic bead & throw package from the krewe- along w/ ordering some exta krewe-branded frisbees, specialty beads, footballs, koozies and the like. I then supplemented this with 3 bags of plush toys (about 100 pcs) and 4 30lb bags of beads from the ARC of New Orleans- to save a little bit of money but also to help do a little bit to save the environment by using recycled items..this configuration probably falls at the "lighter throwing" end of the spectrum so I'll have to see if I run out by the end or not (running out may be better than having too many thows left at the end-having too many items left at the end can result in riders starting to throw not single strands of beads but full bags-maybe a dozen at a time-into the crowd to get rid of their beads). On the receiving end, folks who go to  a lot of parades may only collect certain things- for instance,only doubloons or only footballs or plastic cups- while others want to get anything and everything they can get their hands on. Apparently for certain parades that feature very unique or limited quanity "special" throws the competition to get one ("Throw me something mister!) can be fierce and I'm told that if something hits the ground,you better put your foot on it to claim it vs reaching down w/ your hand b/c you will likely get your fingers stomped!..You also have to pay attention b/c you have multiple riders on any given float who may be throwing beads at the same time and if you aren't careful you can "catch" some beads to the side of your head or in the face which-if it is a 60", 12mm size strand of beads- is not a pleasant experience..All in all, this whole parade thing is going to be quite an experience and i will be part of it both as a rider/thrower and as an observer/throw catcher- wild!

More Parade Watchin'

Ok. In addition to ParadeCam @ NOLA.com there are a couple other options for watching or tracking the upcoming Mardi Gras parades. To watch the parades you can also go to NO tv station WWLTV's website for live broadcasts. If you have an iPhone ( not sure about Android) yes there is an app for that - actually 2 apps that let you track alot of the parades from beginning to end. The first is the Experience Mardi Gras app from WWLTV. The second is a parade tracker app from NO tv channel 6. Both are free in the iTunes app store. So you can go about your business while you watch & track the Krewe of Mid-City parade. See ya Sunday 2.19 around 11:45 am CST/12:45pm EST/9:45 am PST on ParadeCam.

ARC of Greater New Orleans

Just want to mention again the Recycling Program of ARC Enterprises that is part of the ARC of Greater New Orleans since they just got a nice write up in the NO paper- The Times Picayune- along with a video featuring program director Margie Perez explaining their mission specific to recycling Mardi Gras beads.  I spent a couple hours volunteering there and was particularily impressed with their newest recycling innovation: the Catch and Release float. They won a grant to fund this project that I think is just brilliant. Think of it like a "reverse" Mardi Gras parade float- instead of beads being thrown off the float into the crowd, this float is meant to catch beads that the crowd wants to throw back (vs leaving on the ground along the parade route, or taking them home only to throw them away). So, instead of "Throw me something mister!" its "Throw us back something, mister!" Apparently, in the first parade it was used they "caught" 1,000 lbs of beads that would have otherwise ended up on the ground or in a landfill. Seems like its off to a good start...Go HERE for article and video.

Grammy Alert: Rebirth Wins!

The Rebirth Brass Band won Grammy in Best Regional Roots Music Album category. Congratulations!

Coming soon Krewe du Vieux 2012

Working to get bunch of photos up from Krewe du Vieux parade in New Orleans last weekend- havin' a bit of a technical issue so in meantime, enjoy this video taken at a bar in the Marigny neighborhood . Video features the Paulin Brothers Brass Band who played at a pre- parade party for one of the parade sub- krewes. I have gotten friendly w one of the members of this krewe over past couple years and have for the past 3 years had privilege of attending these pre-parade activities. There are a number (maybe 15-20?) sub-krewes for this parade and most do some variation of this kind of party before the parade. Krewe members assemble at a local neighborhood bar to get costumed, have something to eat and drink and usually have live music. This particular sub-krewe then second lines w the Paulin Bothers brass band leading the way from the bar to the start of the parade. Just another typical day in New Orleans. Enjoy the music video.

Rebirth Redux

Make way for the Rebirth . A clip from the Philly show Wednesday nite.

I Like to watch...

..the New Orleans Mardi Gras parades on the Uptown parade route (that's the route I will be riding on Sunday Feb 19th) via the NOLA.com Parade Cam. It is a pretty lo-tech/low budget affair and can have it's share of tech glitches during the broadcasts, but typically they do a decent enough job. (The announcers can also be annoying at times but it is a live on the street view of most of the major parades.) The parades really start to roll as of tonite- Friday- and there will be a couple to watch on Sat & Sunday this weekend as well. Then there is a break in the action til next Wed nite and then from that day thru Mardi Gras day you can see parades every day. Schedule of parades & broadcasts can be found at top of NOLA.com homepage (remember to adjust times for East Coast viewing by adding 1 hr or for West Coast viewing subtract 2 hrs from the scheduled times). Once you get parade up on the screen & it starts to roll kick back, pour the beverage of your choice into a glass and enjoy. You can even practice yelling "Throw me somethin' mister!" as floats roll by on screen- who's gonna know?

NOTE: Make sure to try paradecam out and get familiar with site and how it works BEFORE Krewe of Mid-City parade rolls on Sunday Feb 19th, 11:45am CST/ 12:45pm EST and 9:45AM PST.

Not in a million years..

..did I expect half of the Philly crowd at the Rebirth Brass Band showlast nite to be Mummers! But that's the way it went down . My wife and I got there early and as people started coming in we noticed groups- mainly guys- wearing various jackets or sweatshirts with names I recognized as mummer organizations. We ended up standing nxt to a group of guys who were part of the Woodland String Band - who it turns out were the 2012 String Band Champs. As we talked w these guys it started to make sense. Some of the mummers groups have over the years hired NO Brass Bands to play w their groups in the parade and they've gotten friendly withthem. These guys were also musicians themselves & appreciate the brass bands musicianship and then there is the whole Mummer-Mardi Gras-Secondline connection so now this was starting to make perfect sense. Finally there turned out to be one more piece to the puzzle- the unannounced opening act was a brass band made up of an amalgam of players from the various mummer marching bands so this helped to create this wild New Orleans-Philly Mummer mix in the music and the audience . The mummer band had 8 trombones, 1 sax, a mini tuba , a regular tuba, bass & snare drum and a percussionist. They got the crowd warmed up and as they started to play a handful of guys came out on dance floor in full Mummer wench regalia- jumping and dancing to the music while waving their decorated umbrellas. As the show continued more and more umbrellas- both NO and Mummer style - literally popped up in the crowd and were waved around. What a trip! When Rebirth came on the crowd was primed & ready. The band was its usual powerful self- these guys are at the top of their game. At one point the band gave a shout out to the Mummer group they had marched w in the past - think it was the Pirates- and noted that they don't do The Mummers Parade no more because the parade is too (expletive expletive ) cold. Anyway, the band played a great set featuring some new songs from their current Grammy nominated album and then some instrumentals and greatest hits. All in all have to say I got my 20 dollars worth and seeing the energy created by the Philly Mummer- NO Brass Band was in a word priceless. Only in Philly, only in Philly.

Scenes from a Second Line

Click HERE to see some pix and videos taken at the Treme Sidewalk Steppers 2012 secondline parade held on Super Bowl Sunday.

Rebirth in Philly tonite...

Just secondlined behind 'em in NO on Sunday and tonite wife and I gonna see 'em here in Philadelphia at Union Transfer. Keepin' that NO vibe goin'.

Rouses, po'boy and the airport

Took a morning ride thru City Park then along Bayou St John. Beautiful sunny morning. Popped into Rouses for supplies for return trip- mainly beer (Abita cans!) and a bottle of King Cake vodka..also some bags and twist ties to "band " a few doz beads for nxt weeks parade-oops also picked up a "six pack" of Hubigs pies for home. Bit of a challenge getting all back to sis's on bike ( important to strap the 12 pack to back rack for balance & then the vodka, other six pack of beer and the pies in bag on your back). Sister picked me up and got to go see her hospital ( she runs a veterinary Hosp) and then walked across street to the Short Stop for a shrimp po'boy ( fully dressed of course) w a bag of Zapp's chips. Nice lunch w sis and her bf & now sitting on Tarmac awaiting take off in- get this-a USAirways jet decorated in full Pittsburgh Steelers colors! Oh well gotta get home somehow...

KABOOM!..'Oz, & Barbecue..

Started out yesterday am ( which was really overcast & cold btw) pedaling thru City Park over to Langston Hughes Academy elementary school for playground build event. It was some production - maybe 200 volunteers. . Folks were there in groups from different organizations or on their own like myself. Amazingly we started w an open lot & ended up w a full playground by 3pm- very cool. At the end of day the kids came outside and were so excited. The school band played at a short dedication and the project was complete. From here hopped on bike to the FQ- picked up my tux pants and swung by WWOZ to say hey to a friend at the station. . By this time pretty hungry so biked it over to the new location of The Joint for BBQ in the Bywater. After heading back to sis's for a rest & shower ended my night w a trip via streetcar over to Chickie Wah Wah to see Jon Cleary on piano & guitar (didn't know he played guitar; after hearing, he was ok but i prefer his piano playing which is pretty amazing). Well that's almost all for this trip. Maybe will take a ride over to Rouses to pick up some Hubigs pies to bring home and then lunch w sis and off to airport for fight home. Bye y'all.

Keepin' it simple..

Today got up had breakfast. & then cooked up a pot of Super Bowl jambalaya . Later in ithe morning headed out to the Super Bowl Sunday Treme Sidewalk Steppers secondline . First time I did a secondline from beginning to the end. Parade featured the Rebirth Brass Band who don't do second lines much anymore and were making their last NO appearance before heading to the Grammys. The parade steadily picked up people as it went along and by the end had to be Several thousand strong- it was wild! Speaking of the end- this parade is marked by the president of the secondline climbing up on the roof of the bar where parade ends ( in this case, Sidney's Saloon) and proceeding to take off and cut up his suit! First the jacket, then the tie, then his shirt, one of his pant legs and finally his hat was removed, shredded w scissors and thrown off the roof to the crowd below. As they say, only in New Orleans! After the parade headed back to sis's house to eat , watch the big game & rest up for tomorrow's playground build. Peace out.

Do watcha wanna..

Alright. Started day off volunteering at ARC o f Greater New Orleans- new appreciation for beads & throws. Workers at program were great . Next up Krewe of Midcity den party. Floats look great & met bunch of nice folks including the king and his wife who are also originally from PA but now live in New Orleans. Hail Mid City! From den party to pre-parade party before Krewe du Vieux. Poured rain at one point but all gone by parade time. Parade was usual wild and wacky spectacle. Tomorrow Super Bowl Sunday second line & the Super Bowl- until then!

Day. 2 Let's go get 'em

K...am bike ride into FQ. Breakfast-stop st Matassas market: Hubigs Sweet Potato Pie. Drop off tux pants to be fixed for Krewe of Mid City Ball. French Market -tri color boa for my wife. To old US Mint-Preservation Hall @ 50 exhibit. Bike out to Marigny- stumble on Treme filming; get yelled at bc my reflection in window is in the shot . Back on bike- to lunch. Golden feather Mardi Gras Gallery & Cafe- seafood gumbo & buffalo shrimp. Bike thru Armstrong Park. Ride back to Mid city- stop at Rouses- jambalaya fixings for Super Bowl Sunday at sis's house; also six pack of Nola Brewery Blonde Ale in cans. Back to sis's- shower & relax. Walk to streetcar. Streetcar to Garden District. Walk to Irish Channel neighborhood- dinner: Parasol's Bar: Roast beef PO boy , dressed. Messy & delicious. Walk to Bulldog Bar. On way, stop at Sucre Bakery- free sample of King Cake macaroons- out of thi world. Arrive Bulldog Bar- mob scene ; Abita Amber in cans- 2 bucks! Meet up w friends - chat while waiting for bus back to FQ. Stop - Rouses for King Cake- Bavarian filled; Bud Light- big Mardi Gras can . All this walkin making me thirsty. To house party in FQ- cocktail party for Krewe du Vieux Sub Krewe. Deliver king cake- eat Mac & cheese, bahn mi sandwich, piece of king cake. Say goodnight- will see group at pre-parade party tomorrow. On to Circle Bar for Debauche- Eastern European/ Gypsy Brass Band music.. Whew- goodnight !

in New Orleans

From airport to Vaughn's -thanks sis! From Vaughns to JJs Sports Bar.. From JJ's via bike to Frenchmen St..Apple Barrel- Lil Freddie King then Spotted Cat .. Smokin Time Jazz Band.. Good night!

It's not ALL fun and games..altho mostly so...

Heading to New Orleans tonite. Krewe of Mid-City den party is on Saturday as is one of the first parades of the season Krewe du Vieux (looks like it could literally rain on the parade but think its a rain or shine type deal). Also looking to go to a Super Bowl Sunday Second Line featuring the Treme Sidewalk Steppers on Sunday afternoon. One other event to mention, I hope to get to a Friday nite Abita beer "can" launch event (very excited about this one). This is a pretty typical schedule when I visit New Orleans but since Katrina, I have also been trying to work in some volunteer activities when I visit. In the past couple years I have volunteered-through Hands on New Orleans- at a homeless service center (the New Orleans Mission) as well as working to help repaint the exterior of a woman's house that was damaged in the flood (through the Beacon Of Hope non-profit). That experience was particularily rewarding- at lunch my volunteer colleagues & I were called inside and served a huge meal of fried chicken and gumbo by the lady of the house. She also shared here story of having to leave her home and then come back to it months later. She showed us how far the water had gotten up the walls in her home (almost to the ceiling) and talked about how much things had changed since the storm. Needless to say it was a very intense and emotional experience. This time down, I am going to volunteer a couple hours on Saturday morning at the ARC of Greater New Orleans which has a non-profit sheltered workshop for adults with disabilities- and this being New Orleans- one of their primary work tasks is recycling Mardi Gras beads and throws to sell back to the public during carnival time, so they are really busy right now (I actually purchased 3 bags of plush toys from the program to use as throws in the Krewe Of Mid City parade; the other fun fact: this program is headed by Margie Perez who is also a well known New Orleans musician). Then, on Monday of next week, I signed up for the day to assist w/ a national non-profit program-KABOOM! -that organizes volunteers to build new playgrounds in one day at schools or parks in communities around the country. I will be at the Langston Hughes Academy Charter School working with a group of volunteers. I will try to do some "live" blogging from New Orleans as I go about my business so stay tuned!

Yes..Amazon.com has tuxedos..

..and I'm going to need one because it's not just about the parade. Altho the parade is the "main event" most krewes have multiple activities and other events in the months, weeks and days leading up to their parades each year. The logistics and planning to coordinate and put on a parade for one krewe- let alone the 60+ who parade during carnival season- is mind boggling. Mid City's krewe has I think maybe 14 floats and around 200 riders; some of the "super krewes" have 3x the number of floats (and the floats are as long as 2 tractor trailers!) and maybe 1000 to 1500 riders..so, lets do the math: we are talking about dozens of floats to prepare and get to the parade route (typically pulled by trucks or in the case of Mid-City by tractors), organizing and transporting maybe 10-25 marching bands to the start of each parade, wrangling thousands of riders to the start and get them on their floats and before any of this literally tons of beads have to be loaded onto the floats! Pre-parade activities held by each krewe typically include den parties (den= the warehouse where the floats are stored), special breakfasts, brunches, cigar strolls, balcony parties, bead loadings, and formal balls. In addition, there is usually a whole set of "special" get togethers and events exclusively for members of the krewe's "royal court"-king, queen, dukes and duchesses-of that year's parade. On parade day, there may be a pre-parade mass (New Orleans has a very Catholic history) and breakfast (which for Mid-City by the way is BYOB), -and then there is the task of getting the riders dressed into costume and transported from their hotels to the start of the parade which usually means arranging for buses and other mass transportation. After the parade, there is typically a post-parade party-which for at least one of the super krewes ends with their floats rolling right INSIDE the New Orleans Superdome where the riders re-join their families,friends and other members of the larger krewe for a huge party. So, there is a lot going on in-especially in the few days running up to each krewe's parade. I will be going to the Krewe of Mid-City den party this weekend down in New Orleans where I will get to go to the krewe den, see the newly decorated floats, meet some of the other riders-including my float "captain"- and also hopefully get to see which float and where on the float ("sidewalk" or "neutral ground" side) I will be assigned to ride and throw. Then, when my wife and I go back to New Orleans together a few days before the parade, there will be a "bead load" get together on the Thursday before the parade-where literally all the beads and other throws get loaded onto the floats for the riders- and then on that Friday night is the krewe's formal ball and supper dance at a hotel in downtown New Orleans. These balls are very formal affairs- tuxedos for the men and gowns (not dresses) for the ladies are required. So back to the tuxedo.....Since I shop for just about everything these days on Amazon.com, for the heck of it I thought-since I had earned Amazon "points"-maybe I could buy vs rent a tuxedo at a good price. And, sure enough, I found a tuxedo that after applying my points ended up costing me about $17 which included having it shipped to my sister's house in New Orleans. In the meantime, my wife found a very nice burgundy full length gown at a great price at a local department store which- along with our dress shoes- is also in the mail on the way to my sister's. The ball starts at 7pm and goes until 3am (!). The court is formally presented to the King and Queen, there is dinner and dancing, and most importantly, an open bar until 2am. Should be quite a party. This is really gonna be something.