Mardigramus - Brain Cells

Mardigramus the soothsayer dispenses pointless wisdom and useless observations every Tuesday. Today’s sooth is called “Brain Cells”. Click on the image to view his visionary video.

Celebrating the Birthday of Louis Prima

Trumpeter, singer, songwriter, actor, bandleader and composer Louis Prima was born in New Orleans on December 7, 1910. In the late 1920s Prima formed a New Orleans-style jazz band, then he led a swing band in the 1930s, and a big band group in the 1940s. By the 1950s, he had helped popularize jump blues and was a featured act in Las Vegas. From the 1940s through the 1960s he played early R&B, rock’n’roll, boogie woogie and Italian folk music. Despite that musicians of his era were discouraged from displaying their ethnic roots, Prima embraced his Italian heritage and helped pave the way for other musicians to display their ethnic roots in their music. Some of his most popular songs include, “Just A Gigolo”, “I Wanna Be Like You”, “Jump, Jive an’ Wail”, “Pennies from Heaven”, and “When You’re Smiling”. Sadly, Prima passed away on August 24, 1978, after a lengthy illness. Today we celebrate this unique performer who always left us smiling’!

Photo by: William P. Gottlieb

Happy Birthday, Monk Boudreaux!

Monk Boudreaux, born Joseph Pierre Boudreaux in New Orleans on December 7, 1941, is the Big Chief of the Golden Eagles, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. He is widely known for his long-time collaboration with Big Chief Bo Dollis in The Wild Magnolias, which he joined in the late 1960s. Dollis and Boudreaux were close friends since their childhood. In 1970, Boudreaux appeared with the Wild Magnolias at the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. In that same year, the group released the single "Handa Wanda", the first studio recorded music by the Mardi Gras Indians. In 1974, he appeared with the Wild Magnolias on their debut album, which featured supporting musicians Snooks Eaglin and Willie Tee. Boudreaux is exclusively featured on Golden Eagles' 1998 live album Lightning and Thunder. In 2001, after 30 years with the Wild Magnolias, Boudreaux left the group. Since then, he has performed and recorded with artists such as Anders Osborne, Galactic and Papa Mali in addition to the Golden Eagles.

Boudreaux participated in the recording and tour of the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars, a band that also featured Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, and Dr. John among others. He is also featured on one track in Sing Me Back Home, the New Orleans Social Club's album released in 2006. In addition, he performs in New Orleans with John Lisi & Delta Funk, with whom he has also recorded. In 2010, Boudreaux appeared in the feature-length documentary Bury the Hatchet, which provides an intimate look at the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, following Boudreaux and several other Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs in the year before Hurricane Katrina, through the storm and the years after. In 2016, Boudreaux received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship. Today we celebrate the birthday of this unique New Orleanian! Happy Birthday Big Chief!

Photo: Masahiro Sumori

Happy Birthday WWOZ!

Happy Birthday to the greatest radio station on the planet! WWOZ 90.7 FM has been operating since December 4, 1980, and is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, a community radio station operating out of the French Quarter in New Orleans. WWOZ is a listener-supported, volunteer-programmed radio station that covers many events live in and around the city and across the United States. They also broadcast live from the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually. WWOZ's mission is to be the worldwide voice, archive, and flag-bearer of New Orleans culture and musical heritage. They continue to succeed in that mission year after year! Congratulations WWOZ! Help keep them around for many years to come by clicking on the logo below and donating.

Happy 88th Anniversary, Pat O'Brien's!

Pat O’Brien ran a speakeasy in New Orleans’ French Quarter, until the repeal of Prohibition, and officially opened the bar on December 3, 1933. Pat O’Brien’s became one of the most iconic nightclubs in the United States, partly by mixing plentiful rum with passion fruit and putting it in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp, and by originating the popular form of dueling piano entertainment where the audience dictates the show. No visit to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Pat O’Brien’s!

Giving Tuesday!

It’s “Giving Tuesday”, and if you are able to give today, please consider donating to NOLA charities. Click the image below to scroll through a list of organizations worthy of consideration. Thanks y’all!

Image: It’s Your NOLA