NOLA Musician Benefit in MA

[Zbonnie]

I'm told some folks never check anything but the main JazzFest Forum, so I'm reposting this from the Music Discussion section (and pardon the duplication if you've already read and responded to it over there):

(email from my friends) We are hosting a fundraiser for a classic, legacy New Orleans musician, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson. Since we returned to New Orleans a year ago, after our "hurrication" in Boston, Jon has been volunteering for a group called the Arabi Wrecking Krewe to help rebuild the homes of local musicians. He helped gut Al's house, saving a few items of memorabilia but not much else. Al is a New Orleans legend and a symbol of the work yet to do to bring our musicians, our life-blood, back to the city. We've gotten to know him personally; he is a humble and kind man and we just want to get him home where he belongs. It's the old "starfish (http://epistle.us/inspiration/starfish.html)" story--we might not be able to help everyone, but we can help this one.

Our goal is to raise as much money as we can to help Al secure his new home in Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village. So of course, this calls for an Extravaganza!

March 25, 2007
4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Unitarian Church, Watertown Square

Jon and Ken, along with some of our New Orleans friends, will be cooking for the event. Gumbo, red beans and rice, and jambalaya are pretty safe bets. We are not sure yet of the full music line-up, but it will be memorable--and best of all, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson himself will be performing.

Please RSVP by reply email to let us know if you will be attending. We are really excited about this event and look forward to seeing you there! IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND BUT WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE, please send a tax-deductible check payable to the "Arabi Wrecking Krewe," (a 501(c)3 non-profit) with "Al Johnson Fund" on the note line to: Jon Kardon, 1210 Peniston Street, New Orleans, LA 70115

IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO SHOULD ATTEND (out of love for New Orleans and an ability to contribute), please forward this invitation. There's no ticket price, but we will be putting the arm on people. If I can answer any questions, please let me know. We'll do another mailing with more details on the performers as those get confirmed. Thanks for your friendship and continued support for New Orleans. I look forward to seeing you on March 25th.

Elisa

(email me if you're interested and want to receive additional info as it becomes available - Zbonnie@comcast.net)
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[Zbonnie]

Bumping this up -- the organizers of this event (which some people emailed me that they were interested in and would probably go to, but I don't know if I have all your "real" names) are looking for RSVPs so they know how much food to have, etc. Please let me know (ZBonnie at comcast dot net) if you definitely plan to attend and I'll put your name on my list of RSVPs.

The updated particulars are:

Sun., 3/25, 4-8 pm
Unitarian Church, 35 Church Street, Watertown
The music will be a rolling jam session, with Jeremy Lyons, Al himself, and some local musicians.

Thanks.

[Zbonnie]

Got this email just now from a friend, and I thought it particularly apropos given this benefit that's being held this Sunday in Watertown, MA for Al "Carnival Time" Johnson:

Have you lived in New Orleans or enjoyed visiting in the past? If
so, you may enjoy a little trip down memory name. How many of these
ring a bell with you?

-----------------------

New Orleans. How wonderful those words sound when said with no
quirky emphasis on odd syllables. They always seem to elicit some
response.

Have you been there?

Have you ever been to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au
lait and gone back every morning of your visit? Have you ever sat for
hours in the piano bar at Pat O'Brien's sipping hurricanes? Have you
ever been to Mardi Gras - Bacchus? Endymion? Rex? Have you ever had
oysters at the Acme Oyster House?

Have you ever sat out on the "fly" eating crawfish and drinking
Dixie beer?

Have you ever taken a walking tour of the Garden District? Have
you ever sung karaoke at Cat's Meow? Do you know who John Folse is?
Have you ever risen at 6am to roam the streets of a "quiet" French
Quarter? Have you ever been to Galatoire's? K-Paul's? Emeril's? Can
you remember when Zulu threw gold-painted coconuts? Have you ever
ridden the street-car down St.Charles Avenue secretly sipping your
Strawberry daiquiri?

Have you ever had a mint julep on the porch of The Columns Hotel? Have you ever
been to Audubon Park? City Park? Have you ever been to mass at the
St. Louis Cathedral?

Do you know who Harry Connick, Sr is? Have you ever had breakfast
at Brennan's? Have you ever been to the original Tipitina's? Have you
ever been to the Superdome? Saint's game? Sugar Bowl? Super Bowl?
Final Four? Have you ever had cheese fries at Fat Harry's? Thrown
peanuts on the floor at O'Henry's? Have you ever been to the Rendon
Inn? Can you remember the New Orleans World's Fair?

Have you ever been to the campuses of Tulane and Loyola? Have you
been to a crawfish boil? Sucked the heads and pinched the tails? Have you ever been "on the
Lake"? "Across the lake"? To the "west bank"? Have you had a Ferdi
From Mother's and wondered what "debris" was? Have you ever been an
unexpected invitee to a jazz funeral? Have you ever been to Jazzfest -
--- first or second weekend?

Have you ever been to Pontchartrain Beach?

Have you ever stood in line at the Camellia Grill? Had a po-boy
At Uglesich's? Oyster and artichoke soup at Mandina's? BBQ shrimp at
Pascal Manale's? Gumbo at Dookie Chase? Have you ever been to a
Plantation home?

Have you ever been to the French Quarter festival? Can you pronounce
Tchoupitoulas? Thibodaux? Boutte? Have you ever been to Clancy's? The
Upperline? Brightsen's?

Have you ever been to the Biloxi beaches? Have you ever had a
Monsoon at Port of Call? Breakfast at the Blue Bird? Have you ever
seen the Neville Brothers? Cowboy Mouth? The Radiators?

Have you ever been to New Orleans?

If you've been there, undoubtedly one of these things found its
way to your itinerary. You probably also saw the dirty streets, the
tired shotgun houses, and cracked sidewalks. You've heard about the
high crime, poor public schools, poverty, and racism. And yes, there
are many housing projects. It is very hot in the summer, people are
generally overweight, and the city is always a hurricane away from
being flooded.

Each visitor chooses to see the New Orleans they want to see it.
Luckily, New Orleans has the amazing ability to win over many more
than it loses. It can cause one to see the big oaks hovering over St.
Charles and not the trash on the sidewalks. It can cause one to focus
on the street musician and not the street beggar. It can cause one to
see the wrought iron balcony rather than the dilapidated building.
What is it about the Big Easy that makes most see the positive and
not the negative?

The answer to New Orleans' allure may, on the surface, seem
different for locals and tourists but I suspect that there is a
common thread - the people, the heart and soul of New Orleans.

There is a culture and tradition in New Orleans that is sweet and
simple. No need to over analyze this. It recognizes that the
enjoyment of family and life is as attainable for the poor as it is
for the rich. A hand on a shoulder and touch on the arm is just the
way we say hello. We know that good music, food, and drink is made
all the better when surrounded by friends who share the same outlook.
When it is your way of life, when it is woven into your circle of
friends, social gatherings aren't seen as "excesses" but as something
you just do.

New Orleanians don't believe they've cornered the market on this
way of life. They recognize it when they see it elsewhere and they
applaud it. What makes New Orleans special is that they have a
concentration of people who have it and foster it. It's generational.
It's hereditary.

The challenge to New Orleans, to the New Orleanian, is as great
as ever. Its reputation temporarily tarnished by the things that
occurred in the aftermath of Katrina, it is up to those who live
there, have been there, and adopted this city to not let these
terrible scenes replace the ones they have of the Big Easy. While
money is needed to rebuild, preserving that feeling and attitude that
New Orleans gave you on that last visit is just as important. Did the
flood waters wash away the New Orleans way of life? Not a chance. Not
a chance that New Orleanians would deprive future generations of this
breeding ground of the good life.

With the vast destruction of parts of New Orleans now clear, the
question is being asked repeatedly, "Is New Orleans worth
rebuilding?" To that, I can only reply, "Have you ever been to New
Orleans?"

To end, here is a quote from the Times-Picayune newspaper"

We dance when there is no music, We drink at funerals.
We talk too much, and live too large and, frankly, we're
suspicious of others who don't...When you meet us now and you look
into our eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told. Our hearts
are broken into a thousand pieces.

But don't pity us, we're gonna make it. After all, we've been
rooting for the Saints for 35 years. Thats got to count for something."

Chris Rose, Times-Picayune Columnist, New Orleans

[mightyradgumbo]

see you Sunday, Bonnie. Gonna be cool.

[Jaypee]

I think I'll stop by too, Bonnie and MRG, prolly on the early end of the event. Look for me wearing a Threadhead pin or "Gridded by Neen" or whatever button I can dig up.

jp