books books books

One of the many things that I am most looking forward to about living and working in New Orleans for two weeks is being immersed in one of the richest, most culturally inclusive musical environments in our ginormous U.S.of A.

I have to admit, aside from a few famous names like Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and a love for Blue Music, I don't have much knowledge about this cultural medium of New Orleans.

So, where oh where to start gleaning?

At the first meeting Caron and Jennifer mentioned that one of our New Orleans veterans, Tom V., had some great insight to share. On top of that, being one of the most experienced members of our company band made soliciting him for coffee a no-brainer.

Yesterday, I headed out with Tom to hear some stories and reap some musical inspiration. The more he spoke the more I wanted to hear. He loaded me up with CDs, a couple of books and I walked back to my desk with a stack of material I only hope I can make a dent in before we leave.

I've already cracked into one of his favorite books called "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" It's a collection of speeches, essays, stories, poems and recipes that provide a detailed (or as detailed as you can get about something so esoteric) account of the side of the city that most tourists never experience. One of the things Tom mentioned is that there is a soul to New Orleans that you can feel when you navigate the smaller, more local music venues. Even though I've only read the preface and part of the first story, "Do You Know..." seems to have already solidified his sentiment.

I haven't gotten very far in this book yet, but I highly recommend at least the first 10 pages :-)

If you're interested in learning a bit more, here's the link:


Next on my list is "1 Dead in the Attic"