(le) poisson rouge

Big Sam's Funky Nation have established their presence on the forefront of the New Orleans music scene. Trombone powerhouse and band leader "Big Sam" Williams, formerly of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, has been celebrated as "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz" by the San Francisco Chronicle and the band has been touted for consistently "bringing a straight raw party" by Jambase. 2010 has been a busy year for The Nation, with two European tours (France and Greece), a recurring role in the new HBO original series "Treme", and a busy US touring schedule including festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, South by Southwest, Doheney Blues Festival and Gathering of the Vibes. For 2011, BSFN does not intend to slow down. The momentum BSFN has recently accumulated will only continue to grow off of the successful release of their fourth and most prolific album to date, King Of The Party. Be on the lookout for BSFN's masterful blend of a rock, with an improv-style associated with jazz and a horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of funk. The energy level is always high voltage when BSFN takes the stage.

Even in a city that doesn’t play by the rules, New Orleans’ Bonerama is something different. They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song. Bonerama has been repeatedly recognized by Rolling Stone, hailed as “the ultimate in brass balls” (2005) and praised for their “…crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls” (2007). Bonerama carries the brass-band concept to places unknown; what other brass band could snag an honor for “Best Rock Band” (Big Easy Awards 2007)? As cofounder Mark Mullins puts it, “We thought we could expand what a New Orleans brass band could do. Bands like Dirty Dozen started the “anything goes” concept, bringing in the guitars and the drum kit and using the sousaphone like a bass guitar. We thought we could push things a little further.”

New Orleans’ fertile club scene was directly responsible for Bonerama getting together. Trombonists Mullins and Craig Klein were both members of Harry Connick’s band, where they’d been since 1990. Both were looking to supplement this gig with something a little less structured. “Harry sets the bar pretty high, and you have to play it the same way every night for everyone to follow.

The big chance came in the summer of ’98, when Mullins had a weekly residency at Tipitina’s in the French Quarter. The club was then turning weekly slots over to some of the city’s favorite musicians, including Allen Toussaint and Cyril Neville; Mullins got charge of Wednesdays. Word got out one week that he and Klein were staging their trombone super-session and everybody they knew wanted to get involved. “It seemed that half the trombone players in town showed up,” Klein recalls. “At the end of the night we had them all onstage, maybe fifteen trombones at once. It sounded like a freight train; a big wall of sound coming right at you.”

Along with his jazz connections, Mullins is Bonerama’s resident rock ‘n’ roller: It was Mullins who instigated the offbeat classic-rock covers that have become a band tradition. Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” was the first nugget to get the treatment and songs by Hendrix, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers Band have since appeared in their set right alongside the funk and jazz-flavored numbers. “There’s definitely something about the guitar and the trombone that are related,” Mullins figures. “You compare the fretboard to the slide; there’s a lot of similarity there.” Indeed, the sounds Mullins makes by playing through a guitar amp and wah-wah pedal may explain why he’s named Jimi Hendrix as one of his favorite trombonists. “It’s great to grab people with the rock songs, and then turn them on to some New Orleans music at the same time,” Klein says.

The buzz on Bonerama grew with hometown acclaim (with the band winning numerous OffBeat Magazine Awards; and Mullins regularly topping OffBeat’s trombone category), lots of roadwork, and three live albums – the first recorded close to home at the Old Point in Algiers; the second on tour in New York and the third album, Bringing It Home recorded live from New Orleans’ world famous nightclub, Tipitina’s. The Boston Herald called them a “bonehead’s dream”; the Vail (CO) Daily noted that “the sound is fat and wet; sometimes downright lusty.” As hometown music zine Off- Beat put it, “That nerdy kid in the band room with the trombone just might have the last laugh after all.”

The new EP Hard Times contains four studio tracks including the title track, “Hard Times”, the instrumental number “Folly” and “Lost My House” which was co-wrttten by Craig Klein and Dave Malone from the Radiators. These three new originals along with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" marks the band's first ever studio recordings. A bonus fifth track features a live performance of "Turn on Your Love Light" captured live from the stage at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

“’Lost My House’ is a true story inspired by the the levee failures in 2005. The verse was written by Dave Malone, who knows the story of the Rugalator. In the song, it is symbolic of losing everything, but still having the things you love and cherish. Some things can't be taken away," says Klein.

“The song “Hard Times” is really about the antithesis of hard times and flipping our fears over to optimism. To those that say all hell is breaking loose, we say kick out the demons and embrace all the positives that are always around us but often ignored in this world," says Mullins.

With all the makings of an American music icon, Tab Benoit has become one of the premiere roots stylist of the century. Tab has paid his dues as a road troubadour playing 250 nights a year performing at venues across North America, honing his guitar chops and becoming part of Louisiana folklore and legend.

Way down in the heart of steamy South Louisiana there's a run-down shotgun-style, brick building where magic is known to happen on any given night. Many of the town's people don't venture into the area, but those who do, order from a hand written menu containing such misspelled delicacies as "hot sawsage poboys" and "fried swimps",. After a good, greasy meal, they are treated to the most authentic blues around. It's here at Tabby's Blues Box and Heritage Hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Tab Benoit played to gain acceptance among the true blues fans and players of the down and dirty genre, while earning the customary thirteen dollars a night.

"We weren't allowed to bring in our own equipment", Tab recalls. "We always just made do with what was there... that's the Blues Box way." Tab has fond memories of the leaky roof, the outdated PA system (a 1970's bass amplifier), and the appreciative crowd; a mixture of LSU students and neighborhood regulars. But mostly, he remembers a piece of advice from Tabby Thomas, the club's proprietor, who told him, "If you play the blues, you'll always have a job."

Tab has taken Tabby's advice to heart, maintaining his blues roots while hitting the road--hard. For the past several years he's been performing his own brand of cajun rock 'n blues, night after night, while watching the size of his audience steadily increase. This grueling tour schedule has paid off, as he now plays for standing room only crowds across the country, from major music cities to small town blues bars.

Born in Baton Rouge in November 1967 and raised in the oil and fishing town of Houma, Louisiana (where he lives to this day), Benoit barely remembers learning to play guitar. "I had a book that showed you how to play chords", he said. "After I learned the first three, I got rid of the book."

Since that time, the music has seemed to come naturally to him. He began playing gigs around town -- weddings, local Cajun festivals, and rock and roll shows – anything to make a living and get the chance to play music. For Tab there was a natural progression from rock 'n roll to the 70's to the Cajun rock 'n blues he now plays since all of these genres are firmly rooted in the blues.

He soon ventured off to New Orleans and met Barbara Becker, commonly known as B.B., and then manager of the Legendary Dr. John. She remembers the days when she would go see Tab and be the only person in the audience. When Justice Records president called her for a recommendation for an upcoming project, they set up a meeting at a local bowling alley (the now-famous Mid City Lanes - Rock 'n Bowl). Tab was playing there in a blues jam contest. Even though he came in third, it was his blues that got signed to participate on Justice's "Strike a Deep Chord: Blues Guitars for the Homeless". Everyone was so impressed with his contribution, a heartfelt blues number called "Nice and Warm", that they signed him to a multi album deal.

Tab also struck a deep chord in the television industry, getting several songs placed in prime time shows including Northern Exposure, Melrose Place, and Party of Five. Even the most watched show in the world, Baywatch, chose Tab to perform (this time on camera) on the premier episode of the spin-off series, Baywatch Nights. Other artists featured on the show include Buddy Guy, B. B. King and Robert Cray.

Everything Tab does, he does on the spot. He rarely rehearses, making each performance a new experience for both the band and the audience. He likes things simple, and approaches life with a laid-back reverence. Whether it's his uncanny ability to fix things (he's been known to repair a tour bus with a Swiss Army Knife), his winning performances racing dirt track stock cars, or his emotional, yet restrained, approach to playing music, Benoit believes in spontaneity and the importance of the moment. Benoit just does what comes naturally.

Even though Tab has been compared to some of the greatest bluesmen and guitarists of all time, he doesn't aspire to be the "next" anybody. But there's one thing he does know...he'll always have a job. That's the Blues Box way.