Festival worker perspective

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festivals, Rich Campanella, work

 At the Old U.S. Mint food booths

photo by @nolacampanella

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teach-in and discussion re: busking laws

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buskers, MACCNO

Street Performers, come learn about your rights! The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans is hosting a FREE teach-in and discussion re: busking laws in New Orleans.

The meeting will provide a discussion and Q&A session for the rights and responsibilities of street performers and law enforcement, which will include participation from a civil rights attorney. This open dialogue looks to establish a safe space for performers to 1) ask questions, 2) express concerns, and/or 3) discuss incidents without enforcement agencies present.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 2 PM – 3:30 PM Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant 1001 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70116

OUT TO LUNCH : Intellectual Property Podcast

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Cheryl Gerber, intellectual property

This podcast features Photojournalist Cheryl Gerber, my neighbor and pal who is a award-winning freelance journalist and documentary photographer.  She  is a staff photographer for Gambit and a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Associated Press, and New Orleans Magazine.

Her book Life in the Big Easy is a standout; find my review here.

On the podcast, Cheryl talks about her diligence in keeping track of her work, using a law firm in New York.

The work has changed a lot since she said she “used to drive to Gambit’s offices holding wet photos out of the window!” Yet, the digital format is “made for her” she says.

Out To Lunch

 

 

In Memoriam: Scotty Cathcart Hill (1947-2018)

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buskers, gig, hustle, New Orleans, Scotty Cathcart Hill

In Memoriam: Scotty Cathcart Hill (1947-2018)

A lot of people don’t realize that Scotty was an individual that made it possible for everybody to play on the streets,” says trumpeter Gregg Stafford, who began performing with Hill around 1975. “His band was the first band out on the streets of New Orleans,” Stafford continues, as he remembers what a struggle it was for Hill to stand up against complaints from shop owners and harassment by the police to keep his group playing outdoors in the French Quarter. “Many a time we had to go to court, we were issued a summons, arrested and went to jail.”

Hill’s French Market Jazz Band’s spot was on the corner of Royal and St. Peter streets and, according to Stafford, most of the musicians who worked regular gigs on Bourbon Street in the early 1980s would join the group on their days off. “We were making more money in two hours on the street than they’d make in six hours in a club. We were the only band on the street.”

Artist takes challenge to New Orleans ban on outdoor art sales to state Supreme Court

This fight seems quite overdue as this ruling is clearly overly restrictive, encouraging bureaucrats to make cultural decisions like the one below, taken from the article.  His statement has nothing to do with regulating entrepreneurial activity reasonably and everything to do with defining art as only useful for tourists and making a living from selling art outdoors only available to those lucky enough to win a lottery for the few dozen spaces around the Square.

Louisiana Deputy Solicitor General Colin Clark said there was nothing unreasonable about funneling artists into a few areas in the French Quarter. The city has decided to maximize outdoor art sales in an area where tourists converge, he argued.

“If I were the mayor of Paris, it might make sense to say that artists have to sell art along the Seine, near the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower,” Clark said.

 

Artist takes challenge to New Orleans ban on outdoor art sales to state Supreme Court | Courts | theadvocate.com

Two Women

So I decided to get out of my apartment today after morning work and enjoy the sun. Making lots of stops, including to Ellen Macomber‘s new gallery location on Magazine (next to Mojo’s) and Melissa Martin’s Mosquito Supper Club on Dryades, now shared with Levee Baking Co and Seasoned, the gently used kitchenware shop. Ellen was busy painting one of her beautiful map windows, talking a blue streak as always, sharing her plans for hustling every angle she can so she can work at what she wants and her family can live well enough in New Orleans on New Orleans money. Just back from Mexico, tanned and full of ideas about how to get she and her family back there and back to Cuba. Of course, she took time out to curse me out for missing her last event. At the door, she shouts out, “Love your face!” and maybe called me a bitch too, a word probably used for a dozen different meanings by Ellen over the course of one day. Leaving Magazine still shaking my head over Ellen, I headed to Dryades to see if could find Melissa’s place. I have offered less support to Melissa, as I have yet to make to the Supper Club. I have no good excuse as I know Melissa’s food and her ability to create an entire evening around it. She was at the entrance, musing over something as I walked in, but greeted me warmly and showed me the space and we talked of her plans and introduced her colleagues. It’s hard to not compare these 2 Louisiana women: Ellen- raised in Abbeville and New Orleans, has such city energy, so outwardly tough and moving constantly, who only trusts wisdom that comes from experience. Melissa, the small Chauvin girl so often quiet when you are talking that you worry she has mentally left the conversation, but then she acknowledges and builds on something you say and you say, “YES. That’s exactly what I meant.” Melissa and I worked together at Market Umbrella (one of a few outstanding chefs to do so, along with Kristen Essig and Aaron Burgau) so I know her work ethic but also know how long and how many stops it has taken her to get to this place where she is doing the kind of food and the kind of presentation she has always dreamed of doing. I also know that for her, to be successful is only complete as part of a team, but also that she is not necessarily comfortable to be the head of that team. Conversely, Ellen fiercely guards her freedom in order to be able to adapt quickly which means her work time is most often just her in her studio. But that constant adaptation has allowed her to realize her ideas more fully and has also kept her work from being cliched which makes her a leader whether she likes it or not. (Which she doesn’t. She is visibly unnerved when I call her one.) Fascinating to see these 2 women (mothers too) working without any institutional support in their field, outnumbered by the men in their field who often get more coverage and the few plum jobs, without the ease of decent municipal infrastructure and yet determined to stay and triumph.

Side hustles are the new norm. Here’s how much they really pay. –

 Side hustles are the new norm. Here’s how much they really pay. – The Washington Post

Remedy: Mind/Body Wellness Community Skillshare & Market

Are you a musician or performer in need of health care services? Join us at Remedy: Mind/Body Wellness Community Skillshare & Market on Sunday, May 28th at the The Music Box Village!

We will be conducting pre-registration for new patients on site. Come learn about the NOMC and see if our services could be useful to you 🙂

New Orleans Airlift

4557 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70117

Sunday at 12 PM – 6 PM

‘Send Me A Friend’

Local (well, by way of Sweden but well over  25+ years ago) blues legend Anders Osborne has experienced the lows of addiction and the difficulty in being a working musician when that addiction is under control too. His program is a great idea for others struggling to stay sober while working in bars and clubs. He is a great musician and clearly, a great friend to other musicians at home and abroad.

“http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/22/525060029/send-me-a-friend-anders-osborne-helps-musicians-stay-sober-on-tour?

 

Check out his music and bio here

 

 

Tanya & Dorise

After playing 15 years on the street, we’ve decided to end our run. Thank you for the love and memories!

Please keep us in our hearts as we embark on our next chapter. For any questions or comments, please contact us directly:
Dorise can be reached at Doriseblackmon@gmail.com

Tanya can be found at tanyahuang.com

We are no longer accepting bookings. Music is still available for purchase below.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

WE LOVE YOU!!