Tag: memory

Music Memory from Daniele Spadavecchia

Daniele Spadavecchia. Photo courtesy of http://www.dsjazz.com/

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear some memories of a musical childhood from New Orleans-based gypsy guitarist Daniele Spadavecchia, who grew up in Italy.

Daniele loves to play acoustic gypsy jazz guitar, and when he first came to New Orleans (around 2003) he hooked up with Tony Green, another musician who shares sensibility and appreciation of gypsy jazz, swing, Mediterranean Flamenco, and European ethnic music.

Daniele has performed at dozens of festivals and venues in Italy and the United States, especially around New Orleans and San Diego (where he lived after Hurricane Katrina for a time). Today, you can catch him at the Tasting Room on Magazine Street, where he has weekly gigs.

In this interview, Daniele describes his childhood as freewheeling and adventurous, and his parents—”an Italian version of hippies”—shared their musical tastes with Daniele and his brother.

“Of course as kids, we were always traveling with my parents, and we would always have a tape player in the car. We didn’t even have a working stereo in the car so we would carry this predecessor of a boom box. So we would play all these tapes. My mama would play some music, and she would play every kind of thing…. all these fantastic rock ‘n roll or prog rock bands or psychedelic rock. And that thing really twisted my brain, in a good way. It taught me freedom of expression and the beauty of music, the power of music.”

Daniele has recorded various gypsy jazz CDs and also plays on the Confetti Park Player’s children’s CD. he is the featured guitarist on the song “Buttermilk Drop.”

Listen to Daniele’s beautiful music:
Music Memory from Randy Guynes

Photo of Randy Guynes by Barbara Beaird Photography

Randy Guynes is a drummer and percussionist from Shreveport, Louisiana. He’s played in bands such as the Killer Bees, the Lightnin’ Bugs, and the Fiddlin’ Tim Trio.

In this episode of Confetti Park, Randy shares a few music memories from his childhood that show how powerful the influence of song can be. In one example, the great fun he shared with his sister while dancing the Twist was probably the first time he started thinking about playing music himself. “I think somehow it was on from there!” says Randy.

Songs shaped Randy and spurred him onward, and also created emotional experiences. In one humorous anecdote, Randy recalls how terrifying the new psychedelic sounds created by the Beatles were to his innocent ears.

Says Randy: “KEEL played some music at night, during the late night hours, that they didn’t play during the daytime. I remember hearing for the first time, ‘A Day in the Life,’ by the Beatles. And it just scared me. It was almost like having a nightmare…..I’d never heard anything like that before, in music. It was mind-blowing.”
Music Memory from Cameron Meshell

In this episode of Confetti Park, Shreveport native son Cameron Meshell shares a childhood music memory.

Cameron is a talented singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in north Louisiana. Today, he and his family live in Los Angeles, but his roots in Shreveport are still strong (as are his ongoing partnerships with musical collaborators). Among Cameron’s various musical projects are Forever Like Red and Alarm Science.

Cameron plays drums, guitar, and piano, but it’s his beautiful and acrobatic singing that is so arresting. It’s no surprise that when Cameron thinks back on his earliest musical influences, he recalls another musician known for his amazing vocal pipes: Freddie Mercury of the band Queen.

Says Cameron: “My first musical memory that had an impact on me as an artist was of an album called Queen, self-titled. It was given to me by my uncle, when I was eleven years old. I just remember being so consumed by the album and that was the moment that made me want to be a singer.”
Music Memory from clarinetist Doreen Ketchens

Doreen Ketchens wails on clarinet on a street in New Orleans. Photo used with permission from http://doreensjazz.com/

Walking down Royal Street on a sunny afternoon, you are very likely to find Doreen Ketchens wailing on her clarinet, leading an enthusiastic band and delighting passersby with her vibrant personality and bold, joyful sound.

Doreen has been called “Queen Clarinet,” “the female Louis Armstrong,” and “Lady Louie.” She has a quick smile, an easygoing laugh and is always ready to entertain. She also has a dedication to promoting New Orleans culture and music.

Doreen and her family (including husband Lawrence, a tuba, trombone and piano player) have traveled the world and performed for numerous U.S. presidents. Their daughter Dorian is only thirteen but is already a world-traveled jazz drummer.

Music is part of this family.

In this episode of Confetti Park, Doreen shares a childhood memory… one about how music changed her life one unforgettable day at school.

“The teacher would ask one question. If you knew it, you passed, if you didn’t you failed…. I was destined for failure. I looked to the sky and said, ‘Oh God, if you get me out of this, I will do anything.’

About two minutes later the principal came on the loudspeaker and she said, ‘Anyone interested in joining the band, report to the band room immediately! And there I went!”

Check out all the CDs Doreen has created. You can order from her website directly.
Music Memory from Foots Quinn

Foots Quinn plays some train songs

Terry “Foots” Quinn is a singer-songwriter from Bogalusa, Louisiana. Foots plays guitar and harmonica, and considers his biggest influences to be the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Allman Brothers, and rural blues and country players such as Jimmie Davis and Jimmie Rodgers. Foots is the nephew of an important pioneer of early jazz guitar named Snoozer Quinn.

Foots writes songs true to life growing up in the piney woods of Washington Parish. His descriptive lyrics capture the feelings, scenery and problems of small-town life, yet Foots always manages to bring a chuckle and point out the good things. He’s also a railroad historian and afficionado, and has a large repertoire of train songs.

Here he shares a music memory with Confetti Park:

“My memory from way back is of a little drive-in chili bun stand called Floyd’s—had curb service,” says Foots. “They were playing ‘Maybelline’ over the loud speaker system, by Chuck Berry. It introduced me to some very fine rock n roll!”
Music Memory from C.C. Adcock

C.C. Adcock. Photography by John Chiasson

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear a childhood music memory from C.C. Adcock, Louisiana native and cultural champion, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer.

C.C. recalls the positive memories of neighbors who shared their music with him when he was just a kid, in endless front porch jam sessions, and how early on, he realized that musicians are nice people.

“When I was a child we were living in Baton Rouge for a while…there were these hippie people with long hair living across the street from us. And they used to pick guitars every afternoon on the front porch. I remember being fascinated by them, all being able to play guitars together. My parents would let me cross the street and go around there, and I’d strum my chords that I knew with them. They were really sweet. That’s also where I learned how nice and genuine and sweet musicians can be.”

C.C. leads the Lafayette Marquis and is a member of the swamp pop supergroup Lil’ Band O’ Gold. He’s performed with Bo Diddley, Buckwheat Zydeco, Paul “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal, and others. He’s also a notable Grammy-nominated record producer who has worked with a wide range of musicians, such as Robert Plant, Florence + The Machine, Nick Cave and Neko Case, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Ani DiFranco, and Doyle Bramhall.

Check out C.C. Adcock’s sound from his self-titled album and with L’il Band of Gold.
Music Memory from Emily Estrella

Emily Estrella is a singer who has spent the last several years singing traditional jazz and original tunes around the French Quarter and Marigny music clubs. You can even catch her busking on the streets of New Orleans on occasion.

She “has an ‘old soul’ voice evoking the Dixie ghosts of a previous century. Charismatic & joyous, she heads in to share her contagious repertoire of traditional acoustic folk-jazz.” Visit her Band Camp page for some sound samples: http://emilyestrella.bandcamp.com

In this music memory shared with Confetti Park, Emily fondly discusses the impression her grandmother made on her when she was growing up.

“People ask me a lot, ‘What record did you learn those old songs from?’ My reply usually is, ‘A record, what do you mean a record? My grandma sang me these songs!’” laughs Emily. “She taught me to dance, she sang with me a lot, and she told me about this magical place called New Orleans.”
Storytime: The Lord’s Supper by Ms. Chocolate

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear a wonderful and true childhood story from the Louisiana-born storyteller Ms. Chocolate.

This is a story about when she attended her first Lord’s Supper at the Galilee Baptist Church in Alexandria, Louisiana. Ms. Chocolate was only four years old, but she was looking forward to the supper at the little country church.

“Now, I didn’t know who the Lord was, but I knew what supper was! Supper meant fried chicken and cornbread and collard greens and pound cake! Well, I wanted to go to that supper.

When I walked inside the door, they had a table sitting up front, and it had a white sheet over it, and I’m trying to figure out, what could be under that sheet? Must be a whole ham or a turkey or something!

Ms. Chocolate

I sat on the front pew and I kept watching… I was wondering when are we going to eat? When are we gonna eat?”

The story continues in Ms. Chocolate’s wonderful voice. When she and the other children are left alone in the church house, they go up front to investigate what’s under the sheet.

Ms. Chocolate, also known as Gwen Williams, lives in Picayune, Mississippi today. She left New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She tells stories all around the Gulf area. http://chocolatestoryteller.blogspot.com/
Music Memory from Julieann Banks

Julieann Banks, singer-songwriter from Shreveport, with her friend Patterson Barrett at Renzi Center

Julieann Banks is an Americana artists from Shreveport, Louisiana. A wonderful singer-songwriter with a big soulful voice, Julieann has been playing music most of her life, and has performed extensively in the Austin, Texas area as well as Louisiana.

Julieann had a childhood rich with musical and cultural experiences. Her parents were supportive of the arts and frequently took her along to symphonies, operas, and classical piano recitals. The famous Shreveport-born pianist Van Cliburn and opera star Beverly Sills were even guests at their home. But it was a live musical performance of Jesus Christ Superstar (Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice) that truly captivated Julieann’s soul:

“The hair on my arms and my neck was just standing on end, and it was just like the whole room was full of electricity. And I knew that nothing was going to stop me or get in my way, that that was exactly what I would be doing…. I knew that I wasn’t ever going to be the same.”

Learn more about Julieann’s music at http://julieannbanks.com/

Thank you, Julieann, for sharing this powerful music memory from your childhood with Confetti Park!
Music Memory from Anthony Dopsie

Anthony Dopsie of the Zydeco Twisters. Photo by Sally Asher

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear from Anthony Dopsie, accordion player with Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters.

Anthony explains his role in the band (“I put the choo choo to the boogaloo!“) and he shares a childhood memory about growing up in a musical family. The Dopsies are Louisiana royalty—Anthony’s father was Rockin’ Dopsie, Sr., famed zydeco accordionist. (Check out this interview with Anthony’s brother, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr.)

Says Anthony: “What got me into music was I started knowing that my dad was famous. He was just my Daddy, you know…. But when I got older and started seeing my dad on TV, and all the kids would want to come by, I said, ‘Well, that’s my dad, and I want to be like him one day!’”

Anthony also offers some good advice to kids about how to carve out your own niche in this world. Take a look around, and think about who you are, where you come from…..what are the things you really love—that maybe you take for granted? Maybe the answer is right in front of you.

“I really love my music. I really love my culture,” says Anthony. “I advise all the kids today to never forget where you come from. It starts off as a kid…. we all started from a flower. You keep watering that flower, one day that flower is gonna grow.”

What colorful, beautiful flowers we grow in Louisiana!
Guitarist David Rosser shares some early childhood musical memories

David Rosser on guitar. Photo by Sally Asher

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear a childhood music memory from David Rosser, a talented guitarist and multi instrumentalist who lives in New Orleans. Dave shares about how his big brother was one of his greatest musical influences—and how they bonded and he learned from listening to records—especially the Beatles!

Dave has toured the world several times with different musical groups. He also produces, records, and mixes at his studio, Chateau Daveaux. Among those who he has performed and/or recorded with are the Afghan Whigs, the Twilight Singers, Mark Broussard, Ani Di Franco, Gal Holiday, Terry McDermott, Mark Lanegan Band, and the Gutter Twins.

Lucky for us, Dave Rosser is a featured guitarist on the Confetti Park Players CD, featuring a children’s choir based in Algiers. Check out his work behind Mr. Okra and the kids on “Have You Seen the Okra Man?”
Music Memory from Annie Hardy Calais

Annie Hardy Calais of Cecilia, La.

Annie Hardy Calais was born in 1927 in rural Southwest Louisiana. She recently shared many true stories of her childhood growing up in Cajun Country with Confetti Park. Here is a great music memory:

“When I was 8 or 9 years old, I loved music….my niece had a radio at her home, but we had no electricity, so I had no music in my home, except for mom, who had a beautiful voice, and we’d sing at night.

But still, I wanted some radio music…. I heard music coming from a potato shed where men worked, and they had a radio on…. and I remember studying in science that water helped sound. So we had an old hand pump nearby, and an old washtub….”

What a clever, creative student!