Ms. Chocolate, also known as Gwen Williams, is a storyteller and a singer who grew up in Louisiana. Many of her favorite stories and songs she shares with children today are the true memories and gathered songs from her own childhood in rural parts of central Louisiana. Church, family, school, and life in the country are recurrent themes.
In this episode Ms. Chocolate shares about the music she sang as a little girl:
“The music I remember as a child were called spirituals. Now you don’t have too much of that today… I do a monologue of Harriet Tubman and spirituals of the Underground Railroad. So I teach children how slaves used music to communicate…….. ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot,’ ‘He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands,’ ‘This Little Light of Mine’—these are spirituals. These are simple songs that have a really big meaning,” says Ms. Chocolate.
Ms. Chocolate 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/
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.”
I am so excited to debut this gorgeous animated music video for the song “Feufollet”! This features the brilliant artwork of Gustavo Wenzel and Santiago Germano. Santiago is the illustrator of The Little Mouse Santi, the first children’s book from Confetti Park. They have such a magical sensibility!
I hope the music and the legend of the spooky Feufollet enchants listeners everywhere.
– Katy Ray
“Feufollet” is performed by Katy Hobgood Ray & the Confetti Park Players, from the album “We’re Going to Confetti Park!” available on CD & digitally. It was recorded at Marigny Recording Studio by Matt Aguiluz and mastered by Bruce Barielle.
Featuring: Rick G. Nelson, bass; Sarah Quintana, background vocals and fae giggles; Katy Ray, vocals; Tim Robertson, guitar; Dr. Sick, violin, musical saw, toy piano; Dylan Field Turner, broom and other percussion.
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LYRICS:
In a boat, in a swamp, in the darkness
All around you is the night
Creatures jumping, night birds calling
When you see a flickering light
You think it could be a lantern
On some friendly neighbor’s trawl
Or the porch light on a swamp house
But it’s not friendly light at all
Chorus:
Don’t follow the Feufollet
Don’t follow the Feufollet
Lest you both should fade away
Pawpaw gave a warning to me
Don’t follow the Feufollet
Don’t get tricked by those lights in the sky,
They will lead you far astray
The swamp has many dangers
Use your wits, you’ll be OK
Trust the rats, the snakes and the gators
Before you trust the Feufollet
How will I know it Pawpaw?
What shall I do when I see?
When those flickering lights start to call to you
Do not follow, ma cherie.
It’s a will o’ the wisp, a trickster
Gives false comfort in the night
Stay close to the course you know in your heart
Or do not move ’til morning light.
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.”
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.”
The Confetti Park Players appeared on the WWL-TV Morning News on May 11, 2016! The band played five songs throughout the morning hour from 8-9 a.m., and Sally-Ann Roberts interviewed director Katy Hobgood Ray. She asked Katy questions about the band’s new CD, We’re Going to Confetti Park!,which recently won a Parents’ Choice Approved Award. We had such a wonderful time at the station—what a treat for us to see a news station from the inside, and to perform for our city on live television. We are also so honored to have met Sally Ann and Eric Paulsen, who are famous and beloved icons of the New Orleans community.
Enjoy this clip of the group playing “Buttermilk Drop,” followed by the interview.
Confetti Park is affiliated with The Children’s Music Network, which celebrates the positive power of music in the lives of children by sharing songs, exchanging ideas, and creating community.
The Children’s Music Network maintains a blog series to shed light on its partners. This is a Q&A with Katy Hobgood Ray.
The Confetti Park Players had their New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival debut on Saturday, April 23, 2016. And it was wonderful. But there were a few curve balls….
The Confetti Park Players is a children’s chorus based in Algiers Point. We like to do fun, interesting collaborations with New Orleans musicians. We have been doing live performances since October 2014—our first public performance was at Charles Gillam’s Folk Art Fest in Algiers. Since then, we have performed at churches, nursing homes, parties, Euclid Records and Louisiana Music Factory, and French Quarter Festival! We’ve recorded at real recording studios (Marigny Recording Studio and Word of Mouth) and filmed music videos with pirates. Our debut CD came out in November 2015 (and won a Parents’ Choice Award!). Playing Jazz Fest is our latest exciting milestone.
Preparing for stage performance in a blue box
The kids are amazing, and have been working so hard learning all the songs, choreographing dances, and brainstorming fun props. For months, we have been prepping for stage performance by practicing inside a box created by blue painters tape. The adult musicians started practicing with us throughout the month of April. We were ready—and as a special treat, I had (months ago) reserved a party bus to carry us from the West Bank to the Jazz Fest gates for the big day. Everything was ready to go….
Friday—the day before the festival—I get a call from our dear bass player. He’s just been diagnosed with pneumonia! Oh no! We love our bass player, who’s a talented resident of Algiers. But time to scramble. Swooping in to save the day was Greg Schatz—a real pro and a friend to the Confetti Park Players. Greg plays all over our CD and even wrote one of our biggest crowd-pleasers, “Watch Out for the Pirates.” So the night before the fest, Greg and I learned all the songs together. Whew! Crisis averted.
On Saturday, all the kids, parent chaperones, and West Bank musicians were to meet at 9 a.m. at a local church, where the party bus would pick us up. At 8:30 a.m, I get a phone call from the bus driver. His bus is broken down on Claiborne Avenue.
Nothing to do but call all the parents (of 20 kids!) and tell them to find their own way to Jazz Fest. No point in wringing hands. I will admit that my heart was beating very hard and fast for long periods of time that morning, as I made all the necessary phone calls. But I really have some cool, laid-back and adaptive parents. They quickly coordinated among themselves to form carpools and hail cabs to the fest. We all met outside the gates and walked in as a mob. Thank you to those gatekeepers for being so flexible with us, as we were supposed to be on a bus, not on foot!
Confetti Park Players are a staff pick at the Jazz Fest CD tent
All that stress made the performance itself a breeze. The sound guys at the kids’ tent were great. The staff were kind and helpful and supportive. Everyone at Jazz Fest was truly excellent to work with. We had a terrific band in David Rosser (guitar), Dylan Field Turner (drums), Greg Schatz (bass), Mike Kaufmann (piano), Jim Thornton (trumpet), and Dr. Sick (musical saw, fiddle, toy piano and more toys). The most stressful thing about the show was making sure that every single kid in the audience got a pirate tattoo and a feufollet light…Our parents helped pass out the goodies.
Bonus surprise: the staff at the Right Place Rhythmporium made us a Staff Pick that day!
The fest would have been unforgettable no matter what. Now, we have a fun story to tell about it, too. We sure hope we get asked back to Jazz Fest next year—it was a blast!
Next up, the Confetti Park Players are playing at Bayou Boogaloo on May 22 and the Creole Tomato Festival on June 11. More events at https://confettipark.com/events/
The Confetti Park Players were recently profiled in the Spring 2016 issue of “Main Street News,” the newsletter of the Old Algiers Mainstreet Corporation. Thank you, Valerie Robinson, for the profile! We are very proud to represent our community through music.
Katy Hobgood Ray moved to New Orleans from Shreveport in 2003, but she really started to find her groove after moving to Old Algiers in 2007. Today, she works with Confetti Park Players, an all-ages children’s choir that just received a Parent’s Choice Approved Award for its first CD.
“I’ve always been active in music, writing and performing folk, country and jazz,” explained Katy, who holds a Master of Arts degree in musicology from Tulane University and has hosted radio shows since her college days.
“I started writing kids’ songs when my son, Louis, was born in 2011,“ she said. “I got involved with Confetti Kids (an organization that supports children’s activities in the area) after I became a mom, and started doing music circles in Confetti Park. After a while, these became more formal, and we started calling it a choir.”
The first performance of the Confetti Park Players was at Charles Gillam’s Folk Art Fest in October 2014, and they’ve been going strong ever since. The group meets weekly to sing, make rhythms, learn traditional New Orleans songs, and practice the craft of songwriting. Katy described the songs as “a mixture of fun and whimsical originals by contemporary Louisiana songwriters, classic folk songs, nursery rhymes, jump rope jingles, fairy tales, and natural lore.”
A CD that came out in November 2015 titled “We’re Going to Confetti Park!” with songs about pirates, frogs, sno-balls, and Candy Land balls, featured a star-studded lineup of New Orleans musicians, including Johnny Vidacovich, Jon-Erik Kellso, Evan Christopher, Matt Perrine, Patti Adams, Beth Patterson, Tom McDermott, Roger Lewis, David Rosser, Brian Coogan, Tim Robertson, and others. Old Algiers folk artist Charles Gillam created the cover art for the CD.
Momentum for the choir continues to grow, Katy said. The kids have recorded some music videos and special sessions with AJ Loria and Ginger and the Bee, and the group will be appearing at Jazz Fest for the first time on Saturday, April 23, at 12:40 pm at the Kids Tent.
Other upcoming events include the following:
April 16, 2016 – The Confetti Park Players will give an in-store performance at Euclid Records in the Bywater, 3301 Chartres St., 4 p.m., for International Record Store Day.
April 23, 2016 – The Confetti Park Players will perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival! 12:40 – 1:25 p.m. in the Kids Tent.
May 22, 2016 – 10:45 a.m. – The Confetti Park Players will perform at Algiers United Methodist Church, 637 Opelousas Ave.
May 22, 2016 – 3:30 p.m. – The Confetti Park Players will perform at Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo. (NBC Kids Stage)
June 11, 2016 – 12:30-2:00 p.m. – Katy Hobgood Ray & the Confetti Park Players at the Creole Tomato Fest! French Market. (Kids Stage will be located at the U.S. Mint, on the front lawn, Esplanade side)
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!”
NEW ORLEANS-CREATED CONFETTI PARK CD WINS A 2016 PARENTS’ CHOICE APPROVED AWARD CD featuring world-class New Orleans musicians collaborating with kids on Louisiana-inspired songs is honored for its wholesome entertainment value.
New Orleans, LA – April 11, 2016 —We’re Going to Confetti Park!, the first musical release from New Orleans-based children’s media workshop Confetti Park, has won a 2016 Parents’ Choice Approved Award. Link to award site
21 tracks include jump rope jingles and whimsical songs about pirates, frogs, snoballs, Roman candy, and other uniquely New Orleans experiences, all to a soundscape created by world-class musicians such as Johnny Vidacovich, Jon Erik-Kellso, Evan Christopher, Matt Perrine, Patti Adams, Roger Lewis, David Rosser, Brian Coogan, Tim Robertson, Sarah Quintana, and others.
The principal performers are Katy Hobgood Ray and the Confetti Park Players, an all-ages children’s chorus who meet weekly to sing, make rhythms, learn traditional New Orleans songs, and practice the craft of songwriting.
“This album sounds like a carefree, sunny afternoon in Louisiana, but it also sounds to me like many months of practice and recording with these kids,” says choir director Katy Hobgood Ray. “They have worked hard and I am proud of them. I am so delighted that the Parents’ Choice Foundation has honored us.”
Parents’ Choice Approved Seals are given on the basis of the production, entertainment, and human values they exemplify. A Parents’ Choice Approved seal indicates a wholesome product that helps children enjoy developing physical, emotional, social or academic skills.
We’re Going to Confetti Park! was recorded by Matt Aguiluz and Jason Rhein at Marigny Recording Studio and mastered by Bruce Barielle. It is available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and CD Baby. You can also order CDs from https://confettipark.com or buy them at Louisiana Music Factory, Euclid Records NOLA, Fleurty Girl, and Magic Box Toys in New Orleans.
Musicians featured on We’re Going to Confetti Park! Patti Adams, Matt Aguiluz, Chuck Bee, Evan Christopher, Brian Coogan, John Doheny, John Haffner, Scott Albert Johnson, Jon-Erik Kellso, Chris Lane, Roger Lewis, Ted Lindsay, Tom McDermott, Paul McDonald, Michelle Nelson, Rick G. Nelson, Mr. Okra, Beth Patterson, Matthew Perrine, Sarah Quintana, David Eugene Ray, Katy Hobgood Ray, Jason Rhein, Tim Robertson, David Rosser, Greg Schatz, Dr. Sick, Michael Skinkus, Daniele Spadavecchia, James G. Thornton, Dylan Field Turner, Johnny Vidacovich.
Confetti Park Players featured on We’re Going to Confetti Park! Lily Bell, Luna Bell, Keller Clark, Saura Duke, Dean Foster, Elisa McDonald, Charleston McLean, Millie Moffett, Hrilina Ramrakhiani, Louis Ray, Sadie Strong, Virginia Strong
About Confetti Park Confetti Park is a children’s media workshop, weekly radio program and podcast based out of New Orleans. Our first children’s book, The Little Mouse Santi, was named by Kirkus Reviews among the Best Books of 2015 (and is winner of a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award).
About Parents’ Choice Foundation
Since 1978, Parents’ Choice has been reviewing and recommending quality children’s media and toys. To learn more about the Parents’ Choice Foundation, visit http://www.parents-choice.org/
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!”
