The WELL: inkwell.vue.435: John Swenson: The New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Future of New Orleans

#50: Ed Ward (captward) Sun 18 Mar 12 10:19

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:19:00 PDT

I'd also be interested in your views on the panel yesterday. Since it dealt largely with a television program I have no (legal) access to, I left after a while, but I did find it interesting that there were two generations of Bartholemews involved and that they're still at the forefront of the contemporary music scene there. [Read entire topic]

#49: My free and simple demeanor set everybody at ease. (pdl) Sun 18 Mar 12 09:49

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:49:00 PDT

After Katrina hit, i was a volunteer at the convention center here in Austin. As with many cities in Texas, the convention center became a temporary emergency shelter for folks from New Orleans. During this time, I met many people who had left New Orleans for the first time ever while fleeing Katrina. The ecology of the city and their specific neighborhoods was such that they had never ventured from them before. Although this made sense after I thought about it, i was also astounded by it. Does this sort of New Orleans exist in the post-Katrina era?

Also, while I love the music and what I know of the culture of New Orleans, I am definitely not of that city. Yet, New Orleans has such an old, visible, and vibrant culture that I think it acts as a sort of beacon for a certain type of American rootlessness. People who are hungry for a connection to an older, rich culture are attracted to it--both in superficial and deeper ways. My impression is that New Orleans is both very friendly to visitors like me, but, conversely, that it's much harder to actually become part of the culture itself--that it would be a much longer experience for an outsider before they no longer felt like an outsider but they were truly of the city. As someone who moved their from elsewhere-- what was your experience? At this point do you identify yourself as someone who is of the city? Have there been cultural or social difficulties that you have had to undergo in adapting to the city? [Read entire topic]

#48: Ed Ward (captward) Thu 15 Mar 12 19:45

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:45:00 PDT

Not anyone; just people registered. However, it'll be streaming online in a week or two, if it follows the model of most SXSW panels. And there's no reason for you to run away before you reflect on how it went -- either here or in the SXSW Inkwell topic! [Read entire topic]

#47: John Swenson (floating541) Thu 15 Mar 12 15:11

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:11:00 PDT

By the way, anyone in Austin for SXSW can find out a lot more about this subject Saturday afternoon at my New Atlantis panel. We've got Alison Fensterstock from the Times-Picayune, Davis Rogan from Treme and the award winning album The Real Davis, and three direct descendents of the man who invented R&B, Dave Bartholomew. Dave's son Don B and his two sons will be on the panel. They are all hip hop producers and artists working in New Orleans and will have a lot to say about the future of the city's music. [Read entire topic]

#46: Gail Williams (gail) Thu 15 Mar 12 15:01

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:01:00 PDT

This has been such an evocative conversation. Really appreciating everybody. [Read entire topic]

#45: Gail Williams (gail) Thu 15 Mar 12 14:58

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:58:00 PDT

For anybody who is not a listener, that's the lifeline that is

http://www.wwoz.org/ [Read entire topic]

#44: beneath the blue suburban skies (aud) Thu 15 Mar 12 13:56

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:56:00 PDT

i swoon everytime i'm listening to 'OZ online and hear the club listings for the weekend. i'd never be home if i lived down there. can't wait to visit again SOON. (The Suspects and the Malone Bros are at Tip's this weekend, for instance.) [Read entire topic]

#43: John Swenson (floating541) Thu 15 Mar 12 10:41

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:41:00 PDT

In a very real sense they already have pulled it off. The city's cultural institutions are thriving. The influx of young creative people from all over the globe, people who came to help the city and decided to make it their home,have brought another level to the discourse. Of course it remains an open question whether the communities that have been decimated will produce the cultural tradition bearers of the future. Only time will tell. If Bobby Jindal has his way and cuts off all education funding the future remains grim. But the musicians are out there pressing the case and I'm happy to say they show no signs of giving up the cause. [Read entire topic]

#42: David Wilson (dlwilson) Wed 14 Mar 12 18:22

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:22:00 PDT

John do you think the musicians are going to be able to pull it off?

I'm afraid that they will be shunted off, victims of gentrification, relegated to the role of quaint tourist attraction. [Read entire topic]

#41: John Swenson (floating541) Tue 13 Mar 12 09:51

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:51:00 PDT

No comparison. New Yorkers generally see the local politics as totally slanted toward Wall Street, real estate developers and the rich. All you need to do is study the ads in the New York Times to see who the paper believes its audience really is. How much do you think Bloomberg has enhanced his financial empire using the power of the mayor's office while he's been in there? Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is an out and out crook who has sold out the community to real estate developers. Brooklyn is getting to look more and more like Manhattan southeast every day. So many New Yorkers are dependent on Wall Street (or rich relatives) that they willingly participate in this massive boondoggle. The thievery going on in New Orleans is chump change compared to what's happening in New York. I'm in Texas right now and the front page of Monday's American-Statesman had a big story on how a contractor close to gov. Rick Perry swindled the state out of millions in federal disaster aid. How much of that money went into Perry's campaign coffers? How much kickback money is Louisiana gov. Bobby Jindal getting from the funds supposedly earmarked for Louisiana's recovery. The whole political system from the Supreme Court down is completely corrupt, fixing elections and allowing unlimited secret PAC money to drive our political discourse. Who's kidding who? We're all being robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight. [Read entire topic]