RELIX APRIL/MAY 2003
pull quote : "What more does anyone need than beer and a truly great jukebox?"

ADAM DURITZ, COUNTING CROWS
FAVORITE MUSICAL MOMENTS
Maybe the best was the time Wynton Marsalis walked out on stage and said, "Hi,we're glad to be here. Tonight we're only going to play one song... it's called 'A Love Supreme.'" There was a really beautiful Betty Carter show a few years ago as well. I also really dug the last Fats Domino show when Dave Bartholomew led the band. You always know in the back of your mind that Fats is a true pioneer, but you forget the sheer volume of the hits he had until he starts playing and an hour passes while he trots out hit after hit after hit. After a while, you find yourself thinking, "How on earth can anyone have so many great songs?"

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS AND BARS
We usually begin and end our festival with dinner at Jacques-Imo's. Lunch at Crabby Jack's is a necessity now that it's open. Jack does one of the best boils in town. His crawfish and crabs are out of this world. And the po-boys are smokin' too. I get the half and half crawfish and oyster po-boy. For breakfast I still love the crawfish etoufee omelets at Mother's. We can never decide whether the bread pudding is better at the Fest or at Mother's. I figure it's probably best to eat plenty of each every year until we can decide. If you find yourself hungry and perhaps a bit drunk in the middle of the night, make your fool-ass way to the comer of Governor Nicholls and Royal and head into the Verti-Mart. They have great po-boys, killer macaroni and cheese, and so much more. Try a Hubig's Pie. Go hang out on Frenchmen and Chartres and bounce between the bars there. Or head around the corner to the R bar. What more does anyone need than beer and a truly great jukebox?

HUMOROUS MEMORIES AND ANECDOTES
One year when Immy and I were doing "The Devil and The Bunny Show" at the Shim Sham Club, I mentioned that what I really wanted to drink onstage that year was margarita's, but I didn't see how you could stockpile a bunch on the stage or get them delivered regularly enough through the crowd from the bar to keep me at the required lubrication, so to speak, The bartender thought about it, disappeared momentarily, and reappeared with a large cooler. Out of the cooler, which was half-filled with ice, he produced a bottle of Patron tequila, a bottle of Grand Marnier, a bottle of sweet-&- sour mix and a bunch of limes. Over the next ten minutes, he taught me how to make outrageous margaritas. So we set up a bar onstage and mixed drinks between songs. Proper lubrication was achieved and the gig was saved, although I did fall over once or twice during the course of the show. But that happens every year. It may be part of the charm. People keep coming back.

FAVORITE LOCAL MUSICIANS
I really love the brass bands. From the Soul Rebels to the Lil Rascals to the New Birth to the Rebirth, they all really blow my mind. Any Galactic show is worth seeing. They get better every year. I have enjoyed many a great night with the Continental Drifters too, but I love bands with great singers and songwriters. But you can't really discuss the music without the jazz, because New Orleans is the first and now the last real home of this truly American music. From Louis Armstrong (pronounced LU-ISS by the New Orleans brass crowd) to the Marsalis family to Nicholas Payton and Astral Project, jazz is kept alive in the one American city where it is still considered Popular Music.

WHAT MAKES NEW ORLEANS SO SPECIAL?
To begin with, our bass player Matt Malley would like me to say, "New Orleans is the home of the cyber-chromed supra-cosmic gypsy cowboys." That leaves me speechless. I have no idea what that means. If you do, you should hang out with Matt. I never know what he's talking about. I just love New Orleans. It only takes one Jazz Fest to hook you for life. I went to my first 12 years ago. I've only missed one since. Hopefully, I'll never miss another.