Hello all. thanks for all your initial kind words. In response to some of your initial questions...
Aqualung, I've know Pepper Keenan for a long time. we both grew up in New Orleans and were active in the rock scene. he had recently move back to New Orleans and we started hanging alot and he started coming to alot of my gigs. COC was having trouble finding a drummer they thought would do what they were trying to do justice. Pepper mentioned it to me months before, but kept working with other drummers. Pepper and i actually started recording a side project with Skerik together called Kurbfeeler. so, knowing i had grown up playing rock and working with me and seeing me play all the time, he finally got frustrated with the other people they were working with and approached me saying "i know you could kill this stuff". We still hang all the time and are working on Kurbfeeler still...He actually ownes a bar that i play and hang at often called Le Bon Temps Roullez (the good times roll)
skippy, i would recomend going to Jaques-imo's for dinner and going next door to the maple leaf for the music. try bayona, gautraud's, clancy's, dante's and brigtsen's for dinner as well.
go to frenchmen street, tipitina's, donna's, the maple leaf, preservation hall, snug harbor, DBA to start for music, stay away from bourbon street (unless you love drunks and hate culture)
stay at the montleone hotel. i stayed there just for kicks the other day and it was awesome and not too pricey.
i would recommend to anyone that is thinking about going to NOLA to GO! we need people to come down and spend money. you can help rebuild the city just by coming down to experience the music, food, culture and hotels
bobhead, i have a nice NOLA discography in the back of my book "Take it to the Street"
but i would recommend, the wild magnolia's "they call us wild" any dirty dozen, or rebirth, professor longhair "crawfish fiesta" (with Johnny Vidacovich on drums) and of course all of the meters stuff. that should be a good place to start.
Also...everyone, make sure to visit James Black's page here on DW. Bernhard is about to post some new tunes that i just sent him. they are killin" more on James later....