Hey everyone,

The 504 Whatstyle Rock Art Circus, originally schedule for Saturday, September 6th at the Big Top, has been moved to Saturday, September 13th at the Big Top. Hopefully it won’t need to be postponed again.

Read our interview with 504 Whatstyle’s Steve Williams in the September AG.

Events in New Orleans on Monday, 9/8

Blue Grass Pickin’ Party, Hi-Ho Lounge, 8pm

Felix, Dimestore Troubadours, Circle Bar

John Lisi and Delta Funk, Banks St. Bar and Grill, 10pm

Justin Peake’s Acoustic Trio, Dragon’s Den, 8pm, FREE

Mad Mike, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 8pm

Missy Meatlocker, Circle Bar, 5pm

Rick Trolsen and Gringo do Choro, d.b.a., 10pm

Sam and Boone, Circle Bar, 7pm

Tarik Hassan Trio, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm

If the football gods were to mold the perfect superfan out of Mardi Gras beads, daiquiris and pure love for the New Orleans Saints, they’d produce Supa Saint. The golden mustached one played the piano to release his pain after the Saints lost the NFC Championship game in 2006, celebrated the opening of football season by walking around New Orleans with a 40oz and a boombox blasting Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” and recently appeared in a WDSU Channel 6 TV commercial with the Hornets’ mascot, Hugo.

With the 2008 season upon us, HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE thought it’d be good luck to see how Supa Saint prepared for this season, so we met him at a pool on the roof of a Julia St. building to talk about his favorite Saints offseason moves, Jason David and 190 Octane.

Homefield Advantage: What’s Supa Saint been up to since the end of 2007?

Supa Saint: I like to come up here on Friday afternoons, kick back with my 190 Octane. Watch the sun set over the Superdome. I don’t live here, I just hop the fence, but I don’t think they mind. I’ve been living on the side of the Superdome, they have a fence that goes around the dumpster area and I’ve made my Supa Saint headquarters there. I’ve been living there since the last game of last season, making ends meet by eating the leftover hot dogs and nachos and waiting for the new season.

HA: What’s your favorite off-season move the Saints have made?

SS: I like Charlotte, a new Saintsation. She’s got some good measurables, good athleticism, agility, flexibility, really good body type. As far as new players, I like the Jeremy Shockey and Jonathan Vilma moves equally. Vilma might get a slight nod.

HA: ESPN recently had a SportsNation poll that asked fans to name their team’s best ever player. Saints fans picked Bobby Hebert as the best player in Saints history. What do you think about that?

SS: I like Bobby. Look, Bobby and I go way back. We go fishing on Sundays, he watches my kids while I’m out of town—he’s a good kid. I’ve got to say Drew Brees is already the best player in our history, though. He’s my boy.

HA: What’s your favorite Saints moment of all time?

SS: You know what really hits me the heart, even just thinking about it—see these goosebumps right here? In that Falcons game, the first game back in the Superdome, with the national spotlight on us…for my boy Steve Gleason to break through the line and block that punt. If he were in the Olympics coming off the diving board, as fast as they go in that water with no splash, he’d get a 10.0 for the way he executed. After they took it to the end zone, I can’t remember anything that felt quite like that.

HA: What’s your least favorite Saints moment of all time?

SS: Probably the first four games of last year. I wasn’t drinking 190 Octane then, I was drinking Mind Erasers. Really, though, it had to be the early ’80s and the Ditka days. I’d love to forget those, but I can’t.

HA: Did those Ditka teams have any good players?

SS: I’d love to tell you there were a couple…

HA: What was your life like growing up?

SS: I don’t know who my parents are, but a lot of people say that Willie Roaf looks like me, and Joe Horn kind of looks like me, so I don’t know.

HA: What is Supa Saint’s mission statement?

SS: I was put on the West Bank for three reasons and three reasons only. One, I will find a shutdown corner to play opposite Mike McKenzie. There’s a lot of untapped talent just beyond the concrete walls of the Harvey Canal. Second, I will get Section 330 of the Superdome rocking each and every Sunday, you better believe that. Third off, I will never let Kenny’s Key West shut down ever again, and I will not rest until all five of those things have been accomplished or until I have a long night of heavy drinking in Fat City.

HA: What would you say to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to make a case for Rickey Jackson?

SS: I’d love to see him make some child support payments every now and again, but as far as his on the field play, I don’t think anybody could match that. His stats are comparable to some of the best linebackers out there, so I don’t see why not. If it’s just about his play of the field you’ve got to give it to him.

HA: What words of encouragement would you give to Jason David?

SS: I’d say, “Look, Jason. I encourage you to become a lawyer, something else outside of football.” I’ve actually been working with Jason on his footwork, in this pool right here. We run laps inside the pool, with the idea to get our heart rates up and then we’ve been sharing some antics, so I take full responsibility—he’s got to be in top shape to play corner in the NFL.

HA: What’s your game plan for the first regular season game—any parties or tailgating plans?

SS: Right after this interview I’m going over to Beijing to work with some of those athletes a bit, trying to get them going, then I’ll be back before the regular season. We have a float, called the River Parish Disposal Supa Saint ride, with a police escort, a DJ, some cold beer and Mardi Gras beads. We’ll take a few laps around the Superdome and have a good time.

HA: Prediction time: how are the 2008 Saints going to do?

SS: Well, when it comes to predictions, you’ve got to understand that sometimes I have to take a step back, take off the black and gold shades and really take a good look at the product on the field. I tell you, I’m thinking probably 19-0, just to be safe. 16 regular season victories, two playoff victories and a Super Bowl win.

Visit with Supa Saint at supasaint.com.

Interview by Leo McGovern; Photo by Zack Smith.

SAINTS VS. BUCCANEERS

(Saints lead all-time matchups 19-13)

The Saints begin the season against their NFC South Division rival at the Superdome. This Sunday matchup is a far cry from the pomp and circumstance their ’07 opener greeted them with, a Thursday night game at the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. This game may not be much easier, though, as the Bucs are defending NFC South champs and Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia has something to prove after coach Jon Gruden flirted with Brett Favre over the summer. A good start is a must for the Saints after last year’s 0-4 misstep, and with the team seemingly back under the radar the players will hopefully feel much less pressure.

Saints player to watch: QB Drew Brees. We closely watch Brees excel in almost every Saints game, but had good, not great stats against Tampa last year. In ’07’s first matchup with the Bucs, Brees threw for 260 yards and 1 TD but also an INT (the Saints lost 31-14). In the second, Brees had 2 TDs but just 179 yards through the air. In neither game did the Saints muster 100 yards rushing as a team. The Bucs are sure to test the Saints’ revamped secondary early in the game (see Bucs player to watch below) and it could be up to Brees to put the Saints on the board early and often if it becomes a shootout. He can’t afford to give away the ball and may have to keep Saints drives alive with his passing, necessitating more than 179 yards.

Bucs player to watch: This one’s easy: WR Joey Galloway. Over the past four games between the Bucs and Saints the elderly speedster has torched New Orleans with 19 catches for 500 yards and 5 TDs. In last year’s matchup at the Superdome, Galloway absolutely burned the Saints with 7 catches for 159 yards, including one catch that went for 60. In fact, in each of those four games Galloway has had a catch of at least 44 yards.

Ex-Saint to watch: C Jeff Faine. Faine bolted for Tampa for a $50 million dollar contract and anchors their offensive line. He’s sure to want to prove the Saints wrong for letting him go and starting the unproven Jonathan Goodwin, but will he be able to take Sedrick Ellis and Kendrick Clancy?

HA’s Madden ’09 Result: Saints win, 34-7.

HA’s Prediction: Saints win, 27-17.

Well, it’s finally here. Football season. And with it comes Madden ’09, fantasy football drafts and the not-so-glamorous stuff like pregame shows that last too long and cruddy announcing by the truckload. But it’s here, and I can’t be happier. There’s nothing better than waking up on a Sunday morning to find the weather’s turned cooler before starting a pot of coffee, slapping on the ol’ Deuce McAllister jersey and heading over to Handsome Willy’s to lube the brain before a home game. Or kicking it at home with a buffet, friends, an HDTV with the NFL Sunday Ticket and a laptop with a running stream of live fantasy scores.

This is the third season-opening edition of this column, and as you see it’s moved to a new home of sorts. (more…)

Hey everybody,

I’m back in the city, currently sitting over at Fuel Coffeeshop (wall outlets are scarce if you need power, but internet is available and I’m pretty sure I saw Neal making sandwiches if you’re hungry).

Anyway, I’m starting to get some updates from venues and Friday night’s Theresa Andersson album release show at Republic is back on after being canceled yesterday.

No word yet on the Zydepunks release show tomorrow night at One Eyed Jacks. I’d expect it to be on, though.

Also no word on the Rock Art Circus, scheduled for Saturday night at the Big Top.

I’ll let you know if I hear anything else, though.

We were able to get out about 1,100 copies of the September AG before we evacuated, and hopefully our printer in Belle Chasse will reopen soon and we can get out the remaining 9,000–in the meantime, download it here.

Hey everyone–we know everyone’s monitoring the news and waiting for word that we can return home. If you’re looking for a distraction, download our September issue–it’s our Record Store issue, where we talk about all the great places to buy music in New Orleans, plus interviews with Steve Williams about the Rock Art Circus, the Zydepunks about their new record and the Silver Jews about their show in NOLA. Plus the debut of a new medical column by Glorybee’s Nancy Kang and the Homefield Advantage, which covers sports and has an interview with Supa Saint.

Let’s keep up hope–we’ll see you back home in a few days.

SAINTS TRADE FOR TE JEREMY SHOCKEY

We talked about the possibility of this happening when we covered the 2008 draft, and how on the draft’s first day the Saints offered the Giants our 2nd and 5th round picks in one last effort so snag TE Jeremy Shockey, the Pro Bowl player who’d become expendable after he broke his leg late in the season and New York won the Super Bowl without him. The Giants finally accepted the same deal on July 21st, and Shockey became a Saint.

To be as blunt as possible, I love this trade. Coach Sean Payton was the Giants’ offensive coordinator when New York drafted Shockey in 2002’s first round, so he knows what he’s getting with the embattled TE. Payton was also with the Dallas Cowboys when they selected another Pro Bowler in Jason Witten.

The day after the Saints acquired Shockey, Times-Picayune columnist Peter Finney wrote an article that basically blasted the trade, questioning how much better Shockey could make the Saints’ offense, which was already clearly near the top of the league, and stating that the team made the trade at the cost of defense (the title of the column was “Saints Bolster Offense at Defense’s Expense,” after all). He noted the Saints’ deficiencies at cornerback (already covered here and everywhere else), a soft rush defense and how the Saints’ defense “cannot get enough help across the board.”

Well, I’ll tell you why Jeremy Shockey will make the Saints defense better. (more…)

Interview by Jason Songe

The evolution of an artist is a mysterious thing. For an established artist, an open mind and an emancipation from expectation and previous limitation help the process, but what’s the real X factor? Did God touch the head of Thom Yorke during the recording of Ok Computer; did Wilco just work harder than they ever had during the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Maybe it’s a little bit of both, but one thing’s for sure: no one saw those two albums coming. Even more unexpected is local singer-songwriter Theresa Andersson’s new album, Hummingbird, Go!. She’s been known more for her vocal and violin ability than her songwriting prowess, which is a fair characteristic, considering her 2004 LP Shine was a middle-of-the-road effort for which Andersson shared songwriting credits.

With Hummingbird, Andersson did a 180. She wrote all the songs, except for one cover, and besides a Smokey Johnson loop on “Birds Fly Away,” the occasional drumming from husband Arthur Mintz and Rhodes from Tobias Froberg, Andersson played all the instruments (On Shine, she employed a bevy of musicians). As a result, she turns out a more emotionally honest and overall much better effort. It’s a pastoral album—a relaxed, patient, sexually sun-exhausted record that unassumingly mixes pop and soul to form something new. Besides this jump in quality, Andersson also displays an unforseen experimental passion. The vibraphone on “The Waltz” is actually soda pop bottles filled with varying amounts of liquid, while the seemingly slide guitar textures on “Hi-Low” were coaxed from her violin. Mouth percussion doubled for drums and a classical guitar, tuned down, stood in for conventional bass. 

Three album standouts are “Na Na Na,” “Hi Low,” and “Innan du Gar.” “Na Na Na” has sing-songy music but desperate lyrics and also features Andersson’s best-recorded vocal performance during the climax. She really went for it, and just when you think her voice is going to trail off, it stretches on and on for a jaw-dropping listen. “Hi Low” is a sand-in-your-toes island love song that is notable for its cute, high-pitched vocals and shimmering orchestral string arrangements. “Innan du Gar” is a duet sung in Swedish by Andersson and Ane Brun, a lament that uses sparse vibraphone and minor chord guitar. Like the rest of the album, the song is sharp and efficient rather than showy.

Andersson grew up on a farm on the island of Gotland in Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. She’s been singing since she was four and toured with the prestigious World Youth Choir as a teen. After becoming his violinist Andersson began a relationship with Swedish roots musician Anders Osborne. They moved to New Orleans and played together for eight years until their break-up. Since her arrival she’s appeared on albums by The Radiators, Marva Wright, Cowboy Mouth and Galactic, won Offbeat’s Best of the Beat award for violin six consecutive years and released four solo albums and two EPs. Her self-titled 2006 EP was a stripped-down, elegiac outing that foreshadowed Hummingbird’s candid emotion and included a heartbreaking cover of “Jackson,” a Lucinda Williams song.

For Hummingbird, Andersson enlisted Swedish singer-songwriter Froberg as producer, a role he’s played for Brun and Peter Moren (of Peter, Bjorn and John fame). Andersson and Froberg recorded in her kitchen, with Froberg offering arranging tips and lyrics for five songs. The words for five other tracks come from local poet Jessica Faust. When it came time to tour, Andersson extended the ambitious spirit that prompted her to play every instrument to her one-woman tour. Live, she fused vocals, violin, drums, dulcimer and guitar with looping and effects pedals to form full songs. In early June, Andersson filmed a solo demonstration of “Na Na Na” in her kitchen, uploading it to YouTube and creating a fireball of buzz in the process. As a result she’s been turning up on blogs and selling out recent shows in Sweden. That’s where she graciously used thirty of her calling card minutes to talk with ANTIGRAVITY about recreating her songwriting technique, walking from Algiers Point to Westwego and how to be a one-woman band.  (more…)

A City of Thousands Can’t Hold The White Bitch Back

Interview by Dan Fox

Since arriving in New Orleans a little over seven years ago, Michael Patrick Welch and his host of personas have overtaken New Orleans like so much kudzu racing through virgin Southern soil. His first appearance, largely metaphysical, was in The Donkey Show, Welch’s semi-autobiographical novel about his initiation into the city by way of two of its most entrenched institutions: the cutthroat underbelly of a fine dining establishment and the Orleans Parish Public School System, where as a teacher he earned his stage name, the White Bitch. The loudest and most urgent of Welch’s alter egos, the White Bitch has slowly become a staple of the New Orleans music scene. What started out as a sampler-enhanced solo performance has expanded over the years, with the White Bitch incorporating live musicians into his act as well as early noise pioneer and all-around fun-time guy Ray Bong (of the Bongoloids). It might come as a surprise that his first album The White Bitch’s Prey Drive, released this month, is mostly guitar-oriented, like Santana over a beat machine. Another surprise is how polished Welch’s voice sounds as he expertly wails over pop tunes that infect and echo in your brain long after the song has ended. ANTIGRAVITY caught up with Welch and accomplice Ray Bong one sweltering July night to discuss, among so many of the possibilities, his new album, helming the late Keith Moore’s Noizefest and what exactly it means to be called “The White Bitch.” Special thanks to Chauncey, Welch’s pygmy goat, who head-butted me towards the end of the interview.

ANTIGRAVITY: This is the White Bitch’s first album?

Michael Patrick Welch: Of my whole life.

AG: What took so long?

MW: Well, actually Ray loaned me a thousand dollars! Maybe at two other points in my life I would’ve put out an album but I didn’t have the money at the time.

Ray Bong: You had done up a series of songs about three years ago, which were almost good enough.

MW: I’ve been playing shows almost once a month since I was fifteen, since my dad was driving me to the club with my equipment. One time, somebody in the crowd had to get on stage and tune my guitar. It was in Florida in this little town where there’d never been a local band.

AG: What did you bill yourself as? (more…)