Interview by Dan Fox

Photos by Chris George

It was a bittersweet day in 2004 when Chris George and Daniel Majorie powered down their Milton St. home studio in old Gretna for the last time. For years, the aptly-titled Living Room had earned a reputation for being the place for up and coming bands of all genres to record. Some of our most beloved performers, from Blair Gimma, Big Blue Marble and Community to Hawg Jaw and Outlaw Order cut some of their first recordings at the Living Room. It wasn’t just the rock bottom costs, which were always per project (never hourly) that kept it booked solid through the year, but the whole experience of tracking in an intimate environment (the control room doubled as George’s bedroom) with people who brought a fiery, passionate and personal approach to engineering. Majorie’s engineering skills, which he had honed at school and in Nashville, coupled with George’s creative abilities that ranged from mic placement and drum tuning to barbecue and photography made for an unforgettable experience for musicians otherwise feeling the stress of a recording session. Their success eventually exhausted the possibilities of that little house and it became increasingly evident that a new venue would be needed, one that would not only broaden the possibilities but suggest a full-time occupation instead of recording only after a day’s work in an outside world hardly sympathetic to the hours music keeps. For over two years now, the buzz has been growing over the work that Majorie and George have put into the church/machine shop sitting directly under the Crescent City Connection, which was little more than a shell and a prayer when they wrangled it away from the city’s coffers. The Living Room Studio, version two is about ready to open its doors again and the wait will have been well worth it. From the colorful paint choices to the crisp echo of the live room, it’s clear that the past couple of years have been a labor of love for Majorie and George. ANTIGRAVITY caught up with the duo as they worked in the control room, one of the last spaces of the studio to be completed, and talked about reviving old gear, keeping bands happy and, of course, the good ole’ days of four-track cassette recording. (more…)

Interview By Jason Songe

Photo by Zack Smith

I’m intrigued by the Bad Off because they seem like an anachronism, especially in New Orleans: a hard rock band of sex, glitter and sleek clothes who feature a lead singer that could’ve been the speed freak love child of Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler, plus a guitarist who not only knows every Jimmy Page riff but also writes solos like him. Of course, there’s more to them than that, or else I wouldn’t be writing this. Singer and leader Erik Corriveaux has the best and most expressive rock voice this side of James Hall, and the songs are head-bangingly catchy, hooky but also sensual, mystical, and full of wonder. The band’s an efficient live machine, a sculpture of razor sharp bends and breaks.

That’s also a good way to describe Lady Day, their first full-length record, which blasts into overdrive with opener “Bombdrop” and doesn’t let up through the next lean string of eight songs. Three or four years ago, the Bad Off was known more for their Led Zeppelin tribute than their originals, but with Lady Day they arrive with a soulful, stunning, and filler-less debut that energizes thanks to the positive lyrics (imagine a motivated hunter of experience).

Corriveaux started tracking Jody Smith’s drums at his Gentilly home the week before August 29, 2005 and didn’t pick up the record again until April of 2006, at which point Smith was gone permanently to New York City (and since replaced by former Rock City Morgue drummer Keith Hajjar). Bassist Dan Lauricella tracked his parts at Piety Sreet Studio with engineer Wesley Fontenot and was, as Corriveaux put it during our interview, “up Jody’s ass” with his playing, which sounded better then than it does written out. If you listen close to the bass guitar, you’ll notice Lauricella is right on top of Jody’s kick drum, which creates an awesome airtight power throughout the album. Next up was the rhythm and lead guitar of Brian Berthiaume, which, along with the vocals, was recorded at Misha Kachkachishvili’s Axis Studios in Metairie.

Corriveaux was more than gracious through the interview process. First, I broke my recorder at Pravda, so we went to his house and recorded the interview on ProTools. He gave me a CD, which didn’t work, so he gave me his iPod with the interview on it. After I frantically called him, believing I’d broken his iPod, he said, “Did you push the button hard enough?” Sure enough, I hadn’t.

ANTIGRAVITY: Talk about the difficulty of singing lyrics that come from a place you’re no longer at.

Erik Corriveaux: First, I can say that I don’t have much difficulty with that. Although a new set of emotions might be correlated to the topic of a song, at that point, as a songwriter and a performer, you have to take on the role of telling a story.

AG: Take on that character even though that character is in the past?

EC: Yeah. Just because one is not in love anymore doesn’t mean that they can’t sing about love. I am one who gives a lot to the song because it came from a place (of feeling). It’s the songwriter’s responsibility to express that character. There are certain songs that definitely have different emphasis on them. (more…)

Since it’s anniversary month here at AG, here’s another June blast from the past: our Keith Knight interview from June 2006. As I said in the post about this month’s cover, I felt like that issue was really worth celebrating since it was our first anniversary after Katrina and we asked Keith Knight to draw me and editors Noah Bonaparte and Patrick Strange into the mix, which he did brilliantly. Keith happened to be in New Orleans that month to promote The Beginner’s Guide To Community-Based Arts to the librarian’s conference, so we put together a slideshow for him at Handsome Willy’s.

Here it is:

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We’re in an era of unparalleled awareness for the art of cartooning. Between George Bush’s uncanny ability to stimulate political cartoonists, the now-infamous Danish Muhammad cartoons, animated series based on strips like Aaron McGruder’s Boondocks, and–while much tamer to audiences, for sure–the domination of the box office by comic icons Spider-Man, Superman and Batman, more people are aware comics exist than ever before. One comic strip that can run the gamut of emotions all the above can inflict is Keith Knight’s The K Chronicles, a unique foray into politics, pop culture and human emotions. Knight is just as likely to reference Star Wars as he is to mention his mother, and in any given strip you may be treated to the lighthearted optimism of “Life’s Little Victories,” a theme that celebrates when the simple things in life go your way, or an unabashed send-up of Dick Cheney’s latest hunting misadventure. When you may least expect it, though, Knight can deliver a heartwrenching or heartwarming slice of life, whether it’s his wife’s cancer-scare (she’s okay), the death of an influential person (like comic great Will Eisner) or a tribute to the people of the Gulf Coast.

Knight’s not a Johnny-come-lately, some hanger-on to McGruder’s faux-provacativeness–he’s been a professional for over twelve years. He started out as a caricature artist in his hometown Boston and, once he moved to indie-comic Mecca San Francisco, worked his way from ‘zine artist to full-fledged newspaper comics page contributor. Since the K Chronicles became entrenched in publications nation(and world)wide, he’s started a second strip, (th)ink, a comic done in single panel style (a la a serious Far Side) meant to take on race and political issues. He’s also illustrated a book called The Beginner’s Guide To Community-Based Arts, a book that tells the stories of several activists who use art to make their communities around the country better.

The man’s got legs, as they say, and one method he’s used to accumulate fans is his slideshow, an indie-comics convention favorite. Knight hosts the show like a comedian, moving through pics of his strips and elaborating on their history like the college professor you always wished you had. ANTIGRAVITY has been on the Keith Knight train since its beginning–The K Chronicles was the first strip we decided to run, and when an opportunity to host a slideshow presented itself we pounced on it. AG presents the Keith Knight slideshow in the latter part of June, and we spoke with Knight about his growing up in Boston, working for ESPN and MAD, and some of his more controversial strips, like the one where he smoked crack with God. (more…)

After a year and a few months at it, nine-piece local band Antenna Inn’s sleek, smart and superbly constructed suites of jazzy prog rock are starting to draw a large crowd. They’ve been headlining shows more frequently and are about to release their solid new album, Do/Work, with a party at Tipitina’s. Their’s is the sound of a band working through ideas together for the first time, as they realize their talent and range. As good as Do/Work is, you get the feeling that their next album is going be the one—it’s going to be crazy. For now, though, Do/Work and its highlights: the angelic and Beach Boys-ish back-up vocals and the jazz dirge breakdown at the end of “Ernest Borgnine,” the high frequency bass and bright keyboard on “Ink,” the disorienting horns on “Stockholm Syndrome,” and the swingin’ verses in “Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition.” Though the choruses are pretty catchy, there’s something sublime about each song’s instrumental stretches. The lyrics are dark, anxious, and purging, sometimes malevolent and sometimes self-help-like: “If you’re looking for love, stop, because you will never be happy, even when you are. You will always be lonely…c’mon, people, fall back out of love. Call your mother. Mothers, call your sons.” There’s also a rolling confidence throughout the band—one that could easily be perceived as arrogant, except that confidence is tempered with a clear love of not only New Orleans and its rock scene but the city’s traditional music, as well as a want, almost a need, to create a unifying force that makes it all more successful.

ANTIGRAVITY recently sat down with drummer Eric Rogers and talked about Do/Work, the band’s fan base, and his good, old-fashioned sibling interaction with brother Ryan. (more…)

“You do you, I’m a do me—and don’t come between this here.” With this simple yet profound declaration, Lil’ Doogie introduced himself to the world a little over a year ago on his website, lildoogie.com. He has since become an internet sensation, posting videos of the adventures that take him from the deepest recesses of West Bank garage hang-outs to the heart of New Orleans, even showing up during Mardi Gras on local TV network WGNO’s report from the Endymion parade. If you’ve been following him then you’re familiar with his spicy-tongued rants on all things related to the thug life. You may even be sporting his face on a Dirty Coast t-shirt that asks quite simply, “Brah, I’m real?” Well, long-time fans, you might be in for a surprise. ANTIGRAVITY was recently contacted by Lil’ Doogie because he had something “to tell them people.” We met up at the park on a nice Sunday afternoon to find out what he had to say and, as you’ll shortly find out, it was quite the eye-opener. (more…)