• From: Luling, LA.
  • Registered: 2007-06-23
  • Posts: 60

Topic: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

My real name is Paul and I currently live in Louisiana just outside New Orleans in a little town called Luling. I've been a fan of Joe's since his first CD and I try to tell everyone I know about him that likes his style of music. I have only seen him once at the House of Blues in New Orleans when he toured with Peter Frampton, he was promoting his Blues Deluxe CD at the time. I grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, which was a town that one very famous blues singer came from; Janis Joplin. She died the year I graduated from High School, 1970, so I've been around for quite a while and heard many good musicians. Joe Bonamassa is definitely one of the most talented of those that I have seen, and he just keeps getting better with each CD he puts out. I hope that one day he will come back to this area again. I don't know why he hasn't been back to Louisiana since the time I saw him, he certainly has enough songs with references to us in them. There really aren't too many Venues left down here to have concerts at that are medium sized since Hurricane Katrina. All of the ones that I used to go to are closed down and there isn't any timeline on when any of them might open again. I guess I'll have to go to Dallas or Houston to see him again if he doesn't come back to New Orleans. I'm looking forward to his new CD release in August. Don't forget about us down here, things aren't back to normal yet and won't be for many years to come.

Paul

  • From: Deep in the forest
  • Registered: 2007-02-11
  • Posts: 5,296

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum. My deepest sympathy for the mess that remains after Katrina. Heartbreaking! If I were you I'd try to make it to the SRV ride/show with Joe. Nothing will lift your spirits (even for a bit) like seeing Joe and the boys. You'll love the new line up. Come back often, Cathy

  • From: Crystal Lake, Il.
  • Registered: 2006-04-22
  • Posts: 5,120

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Paul,
Welcome to the forum. Although it is not a constant in our minds, I think it would be fair to say that the rest of the country has not forgotten about the trials that the victims of Katrina continue to deal with.
I hope you get a chance to see Joe and the guys soon. Cathy is right when she saysthat nothing will lift your spirits like a JB show.

"Rock ON & Keep the Faith"
  • From: Luling, LA.
  • Registered: 2007-06-23
  • Posts: 60

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Thanks for the welcome, I have been reading a lot of the posts since I joined yesterday and I think I will fit in with everyone quite nicely. At least I know I'm not the only person who is a diehard fan of Joe's.

Now a little more about me since I read the introductions from most of ya'll today. I'm 55 yrs. old today, a new Senior Citizen or so they say. I've been married for 31 yrs. and live in south Louisiana. I grew up in Port Arthur, TX. and went to school with Janis Joplins little brother Mike who is a year younger than me. We also had a group of us back then who were ZZ TOP groupies in our teenage years. Actually come to think of it I used to see Billy Gibbons at the CYO dances when he was still with the Moving Sidewalks. I've seen ZZ TOP at least 25 times, maybe more. They even played for the Junior Prom at our High School before they released their fist album. I hope one day soon they will get back on track and get back to their roots and start playing the blues again. Well, enough about them for now.

I doubt that I will get to see Joe this year, the only concert I saw on the tour list that is close to me is the SRV ride/show in Dallas, and I can't make it then because our plant is shutting down on that day for an outage. I will be seeing him again in the future though, no matter how far I have to travel. I am going to catch some of the local talent around here again when I get the chance, there are still a lot of clubs that have good music. Tab Benoit has a club about 35 miles away in Houma, LA. and he shows up there when he's home. I'll be checking here in as often as I get a chance.

Paul

  • From: Charlotte
  • Registered: 2006-04-22
  • Posts: 2,350

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Hey Paul, welcome to the forum, and glad to hear you spreading the word about Joe.   He is great to see live.  Katrina indeed had a terrible impact.  Never easy to recover fully from something like that.  Hope Joe comes your way in the future...

Music is good for the Soul...

6 Reply by Shredit (edited by Shredit 2007-06-24 17:57:01)

  • Registered: 2006-12-28
  • Posts: 3,742

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Welcome Paul!

Glad you can join us, real sorry about Katrina. I'm a mailman by profession, my route is a decommisioned airforce base at Mather Ca. I heard some devastating stories from katrina victims who lived on the old base housing. God bless all of you who were fortunate to live through it.

Port Arthur, interesting, having read the biography Janis sister Laura published a few years back on her. In fact there is a family portrait in there from about 67, Mike looks to be about 15 in the picture. You probably already read the book.

You bring up ZZ, my oldest brother had his 57th birthday at his house out here in Sacramento yesterday. My brothers fiance knows a few musicians around here, met this one guy at the party, his brothers band is opening for ZZ, there going to play in my brothers backyard on the 4th of july. Maybe they can get me backstage, hope so!

Shred

  • From: Venice, Florida
  • Registered: 2006-11-08
  • Posts: 16

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Hi Paul, Welcome. I’ve been going to New Orleans ever year since 2000 for the French Quarter Festival. 1st Festival of the year. The drive in to New Orleans was not a pretty sight. Such a loss. I’m real proud of the people that still stay there and make New Orleans a fun place to go to. We enjoy it ever year.

One person I got to meet at the festival. A guy named Brint Anderson. Reminds me of Joe. Stays and talks to all the fans. Real nice guy. Maybe you’ve seen him? He’s a New Orleans Blues Artist. www.brintanderson.com  Anyways welcome and enjoy the forum.

Bill

  • From: Luling, LA.
  • Registered: 2007-06-23
  • Posts: 60

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Hi Bill,
I heard Brint Anderson once at a club in NO a long time ago. I had read in the paper last Friday about a reunion free concert at Tipitina's for all of the Blues Artists that used to play on Bourbon Street at the Old Absinthe Bar. He was one of the people that was playing but I couldn't go because of work the next day. There really isn't another place in town that puts on blues shows like the ones they had at the Old Absinthe Bar. It closed ten years ago and since then a lot of the bands that played don't really have a place of their own. It's kind of strange that there aren't more clubs in NO that are for the blues because there are quite a few fans around here. I saw Bryan Lee last year at the Rivershack Tavern in NO, he fronted the house band at the OAB for ten years. Kenny Wayne Shepherd used to sit in with him when he was a teenager and learned a lot from him. There are a couple of clubs that are new on Frenchmen Street that have been trying to bring the blues back but I haven't gotten a chance to go down there yet. The clubs locations aren't in the safest part of town and there aren't enough police to go around anymore. We will recover though and the French Quarter is actually cleaner than it's ever been before.

Paul

  • From: Luling, LA.
  • Registered: 2007-06-23
  • Posts: 60

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Hi Shredit,

Yes, I have read the book by Janis's sister and I am a member of the Janis Joplin Forum. I haven't been to Port Arthur for a few months but I am going soon to visit. My parents and sisters, cousins, and nieces and nephews still live there. I know this is screwed up but the area I grew up in was hit by Hurricane Rita a month after Katrina hit here. It was actually torn up worse than New Orleans but the flooding didn't happen like it did here. The water came in and then went back out. There were a lot of tornadoes in PA and surrounding areas and SW LA around Cameron was totally destroyed. You didn't hear much about it because of all the other stuff going on. My parents couldn't go home for three weeks after Rita hit because there was no power.

You mentioned seeing ZZ TOP, I just hope they decide to play their old stuff because I don't like their newer music. They have a new manager so maybe they will head in a new direction. They are still one of my favorites because I grew up with them.

I lived in Northern California for about six months back in 1972. I was in Fort Bragg and it was really beautiful up there on the coast. I lived in a communal house with 11 other people and it was definitely one of the best experiences that I've had. Things aren't like they used to be and I don't know if we will ever get back to the vibes we used to have back then. Well, this is getting long so it's time to stop.

Later,
Paul

  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2006-09-26
  • Posts: 667

Re: Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing fine today.

Welcome to the forum Paul.
wink

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