News - #11 JANUARY, 1998

Happy New Year! You might wonder at the lapse in newsletters over the holidays. The schedule been swamped with business changes. First, we secured exclusive booking with Mongrel Music, an agency in San Francisco that has built a great reputation with artists like The Iguanas, Paul Cebar, Chris Smither, Los Straitjackets, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and others. Second, we re-signed a multi-record deal with Rounder Records. Finally, we formalized our partnership as a band into a company. These big steps are exciting! Even after nine years, it appears that our journey has just begun, and you're all invited to come along! As you can see in the schedule, we're gigging again. Silver Screen Steve Two independent films on which we worked, Dirty Rice (an all-Louisiana feature, directed by Pat Mire) and The Apostle (Robert Duvall's one-man epic), are showing with rave reviews. In fact, Duvall's work just received six Spirit Awards nominations (for independent films). Our music is part of Dirty Rice while we actually have a cameo appearance in The Apostle. Kudos For Friday At Last Several "best of '97" reviews highlighted our most recent release. OffBeat Magazine, in New Orleans, gave it five stars (out of five). Several DJs around the nation listed the record as a '97 favorite. Playboys Record in California November 15th we came off-stage in Lafayette and rushed to New Orleans in time for a 6AM flight to big bad Los Angeles. With the help of producers CC Adcock and Tarka Cordell, who had whipped us into good shape, we spent the next eight days laying down tracks. Since then we've been busy adding tracks and mixing the music, and we're excited! We can't wait for everyone to hear what we've come up with. Stay tuned. The record is set for a late Spring release. CC also showed us around town. We jammed with the famous Nervis Brothers (Eddie Baytos had 'em thinking we were stars!). There was also some celebrity gawking, famous pizza joints, swing music at the Derby Room, and jogging on the beach. Thanks Michael and Karen Davis for putting up with us, or rather, putting us up. Attention Young Parents A fan in Minneapolis has made an amazing discovery-a cure for fussing infants. It seems that the only thing that settles her child is our recordings. The music has a profound affect, aparently. This could be the big break we're looking for! Try it, and let us know the results. Great Gigs! We've had a great time on recent trips. St. Augustine, Florida and the Wings and Strings Festival were again very successful, and we're proud to be a part of their growing attendance. We're hopeful for another try at the Alligator Bayou Landing, just east of Baton Rouge. Ironically, people over there are starved for good dancing. They sure were kicking up the cornmeal November 29th! We had a fun swing through the Southeast too, the surprise of which was Asheville. Thanks to Rudy Rodriguez, the enthusiasm for Louisiana music is finally taking shape in western North Carolina (well, beside all their great festivals). New Year's Eve in Chicago was again very pleasant. The corks blew, the balloons flew, and we all kissed '97 goodbye. back to news