Newsletter

Hey friends, thanks for looking at the website. I hope this is a first time visit for you, and that you’ll keep coming back to check on me and my shows. For you regular visitors, thanks so much for continuing your support and interest.

Let’s start off the news where I left off in January. I was heading to New Orleans on Jan.4, along with my buddies, Bill and Joel, for a grand day and night during the Sugar Bowl. None of us knew what to expect. We thought traffic and parking would be horrendous. And we didn’t know exactly how good LSU might be – like the rest of the country, eh? Amazingly, we got down there and parked easily, and headed to Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar for brunch. We walked to the Quarter and ended up being spotted by my friend, Mac from the Bulldog, whose folks have a home there. Thanks to them, we got a few beers and a bathroom. We made our way around there for a while, then headed to our vehicle for refreshments. After that, we found the Half Ass Tailgaters block party, near the Superdome. We ran into many BR friends there and enjoyed the atmosphere. Back to the car for refreshments, then on back into the Quarter. By the way, we didn’t have tickets – we were just there to be part of history. At this point we knew we’d better find a place to land in front of a television. The best place we found was the Tropical Isle on Toulouse St. (the smaller one – the better one – my favorite and easiest piss stop in the Quarter during Mardi Gras). GAME ON! We sat with many OU fans and everyone was relaxed and had fun. The game was awesome and tense and exciting. And lo and behold, LSU WON!!!! We hit the streets and watched as the Quarter filled up, like a Mardi Gras Tuesday, with happy folks. We soaked up about all we could and left town around 1:30am. Let me say that I am so happy for LSU football and LSU fans, and I’m happy I was in the city while it all happened. Now it’s time for baseball! I will pay attention to basketball, but like most of us here now, LSU baseball is No. 2 only to LSU football.

So, I am working a whole lot less in February, which is necessary. I have many things related to music (but not gigs), which I need to address this month. And I hope I will. As well, I have not been out to see my fellow musicians play much lately. So I hope to get out to see some bands in BR. Check my links page for some of those terrific bands. Oh, HIP BOOT JOE HAS A CD OUT NOW!!

And, of course, it’s Mardi Gras season, so I need some time for that, baby! Mardi Gras starts for me on Feb. 14, as we begin making our float for the Southdowns Parade on Friday, Feb. 20. It’s a small-time parade, compared to most, but still a pretty good atmosphere at some of the turns. And we seem to have fun…. The Thursday (Feb. 19) before Mardi Gras and our parade, I’ll do one show at the Bulldog. Krewes of Babylon and Chaos are riding Uptown that evening at 5:45pm and 6:30pm. I’ll play around 9pm. Please come by after the parades – 3236 Magazine Street.

I’ll work at Superior Grill in BR on the 21st, while everyone else is at Endymion. Then, I’ll likely be in NO for Bacchus Bash on Sunday (look through the mob at Ernst’s Café), Orpheus on Monday, and Mardi Gras Tuesday. I’m still yet to ever see the Bacchus parade. Last year was close, but alas, a funny story (told at another time) forced me to leave town just before the parade got to me! This is the year…
I’ve been under the weather for a couple of weeks, plus I had some stomach issues from oysters, which set me back a little. I know I complain about my voice quite often. Sorry I do that, but I just get a little down when my voice is not up to par. But, the voice is never too bad, these days. It just keeps going. I do need this light schedule in February, though. It will be good to get back in shape, and back to feeling well.

I had some political thoughts running through my mind that I wanted to include in this month’s newsletter, but don’t know if I can totally expound upon it. I think the US did something necessary in Iraq; however, I hope we weren’t misled about these weapons of mass destruction. It worries me. Democratic talk and issues seem the same, though, and are troubling to me, as well. Talk of taking “our country back” by Presidential candidates, as if there is no opportunity or equality or freedom in the greatest country on earth. You know, I heard there is some group in a school district that want honor roles removed because the students who are not included feel bad. Oh well, at least we can discuss all this without being tortured. Good luck, Americans everywhere! God bless US soldiers!

I hope you had a great Super Bowl Sunday. Check the schedule for my gigs. Just a few more cold days and we’ll be boiling crawfish, cleaning jet skis, making plans for summer vacations, going to festivals, and getting tans (freckles for me). Life is fun for most of us, folks – go live it! I think I’ll take my own advice.

Thanks,

Kirk