New Orleans CityBusiness — The Business Newspaper of Metropolitan New Orleans: “Noise complaints could silence jazz at King Bolden’s”
Actually, they already have, at least temporarily. I was quoted in this piece.
“If we start closing the places where we can be creative and practice our art over stupid stuff it makes you want to leave,” said trombonist Jeff Albert, a King Bolden’s regular. “Before the place was King Bolden’s it was a gay strip bar/disco club. How can having a jazz band be a downgrade from a gay strip club/disco bar?”
I just want to clarify that if it had been a straight strip club disco bar, my point would be the same. Either way it would have been louder than an acoustic jazz group with no PA. Leo Watermeier, the same moron that has been busting WWOZ’s balls for years, had this to say later in the piece:
Watermeier said he doesn’t lament the loss of another jazz club in New Orleans.
“I don’t think there’s a huge market for more jazz places,” he said. “Even Donna’s struggles. It’s mostly a tourist thing. Locals don’t go sit and listen to jazz bands.”
Every time I have played King Bolden’s the crowd has been mostly if not all locals. King Bolden’s has been the site of some really great music. Vibrations that can make the world a better place. I’ve blogged about a few of them.
I can think of no more apt — and depressing — metaphor for the cultural destruction wrought by Katrina than a New Orleans jazz club getting shut down because of fucking noise complaints from the (new?) neighbors.
No, he’s an old neighbor. He didn’t complain when the place was a strip club. He was a customer. His old past time was messing with the local jazz radio station that wanted to expand on some unused property in Armstrong Park, which is right across the street.