Saturday, July 5, 2008


Getting out of town is great. Coming back is ok, too. The town does a Fourth of July festival at the lake. Most of it can be missed without missing much. There are a couple of things, though, that get me to slog through the muggy, sweaty crowd....the greasy smells of the mid-way.... red beans and rice and some Zydeco.
For some reason, and I truly don't care to think about it much, part of the festival is a Cajun music stage with bands like the Lost Bayou Ramblers and the Creole Cowboys.....with some decent little food stands to grab a bowl gumbo or crayfish etoufee or some boudin sausage. The music breaks me up. Music in a tent, with squeeze box and washboard and a little fiddle. It might not be something to listen to on your morning commute, but on a hot July afternoon with a little beer, it can't be beat.

I had to catch another funky neat local band....Dr. Kickbutt and his Orchestra of Death.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwQTIVGxRas

(Ok I haven't figgered out how to add a cool video yet. live with it)
The great part about Dr. Kickbutt is you never exactly know who is going to be in the band. It could be anywhere from five people to 23. The music is described on a website as

'Dr. Kickbutts's Orchestra of DEATH. is 30's vaudeville, hint of jazz a splash of ragtime and load of cornball rolled into a fart joke your uncle once told you by the campfire.'

All the musicians are local. Aaron runs the New Moon coffee shop and his brother operates the family pizza joint. They are folks you run into on the street or sit next to in a bar while you watch the Packer game on TV. Most of the gigs they play are in small bars, or at the coffee house .....and some times, the local farmer's market. (which reminds me I gotta go down there and pick up some lettuce and cilantro.....and some eggrolls.) No, it isn't high brow, no...it is not Carnegie Hall, but there is a clarity in people doing something .....not for money, or fame.....just straight up......they are doing it because they enjoy it and it spreads the fun. Hmmmmmmm....sounds like blogging without the computer.

I'm headed down to the lake. Someone told me that there is a small stand selling cheese on a stick. I like cheese on crackers.....gotta check out what cheese on a stick tastes like. Wowsers

11 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

I agree with you, in the right setting, Cajun music and crayfish etoufee can't be beat.

Btw, to post a video, all you have to do is a copy and paste of the embed code. Once you copy it..paste it to your post and then publish it... voila! You have video. The embed codes are located on the right hand side of the video's on YouTube. If you want to center the video on the page, just do the html code this page and it will show you how to do html tags. You probably know how to do most of them already.

Does that make sense?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, kiddo. :-)

susan said...

I can't tell you how happy it made me watching the video.. the little girl bouncing around at the end was wonderful. I'm sure you must be familiar with R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenader's but I thought I'd post the link. There appears to be no video available of those shows but I'm not surprised. Happily, the music can still be found and it appears your friend, Dr. Kickbutt is the best kind of fan. Check out 'My Girl's Pussy' (blue cat cartoon version) if you go to the link.

I hope the cheese was on a bread stick.

okjimm said...

Wowswers....Nunly is back .... ana already trying to educate me! Sheesh! Ok....I'll follow instructions....just don't hit me with that ruler, huh?

Susan....oh, yeah, I forgot about Crumb....certainly the same ethos. Sometimes a Dr. Kickbutt show seems like a lesson in cooperative,creative anarchy ....nobody agrees on where they are going, but all agree that they should go there together.

And the cheese scones at the coffe shop are fantastic!

okjimm said...

nope...never found out what cheese on a stick is. Got gumbo-ed in with the Lafayette Rythm Devils.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you're having a great time!

I won't say anything about cheese on a stick seeming somewhat phallic....;-D

Life As I Know It Now said...

it rained here in Indiana and was COLD if you can believe that!!! so it wasn't the best 4th of July ever but we did go visit our daughter, since it's her birthday, and see the grandkids. was too tired to party anyway and I went to bed early. glad you had a swell time there.

Distributorcap said...

three days of rain and no cheese on sticks....

nyc is sorely lacking

Mary Ellen said...

Chicago weather was picture perfect for the 4th, sunny and dry with temps in the low 80's...couldn't be better! I did notice that the neighborhoods were blasting off fireworks almost like the old days when it was legal to have your own. You could smell the distinct aroma of sulfur in the air from the exploding bottle rockets and firecrackers. I'm sure there were a number of dogs and cats hiding under the beds and shaking throughout the evening...or in a drug induced sleep from the tranquilizers their owners had to give them. Lucky for me, my dog is unaffected by the noise...and she even managed to corner an opossum in the yard (she had no idea what to do next, so it just walked past her and went under the bushes). All and all, a good evening for all in the Nunly household.

okjimm said...

Cold in Indiana?.... No cheese on a stick in NY??? This was one of the better 4th's weather-wise. Lotta biking & music.....I like live music, in small venues, especially when it is free. Free is a good word. Especially on the 4th. A great way to celebrate what Freedom's we have left.

No if I can just get some free beer and cheese to go with the music!

ME.....you surprise me! A good dog owner would have taught the dog what to do with a possum! YOU should have chased it up a tree and barked at the varmint....then the next time your little pup WOULD know what to do!

Randal Graves said...

Dr. Kickbutt looks like Oldman in Dracula!

okjimm said...

...and you should see the rest of the band, my friend!

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