Interviewer: So your first time in town [2000], what did you hear about it?
Dominick Grillo: About Frenchmen? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
And then I stumbled onto it, after looking around for a little while. Just driving around, figuring it out. I used to drive around to get lost in the city because I was new here. The best way to figure out where you are is to get lost and find your way back.
[…] One of my favorite spots ever was Snug Harbor, when George Brumat was around, before he passed away [2007]. That was my definitely favorite place to be without playing; it was another place that made Frenchmen home. Like, you go there—you know, being a musician on the street—you just walk into the kitchen and start hanging out with all your friends. It’s the place where, okay, your girlfriend’s out of work for six months, she needs a job, go ask George and he’ll help you out.
It was definitely a family dynamic. We’d go there maybe once or twice a week. We played poker in the main room, in front of the stage, with like twelve people. I made so many friends just playing that game of poker. And I’ve never had four kings beat before by four aces in one hand; that was crazy.
Yeah, Jason, George, then the other Jason, and Owen, and everybody there was really just like family. We were all always looking out for each other, trying to help each other.
[Hear from Snug’s Jason Patterson here.]
[Stay tuned for full-length interview!]
