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“The most fun I ever had on Frenchmen was sitting on the bench outside the Apple Barrel when it was just a private party for musicians who played on the street and a few other cool people that came by.”
– Red DeVecca (musician), 2019
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“The best one was when Lawrence Fishburn came out here [to the Spotted Cat]: He came out to smoke a cigarette, and he sat right next to me, and we smoked a cigarette and talked for a few minutes. I tried to act like everything was cool, but really I just wanted to just up and be like, ‘MORPHEUS!’”
– George Lewis (chef, bouncer), 2019
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“I don’t know, something about this place. I like it. Up and down Frenchmen, it’s different than Bourbon, I’ll tell you that. We have real music going, down here. I love it. Something keeps me coming, and I’m going to keep coming til I’m gone.”
– BJ Harvey (musician), 2019
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“We had this magical night on Frenchmen… but the reality didn’t line up with the magic. It’s kind of a story of heartbreak. But the place still energizes me. It gives me hope.”
– D (music lover), 2019, on loving and losing after a magical night on Frenchmen
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“We were gigging here [at Vaso]; the band was on. This guy in the audience was 79, 80 years old, and it was on his bucket list: he had never kissed a black woman. I got off the stage and he said, “You were just fabulous and wonderful. I love your voice. I just really want to kiss a black woman.”
I was like, “What?” I started screaming for my guitar player, who was Zack at the time. I don’t know why–I thought maybe he might substitute Zack for me? [laughter] Well, I ended up doing it. He just kissed me on the cheek, and he was really happy. He was 79, 80 years old, and he was like, “One more thing off my bucket list.” So I thought that was fun. But I told Zack: next time, his ass was kissing people.”
–Angelica (musician), 2019
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“I was born and raised in Chicago. I played there with some amazing people; the talent is incredibly deep. Moved down here about two years ago: the talent is ridiculously deep. You’ll never know who you’re going to play with [even] on the ‘weakest’ of nights. Guys like BJ [Harvey] who’s played with Fats Domino to nobodies. It’s amazing.”
– M.V. (musician), 2019
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“In the ‘80s, Frenchmen wasn’t popular like this. All we could do was go to Cafe Brasil, and that was about it! I didn’t go anywhere else but there, just to see reggae bands. Ben Hunter had a band down there, the Revealers were still playing back then… local people. Unfortunately, [Frenchmen] is turning into Bourbon Street now. That Willy’s was the first nail. That’s a real culture killer.”
– Rusty, 2019