{"id":3764,"date":"2024-04-07T16:58:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T16:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/?p=3764"},"modified":"2026-05-12T19:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:38:09","slug":"lynn-drury-and-the-last-bohemia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/?p=3764","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLynn Drury and the Last Bohemia\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cNOLAmericana\u201d rocker Lynn Drury is one of New Orleans\u2019 best known and most soulful singer-songwriters. Originally from Mississippi, she\u2019s been in town and playing on Frenchmen since the \u201890s.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EARLY DAYS (Checkpoint Charlie\u2019s, Darby, the Apple Barrel)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lynn Drury: <\/strong>I moved here in \u201895. I had a degree in business, and I was working with Volunteers of America. I was getting up at 7:00 every morning, working 8:00 to 4:30 in Metairie, then going out and playing five nights a week. Mainly at Checkpoint Charlie\u2019s, which is where I met Darby and started singing back-up with him. I used to play a Sunday barbecue at Checkpoint\u2019s\u2014that was around 1998. Every Sunday: it was one of my first weeklies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darby\u2019s the one who had us play Dream Palace, and then all those Apple Barrel hangs\u2026 I met Jimmy\u2014you know, \u201cGerber Baby\u201d\u2014Jimmy Scott, and I\u2019ve known Ken Swartz since then. Mike Hood, Lani Ramos, Marc Stone I all knew in \u201898. I met Marc when he had little dreadlocks, when he was a little 20-something. We were all in our twenties. We would end up at Apple Barrel, and if Apple Barrel closed down, then we all headed toward Checkpoint’s, which was like ground zero for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

MORE ON FRENCHMEN VENUES (+ thoughts on venues and genre)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>There was DBA, Blue Nile, Apple Barrel, and Caf\u00e9 Brasil used to be a really fun hang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bamboula\u2019s was a print shop. Sometimes I\u2019m in there and it feels crazy\u2014I\u2019m like, \u201cI used to get copies made here!\u201d It\u2019s got the same ceiling it used to. And it was just piled with crap everywhere. It was a narrow space. And Three Muses was around. I would play there occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never really played Apple Barrel\u2014it was always blues there. Roberto and Lissa would play every Monday, and that was a hang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There wasn\u2019t a real rock-and-roll place. You had Latin at Brasil. You had jazz [at Snug Harbor and others]. There wasn\u2019t really a place for people like me, who just wanted to rock and roll or do country. There\u2019s never really been a place for songwriters in New Orleans. It\u2019s stupid to be here! [Laughter] <\/em>But there\u2019s a lot of inspiration that happens here, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[After brief reconsideration] <\/em>Well I mean, at Checkpoint Charlie\u2019s you could play anything, ever, that you ever wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BRIEF ASIDES ABOUT VENUES\u2019 HISTORIES  (BLUE NILE, BAMBOULA\u2019S)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWHEN WAS FRENCHMEN THE BEST?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD<\/strong>: I guess the heyday, for me, was probably \u201899 to 2003 or 2004. I was making a lot of music then. It was around \u201899 that I first played DBA. That was when I joined the band\u2014\u201cLynn Drury and Bad Mayo\u201d\u2014and we started writing. I did two records with them, between 2000 and 2003. We were at DBA regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KATRINA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>It was the storm that made me go completely music, full-time. I was on the road traveling, and I played solo everywhere. That\u2019s when I started doing New Orleans music. I had never done that before, then in the wake of everything I felt like, \u201cOk, I have a duty to bring you a little bit of New Orleans.\u201d So I played a few Irma Thomas songs, Mardi Gras tunes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BENCH <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD<\/strong>: I remember sitting with Coco in front of the Apple Barrel on the bench. And he would give me all this great advice that I couldn\u2019t understand [because it was so loud]\u2014like, \u201cWhat? What was that?\u201d But I knew it was good, and I knew he felt me, you know? So yeah, that was really sweet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There weren\u2019t a lot of people [on Frenchmen]. There weren\u2019t nearly as many as there are now, and it was mostly musicians. By the time 2 or 3 a.m. hit, it was just us, and we all migrated to one club, probably the Apple Barrel. We\u2019d all gotten off work, and we all would walk down there, and everybody would sit in. And it would be just us, and that was a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MATADOR, THE MAGIC SHOW, AND KINGSWAY STUDIO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>I remember the Matador, which wasn\u2019t even on Frenchmen. [It\u2019s where BMC is now, right across Esplanade from Checkpoint\u2019s, so it\u2019s close enough for this archive\u2026.]<\/em> It was the Matador and then it became Harry Anderson\u2019s Magic Show. He bought it and had his own magic show: all the windows were covered by red curtains\u2014blacked out\u2014so you couldn\u2019t see inside. Couldn\u2019t see the show. You had to buy a ticket to get inside. I think that only lasted for maybe a couple of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then you had Kingsway next door. People would come through and record these big albums, and then they\u2019d go to the Matador and hang out and drink. It was back when I used to go see Royal Fingerbowl; they had a weekly at the Matador. You had the stage at the back, where the bar is now, and then this big circle bar with these high booths all around, where the booth back would come way up\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They played early\u2014at 2pm or 3pm or something, 3p to 6pm or something weird\u2014and I would take my book in there and sit in the back booth and listen. And I would write. I would write my lyrics, write poetry, write whatever. I used to do that a lot. In fact, I think I\u2019m gonna start doing that again, just be the weirdo writing in the bar. Because it did not seem weird at the time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DON\u2019T BEAT UP YOUR BOYFRIEND IN FRONT OF THE SPOTTED CAT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>I think it was 2003, probably. 2002, I don\u2019t remember. But I beat the shit out of my boyfriend, in front of DBA. It was great! That\u2019s probably why I don\u2019t get to play at DBA as much as I used to. [laughter]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> He deserved it, at least?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> Yeah, he deserved it! It was a year or two late but\u2026 he totally deserved it. Keeping the bar open \u2018til 5am, playing to one woman til 5am with no other person in the bar\u2014during Jazz Fest! I\u2019m stranded. And the bar kept feeding me\u2014that\u2019s when I drank bourbon and cokes. Don\u2019t ever drink bourbon and coke\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, so, pint glasses of whiskey coke until five in the morning, from 11 to 5. I was just out of it, I was blacked out. I\u2019m ready to go, I was ready to go home two hours ago. And then the bar manager finally walked up and was like, \u201cWhat the fuck are y\u2019all doing? Get the fuck off the stage, the bar is closed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were just terrible. Making it horrible for us, the one bartender and the manager. It was\u2026 ugh. But don\u2019t beat your boyfriend up in front of the Spotted Cat! It\u2019s not cool. [laughter]<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a flash memory of being out there like, “Gimme the key! Gimme the keys!” and this guy walks up and is like, \u201cDude, just give her the keys<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s my horrible story of Frenchmen Street. Not long after that, it was all a different story. I\u2019m sure a few people saw that, and it\u2019s not one of my proudest moments\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDude, just give her the keys.\u201d \u2026Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ROBERTO LUTI AND ADE\u2019S TOOTHBRUSH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>Caf\u00e9 Brasil was cool \u2018cause Ad\u00e9 is so fuckin\u2019 eccentric and fucking fabulous and flamboyant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was mad because he got to Roberto [Luti] before I did, when Roberto got deported and sent back to Italy. It took me a month of planning to get over there and stay with Roberto, to figure out how to get the dog over. And then when I finally arrived, it turned out Ad\u00e9 had been there for two weeks. He split right the day before I got there. (Actually, how Ad\u00e9 met up with Roberto was also wild.  He went to Europe and he traveled around to other countries, I don\u2019t remember where, but he knew the town that Roberto was from, so he went to Livorno, small Italian town on the sea, south of Pisa, and just went to the main drag record store and asked about him. Of course his father lived just down the street, and they found him.  Amazing.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here I am, a year later, living with Roberto in Italy, and I\u2019m cleaning, and I\u2019m throwing out this toothbrush underneath the cabinet. And Roberto says, \u201cNo.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. It\u2019s Ad\u00e9\u2019s toothbrush. I will not let you throw out that toothbrush.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was like, are you fucking kidding me? You\u2019re keeping a used toothbrush<\/em> from Ad\u00e9\u2014are you insane? [laughter]<\/em> But he wanted so much to cling to the memory of New Orleans, you know? It broke him so\u2026 It broke him completely to have to leave, after nine years in New Orleans where he learned English and played on the street everyday, and just loved the city. With Lissa, and then later he and I had gotten together, in like 2007. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was banned [from the country] for ten years. So 2018, he was allowed to come back, and I put together a big show for him at Chickie Wah Wah. Andy J Forest, Washboard Chaz, Ken Swartz. He was in all of those bands, and my band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ROBERTO\u2019S DEPORTATION STORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> He lived with Lissa and it was kind of a flop house situation. There was seven people that lived there, and the rent was only $500, so it was cheap for everybody\u2026 You had a lot alcoholic people, addicts… But you had to have electricity and had to have it in somebody\u2019s name, and none of them could get it together to\u2014well, they got it in somebody\u2019s name who had jumped probation. A drug dealer guy, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when this guy jumped, they came and busted down the door, and they found everybody there. Roberto still had his accent. They were so mean to him. They were like, \u201cWe need everybody\u2019s ID,\u201d or whatever, and they tell him, \u201cOh, lemme guess, you lost it in Katrina.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had been living here illegally. He had a three month visa, and he just fell in love with the music. In 1999, he moved here and he loved the music so much he couldn’t leave. Meg\u2014you know Andr\u00e9 and Meg Bouvier? She has a story about being at the Howlin\u2019 Wolf\u2014the old Howlin\u2019 Wolf, I think it\u2019s the Republic now? Anyways, they were in the green room, it was open mic night, it was like 10pm, and Roberto\u2019s returning flight back to Italy was 11:30 or something like that, and [Roberto] was about to go on stage. And she says, \u201cDon\u2019t you have a flight to catch?” And he’s says, \u201cNope. Not going.\u201d And he got on stage and played his ass off! She said it was amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that was it, he made his decision: wasn\u2019t going back. And his parents\u2026 I mean, he missed his grandmother\u2019s funeral, you know? He missed a lot of things. It wasn\u2019t easy. He couldn\u2019t fly home. He was playing Jazz Fest every year and his parents would always fly in and spend a month or so, stay in the little hotel right around the corner from his house in Treme\u2019.  And his brother came here once actually, and we went on the road, me, him, and his brother. Simone\u2019 <\/em>played bass. We did that in 2008, or maybe 2007\u2014right before he got picked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he\u2019s back in Italy, and he\u2019s not hurting. Just jammed with Joss Stone\u2014you know, he\u2019s with the Playing for Change band\u2014so he\u2019s doin\u2019 alright. [Laughter]<\/em> It all worked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHANGES ON FRENCHMEN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>Before a few years ago, we would always say to tourists if we met them out somewhere else we\u2019d say, \u201cOh, you have to come out to Frenchmen Street! It\u2019s where the locals go.\u201d So that was\u2014 and then they all came. And now it\u2019s not a local hang anymore! I actually walked down the street the other day and I was surprised that I knew two people. But it was packed, and I just feel like a fish outta water, you know? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There always used to be that hippie drum circle in that intersection. And you would have to stop your car and get out and enjoy the parade. Enjoy the music! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had moved to Memphis after Katrina, and when I was here for Mardi Gras right afterwards\u2014it was 2007\u2014I remember sitting at the Apple Barrel thinking, “It\u2019s done. It\u2019s over.” Because there was a police officer out there, and traffic was not stopping. I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s the death right there.\u201d And I saw it happen! I was watching, thinking, \u201cWow. Just stop, and get out, and enjoy.\u201d  Why were they letting cars through there anyway?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It used to be that you could try<\/em> to make it through Royal Street on Frenchmen, but you were probably just going to turn your car off and get out and enjoy the parade, or the drum circle, or whatever. It was those things where imposing law and order kind of doesn\u2019t make any sense. It\u2019s like those people who move to a neighborhood known for live music and complain about live music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: <\/em><\/strong>Exactly. So\u2026 that was just after Katrina you noticed the drum circle had changed?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> It happened every year, right? There was always these crazy, hippie rainbow people. Deadheads, for lack of better word. They’d start this big drum circle, and it would spill into those four corners of the street, right, they would be in the center. And you couldn\u2019t get down Frenchmen and you couldn\u2019t come drive through. And people would just stop the car and get out. I mean I vaguely remember being in DBA and having people parade through with drums and have to stop, you know? And it’s like, \u201cOh, they\u2019re just doing the train through the club\u201d and then they\u2019re gone! And it was like, \u201cOh, oh!\u201d Having fun, you know, join in and enjoy. But\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the \u201clast bohemia” now, it seems more control is happening. And it\u2019s kinda\u2026 Yeah. If you keep pushing people to the edges, the edges will be where it the culture ends up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> Were there any other moments on Frenchmen that could\u2019ve felt like nail in coffin moments? Like definitely change. For me, granted I\u2019ve only been here since 2014, it was like, \u201cWillie\u2019s Chicken Shack\u2026 Gross!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>Dat Dog. Dat Dog, because that vacant parking lot next to Apple Barrel was where you would always see the flame throwers on Mardi Gras. Day and night, they would be in the lot that is now Dat Dot. The baton flame thrower breathing fire, doing a circus act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after I started going to Dat Dog\u2014it took me a while\u2014I was like, \u201cOK, fuck it, I\u2019m hungry.\u201d And I love Dat Dog now! I love them. But it took a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I mean, I’d never set foot in Willie’s Chicken Shack. [laughter]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We lost Mona\u2019s, too, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> Yeah, now it\u2019s some Egyptian place, I think. [note: \u201cTorshi,\u201d opened 4\/2\/21, been closed a while as of this edit, 6\/30\/23]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CULTURAL REFLECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing was, I went to a Super Sunday around 2008, maybe 2010. I was in that park Uptown, Washington\u2026 The exploitation of the Indians I saw was crazy. I mean, enjoy them, look at them, take it all in, but people just jamming cameras in front of their faces? Wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[The Indians] used to be kind of secretive. You had to hear about them word-of-mouth, like, \u201cThey\u2019re gonna be at the Bayou!\u201d And you\u2019d think, “Oh my god, I\u2019ll ride my bike down!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up an hour from here, so I came here as a kid. I started coming to Jazz Fest when I was 15, 16 years old. I always had a deep respect for the Indians, the culture. It made me so sad seeing things change like this. Sometimes seeing the influx of new people, how they respond to the culture, is a little scary. I think New Orleans will survive because it\u2019s New Orleans\u2014it\u2019s gonna be change and be different, just like everybody else who came from everywhere else that makes New Orleans unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026 I don\u2019t know. There\u2019s this feeling I\u2019ve gotten, as I\u2019ve gotten older, that I want to be an ambassador for New Orleans. To teach people how we are here, about the culture, that you\u2019re supposed to say hello to people when you walk down the street\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everybody\u2019s on this general rhythm for New Orleans, and I find that has been lost a little bit with the influx of a lot of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love it when business people come here and expect business to roll just like normal\u2026 \u201cWhat, what do you mean, people aren\u2019t working?\u201d Not working on Fat Tuesday, but you\u2019re not gonna make a call for business on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who would do that? No one! [laughter] <\/em>You might even not make it Thursday or Friday! You give everybody time to recoup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I kept seeing more and more\u2014after Katrina\u2014the exploitation of the culture and I couldn\u2019t believe it. Everyone making their own krewes\u2014and okay, on one hand it is <\/em>part of the spirit of New Orleans to start your own krewe, so I\u2019m not begrudging anyone. I’m in the Bearded Oysters, for example, but that’s because Karina started this female krewe, and after really fighting as a female musician, I like that. I like the message. The world is your oyster, you know? [laughs]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s this attitude thing sometimes, where I just never would have felt like,\u201cI\u2019m entitled to this.\u201d The way I act is I put my toe in and I meet the people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ST. CLAUDE – THE NEW FRENCHMEN?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>A lot of people were saying, \u201cOh, the new Frenchmen Street is St. Claude.\u201d I don\u2019t think it really is. It\u2019s just becoming a satellite [to Frenchmen].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int<\/em><\/strong>: Is there anything there that makes you feel like how Frenchmen used to be? When you\u2019re out on St. Claude do you feel similar things or not really?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> No, not really. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MUSIC, FOOD, AND COMMUNITY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: <\/em><\/strong>[asks about Lynn\u2019s Farm to Table community music project]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>The response we\u2019ve gotten has been great. There\u2019s just been this feeling in the world, in our community, lately: \u201cLet\u2019s start small again. Let\u2019s just have this community thing. Not about making money, not about anything except for bringing people together again. That\u2019s one good thing that came out of the pandemic, maybe. That sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GENDER AND MUSIC AND BOOKING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>So many women musicians have come and gone in my 23 years here\u2014it\u2019s kind of crazy to think about it. I try to keep up with all the new people, but there are so many. So many have come and gone. It\u2019s interesting to have kind of become a mentor now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Int asks about the challenges of being a woman in the business.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> I had to learn how to be a man. I literally had to learn how to be more of a man to even be in this business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean, a guy can call somebody up and just get the gig. Me, I have to go through: maybe they want to date me, so there\u2019s that. Or maybe they want to sleep with me. There\u2019s that. And now it\u2019s sort of like \u201cI\u2019m just gonna use you as\u2014 I\u2019m just gonna talk to you for an hour before ever giving you an answer,\u201d just be like your therapy session or whatever\u2026 They know men are not gonna waste their time [with all that].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m also probably low-balled as far as money is concerned. That\u2019s why, when you have a boyfriend in the band, it\u2019s really nice. You have an ally in the band, where you can say, \u201cOkay look, this guy doesn\u2019t like women.\u201d \u2018Cause there are, straight-up, men who book venues, who are booking agents, who just think less of women. And it\u2019s probably not their fault, but it\u2019s just ingrained in them somehow: they don\u2019t know how to deal the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> It\u2019s interesting\u2014you were saying that there aren\u2019t many women booking gigs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> Well there\u2019s Doris who owns The Kerry, because she loves music and did it out of the kindness of her heart when Kay [Harris] died. Kinda bought that place from Kay, and Kay used to wheel herself in in the wheelchair. Anyway, that was known kind of as a country music venue. That was really the only place you could play country music other than\u2026 I mean, Checkpoint Charlie\u2019s you could play anything, ever, that you ever wanted, but also, you\u2019re kinda playing for the dregs, you know? For lack of a better word, not to put anybody down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: No, no, I gotcha. They\u2019d probably be\u2014the ones I\u2019m picturing, at least\u2014would be honored to be called dregs! Also in terms of women bookers, I don\u2019t know who was booking Checkpoint\u2019s before but Claudia\u2019s doing it now.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> Yeah, that\u2019s right! Her, Doris, and Linda. But Checkpoint\u2019s apparently\u2014I talked to Claudia the other day and she said that, \u201cYeah, the owner says we\u2019re making just as much money without music so we might not bring it back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: <\/em><\/strong>[dark muttering]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>She goes, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m gonna work on it. I\u2019m working on it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll find a way,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> I love Claudia so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> I mean, if you don\u2019t find a way Claudia, what?! After you make the stage so nice and everything\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLAYING AT CAJUN\u2019S PUB (MICROCOSM OF NEW ORLEANS)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>Some of the best times I had actually was playing Checkpoint\u2019s. And also I used to play the karaoke bar, Cajun\u2019s Pub. I loved playing there \u2018cause it was all of the worker Hispanic people, people playing pool, and black people from the hood, and then you had the gay and trans people,  and then you had the fuckin\u2019 hippie deadhead people! I was playing for gutter punks, Africans, Hispanics who had worked all day and were fucking gonna just tie one on. And I\u2019d play \u201cLa Bamba\u201d for\u2014I mean, I love <\/em>that! That was\u2014to me\u2014that was every facet of New Orleans in this one bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they used to pay better than everybody. JoAnn Guidros, that was the name of the woman who owned it. A trans woman who built this beautiful thing there. Beautiful. I don\u2019t think they really have bands anymore. Only occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE LAST BOHEMIA VS. THE INTERNET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: <\/em><\/strong>[talking with Lynn about reading books\/writing in bars, etc., how people in New Orleans are less fazed if you\u2019re acting eccentric or whatever in public.] \u2026. That\u2019s what I loved about moving here. In Montreal, I could still do it, but the amount of weird looks that I got\u2014I\u2019m still gonna do it, goddamnit, but you\u2019re making me tense, looking at me! And I feel like in New Orleans, people don\u2019t give a shit. Or at least less of one.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> Yeah, we have to bring back the true bohemian lifestyle here. I think we\u2019ve gotten lost track of it. We have our phones, and it’s a cop out: \u201cI\u2019m not alone! I have my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> That\u2019s something I think about a lot. The fact that we have this need for a base level of connection, and I think the phone thing, and the Internet\u2014social media and whatever\u2014provide enough of a band-aid that they don\u2019t\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> Feels like you\u2019re still connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int: <\/em><\/strong>Exactly. And you get accustomed to not making the effort you\u2019d have to otherwise. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD: <\/strong>And it\u2019s okay, it\u2019s good, during a pandemic, to be connected that way. But it\u2019s not at all a substitute, and I don\u2019t think it should be. In fact, I sometimes don\u2019t go on it all because it\u2019s a source of anxiety for me. I think it\u2019s a lot of artists are like, \u201cOh they\u2019re doing that. Oh fuck, I\u2019m not doing that\u2014I\u2019m a loser!\u201d You don\u2019t want to reinforce that kind of thinking\u2014you never would\u2019ve had a thought like that if you hadn\u2019t gone online!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then through branding, “What are you doing for your brand<\/em>?” Like your Instagram should be your brand? I\u2019m like, \u201cFuuuuuck.\u201d [laughter]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-pandemic I was probably playing four, five nights a week. I was not happy. I was not really feeling like being creative. Another good thing that came out of the pandemic was that it was kind of a reset for everybody. Nobody is itching right now to clamor for a gig that pays $100 or $75! It\u2019s like, \u201cYou know what? You can keep that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Int:<\/em><\/strong> Here, here. What y\u2019all were talking about earlier, the rent going up and the gig prices staying flat is, you\u2019re killing the opportunity to have a bohemian New Orleans because to have actual artists, you have a limit. You guys care about what you do and you\u2019re gonna fucking do it and it\u2019s not about the money, it\u2019s for the art. But when you can\u2019t even survive, then it\u2019s, \u201cAlright, I can\u2019t\u2026\u201d People have to survive, at least, to be able to do what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s frustrating.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LD:<\/strong> It\u2019s true. But I mean, I always have faith in New Orleans. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNOLAmericana\u201d rocker Lynn Drury is one of New Orleans\u2019 best known and most soulful singer-songwriters. Originally from Mississippi, she\u2019s been in town and playing on Frenchmen since the \u201890s. EARLY DAYS (Checkpoint Charlie\u2019s, Darby, the Apple Barrel) Lynn Drury: I moved here in \u201895. I had a degree in business, and I was working with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,4,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-interviews","category-interviews","category-longform"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3764"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4060,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764\/revisions\/4060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchmennotes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}