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The Independent Weekly

The Independent Weekly

About Me

Founded in 2003, The Independent Weekly is the alternative weekly newspaper of Lafayette, Louisiana, mixing hard-hitting local news, politics, investigative journalism and business coverage with music, arts and culture coverage. Since its launch, The Ind has racked up more than 200 awards from the Louisiana Press Association, The National Newspaper Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, including the coveted Freedom of Information Award from both LPA and NNA, as well as first-place honors in every major editorial category including Best Feature Story, Best Investigative Reporting, Best News Coverage, Community Service, Best Continuing Coverage of a Government Issue, Individual Feature Writing and Special Section, including a truckload of honors for its coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If you can’t get your hands on one of our 20,000 weekly copies, keep up with all of our coverage at www.theind.com .When Independent staffers aren’t inside our world headquarters at 551 Jefferson Street, we devote our time to hitting the town, two-stepping and waltzing, rocking and rolling and upholding the mantra of Allen Toussaint and the late great Lee Dorsey: Everything I do gonna be funky.Now that you’ve found our MySpace page , don’t be shy about giving us a shout-out. Holla if you’ve got a gig or a new CD, have a tip on anything related to Acadiana culture or if you’re a touring artist coming to our neck of the woods. And don’t forget to e-mail [email protected] so it also makes the print version of the paper.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/27/2007
Band Website: theind.com
Band Members: Prior to joining The Independent in 2003, Editor Scott Jordan was associate editor for New Orleans’ OffBeat magazine and music editor and staff writer for New Orleans’ Gambit Weekly. Jordan’s writing has appeared in The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide, Billboard, Downbeat and other publications. He’s also written liner notes for numerous CD projects, including Stevie Ray Vaughan’s The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2. He’s interviewed and written extensively about Ray Charles, Fats Domino, The Meters and the Neville Brothers, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, B.B. King, Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the MGs, Jeff Beck, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Dr. John, Randy Newman, John Fogerty, Solomon Burke, Bobby Charles, Gregg Allman, John Hiatt, Jimmie Vaughan, numerous bluesmen including late greats Jimmy Rogers, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Johnny Copeland and too many other amazing and talented Louisiana musicians he can’t remember as his brain is full from work and raising his sons Evan and (The Mighty) Quinn.Managing Editor R. Reese Fuller found his way to The Independent Weekly in January 2004. In 1998, he co-founded LouisianaRadio.com in Lafayette, the first Internet radio station dedicated to Louisiana's music, playing everything from Amédé Ardoin to Zebra. Then as assistant editor and senior writer for The Times of Acadiana, he wrote about Sonny Landreth, Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Santeria, cold beer, Ernest J. Gaines, cockfighting, James Lee Burke, perique tobacco, and Jimmy Martin. His writing has also appeared in Louisiana Life and Gambit Weekly. He’s won multiple awards from the Louisiana Press Association, and two of his favorite interviews were with Boozoo Chavis and Eddie Shuler . He's a member of the Tommy Comeaux Committee, which works to establish the Tommy Comeaux Endowed Fund for Traditional Music at UL Lafayette. When he's not writing, playing on the Internets, listening to music too loudly, or barbecuing, he's hanging out with his wife and son.Staff writer Mary Tutwiler is one of the pre-eminent food writers in Louisiana, and her award-winning writing has appeared in The Times-Picayune, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Chili Pepper Magazine and emerils.com. Her culinary curiosity takes her down many roads - from hunting down a plate lunch joint that serves chaudin (stuffed smoked pig’s stomach) on its Saturday menu to finding local growers of heritage figs and Creole tomatoes. To her great delight, all three of her daughters have turned out to be good cooks, sharing her inclination to play with her food. She’s also a contributor to the forthcoming book Cornbread Nation 4.
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Spring Restaurant Guide

Last October, The Independent Weekly published our debut Restaurant Guide, and now it's time for the spring 2008 edition.The mission for our Restaurant Guide is to provide you with a handy, informativ...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:20:00 PST

The Bard of Barbs

The second live performance of Randy Newman's controversial song "Rednecks" was during a show in Lafayette in the mid-70s. And if there's any question as to whether the 64-year-old songwriter has mell...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:15:00 PST

Fest Up

It's springtime in southwest Louisiana, and that means nirvana for music lovers.An estimated 300,000-plus locals and tourists will descend on downtown Lafayette this week and weekend for Festival Inte...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:02:00 PST

So this guy walks into a bar ...

It’s the setup that’s launched countless jokes. The variations are endless, too, often involving a priest, a rabbi, or multiple animal species. Mix them together with a bartender who usual...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:50:00 PST

Lafayette Frame of Mind

On the UL Lafayette campus, inside the Edith Garland Dupré Library, beneath the fluorescent lights, down the carpeted hall, past the endless stacks of books, in one of several small wooden 6-by-6-foot...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:14:00 PST

Terrance Simien wins the first Cajun/zydeco Grammy

Terrance Simien has won the first Grammy Award for the "Best Zydeco and Cajun Music Album." The honor was announced yesterday in Los Angeles during a pre-telecast award ceremony. Simien & The Zydeco E...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:22:00 PST

Rock the Vote

The first-ever Grammy Award for best Cajun/zydeco album brought out quite the field of nominees  not just the standard five, but thanks to a three-way tie for the last slot, a lucky seven: Terrance S...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:30:00 PST

Mardi Gras tales

Everybody has that one Mardi Gras story they'll never forget. When you have a century of tradition, the possibilities afforded by the anonymity of masking, and the sheer scope and scale of the parties...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:03:00 PST

Skaggs & Hornsby in Lafayette

Ricky Skaggs' recently released CD with Bruce Hornsby represents one of the few times in recent years that the hardcore bluegrass community hasn't embraced a new Skaggs release. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce H...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:56:00 PST

Fill er Up

Ask around and you'll probably find many of your co-workers and friends have their own secret, out-of-the way Conoco or Chevron, with fried chicken and barbecue they swear by. Word of mouth is usually...
Posted by The Independent Weekly on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:46:00 PST