I'm living in California via New Orleans Louisiana, I'm a musician(Bass Player and Percussions) I currently have a band (The Cradle Of Sound Band) genres are Reggae, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Salsa, Zydeco...Yes!! we cover it all, this is how I make a living, and I was taught to always be prepared!! Music is my drug of choice/Passion...We recently opened up. for Mr."BB King" at The Bob Hope Theatre. on New Years Eve 2006, I'm not here to brag just I'm honored and humbled and being truthful..."Music is nothing to play with, it is fun and rewarding, and it is a commissioned gift from "The Creator Almighty" handle with care" This my personal motto and my code of conduct...Stay Real is the Feel!!!/go to/www.thecradleofsound.coma
201. "If you give me $__, I bet you I can tell you where you got your shoes. You got em.. on your feet, on Canal Street. Don..t get mad, I don..t bite. You got one on your left and one on your right. I ain..t being crazy, I ain..t being funny. But I sho would appreciate it if you give me my Shame On You, New Orleans
President Bush announces billions of federal dollars to rebuild New Orleans. Evacuees are spread out all over the country and the job of retrieving the corpses is still not completed.That said, the news from New Orleans is clear. There is a rush to open the French Quarter. That's right. The country is to be treated to images of open bars, revelers and drunk partyers in the French Quarter. 'No hurricane will knock us down!' Echoes of of 'Laissez les bonne temps roulez!' will sure to be heard.The idea of a New Orleans ecumenical gathering to celebrate community and continuity, obviously never crossed anyone's mind. A show of gratitude to the nation for it's help would have been nice.We would much rather see a rush to to retrieve the bodies of the unfortunates yet to be found. We would rather see a rush to appropriate help given to those who slipped through the evacuation cracks. We would much rather see a rush to make sure law enforcement is able to do it's job.With up to 200 billion dollars pledged to help rebuild New Orleans, we would rather have seen at least the appearance of propriety, rather than a selfish display of excess. We would much rather have seen the first responsible actions taken by local officials. Instead, we will be treated to images of drunken abandon and irresponsibility.It is this mentality that is more than a little to blame for the disaster that happened to New Orleans. As we have noted, in The Culture of Disaster or The NO Party To The Grave Plan,
It isn't as if New Orleans were a geographically remote location. It isn't as if New Orleans citizens didn't understand the inevitability of a massive storm. On the face of it, New Orleans should have been one of the most disaster prepared cities in the world. Instead, it was one of the most complacent.
In fact, preparedness took a back seat to corruption, greed and dirty politics.
The weatherman says a storm is coming? Let's go down to the French Quarter and party! Let's go down to the liquor store and load up- have the neighbors over! This is New Orleans- party time!
There was never a culture of disaster preparedness. If there were, the citizens of New Orleans would have better heeded the warnings. Why were liquor stores allowed to remain open? Why was the French Quarter a hub of hurricane party activity? It was up to the city and state to impress upon people the importance of hurricane preparedness.
What is the first thing the City of New Orleans wants to show the world? The alcohol flows again- as if that were the barometer of the health of New Orleans, as if perhaps enough alcohol is served up, people will forget the images of 526 buses never used to evacuate New Orleans before the storm.Well, Mr Nagin and Governor Blanco, fresh images of a flood of booze flowing through the French Quarter are not what most Americans want to see from you. That wil only serve to reinforce the idea that it is business as usual in New Orleans and Louisiana.
The local, state and federal governments are not just having to pay to rebuild New Orleans, but they are paying for a human tragedy that need not have been so great.
Laissez les bonne temps roulez, indeed. Shame on you, New Orleans.Sage Sweetwater Interviews Famous Blues Musician Adam La Tour
By Sage Sweetwater
Last edited: Friday, October 19, 2007
Posted: Thursday, October 18, 2007Adam La Tour is a bassist/vocalist with "The Cradle of Sound Band." Adam's genre's are as follows, Jazz, Blues, Louisiana Blues, R&B, Latin Soul, Reggae, Rock and Zydeco...Adam and his band recently opened up for "BB King Blues Band."Picture is Adam La TourAdam La Tour is my friend and professional contact. I met Adam through Nextcat, the popular, friendly site for professional entertainment where all are welcome, (race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.) of which I am part of and have connected with many heavy hitters in directors, producers, filmmakers, actors, artists, and musicians. I find Adam La Tour very talented, interesting, spiritual, and wise. I asked Adam a few questions I thought would make a wonderful interview and also give Adam some PR. One of the questions I asked Adam was what effect he saw that Katrina would have on New Orleans music. Adam La Tour's great grandmother is an ancestor of the Seminole. He has very strong women and men in his family which Adam says makes for a good balance. Instead of interview questions in the form of an interview, I wanted to present Adam La Tour's story in story form. So here goes. Adam La Tour, here's your story from the way you tell it. I love you sugar King! aka Les "Adam" La Tour "The Cradle Of Sound"I, was born into music they tell me...My mother (Marie Macrava Celestine), was a dancer of tap, and she always was tapping out some rhythmic beat...All of her brothers were tap dancers as well, I used to watch them visit and I would observe their feet tapping out beats as they talked to one another...I became interested and aware of music, at the age of three...My father (Les Gene La Tour), would take me over to my grandfather's (Adam La Tour) home, and grandfather played the accordion and would sing old Creole tunes to me. He gave me my first instruments and harmonica that he would call a (french harp) and a conga drum, which I would love to play all day...I also remember having dances at our home, they were called "Lala's"...all of our parents' friends would come over dance, play music and sing...We had the late great "King of Zydeco" Clifton Chenier and "The Queen of Zydeco" my cousin Queen Ida, they were regulars at our home...Me, my brothers and sisters, were baptized into music at an early age...there were nine of us children...five girls and four boys, I am the middle child and (my brother in life and in rhythm) "Ricky La Tour" were bitten by "The Music Bug"...Ricky and I, have been partners in music every since I can remember, Ricky's four years younger than myself, and I never let him forget that!!...He and I started playing the conga drums as a duo, when and whenever we could. I was ten at the time and he was six...we used to watch these older guys play and we would tell ourselves we can do that, and they would just shew us off, and we would return with a different beat weekly...To make a long story short, brother Rick excelled at the drums/vocals and I went to art school at "The University of the Pacific," but while at the University, I really wanted to play music, but I wasn't classiclly trained and I tried to forget about music to no avail...My brother would always try and get me to play with him and I would at times, but told him that I was immersed into my art. Then I got hold of a bass guitar one day and that was all she row!!...I practiced my bass daily, and when I got pretty good at playing it, we formed the band "The Cradle of Sound Band"...I was going through alot in my life at that time, going through a divorce and wasn't being good to myself at that time, and the music saved my life, and focused me..."I believe if you are doing what you are suppose to be doing, you don't have time for the "negative" in music. I had to become "Brave," excuse the pun!! "I had to face the music."..."You see, I ran from music for a long time and I tried to ignore it, knowing all along it was in my blood and I didn't want to accept the discipline that it required...I chose fine arts as a means of communicating my feelings and observations of the things and situations around me, which seemed fine at the time, but the music still haunted me...I started playing music for my children, Brian La Tour, Ashley La Tour, Chalia La Tour and Amanda La Tour...My oldest, Brian grasped music very quickly, he has this amazing "ear" he can hear something once and retain it, and restructure it with ease. He's my personal music Teacher to this day...Whenever I'm stuck on something musically I call on Brian!!!!...He teaches music as a means of supporting his "Family" and is quite successful at it...My youngest daughter, Amanda, is currently in her first year of college, at the University of the Pacific, "Conservatory of Music" on a full scholarship, she's a lover of Classical Music/Jazz and also teaches...Ashley, the brains of the family is an aspiring attorney and violinist...Chalia, is an actor, singer and violinist...So what I'm attempting to say, is that by accepting this discipline that we call music, it has paid off well for me, if not in monetary value, spiritually, I feel that I'm one of the most blessed men on the planet...By nurturing the seed of music in my children, that was there from the beginning and keep them on a positive path, and it was something I didn't have to force on them, I believe that it's in the genes. There's not enough money in the world that could satisfy what I feel in regards to the music and why/how I got started in it..."It's in the blood"!!!On what effect Katrina has on the New Orleans music scene:It's a sad!! sad!! case of affairs, when all that was is gone...Just because a few of the politically so-called correct, need it their way... New Orleans, is a part of us all, and we all have lost loved ones, even if you know it or not!!!...New Orleans, sticks on you, and if you ever had the opportunity to visit her...The people, the smells, the foods. the bum on the streets, singing a catchy tune, and of course the amazing music...We lost so many amazing "Musicians" extraordinaire, too many to name...One amazing thing about New Orleans, she always re-invents herself...New Orleans, is not just a place, it's a place, it's an experience that you always take with you, where ever you may go....She's the front door of "Southern Hospitality." All who enters her are welcomed, as long as you are respectful, and if you are not respectful of her, she has a way of avenging herself...I remember my grandfather (Adam La Tour Sr.), saying ("Watch what you do, it may come back to you")...So on that note, I will continue to play my music, and tell my/our story through song... It's my way of processing the pain of losing so many loved ones, my way of keeping the tradition alive, it's one big "Funeral March" for us, and we are all sad and miss our family and friends.... But at the end of that march, there's always a party, and there's a time for everything and right now it's a time to cry!!...All of my "Ancestors" are with me/inside of me, we don't die, we re-invent...We take "New Orleans" with us where ever we may go!!!
Adam Celestine La Tour....1."Respect nurtures closeness" Adam La Tour 08/28/07
2."A man that doesn't truthfully research another man's History is a fool, and those that believe in him are foolish"
3." The overlooked virtues of women are many, mysteries are solved from the unseen"It has been wonderful doing this interview with you Adam. It is my pleasure to give my audience this story - and so I will. Good luck to you, sugar King.Please visit Adam La Tour on Nextcat and listen to some of his music.http://www.nextcat.com/thecradleofsound....
