I must be honest, I was a little young and almost missed the music of The Clash but they ended up on some of the mixed tapes that were floating around the high school I went to just outside New Orleans. I had the great fortune of going to a school closer to “The City”, and there was an underground movement happening in the small corners of the French Quarter in tiny clubs where one could hear a song and have to scream up to the DJ to desperately find out who it was. And then the next day was a quest of going find the record.
The New Wave movement coming out of the punk and post punk scenes changed the course of life for me and taught me how to dream and be myself and not be afraid of the unknown. Most importantly it taught me to remain “DIY”. I grew up watching my people just doing it themselves and succeeding and it kind of installed a chip on my shoulder to remain this way. There’s no way Atlantic Records could have held onto me. It was plastic.
This little flag is flying in me as I picked up my guitar the other night to begin rehearsing music of The Clash for our show on Monday night at Chickie Wah Wah. The music is a sword and I feel so comfortable in it. There would be no Clash music without Reggae and there would be no Reggae without New Orleans.
Come cuddle up next to the root and help stir the pot. Maybe this can lead us to something new.
