IN BATON ROUGE, THEYRE STILL SINGING THE BLUES (By Jack Barlow / NYTimes) There was a time, around 40 years ago, when Baton Rouge was not only the blues capital of Louisiana but also one of the busiest blues hubs in the entire United States. From ramshackle juke joints in the countryside to rough blues bars scattered throughout the city came the raw sound of some of the greats of the genre — Slim Harpo, Raful Neal, Buddy Guy. It was nothing short of a golden age. That was a while ago now, though. As the legends disappeared so did the places they once played; there are few juke joints left anywhere, and most of the clubs have long since been torn down. For blues fans these days, Baton Rouge is an altogether much quieter affair. Quieter perhaps, but not silent. For the curious traveler — and music fan — there are still places in the city that hark back to Baton Rouge’s blues heyday. With a mix of the old and the new, it’s surprising to discover that not only are the blues far from dead; in some places, the blues are quietly thriving. Tabby’s Blues Box, the rollicking bar run by the late bluesman Ernest Thomas, known as Tabby, used to be one of the liveliest, good-time blues bars in the city. It disappeared in 2004 after Mr. Thomas had a stroke, but, 10 years later, its location once again hums with the sounds of Baton Rouge’s finest. Spare and no-frills, the Blues Room hosts live music Friday through Sunday and occasionally on other nights as well. Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, La., has the old-time, down-home feeling of the South. Credit Richard Hannon for The New York Times Having opened only in 2013, it doesn’t yet have the prestige or reputation of Tabby’s; nevertheless, it’s the only blues-dedicated bar in downtown Baton Rouge. It’s too early to say whether it will measure up to the site’s former glory. It does have a tendency to close early and can be a little pricier than its hole-in-the-wall image warrants, but it’s still worth a look for blues fans who find themselves in the central city. From there, it’s a roughly 30-minute drive to one of the area’s oldest and most authentic live music locations. Teddy’s Juke Joint, a rustic place in the middle of nowhere, has as much of an old-time, down-home feel as any venue in the South. As more than one disappointed traveler has discovered, there aren’t actually many juke joints left anywhere, let alone in Louisiana; Teddy’s, though, is the real deal. Operating continuously since 1979, the bar is still run by its founder, the gregarious Lloyd Johnson, who is known as Teddy. It’s dark and cluttered inside, with green and gold Mardi Gras masks hanging from the ceiling and flashing neon lights lending the back of the bar a timeless air. Mr. Johnson’s wife, Nancy, works the bar while the man himself throws together food in the kitchen. He remains, very literally, a hands-on owner. “I was born right there,” Mr. Johnson, 68, said, pointing to a spot in front of the bar’s small stage. It’s been a lifelong relationship; born in the building, he later rescued it after years of neglect by turning it into the juke joint it is now. Mr. Johnson was a D.J. at the time, traveling around the area and spinning blues and soul records for a living. “Someone suggested opening my own place. They said, ‘Hey, now you can make all the money, ‘ ” he said with a grin. “But that’s a myth. Everybody gets paid except me.” Thin budget or otherwise, the place has soldiered on through the years and now is the sole remaining juke joint in the area. Mr. Johnson still spins his records every night, a mix of both big names and locals, and still mostly soul and blues. Early country blues were often considered devil’s music, and by hosting rough blues musicians and their equally bawdy associates, juke joints developed a shady, vaguely sinister reputation. Teddy’s has a warm, welcoming atmosphere, although there’s still a touch of the mysterious about it. “It’s amazing what people think about life,” Mr. Johnson said. “Ninety percent of my friends won’t even come in the front door. They say it’s the devil’s place.” Back in the heart of Baton Rouge, in an anonymous plain green building on Government Street, stands what is now the most active hub for the blues in the city. Phil Brady’s is, at first glance, nothing particularly special; all brick and windowless, it’s dark and smoky inside, its walls adorned with beer signs and hastily taken photos of the many local musicians who have hit its stage at one point or another. But, despite the plain interior, there’s something different about Brady’s. Opened in 1979 by a Vietnam veteran named Phil Brady — who, although he sold the business long ago, still makes occasional appearances — the bar has maintained a commitment to live music. Live blues have always been the center point, which is why the place often plays host to some of the biggest names in Louisiana blues. Hidden away in a series of casual snaps is a faded picture of Johnny Winter onstage; look around and there is also one of a local star, Kenny Neal, a son of Raful Neal. The regular clientele is young and old, rich and poor, black and white. Thursday nights are when the bar truly lives up to its reputation. Brady’s has been hosting a Thursday night blues jam every week since 1986, possibly not quite the “second-longest running blues jam in the world,” as people at the bar will sometimes tell you, but a solid run nonetheless. Like any jam night it can be hit or miss, but the hits outweigh the misses and sometimes the results can be startling, different musicians meshing to create something. Like tonight. Ambling up to the corner stage and hastily plugging in instruments and getting organized is a typically varied bunch. There’s Jo Monk, a short, wiry man with a charming smile and the most in-the-pocket drum chops in town; James Johnson, once Slim Harpo’s guitarist and known for the trebly, biting “chicken scratch” style featured in many of Harpo’s songs; Zach Korth, a young science graduate and talented guitarist; and Miguel Hernandez, proudly sporting a frizzy Afro and one of the most solid bass players in Baton Rouge. Although they’ve never played together as a unit before, they hit it off instantly: Mr. Monk’s drumming and Mr. Hernandez’s bass playing mesh — Mr. Korth holds down the rhythm and Mr. Johnson takes the vocals and punctuates proceedings with his scratchy, rapid-fire leads. It’s a throwback to Mr. Johnson’s days with Harpo, and an authentic recreation of the scratchy, funky sound that used to pour out of bars all over the city. The band plays three songs, a tight, bouncy set, before laying down their instruments and wandering off the stage to scattered applause. Mr. Korth and his girlfriend, Gretchen Keller, temporarily moved to Baton Rouge from Pasadena, Calif., for graduate work. Phil Brady’s, with its characters, its atmosphere and its music, soon proved to be a revelation. “It’s hard to put a finger on just what it is about Brady’s,” Mr. Korth said after hopping offstage. “It’s the kind of place where it doesn’t matter what kind of shoes you’re wearing or what you do for a living, or even what you believe in, for that matter. As a musician, you could be a weekend tinkerer or a world-class touring bluesman — either way, you’ll always have a spot on the stage,” he said. “And yet it’s always good. “Thursday nights at Phil Brady’s have a magic of their own you have to see and hear and feel to understand.” It’s true that the days of Baton Rouge as a blues center are gone. Still, when you find yourself in one of the city’s smoky, dirty bars late at night, with a loud band loosely belting out an old Slim Harpo number, it’s hard not to feel a spark of what used to be. And, often, that’s more than enough. IF YOU GO WHERE TO LISTEN The Blues Room, 244 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge; 225-334-7663; facebook/pages/The-Blues-Room. Teddy’s Juke Joint, 16999 Old Scenic Highway, Zachary, La.; 225-658-8029; teddysjukejoint. Phil Brady’s Bar and Grill, 4848 Government Street, Baton Rouge; 225-927-3786; philbradys.org. WHERE TO STAY The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, 201 Lafayette Street,hilton, is in the heart of downtown, across the road from the Blues Room. WHERE TO EAT Teddy’s and Phil Brady’s offer Louisiana fare, the former serving dishes cooked by Teddy himself. There are plenty of inexpensive Southern-style restaurants throughout town, a few of which also have strong musical ties. Chelsea’s Cafe (2857 Perkins Road; 225-387-3679; chelseascafe) serves Southern specialties like fried green tomatoes and catfish, and also hosts live music several nights a week. It’s not always blues, but it’s always good. Also try the chicken and andouille sausage gumbo and take in the Southern charm of the polite, friendly waitresses. Near the gates of Louisiana State University, the Chimes (3357 Highland Road; 225-383-1754) has some of the best Louisiana food and one of the widest beer selections in town. It also backs on to the Varsity Theater, one of Baton Rouge’s liveliest music venues. nytimes/2015/01/18/travel/in-baton-rouge-theyre-still-singing-the-blues.html?_r=0
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 06:14:00 +0000
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