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A trip to The Big Easy awaits tonight as we explore the rich & storied living history of a city whose music few municipalities can even hold a torch to, New Orleans.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
Nov 10, 2021
Hot 8 Brass Band – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Cha Wa – Bow Down
Professor Longhair – Big Chief (Pt. 2)
The Meters – People Say
Idris Muhammad – Turn This Mutha Out
Allen Toussaint – Southern Nights (solo piano)
Allen Toussaint – Egyptian Fantasy
The Neville Brothers – Voodoo
Chocolate Milk – Time Machine
Nigel Hall – Don’t Change For Me
Betty Harris – Mean Man
Lee Dorsey – Get Out My Life, Woman
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight on a cold rainy one here in Gwangju, so what better time is there to fly off to warmer climes? Luckily for you, it is our traveling without moving Round Trip showcase for tonight and we will indeed fly through these dark, frigid clouds starting at 9pm sharp, and this evening’s traipse towards the crescent is duly noted as November 10, 2021. This is Danno reminding you to roll & not fold when packing, coming at you but then leaving from studio 2 GFN HQ in downtown Gwangju, how do you do? As mentioned, tonight is the night we travel somewhere new & interesting every week, and there are few places more lively and wild than The Big Easy, New Orleans which is our destination tonight. A truly unique place on every level, Nawlins as the locals call it is one of the best places for food, culture, music, and so much more, and Lizz Kalo and I will be trying to cover as much of the old & new on the latter in hour 2 tonight after flight TD051 takes off. And in light of our destination tonight, we will start with lots of brass and heat with just a bit of history, to show the enduring influence of a classic album from waaaay outside New Orleans. This is The Drop.
Hot 8 Brass Band – Love Will Tear Us Apart
The Drop is aboard the VIP bus & on our way to ICN tonight for our Round Trip Wednesday, and for those just getting with the program we are on our way to New Orleans tonight on flight TD051.
So, to start the fun (or is it funeral procession?), we began with lots of horns which you cannot possibly avoid if you are visiting the big easy. That was the Hot 8 Brass Band with a cover of the Joy Division original Love Will Tear Us Apart. Interestingly, the band is the first American act signed by UK label Tru Thoughts, which would be another collection between the UK & this group.
Unfortunately, much like the band Joy Division who lost their leading man at far too young an age, The Hot 8 Brass Band has lost several of their members, the most recent being co-founder Bennie Pete who just passed in September due to COVID complications. Other members Jacob Johnson, Dick Shavers, and Joe Williams were killed due to gun violence at the far too young ages of 17, 25, and 22 respectively. However, the band continued on doing its thing and it seems that will stay the same with the recent loss of Bennie Pete.
The band has started a gofundme for Bennie Pete, and we would implore you to give what you can.
May all members of the Hot 8 Brass Band rest in power supreme, gone far too soon.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, podcast details, etc.
So, moving forward we have a lot of funky stuff to get through here in hour one, and we’ve got Cha Wa on deck to be followed by Professor Longhair & The Meters, and we shall pay tribute to all of these chiefs side opposite the sonics. This is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday to New Orleans.
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The Drop returns and we’re about to disembark at the terminal to check in for flight TD051 bound for New Orleans tonight but we still got a few miles to go before the doors open so we’re just kinda zoning out on the bus, watching the rain hit the pane. Danno here studio 2 GFN HQ and Lizz Kalo will of course be on board for our sojourn to Louie Armstrong International Airport this evening later on. We just started with some funk & soul classics from The Big Easy, so let’s get to the details...
Cha Wa – Bow Down (…a little tune from this year’s My People LP. This band and the tune after this one are an homage to the very active Mardi Gras Indians culture that has developed in the city, and we’ll explain all of that during hour 2. Great band here though, Grammy nominees, def check this year’s My People or Spyboy from 2018 for more.)
Professor Longhair – Big Chief (Pt. 2) (…this is a classic also in the aforementioned Mardi Gras Indian tradition. True name Roy Byrd, his piano stylings are instantly recognizable, blending rumba, mambo, and calypso.)
The Meters – People Say (…still around to this day & formed in 1965, The Meters are as classic as you can get in funk & soul often mentioned as originators alongside the likes of James Brown. This tune appeared on Rejuvenation from 1974, and the band have also been the backing for artists like Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, and Robert Palmer.)
Now let’s get to the main man on the drums especially when it came to jazz back in the day. Born Leo Morris in 1939 New Orleans, he would change his name to Idris Muhammad after converting to Islam. He got his first break at just 14 playing the drums on Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill, and from there it was a cosmic, magic ride playing both as a soloist and with some of the giants of the game. Up next is the title track to Idris Muhammad’s 1977 LP, Turn This Mutha Out. THIS is The Drop struttin’ off the bus for tonight’s Round Trip to The Big Easy.
Idris Muhammad – Turn This Mutha Out
II.
The Drop returns here to for the initial airbreak of our 2nd quarter tonight, keepin’ it kinda chill to start things in the sophomore stanza as we wait in line to check in. Of course, Lizz Kalo will be aboard flight TD051 bound for New Orleans tonight, and man just saying that fair city’s name makes me hungry. For now we just opened with The Saint of New Orleans, Allen Toussaint and a couple of pensive later works of his, so let’s run it down...
Allen Toussaint – Southern Nights (solo piano) (….)
Allen Toussaint – Egyptian Fantasy (…these were both recorded quite late in life for the great saint, a man who from 1950 until the end of the century was one of the great backroom figures in music and a tremendous artist in his own right. With hundreds of records to his credit as a producer, his big single hits were Right Place Wrong Time by Dr. John and Lady Marmelade by Labelle, but his influence goes so much deeper than that, even. That piano version of an earlier original by Toussaint was played by the man himself on his final record, American Tunes, released in 2016 followed by his death a month later, may he rest in power supreme. An absolute titan.)
Moving along SM, #9870, podcast let us know …
So onwards and upwards we’ll continue to keep it soulful & funky but chill, and up next we have The Neville Brothers along with Chocolate Milk & Nigel Hall, and we’ll glide over the notes after the notes float. THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday to The Crescent City.
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The Drop continues down the path tonight and we are into the final verbal jousting for the first half presently. Danno here, checking my stuff at the departure gate prior to taking off for tropical the warmth of the Louisiana Bayou tonight, as we take off on flight TD051 for New Orleans shortly. For right now, we had some old & new in the funk category, so let’s get to the details...
The Neville Brothers - Voodoo (…this is the group started in 1976 by brothers Aaron, Art, Charles, & Cyril. They formed in support of The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group lead by their uncle Big Chief Jolly.)
Chocolate Milk – Time Machine (…this tune appeared on the group’s 1975 LP Action Speaks Louder Than Words, which was their debut. Interestingly, the drum break to the title cut on the album has been sampled by Eric B & Rakim along with Stetsasonic.)
Nigel Hall – Don’t Change For Me (…more contemporary here with this final tune in the block, this was from the artist’s solo debut LP Ladies & Gentlemen…Nigel Hall. He also is a member of the smashing funk & soul outfit Lettuce, and a Grammy winner due to his work on an album with Jon Cleary. )
Okay, so final call to board just rattled us out of our screen slumbers here in the studio, so I gotta boogie. We gotta get in a couple more classics for tonight and up next is Betty Harris with Mean Man, and then we’ll close with the aforementioned Lee Dorsey and Get Out My Life, Woman, which will be a wrap for the first half. THIS is The Drop now boarding flight TD051 on our way to New Orleans at halftime.
Betty Harris – Mean Man
Lee Dorsey – Get Out My Life Woman
III & IV Round Trip
Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
Frank Ocean – Pink & White
79rs Gang – Oooh Na Na
Cha Wa – My People
Trombone Shorty – Do To Me
Galactic – Church
Harry Connick, Jr. – Just The Way You Are
Raymond Lewis – Coppin’ A Plea
Allen Toussaint – We Are The People (ext vers)
Tank & The Bangas – QUICK
JANNABI – Oh Brave Morning Sun
We Are The Night – Green War
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
• A 1967 release by an absolute legend
• Louis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was a trumpeter and vocalist.
• He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and different eras in the history of jazz.
79rs Gang - Oooh Na Na
• The album Fire on the Bayou from 2015
• 79rs Gang is a joint creation of Big Chief Romeo Bougere of the 9th Ward Hunters and Big Chief Jermaine Bossier of the 7th Ward Creole Hunters in 2013.
• Despite being from different tribes and wards, the duo was able to put differences aside and make music that inspires solidarity.
Trombone Shorty - Do To Me
• A jazz number from his 2011 album For True
• Troy Andrews, also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is a musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from Louisiana.
• He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, organ, and tuba.
Harry Connick Jr. - Just the Way You Are
• From the album your song which was released in 2009
• Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host.
• He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide and ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales.
Tank and The Bangas - QUICK
• A 2018 release
• Tank and the Bangas is a rock, r&b and soul musical group based in, Louisiana
• They won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest and in November 2019, they were nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards.
JANNABI - Oh Brave Morning Sun
• From the 2021 album The Land of Fantasy
• Jannabi is a South Korean indie rock band consisting of four members:
• The group was formed in 2012 with three members and extended to five members then reduced again to four.