This year for the 2023 A-Z Blog Challenge, I’m going to begin by listing a song or musical subject, and then see how fast and how far I can completely blow up my own “stream of consciousness,” and head “off the reservation,” by linking every real, and “Zulu Delta-imagined” fact, piece of music trivia, or not so apparent connection to what is racing around my head to that song in an “unstructured, graffiti-like” format. Complete and utter nonsense! Turn it up and turn it on, but as Van “The Man” Morrison said…….”It’s already turned on!”

The Wild Tchoupitoulas released an album by the same name in 1976.

The Album contained the single, “Hey Hey” on it.

It was the first time the Neville Brothers performed together as a “group.”

The album also included the song “Brother John” which is sometimes found performed together with the song “Iko, Iko.”

I was first introduced to this music by the film “The Big Easy” starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. 

One day over lunch at work, Bruce P. “wondered out loud;” What every happened to Ellen Barkin? It just cracked me up as I often wondered the same thing.

Initially, I never wanted to watch the film because someone described it as a movie about police corruption, but it turned out to be one of my favorite movies.

The film was released in 1986. Some financial stats for the movie; The budget for the movies was $8.6 million and went on to make $17.6 million. It probably didn’t include most of the stats for video release which was still fairly “new” in 1986. 

I also find it astonishing that a movie could be made for $8.5 Million. Yes, it’s still a lot of money, but $8.5 Million in “today’s movie money” would get you a few film students running around “filming” with I-phones, and a public premier release at the “Duluth, Minnesota Film Festival”……in winter…..outside…..at the Ice Fishing shack.

The sound track for the film was incredible. It included a version of Tipitina by Professor Longhair, Iko, Iko by The Dixie Cups, The performer Buckwheat Zydeco, and the song “Closer to You” which was written and performed by Dennis Quaid and Balfa Toujours. 

I saw Buckwheat Zydeco perform in the basement of a neighborhood church, at midnight, in East Providence, Rhode Island. Buckwheat and his band played like it was the greatest concert of their lives. Just amazing!

The band Balfa Toujours was formed by Christine Balfa. Her father was Dewey Balfa; a Cajun music icon and pioneer. 

Dewey Balfa, received an invitation to play the 1964 Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. The Louisiana Governor begged him not to go, as he was convinced that it would give the “Northern Yankee’s” just “one more piece” to mock the ways and culture of Louisiana. Dewey went anyway, and received a massive warm and enthusiastic reception by the music lovers, and claimed it was one of the honors of his life.  His youngest daughter Christine confirmed this story on the stage of the Newport Folk Festival itself “many” years later. 

Here is one of my favorite clips of the movie. Dennis Quaid has to whip out the dictionary to check the meaning of a word. So funny. Also funny to me, as I have often told the story on this blog, how my Aunt Mary had sent me a dictionary while I was in the Navy to help my letter writing, and I carried it everywhere I went. During my service, I was sent to Russian Signaling and Identification School. At the end of the 3-week school, we had to fill out a questionnaire concerning everything we heard, saw, learned, and the instructors performance. Coming to some words and thoughts in my head I couldn’t quite grasp, I said out-loud that I needed to access my dictionary in my bag, below my desk. Without hesitation, the Chief (one of the most senior enlisted personnel) also taking the class turned around and said, “don’t bother; yes, ‘piss-poor’ is hyphenated!” The whole class including the instructors, and the Senior and Master Chiefs ranking above him let loose with howling laughter.