MySpace a place for friends

The line-up:

Brian Coogan, lead vocals/organ
Jamelle Williams, trumpet/vocals
Aurora Nealand, alto saxophone/vocals
Danny Abel, guitar
Eddie Christmas, drums

You can find their individual MySpace pages below in my Top Friends.

Details on the musical vibe:

Those of you that know me know that one of my favorite things to do is dance. And those of you in NOLA can often find me at Mimi's on Saturday nights listening to what spins off of DJ Soul Sister's tables, and generally actin' a fool out on the dance floor. Recently it struck me that I love the way Soul Sister shapes her gig and that she relentlessly keeps the party train rollin' and I thought, "I want to be in a band that's like this!" In the music that I love from the 60's to today--from soul to R&B to funk to go-go to Afrobeat to breakbeats to "golden era" hip-hop--there's a thread/aesthetic that appeals to me: simplicity, repetition, parts! Solos are great, but not the focus.

Add to that my long-standing desire to put together and lead a funky and soulful band, that would hopefully want to make people dance as much as I like to.

Add to that my aspiration to come out front and sing, and take on the challenge of rockin' the party center stage.

What you get in the end is this: some of the most talented musicians in New Orleans, playing originals and rare funk classics, and coming together for a funky good time, or as Soul Sister puts it, "a right-on party situation."

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Here are some bands and musicians I'm working with right now:

NC-to-NOLA-to-NYC saxophonist John Ellis and Double-Wide, playing John's soulful compositions with the neat, strange instrumentation of organ, sousaphone, and drumset, the former two chairs held down superbly by Matt Perrine and Jason Marsalis (as can be heard on the band's 2008 album on Ropeadope Records);

Johnny Vidacovich's Duos and Trios, for d.b.a Tuesdays or Maple Leaf Thursdays;

my man Alex McMurray, who writes wonderful music both witty and poignant, and sings it with a heart so obviously bursting with sincerity that I am often found uncontrollably smiling (or close to sobbing) while I'm playing with him, and who just recorded a record (out for JazzFest 2009!!) on which I play on about half of the tracks, including my pedal steel guitar debut;

Clint Maedgen +9, a very fun rock(-ish)/pop(-ish) band led by the ubiquitous singer/songwriter/saxophonist/performer, in which we play Clint's lovely non-Bingo originals, and covers from eight of your favorite British musicians;

Neslort, led by the singular and brilliant trombonist Rick Trolsen, playing his curious compositions;

drum wizard Herlin Riley's quartets;

James Singleton, one of New Orleans's treasures as a deep spirit and an awe-inspiring improvisor, with whom I've played sparingly, but which both of us are trying to change;

Maelstrom Trio, with Seattle-based saxophonist Skerik and my Red-Stick-to-Big Easy brother, drummer Simon Lott;

Brian Seeger's Gentilly Groovemasters, whose de facto members recorded an album early in 2009 with Czech saxophonist Jirka Hala, called "Make You Wanna Hala";

the David Mooney Trio, put together before Katrina by the NOLA/NYC guitarist and singer, again with Simon Lott on drums, which plays Davy's original music and released an album of it in 2008 called "Astoriano" (available online);

the Simon Coogan Duo, going back to Mondays at the Bayou in Baton Rouge, 2001, for when we want to honestly wear our wide-ranging and diverse array of influences on our sleeves; we've also added thirds and fourths over the years (saxophonists David Polk and Jason Moore, or trumpeter Ashlin Parker and saxophonist Rex Gregory, or guitarist Adam Levy, or keyboardist Andy Bourgeois, or see "Maelstrom Trio" above) to expand upon the palette;

every once in a while, George Porter, Jr., who needs no introduction;

NYC guitarist Mike Gamble's various projects, among them crazy people music at his Bar 4 Mondays, with amazing improvisors like saxophonists Tony Barba and Pete Robbins, drummer Conor Elmes, and/or bassist Rob Jost;

the Not-So-Super Super-Hero Party Band, consisting of Coogan, Gamble, Lott, and percussionists/electronic musicians Justin Peake and Anthony Cuccia, for the once-a-year Carnival party thrown by the Dirty Coast crew;

Jamelle Williams, who calls me now and again to play with accompany his excellent trumpet playing;

a ton before Katrina but sparingly these days, Jason Marsalis's various bands, in which he played either drum set or vibraphone, and featuring great musicians like Derek Douget and Peter Harris;

my man Bill Malchow, who's from Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, but knows a whole hell of a lot about NOLA music and NOLA piano especially, and who has a band called the Go-Cup All-Stars (apparently he knows a lot about NOLA culture too), in which I've played organ to his ivory-tickling;

Nori Naraoka's 93D, with Russell Batiste, for when I'm across the ocean;

Jonathan Freilich's beautifully quirky bands Klezmurder and Naked on the Floor, not nearly often enough;

occasionally, the very original New Orleans/Lafayette band The Other Planets.

You may also have seen me in the past couple of years on the road or in NOLA with any of these bands, in which I am an occasional or former member: Mike Dillon's Hairy Apes BMX, Bobby Previte's Coalition of the Willing, Bonerama, Stanton Moore Trio, Will Bernard Trio, Good Enough for Good Times, Big Sam's Funky Nation.

Also, I recently wrote and performed some music for the hotel chain Ritz-Carlton, which appears on one of its websites. It's three-handed piano music (one pass both hands and another right-handed pass) beautifully recorded by Bill Kelly at LSU. You can check that out here: www.theresidencesnorthhills.com.