February 26, 2009
Winston Eggleston on William Eggleston
"God Damn That's A Good Looking Blue": Winston Eggleston on William Eggleston
It's difficult to impossible to get William Eggleston to talk about his work much less his working style. In 2004 while preparing a film for ICP's Infinity Awards, I had the privilege to speak to Bill's youngest son Winston. Winston suspended his own photography career to be his father's photographic assistant. Winston and his brother took over running their father's archive in 1992, attempting to organize and catalog the entire body of work. Negatives were in different cities and many things were missing; there are many stories of boxes of prints vanishing after a late night of partying. Bill's generosity played a large role in giving away innumerable photographs.
During the interview, Winston provided a window into his father's life and background: he loves guns, but does not hunt; likes stamps, likes old rugs, and loves Bach. Most importantly Winston was able to impart the feeling of being along side his father while he photographed. He provides us with a context for each image and expresses an adoration of the photographs as only a son can.
Film and interview directed by: Douglas Sloan
February 25, 2009
Remembering a New Orleans Legend: Antoinette K-Doe [NBC Nightly News Excerpt - 00:49: 24.2.09] *Clip expires five days from airing on NBC News Site!
Remembering a New Orleans Legend:
Antoinette K-DoeNBC Nightly News with Brian WilliamsFeb. 24:
Excerpt|00:49|Antoinette K-Doe, widow of rhythm & blues singer Ernie K-Doe, died on Mardi Gras day at the age of 66. In an interview conducted shortly after Hurricane Katrina...
Antoinette K-Doe
Antoinette K-Doe
Antoinette K-Doe, the wife of New Orleans famous singer Ernie K-Doe, died of an apparent heart attack at her Mother-in-Law Lounge early Mardi Gras Day, according to family members.
Local musicians have been passing through the lounge all morning to offer condolences.
Friends said it was fitting that K-Doe passed away on a holiday she loved so much and family said they plan to honor her memory by having the celebration today - something they say she would have wanted.
She was 66 years old.
Mourners file past the body of the Emperor of the World, Ernie K-Doe, Mother-in-Law, on July 12, 2001. K-Doe is the first rhythm and blues singer to be laid in state in New Orleans and the first whose memorial services were held at the city's historic Gallier Hall. 
In 1994, Ernie K-Doe opened the world-famous Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law Lounge at 1500 N. Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. One of K-Doe's main reasons for opening the Lounge was to provide a place for New Orleans' living legends to come and perform. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rubbing elbows with some of the greats of the Crescent City when you visit the Mother-in-Law Lounge.
The Lounge is a shrine to the immortal legend of K-Doe. The walls are adorned with photographs and artwork of K-Doe throughout his life. Many pictures of K-Doe's family and friends can be seen as well.
When K-Doe was still with us, it wasn't uncommon to have the Emperor himself greet you at the door. Today, Antoinette continues to keep alive the warm, friendly, hospitable environment that K-Doe's fans have come to expect. You are nothing if not well-taken-care-of at the Mother-in-Law Lounge. Have a drink and play the jukebox, which has one of the best selections you can find of classic New Orleans R&B artists (including a great many K-Doe hits!).
The Mother-in-Law Lounge is located at the edge of New Orleans' historic Tremé neighborhood on the corner of N. Claiborne and Columbus:
Ernie K-Doe started his singing career in his church choir and went on to sing with such spiritual groups as the Golden Choir Jubilees of New Orleans and the Divine Traveler. He was inspired by such artists as Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Eddie Jones, known to all as Guitar Slim.At the age of 15, while performing at an amateur night show, he was heard by the manager of the legendary Flamingos. His first recording was the also legendary Chess Record Company with "I Only Have Eyes for You".
Ernie K-Doe had a strong desire to perform, and did with such enthusiasm that he made audiences scream for more. He says he enjoys singing because it gives him a feeling of happiness and joy. This goes back to the days when he felt that way with the spriritual choirs.
Early in his career, he practiced with Joe Tex at the Dew Drop Inn, which is the reason they have similar styles in dancing with the microphone, falling down, and rolling off the stage. He says he never has to move when performing, because he never could keep still, although he never had any dancing lessons. He considers the stage to be a ring and remarks, "If you don't get out there and move they would kill you." Having traveled all over the world, he recalls his best times at the Club Lingerie in Hollywood and the Apollo Theater in New York City. Ernie K-Doe has sung at the Apollo Theater in New York eight times, the Howard Theater in Washington, DC three times, the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia six times, the Regal Theater in Chicago twelve times and Carnegie Hall in New York one time.
K-Doe has recorded such hits as "A Certain Girl", "T'ain't It the Truth", "Come On Home", "Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta", "Later for Tomorrow", just to name a few. His biggest recording was "Mother-in-Law", which sold millions. K-Doe says it will last to the end of the Earth, "because someone is always going to get married."
When "Mother-in-Law" was out on the charts, K-Doe was considered one of the Big Five, which included James Brown, Lil Willie John, Joe Tex and Jackie Wilson. Of the Big Five, only K-Doe and James Brown are still "doin' it".
Ernie K-Doe says he is going to bring New Orleans back and in the process, himself. For the last few years, K-Doe has been on the path to sobriety after living in an alcoholic haze for years. The singer, who rose to fame in 1961, when his "Mother-in-Law" was the No. 1 song in the nation, is back on the job, sober and enthusiastic.
And he wants to restore New Orleans to the glory of its heyday—when it was feeding ground for such greats as Fats Domino, Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Little Richard, Barbara George and many others.
To do it, K-Doe opened Ernie K-Doe's Mother-in-Law Lounge at 1500 N. Claiborne Avenue and he performs with an alternating cast of musicians. To his mind, the club is a place where musicians can help one another just like in the old days.
By the way, Ernie K-Doe was right about the song "Mother-in-Law". It will last to the ends of the Earth, or at least for a while. Ernie got married in January of 1996 to Antoinette Fox, and her mother was watching over the ceremony! So look out, K-Doe, and look out, world! K-Doe is still doing what he does best: Entertain!
In 1997, the Rhythm & Blues Foundation recognized Ernie K-Doe with its prestigious Pioneer Award. The award was presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and K-Doe brought the house of American musical legends to its feet with his performance of "Mother-in-Law".
In 1999, Ernie K-Doe was the first person to be honored with the Big Easy Entertainment Awards' Heritage Award.
The New Orleans Music Hall of Fame inducted Ernie K-Doe in 1995. The award was presented to K-Doe at his New Orleans club, the Mother-in-Law Lounge.
The State of Louisiana inducted Ernie K-Doe into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 1997.
Each year, a select few Louisiana artists are honored with a Legend Award, presented by the South Louisiana Association. K-Doe received this distinction in 1999 at a ceremony in Baton Rouge.
Mother-in-Law Lounge: OPEN MIC - Sept. 16th 2007 [MAYBE YOU CAN GET THE VIBE]
James Sleeping Giant Winfield party, open mic portion
ANTOINETTE K-DOE: 30-SECOND PERSONAL MSG. FROM 'M.I.L.' LOUNGE
Miz Antoinette says Hi! from the Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law lounge.
IRMA THOMAS + PAUL PRUDHOMME + ERNIE K-DOE [NEW ORLEANS SHORT-LIVED WB TV 38 Promo - 1997]
1997 extended promo (music video) for the N.O. "W.B." TV affiliate. Included are some of the WB stars at the time plus local dignitaries like Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, the Olympia Brass Band, and more...
Sonny Landreth + Eric Johnson: The Milky Way Home [Continental Club - Austin, TX: August 7, 2008] for Liz Van Den Berg
Sonny Landreth and Eric Johnson
The Milky Way Home
Continental Club, Austin Texas
August 7th, 2008
Rock Band - Gimme Sheltar - Drums (X)
This is my first video of Drums on Expert. I know i'm still not that great, and i need work, i just figure i'd show all my subscribers how i'm coming along with the drums.
Tell me how i did, and thanks for watching!
February 24, 2009
ERNIE K-DOE: Here Come The Girls + *ANTOINETTE K-DOE [DECEASED TODAY - MARDI GRAS, 2009] SHE DIRECTED REBIRTH OF THE 'M-I-L' LOUNGE] FOR KAREN FORD
A colorful mural is seen on the outside wall of the newly refurbished Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans,
February 17, 2008
February 17, 2008
directed rebirth
Widow
of
Ernie K-Doe--R&B pioneer
ANTOINETTE K-DOE [DECEASED MARDI GRAS DAY, 2009],
OF
"MOTHER-IN-LAW" LOUNGE
in
POST-KATRINA New Orleans
ERNIE K-DOE'S
'Here Come The Girls'
from Boots TV ad
video: Jonathan King
Antoinette saved Ernie along with her family.She took Ernie apart, put the pieces in a garbage bag and dragged him upstairs
NEW ORLEANS—When the floodwater of Hurricane Katrina engulfed the legendary Mother-In-Law Lounge and the National Guard rescued Antoinette K-Doe, she worried about what she had left behind.
She didn’t want to abandon her mother or her husband, R&B pioneer Ernie K-Doe, both interred down the street at St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. She hoped to save a career’s worth of photographs of Ernie, who died in 2001, and had spent three days carrying them upstairs to her apartment above the bar.
And she could hardly bear to leave Ernie’s mannequin, a macabre re-creation to some but a protector to Antoinette. To frighten off thieves, she dressed him in one of his flamboyant suits and sat him in a closet with her shotgun in his lap.
“People said, `Did you bring Ernie?’ Antoinette said, `No, I left him. They’re rescuing live bodies, not statues.’”
After living at a Boy Scout camp in Atlanta for about a month, Antoinette returned to her native New Orleans. The lounge, a haven for musicians since it opened in 1994, was a wreck. Five and a half feet of water had left it covered in mold and muck and God knows what else in the environs below the I-10 overpass where victims fled for safety. Her clothes, the bar, all of the bar stock, the kitchen equipment used to feed the participants after their weekly Thursday jam sessions in the back room and the stage where Ernie played, were unchallengeable.
Antoinette K-Doe, wife of the late Ernie K-Doe, reflects on the rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina at the Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans“I feel very lucky that I saved all my pictures,” said Antoinette, 65. “I knew we had to bring his band’s place back. But I didn’t know how, didn’t know where the money was coming from.”
It came from Hands On New Orleans, one of the volunteer organizations at the forefront of the rebuilding effort.
Among those who contributed to its cause was R&B star Usher. His donation was not directly used to refurbish the Mother-In-Law Lounge, but he visited the place one Sunday in May, and Antoinette recalls him saying, “I have to get you open.”
Hands On was also aided by its partners, the Tipitina’s Foundation and Sweet Home New Orleans.
The lounge’s grand reopening, complete with red carpet, was Aug. 30, 2006, a year and a day after Katrina made landfall. Volunteers from Hands On chapters in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Atlanta were invited, along with musicians and a representative from the mayor’s office.
“I told everyone I was going to fine them $20 if they talked about the storm or politics,” Antoinette said. “We didn’t make much money; it was an open bar.”
She’s still struggling to make a living and was hospitalized in February, but Antoinette hopes Ernie is on the verge of a rebirth similar to his city’s.
The peak of his success came in 1961, when his “Mother-In-Law” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart. According to Billboard, K-Doe’s was the 14th African-American single to hit No. 1 in the rock `n’ roll era (post-1955). He beat out Motown’s first, “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes in September 1961.
A mannequin of the late Ernie K-Doe still on display at the Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans
Outside of New Orleans, Ernie’s work had been virtually forgotten until last Christmas, when his 1970 track “Here Come the Girls” was chosen for a TV campaign for Boots, the leading health and beauty retailer in the United Kingdom. The spot can be found on YouTube, and in December the song debuted at No. 71 on Billboard’s Top 75 in the U.K. It had been 46 years since K-Doe’s only other appearance on the British charts, when “Mother-In-Law” reached No. 29 in `61.
Antoinette plans to re-release “Here Come the Girls” in the United States with Ernie’s “Children of the World,” perhaps on vinyl. Ernie also had two recordings left in the vault when he died, but she intends to honor his wishes and wait 10 years after his passing before marketing them.
Antoinette said Boots knew little about Ernie when it picked the song.
“Boots was not aware I had a statue of Ernie. They were amazed when they heard about the statue, that I’m keeping his legacy alive,” she said. “What they did enhanced it.”
Antoinette was a devoted fan of Ernie’s when she met him while working at a New Orleans bar. He was on skid row, battling alcoholism, and she tried to help him overcome his addiction.
“I’d ask him to come share lunch with me, we’d sit and talk. We became close friends,” she said. “He was very proud. I helped him gain strength. He could rely on me.” They dated for 15 years before marrying in 1995.
When he passed, it was not Antoinette’s idea to craft a statue of Ernie. That came from a fan, about 30 years old, whom Ernie had helped to kick drugs and find a house and a job.
“He wanted to do something for the lounge and said, `It’s going to be a half-bust,’” Antoinette said.
“I didn’t like half-busts. I didn’t understand why half-busts didn’t have arms. So he said, `I’ll do a statue.’ I didn’t want to turn him down a second time.”
The mannequin was put together from scavenged pieces. Pictures of Ernie were used to carve his facial features. The face was white, so they took the head outside the bar and spray-painted it, trying to match Ernie’s skin tone.
Ernie’s brother insisted they add a bump on the left side of his cheek from where he’d been hit by a baseball bat when they were kids.
Antoinette styled the hair just as she had done for Ernie. They took the hands to a nail shop to get them manicured.
“One of his best friends came. He went to the bathroom, (saw the statue) and almost passed out,”Antoinette said.
“That’s when we knew we had it.”
Jackie Hughes, daughter of Antoinette K-Doe, peers out the front door of the Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans, February 17, 2008Ernie still gets around—his statue, that is. He has been to football games and parties at his tomb every All Saints Day. Friend, John Blanchard takes him along when he sings at weddings and bachelor parties, propping the statue up when he performs the Allen Toussaint-penned “Mother-In-Law.” Ernie was to have been in this year’s Mardi Gras parade, but Antoinette’s illness scuttled that.
With Katrina approaching in late August 2005, Antoinette saved Ernie along with her family. She took Ernie apart, put the pieces in a garbage bag and dragged him upstairs. She took refuge with her granddaughter, then 15, her mother’s sister and a female tourist who had been in a car accident and had nowhere else to go.
Antoinette said she didn’t panic while they waited for rescue. But the situation got dicey when martial law was declared and the women heard men below, trying to break into the bar to steal the liquor.
She said she got out the shotgun her brother-in-law had given her, opened the window and fired over their heads, trying not to hit people above on the I-10 bridge.
“I said, `You’re not coming here. There’s more bullets,’” she said. “They scattered like blackbirds.”
Presumably the shotgun is still at the ready. The lounge is just a few blocks from Tent City, where the homeless have gathered under the interstate. Patrons must be buzzed in. Those who want to take a cab from downtown to the bar in the neighborhood of Treme, a once-proud black business district, might have to search for a willing driver.
Antoinette remains vigilant, guarding the lounge and with it her husband’s music legacy. She takes comfort from the smiling Ernie sitting in the corner.
“I don’t feel safe in here without him,” she said.
article reprint: 'POPMATTERS' from AKRON NEWSPAPER
*THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF MY FRIENDS, ERNIE AND ANTOINETTE K-DOE, AS POSSIBLY, ALONG WITH THE ONLY WOMAN BRAVE ENOUGH TO ACCOMPANY ME, KAREN FORD, THEIR FIRST TWO WHITE BARFLIES. AND TO THE MONUMENT THAT WAS THE "MOTHER-IN-LAW" LOUNGE: NO MANNEQUINS. NO TOURISTS. NO CROWD. JUST ERNIE AND ANTOINETTE: ONE HOLDING COURT AT JUKEBOX, THE OTHER A BRAIDED-HAIRED, INDIAN SQAUW/BARTENDER [WHO WAS PARTICULARLY GOOD AT MAKING DRINKS WITH THE NAMES OF THE LIQUORS IN THEIR TITLE].
WE'LL MISS YOU BOTH, AND THE BEST BAR IN THE WORLD--IN THAT ORDER.
HAPPY MARDI GRAS, BABYDOLL!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)