ROUND 5 (2013)

Jimmy Carpenter
Jimmy Carpenter will complete his second solo CD, this time all original material in a roots/New Orleans vibe.  Working with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Chris Finney, the band will feature well-known New Orleans musicians and several invited guests.


John Driver
This project is a three disc package from a live show recording titled “Parlez Vous Nah Nay at Tipitina’s NOLA”.  Recorded October 5, 2013 featuring Helen Gillet, Sweet Crude, and the Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra.  This concert was a groundbreaking event in the history of New Orleans music, tying together three disparate styles in a way that represents what New Orleans music is all about – musical collaboration, intergenerational connection and the spirit of part joined with the energy of the future.


Derrick Freeman
DWB is funk at its core with tinges of hip hop, jazz and classical music. It’s socially conscious but not preachy. It is designed to make you think and groove and the same time. DWB actually stands for Driving While Black. It’s a commentary on being an artist and a black man in New Orleans. It has all the elements, i.e. horns, strings, vocals and lots of percussion obviously.  It is a project that will make New Orleanians and lovers of New Orleans proud.


Khari Allen Lee
One of New Orleans’ most in-demand artists, saxophonist, educator, composer, multi-instrumentalist Lee will produce an audio/visual document comprising of original music recorded live at Snug Harbor of Khari Allen Lee and the New Creative Collective, including images for the accompanying live visual art created spontaneously by prolific master artist, muralist, percussionist Marcus Akinlana. khariallenlee.com


Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans
The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MaCCNO) is  a broad-based group working on all the ways that music and culture are impacted by law and policy, and to help the cultural practitioners of New Orleans empower themselves to understand the laws and policies which govern sound and shared spaces. MaCCNO will use the TCF money to continue the series of ‘teach-ins’– educational sessions aimed at making sometimes-obscure or confusing information accessible to anyone. Past topics have included the Noise Ordinance, Zoning Law/Land Use Related to Music/Culture, the Science of Sound, and Laws Governing Street Performance. Upcoming topics include Know Your Candidates in advance of the upcoming election, Issues in Enforcement, Neighborhood Associations/Good Neighbor Agreements, Science of Sound for Music Venues, and more.


The Parishioners
As a recipient of a Threadhead Cultural Foundation grant, The Parishioners plan on returning to the studio to embellish upon their soon-to-be released EP, entitled Blame it on the Weather.  The band hoped to record more material at the time, but the closure of Piety Street Recordings put the extended project on a temporary hiatus.  They now look forward to tracking new songs, including Between Piety and Desire.  Based upon two streets that run parallel along the Upper Ninth Ward, they never meet up- as if metaphorically designed by the mapmakers of New Orleans.  Michael Cain, the band’s founder, also plans to take a trip to Acadiana to explore his distant family ties.  He would like to get a more personal perspective on a life that “might have been” if his ancestors made it a bit further south when they were forced to resettle.  With that trip, he plans to contribute at least one more song to the project.


Leo Sacks
Leo Sacks has partially completed a music-driven documentary that is both a tribute to a New Orleans gospel icon and an artist who touched his life. “A Taste of Heaven: The Heartbreak Life of Raymond Myles, Gospel Genius of New Orleans,” traces Raymond’s rise from grinding poverty to artistic acclaim, and examines the complex personal issues in a life cut short by his murder in the projects he could not leave behind.
As Raymond’s music producer, Leo witnessed first-hand the trials and tribulations of Raymond’s struggle for artistic acceptance and spiritual fulfillment. By exploring Raymond’s poignant struggle as a deeply religious gay man in New Orleans’ conservative black church, the film shows how Raymond was both a victim of intolerance and also a victim of his own human nature. Raymond’s tragic and untimely end came just as he was on the verge of winning the validation he so deeply craved as an artist and a man. Had he lived, who knows where Raymond’s journey might have taken him. A TASTE OF HEAVEN will take us down those untraveled roads. The Foundation would also like to congratulate Leo for his Grammy Award nomination as producer of “Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex & Columbia Albums.”

Please see the moving sizzle reel for “A Taste of Heaven” at www.raymondmylesmovie.com


Paul Sanchez
Paul Sanchez goes back into the studio for his 11th solo release and the first full studio release of live material since the 39 song musical adaptation of the New York Times best seller Nine Lives.
Everything Begins Again is a look at renewal, faith in tomorrow and acceptance of what must be in life which is a reflection of the last few years of challenges faced and overcome.
While most of Paul’s work since the flood has focused on tracing his musical roots in New Orleans, this release will be a return to the kind of songwriting Paul did for much of his fifteen years on the road before the flood. Reflecting the rock of his years in Cowboy Mouth as well as the singer/songwriter roots that we evident on his many solo releases beginning with Jet Black and Jealous in 1992.
Everything That Ends Begins Again marks a new beginning, as does each new release for Paul Sanchez.  This will be Paul’s first solo project with the Foundation.


Marc Stone
Marc Stone’s new recording project featuring new original songs and an array of New Orleans artists participating. Currently under production in New Orleans. Look for a new single in early 2014 featuring featuring Threadhead Records artists including Margie Perez and Monica McIntyre of the Honeypots and Carlo Nuccio, plus Robert Mercurio, Joshua Paxton, Ken “Afro” Williams, Tom Fitzpatrick and Tim Green.


David Stover with the Voormen
The songs will be the center of the project.  Themes include insomnia, pyromania, murder and of course love.  Interpreting the songs is a group of sidemen whose paths have frequently crossed over the last decade or so.  Each of the Voormen has spent countless hours supporting a myriad of New Orleans’ artists.  The goal of this project is to get the band in the studio and capture the songs in an organic, live setting that shadows the spirit of Cosimo Matassa’s recordings.


Seva Venet
This project will include recordings of musical performances embracing string band music of New Orleans from the decades around the early 20th century. The musical arrangements will come as close as possible in reproducing the repertoire, instrumentation and feel of the genre as described in oral histories from New Orleans jazz archives by musicians of the generation of, and previous to Louis Armstrong. The final product will be a fully mastered CD with an extensive and thoroughly researched liner note booklet.

Artist, Inc (Buddy Mann Memorial Grant Recipient)
Artist Inc presents BYOBed, bringing together a dizzying cast of New Orleans based artists of every genre to create an incredible overnight slumber party experience. Beyond creating the stunning all around experience for guests, BYOBed provides collaborative opportunities and new avenues for artistic expression for local artists.  This event will take place October 11, 2014.


Holly Bendsten (Buddy Mann Memorial Grant Recipient)
Working with collaborator Amasa Miller, Bendtsen and Miller will re-write their New Orleans Musical History Theatrical Show, “Rockin’ the Cradle of Jazz,” in order to update it and prepare for a high school production to be performed at and by Landry Walker High School in the Spring semester, 2014, and in many future performances by Landry Walker student actors and musicians as they present the story of New Orleans music to the world.


Frenchman Fais Do Do Concert Series (Buddy Mann Memorial Grant Recipient)

The mission of the “Frenchmen Fais Do-Do Concert Series” is to increase  awareness and enjoyment of Cajun and Zydeco music and dancing as well other musical groups that perform in the New Orleans area. Offering three hours of non-stop music and dancing and a “family-friendly” atmosphere, two bands, one of which is Cajun or Zydeco, play two alternate sets on two separate stages.  There is no cover charge and free dance lessons are offered in the musical genres playing (Cajun & Zydeco, Cajun & Country, etc.) before each event, normally monthly.  We try to replicate a “Fais Do-Do” atmosphere (“Fais Do-Do” is a name for a Cajun dance party) so that friends, family members and strangers can “eat, drink, dance and be merry” on a Saturday afternoon.