Without question, New Orleans has more great food, fun and funk per capita than most of the rest of the planet.   Gumbo, The Saints, The Meters?  Need I say more? Check out this lesser known band, The Gaturs, who did some local funkin’ around in the Big Easy back in the early 1970s....

My four year old daughter Alexandra has been saying for as long as she could put a sentence together that she doesn’t like “spicy”. And yet, that doesn’t stop her from burying a hot dog in mustard, loading up her toast with cinnamon sugar, asking for extra...

The February blahs. Everybody has them.  Some worse than others.  Some solve the February blahs with a trip to a sunny locale, while others go through five bottles of expensive 4 Copas tequila in February, 2009 *cough*. This year, the blahs are not so bad with the Olympics in Vancouver giving...

There’s something really special about a band that truly has its own sound.  Sly and the Family Stone had it, James Brown had it, Parliament-Funkadelic had it and so did The Meters. The Meters, based in New Orleans, started pumping out the funk in 1969 with their self-titled debut....

Check out this hypnotic groove from Mandrill.   This African-influenced funk band put out a number of wild albums in the 70s.   Hang Loose was one of their bigger hits and their live performances of it were pretty great.   Check out this footage from Soul Train.   Other great Mandrill tracks...

Hawk’s Ugly Burger.  If you don’t have fresh hamburger buns on hand, first of all, shame on you, and secondly, use the ends of a loaf of bread instead.   Ugly and fabulous. Fresh mango.  One of both Alexandra and I’s favourite snacks.   She ate most of it.  Hmph. Poaching is...

War!! This eclectic band put out some amazing stuff during their decades-long career (they still perform today) but their work from the early 70s is arguably some of their finest.   Starting with Eric Burdon and War’s 1970 semi-hit “Spill the Wine”, they put together a...