I knew little of New Orleans; I had seen and heard about the cruelty and severity of Katrina, I knew about Creole and Cajun, about the creation of Jazz and the famous trumpeter Louis Armstrong, I had seen pictures of the street bands with the uncontrollable dancing, the famous white walled cemeteries, and the wavy-hand paintings of those musicians and participants. Really, that was all I needed to know to want to be here. And I have to admit that the reason why I wanted to come to New Orleans was to see the humanities that had not been available to me. I needed to feel a new way of expression, outside of Kentucky. But mainly to experience New Orleanian-arts of every kind.
Of course I had seen and been around a lot of art in Louisville and in museums in major cities across the country, most recently in New York City, Cincinnati, and Denver. I’ve been in front of stages in as far north as Pennsylvania and south as Memphis, and on one in Carnage Hall. Although, I felt like there was something else that I could experience. Art with more than just an expression, but a passion and a need. I knew that New Orleans would be a place that I could feel it first hand, and probably more strongly than anywhere else. It had always been part of the culture here, and it would have been the worst casualty of Katrina. But it had not left this place and it was here long before any attempt at national aid.
So, in a way, I ended up here by accident. But it seems to be part of what New Orleans is about, being where you are at that moment, and not worrying about how you got there or how long you’ll be there. Of course, I planned, I had to find a place to rent and map a driving route. But truly, four years ago I could have told you I would be in college, and three years ago I could have told you I would be going to the University of Kentucky. But I didn’t consider New Orleans, even a year ago. I had never have dreamed that I would be able to earn credit hours in such an irreplaceable way. I know that New Orleans will change how I think and how I work.
The music here is like nothing else I have experienced. And I have only begun to taste this fruit. I do know that it does not begin with the ears, nor does it merely end with the ears. Here, it is as important to the body, if not more so. I cannot yet say that the art is like nothing else I have ever experienced, having seen much more than I can truly recount. Except for the fact that it is coupled with the music. I think it is impossible to do anything in New Orleans with out being creatively or otherwise inspired by the sounds. And who can say that they have had a bad day with the chorus of a live brass band or the steadiness of a percussion line becoming the soundtrack to that day?
I have begun to realize that it is not humanities that I wanted to see -- it was the life. I do not think that I am different in seeking something new and unique, and finding New Orleans. That has brought people here for countless years and kept them here through countless generations. I can only hope that I become a true resident.
