Show by Show: the subdudes

As I wrote in the posting announcing our 2008-09 season, one of the shows I'm looking forward to the most next year is the subdudes on January 17.

I've been a fan of this band for about 10 years, but became borderline obsessed with them after seeing them live last summer at the Iowa Arts Festival in Iowa City. Since that night of almost a year ago I have packed at least one subdudes disc with me to work every day. For me, the band's spectacular blend of R&B, funk, rock, blues, and Louisiana "front porch music" is the perfect sound to keep the brain happy, the nerves calm, and the energy pumping.

The band, comprising well-known musicians from the New Orleans scene, came together in 1987 for what they thought would be a one-time performance at Tipitina’s. Led by singer/guitarist Tommy Malone, accordionist John Magnie, and some of their past bandmates from The Radiators and the Continental Drifters, this first performance was primarily an acoustic affair, focusing on traits the band would later call their trademarks -- an emphasis on songwriting and vocal harmonies.

The subdudes were born that night. Over the next 10 years they released five well-received albums, toured extensively, and made a decision as a band to uproot and move their homes and band operations from New Orleans to Ft. Collins, Colo.

It was around this time in 1997 that the band first came into my radar. My friend Jessica introduced me to them by putting "Angel To Be," a terrific song from their 1994 album Annunciation, on a mixtape. (Ah, mixtapes!) Jessica told me about how she first learned about the subdudes by seeing them perform live at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. A crowd favorite at this major music event, the band inspired what Jessica called "Big puppy dog tears" when they decided to split up as a band in 1997.

As their Web site says, though, the band was far from through. "Spinoff projects ensued, as did the occasional reunion show. Finally, in February of 2002, three of the four original band members decided to get back together. They recruited additional longtime friends to fill out the sound and called themselves the Dudes, but the music was still unmistakably the subdudes. Today, they are once again the subdudes. And there’s still nobody in the world that sounds like them."

In 2004 the band paired up with producer (and Bob Dylan guitarist) Freddy Koella to record Miracle Mule. Well-loved blues musician Keb' Mo' produced their 2006 CD Behind the Levee, and Street Symphony (there's a reason they're all wearing tuxes in the picture above) followed in 2007.

A couple of additional interesting things about the subdudes:

• Drummer Steve Amedee does not use a standard drum kit. He instead creates the band's signature percussion sound by holding a tambourine on one leg and hitting it with a drum stick. It's surprisingly cool and effective.
• The subdudes offer their fans an excellent look at their history and a host of rare tracks of the band and its principal members performing solo or with other groups, on the subdudes podcast, accessible through their Website at http://www.subdudes.com/podcast.php, and also on iTunes. I subscribe and it's like getting a personal mini-concert on my iPod monthly. Definitely check it out.

Lastly, if you want to check out the subdudes at greater length, allow me to recommend the purchase of their discs in this order:

1. "Live at Last" (1997). The subdudes are a band best heard live and this gives a great feel for their music and their talent.
2. "Annunciation" (1994). With great songs including "Angel to Be," "Poverty," and the ultimate "front porch" track "Sugar Pie," this is in my mind the band's best studio disc.
3. "the subdudes" (1989). Their debut CD features the studio version of "Light in Your Eyes," a fan (and my personal) favorite.
4. The band's three most recent studio releases "Miracle Mule" (2004), "Behind the Levee" (2006) and "Street Symphony" (2007). As a fan it is so thrilling to hear this group record together again and their new music proves the band's timelessness with their cool harmonies on songs like "Brightest Star" and pulsating rhythms on tracks like "Papa Dukie and the Mud People."

One more thing. Remember to thank the good folks at the Ronda Glenn Law Firm for sponsoring the show. Brad Glenn, Ronda's husband, first told me of their love of this band after we'd sent out an audience survey last winter asking people what they thought of a variety of artists we were thinking of bringing to the BCPA. Brad wrote "Can I vote twice for the subdudes?"

The rest is history ...