New Orleans Jazz Band: Dag Essay, Research Paper

New Orleans Jazz Band: Dag

“They have a word down South to describe the way you feel when your packed into

a crowded dive at 1:00 AM, where the cigarette smoke is so thick it makes its

own weather; and the waitress is slinging bourbon and Fritos while some bad-ass

Jazz Funk band rocks the house as hard as Blue Ridge granite, and the sweat

flows down from the stage like the cloudy waters of Pamlico Sound. There’s a

word for how you feel when you hear live Jazzy-funk music so sweet and hot, you

just gotta shout something. The word is: DAG!” – Columbia Records

There is only one place on earth where I though I could go to experience

the true meaning of Jazz and to try to place myself in the shoes of all of the

artists I have studied over the past semester. New Orleans, Louisiana is just

that place. On April 10, 1996, I boarded a United Airlines plane bound, non-

stop, for the “Home of Jazz.”

My goal in New Orleans was to try and have a comparable experience to

that of one of the popular Jazz artists would have had upon his/her first visit

to New Orleans in the early 1900s. Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, Jimmy

Buffet’s Maragaritaville, The Flamingo, the Garden District, and Moolate’s all

helped me to get into the proper frame of mind of experiencing true Jazz. The

focus of this report will be on my life changing experience at a little place

known as The House of Blues. This amazing combination of bar and stage created

one of the most conducive atmospheres to music listening that I have ever been

involved with. The stage, similar to the Fox, in Boulder and the bar/restaurant,

similar to nothing both had a character and charm unique to itself. The

ceilings in the bar area were covered by sculpted silhouettes of every major

Jazz/Blues artist that ever played there. Images such as Louis Armstrong,

Lester Young, Dizzie Gillespie, Buddy Bolden, Horace Silvers, and Jelly Roll

Morton adorned the walls and ceilings of the HOB (House of Blues). Every beer

on tap was a Louisiana original and the only kind of cooking done there was

absolutely Cajun.

On Thursday, April 11, 1996, I and 5 friends ventured into the legendary

house of Blues. Headlining was a band entitled “Dag.” This up and coming

Blues/Jazz/Rock band has been touted as New Orleans newest small success story.

With a label on Columbia Records and an album entitled Righteous, Dag is

certainly a force in the Jazz industry. The tickets cost only 8 bucks and you

could have come in mid-way through the show for free. A far cry from Boulder

expense. The band was comprised of four members: vocal bassist Bobby Patterson,

guitarist Brian Dennis, keyboardist Doug Jervey and drummer Kenny Soule. The

band, originally from Raleigh North Carolina plays a particularly “groovy kind

Jazz” using primarily the Bass for a majority of rifts. The band played to a

packed house, consisting primarily of middle 20s ages people, with an

occasionally more “wise” audience member. The theater, again, much like that of

the Fox in Boulder had a dancing “pit” right below it, which was full of college

aged students who were dancing with a movement comparable to mixing a 90s dance

action with a 70s groovy rhythm.

The music was fast paced and full of energy. Many 32 measure sets were

played and I could definitely hear the influence of Bob, Cool Jazz and Hard Bob.

A lower tempo was definitely recognized, as well as a mix of jazz and classical

elements. The lack of a piano was obvious and seemed to follow the trend of 90s

Jazz-Blues rhythms. Additionally, the first set had a heavy emphasis on

percussion while the second set focused primarily on the drums. It seems that a

lot of their songs are written around a drum rhythm.

Dag played a set that included the songs: Sweet Little Lass, Lovely

Jane, Plow, Do Me Good, and Even So. They then took a 15 minute break and came

back playing: Righteous, Your Mama’s Eyes, You Can Lick It, Candy, and Saturday

Morning. After their second set, they played an encore of a song entitled: Home.

One thing worth mentioning about the song titles is their recognizable

simplicity. It is my belief that this was done intentionally to further

illustrate the complex messages being delivered through a very simplistic

musical institution.

Reactions to the band were tremendous. I personally, could not contain

myself and was leading the second encore after Home. Upon the completion of the

show, I immediately bolted to the bar and got the name and number of the booking

agent for the House of Blues so that I could contact her later regarding a

possible show at the Fox. ( I am an intern for the Fox theater.) My friends

were instrumental in my accurate recollection of the events that night as I was

way too excited after the show the think logically. Reviewers agree that Dag is

an incredible band:

Raygun Magazine says, “DAG could stand for ‘Dem Are Grooves’… they manage to

take it to the bridge and beyond.”

Interview Magazine: “the stunningly spongy debut by four of the funkiest

unknown kids ever to come out of North Carolina. Righteous Grooves.”

Pearl Jam’s Dave Abbruzzese: “Laying it down funky… It’s about time someone

did.”

Dag recorded their first album, “Righteous” in 1994 at the famous Muscle

Shoals studios in Alabama. Artists such as Wilson Pickett, Arethra Franklin,

and Rolling Stones made the mark there. “We were making an R&B record, so going

down there to record it was like getting the Pope’s blessing.” The band claims

inspiration from both Jazz and R&B artists. Patterson unveils most of his

inspiration to the song, “What’s Goin’ On,” by Marvin of course, while guitarist

Dennis claims allegiance to John Coltrane’s Ballads, and Jimi Hendrix and Aretha

Franklin. James Brown and Frank Zappa also had influences on the band.

One of the most amazing things that I noticed about the band was the

tremendous depth and quality of the vocals. Patterson’s energy on stage was

unsurpassed and definitely came through in the overall performance. Jervey says

of Patterson’s intensity, “he’s got a lot of raw energy, but he really is a

sweet guy. When he opens his mouth, a lion comes out.” Overall, my experience

at the House of Blues was amazing and it is an experience that I will never

forget. I am currently in the process of trying to book Dag to play at the Fox

or Boulder Theater. It is music like theirs that keeps Jazz alive and current

to the trends and markets in our modern society. It is my personal belief, that,

because of bands such as Dag, Jazz will never die, only change form to adapt to

its environment. The mold of Jazz, however, will never change.