Jon Cleary

I mean, the musicians in my band are top-class musicians, but they're all great emissaries of what makes the city of New Orleans so incredibly important, so incredibly special.

And it just is a formula that just works, and I've seen it work all over the world whenever we play, not just my band, The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Dirty Dozen.

I mean, it's an older reference.

The

James Booker was the only cat I really had access to.

Alan Tussent was in the studio.

Dr. John had left town and was living in New York.

So when I did get opportunities to play with these old guys, they would say, oh, this is kind of cool.

So thus far, and it depends on the people you're talking about.

So in the last seven weeks, I've cast the hands of Ivan Neville, James Rivers, Ben Ellman, Bruce Sunpie Barnes, David Torkinowski, James Andrews, Stanton Moore, Kermit Ruffins, Tony DeGrotti, James Singleton, Johnny Vodakovich, Irvin Mayfield, Adonis Rose, Jeff Rains, Lawrence Cotton, Greg Davis, John Papagroh, John Cleary Roger Lewis Craig Klein River Eckert Jake Eckert Rich Vogel Carrie Brown Charmaine Neville Robert Mercurio Glenn David Andrews Irma Thomas Jelly Joseph Victor Goins George Porter Nadja Kojo, Tom Worrell, CeCe Adcock, Mark Brooks, Don Vappi, Don Richard, Mahmoud Chokhi, Renee Komen, Greg Stafford, Rockin' Doopsie, Tank of the Bangas, Jonathan Fralick, Bruce Daggerpont, Johnny Sansone, Alexis Marti, Patricia Fisher, and upcoming is Tom Drummond, Big Frida, Wanda Ruzan, Anders Osborn, Reggie Scanlon, Dave Malone, Trombone Shorty, Master P, Helen Gillet, Ben Jaffe, Joe Cabral, Brantford Marsalis, Delphio Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, PJ Morton, Sullivan Fortner, Big Chief Monk Boudreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aurora Nealon, Cyril Neville, Omari Neville, and Jermaine Basel.

And more are coming.

Never heard of them.

And the coolest thing about these casting processes, like I spent an hour today with Alexi Marti, who's from Havana, Cuba, and has lived here for the last 15, 20 years.

And we just had a fucking conversation.

You're like John Cleary.

You're like Rene.