Souled Out

An exploration of New Orleans, music and spirit.

[dr-dooky]

Flash flooding last few days in New Orleans. Got stuck in a cafe for a few hours. Decided to write a blog post. 2 hours later and I hit the cancel button instead of the post button. Dang! Attempting to attend to myself with humour and compassion as I start again!

[dr-dooky]

This is Chris. About 4 weeks ago, I was standing at the counter of a coffee shop, distracted by my phone (posting on Instagram), when he just strikes up a conversation with me. He proceeds to tell me a significant portion of his life story and his health struggles. We talk a lot about diet, and he encourages me to start eating healthier (which I'm still struggling with). 2 hours later, the shop has closed and we are still standing outside talking. We discuss spirituality, belief and his faith. Now I see him weekly at gigs (we both happen to be big fans of Dayna Kurtz). That's New Orleans. It's a city where anyone will strike up a conversation with you and tell you their life story. A city where you are sharing your phone number with people you met on the street 10 minutes before. A city where, even if you don't exchange phone numbers, you know you'll bump into them in a few days anyway. A city of 300,000 that feels like a city of only a few thousand.

[dr-dooky]

I am so grateful to be living with my roommate and friend, the fabulous Dayna Kurtz. Her presence, grace and talent have been inspiring. She has taught me much about music and life. Unfortunately, she is leaving us for the summer. This photo was taken at her farewell gig. What a natural!

[dr-dooky]

I love these sort of places. The ones that quietly let you know they've been there a long time. The places that have many interesting stories to tell. The places that instantly make you feel at home.

[dr-dooky]

Herein lies a small selection of photos to give a taste of my first few days in New Orleans. The houses mainly come from the Bywater district- the 'hippest' part of town, nearby to where I'm currently living.

[dr-dooky]

NOLA baby, here I come

Dear friends,

The time has come for me to pack my bag, and my uke. I’m setting forth on a musical pilgrimage to the holy land. New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA). My mission is to pick up as much musical goodness as possible. You see, I have a dream to write an album. It’s going to be a mixture of funk, soul, reggae and electronics. The message will be about healing. I'm going to take everything I've learnt as a doctor, from my patients, and from my own journey, and channel that into this project. That’s the vision at least. What it turns out to be depends on what happens. That’s the exciting bit.

I’ve been dreaming of going back to NOLA ever since a road trip in 2007. Then I was staying with a partially deaf 90+ year old woman with dementia, having to speak to her in a Southern accent because she couldn’t understand my Aussie one. She was a chain-smoker. She would sit on the porch, rocking on her chair all day long, lighting the next cigarette off the last one, simply watching the world. The best part, she had only started smoking in the last year. I remember walking into bars with 20 people listening to world class jazz legends for $5 a ticket. Or happening upon the newest hippest bands playing to no one. Or watching transfixed as a young homeless drunk sat on the curb in the French Quarter, singing his guts out into a bucket. A bucket! That’s New Orleans- raw, gritty, poetic and constantly surprising.

I’m not going to lie; NOLA is dangerous. It’s a far way from the inner-north of Melbourne. It is a city that has experienced trauma of epic proportions. After Katrina the population of the city was cut by a third. Now it is half of what it was prior to Katrina. The economy was shattered, people are poor and desperate. It has a reputation for corrupt police and corrupt government. There are still neighborhoods where empty and dilapidated houses stand, bearing testament to the ultimate power of nature and the fragility of society. It is a city that almost ten years on is still recovering.

But the people really live. The best music is to be heard on the streets, the bars are full. Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest-these guys know how to party. There is so much spirit. I remember visiting the Dooky Chase restaurant (named after my name-sake) the day before re-opening of this institution restaurant, 3 years after the hurricane. That is perseverance.  

NOLA is a port and thus has been an important meeting point of different cultures. French, Spanish, native American, African and American culture all intersect. It’s this unique mixture of rawness, history and celebration that bring me to NOLA. And I haven’t yet talked about the music!

People ask me about my plans. I don’t really have any. Just get a room in a house and see what happens. It’s a far cry from the life of a psychiatry registrar. I’m trying on new boots to see how they fit. My musical dream has been laying dormant for many years, now it’s time to make it a reality. No time for excuses any more. I have to move through the fear. Stepping into the unknown is daunting, but oh so exciting. I feel the most alive I have ever felt, and I haven’t even started.

If you would like to follow me on my journey, I’ll be posting musings, music and photos here for all to see. Stay in touch. Share the love. It’s gonna be awesome.