Keyboard kaiser Mike Mayfield (from the Buttons, Electrical Spectacle, Liteworks) will be playing once again with Chef Menteur in upcoming gigs Saturday, May 17 at the Circle Bar and Friday June 6 at the Dragon’s Den. See the BPR shows page for more information. We’re also excited to be playing shows with two great local bands that we think are the cream of the current experimental crop: Metronome the City (May 17) and A Living Soundtrack (June 6).No, we didn’t win ‘best electronic act’ at the Big Easy Awards recently, but we did help ourselves to the open bar and the free martinis and got to see our friends in Country Fried and the Happy Talk Band win their respective categories, which were both well deserved. Congrats to them! Also to hear master of ceremonies Harry Shearer (a.k.a Derek Smalls) deadpan about the jackass in the White House was good fun.

Chef Menteur plays two upcoming shows in New Orleans:

1) Sat, May 17 at the Circle Bar with Metronome the City (NOLA)

This is our first show in a long time. Also a great opportunity to catch Metronome the City, whose “Electric Elements Exposed” is getting a good response.

2) Fri, June 6 at the Dragon’s Den with A Living Soundtrack (NOLA), Douglas Ferguson (Austin), Rat Bastard, spnlss

This show is scheduled on the first night of the Potluck Audio Conference (formerly TapeOpCon) in New Orleans, so we hope to see some other musicians and audio types there. For more information on shows see http://www.backporchrevolution.com/shows.php

Chef Menteur has been nominated as “best electronic act” in the Big Easy Awards alongside Mr. Quintron and MC Trachiotomy. And just as we’ve essentially become a rock act again.Isn’t it ironic….dontcha think?

Our former Original Groupie, Crusty Mcknuckle (#27 Crescent Wenches) is the Times-Picayune’s Big Easy Rollergirl of the Week! We’ve had to play groupie to herself and Scabigail (#1337 Storyvillains) ever since. Oh, how the tables have turned. Here is an adorable picture of her from this year’s Mardi Gras. Don’t let that cute smile trick you, she will kick your ass back to the 1970’s on the track. Or anywhere else for that matter.And yes, she is good at blowing her own horn. But thanks for playing! http://blog.nola.com/flattrackfever/2008/03/rollergirl_of_the_week_crusty.html 

Our adorable pal, Mister Court, made his recording debut yesterday, totally hooking us up with some sweet mandolin action. Here he is on the left, adding his chops recording the middle 8 of new song “Crain” with Brian on the ukulele. 

here’s the new release. it’s called:

the answer’s in forgetting

it took a little longer than we’d hoped but we’re really proud of it. with this album we have a new lineup, a new studio and a new approach to recording.

lovely cover art (front, inside and back) by miranda lake.

recorded by us. mixed by us. mastered by john fischbach at piety street.

more info / mp3 / mailorder at backporch revolution.

here are some places you can buy the cd. support your local independent record store and bookseller!

• Mckeown’s Books
• More Fun Comics
• Louisiana Music Factory
• Iron Rail Book Collective
• Mushroom Records
• (Feb 23) Antigravity’s Alternative Media Expo

the great american smoke-out? happy mardi gras. dan at thoth parade on sunday.

More on carnival “up in smoke”

yes, it’s true… no parades tonight… but here’s the view i saw this morning from the studio window…

More on Parades Cancelled.

nola residents can now pick up our new cd (as well as the old one) at Louisiana Music Factory in the french quarter as well as Mckeown’s Books and More Fun Comics uptown and in carollton.

Until now there’s no way to get there from here, when there is one of these:

• link to the old news
• contact us / join mailing list (via Backporch Revolution)
• our myspace page
• cool flyers from some past shows