When a band has been continually on the road as much as New Orleans' Galactic, major cities become more than just stops on a tour, they become wrapped up in aspects of the band's narrative. After the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, Chicago became the temporary (to the tune of seven years!) home of Galactic's original lead singer and spiritual core, Theryl "Houseman" DeClout. Galactic was the driving force behind a recent fundraiser at the storied NOLA club Tipitina's to help in Houseman's relocation back to the Crescent City. As the band approaches another Chicago gig this Saturday night (4/6) at the Park West, we caught up with keyboardist Rich Vogel for a chat about Galactic's beginnings, the gig for Houseman and other philanthropic efforts. He dropped a couple of nuggets that have us very excited for Saturday's show.
On Galactic's early years with the Houseman: "Above and beyond his singing, he was kind of the greatest Galactic Ambassador. He's the kind of person who makes friends wherever he goes. He walks of an airplane and says goodbye to people and knows their first names, facts about their kids, their parents. He's that kind of person."
On shaping what kind of band they are today: "He was a big part of our music and a big part of Galactic out meeting the world. We kind of established when we realized he couldn't do the road hardcore that we always wanted somebody to sing, but weren't gonna have a lead singer in the traditional sense. We weren't just gonna go out and find somebody to 'be our new singer' the way another band with a front man might. We've always played a lot instrumentally and it was a big part of what we do but it opens things up to collaborate with a lot of artists, and a lot of vocal artists."
On producing the Galactic sound: "I've often joked that Galactic is more of an overgrown rhythm section than a traditional band in the rock band sense. It makes sense, when we first started coming together we were listening to The Meters and old James Brown, Stax Records. The thing that all that music has in common are these great rhythm sections that were kind of house studio bands, but then they played out and did their own thing. In that mold, we realized that after Houseman left that we'd keep the vocal situation open and kind of work with different folks that would be fun to work with and that we admired. We're going with that!"
On Houseman's reunion with the band at Tipitina's: "He performed and sounded great -- sounded like his old self! We have a lot of fans that we know probably weren't even coming to our shows when Houseman was our singer It's gratifying to see the younger generation has grasped the history enough to make it out and contribute -- hopefully, they even have our old records. I saw a lot of people out from many age groups and the entire specturm of Galactic fans."
On overcoming logistical challenges: " There was a little trouble with assembling the complete Dirty Dozen Brass Band for the benfefit--about half the Dirty Dozen came and they played with us. But, because they couldn't get the whole band together Anders Osborne jumped in and said he'd perform, too. Stanton, Robert and I actually played with Anders."
There's still time to contribute to the cause, but Vogel deems the night a success: "We did really well. I don't know the numbers off the top of my head to be honest, but going from the packed house and the vibe in the room, it was successful."
On using the band for charitable outreach: "Traditionally, every year during Jazz Fest we do the Instruments A Comin' show at Tipitina's. It takes place the Monday between the two weekends. It's a great one and we really like it because its a direct pipleline fundraiser -- the money raised all goes to buying instruments for area school band programs. What's really satisfying -- they bring all the instruments in that they've bought, lay them out on the floor at Tipitina's and have the band directors and kids from the different programs come in and pick them up"
"We've had some loose connectson with the Roots of Music program -- we love those guys and what they're doing and what they've established. We've done a few things together over the years. Especially near and dear to our hearts are the benefits associated with the New Orleans band programs and kids. It's such an important part of the city and the cultural landscape -- these band programs have been the place where New Orleans musicians come from. It's where all the greats that we listen to and talk about started. Somebody first put an instrument in their hand and discovered that they had a unique talent."
On returning to Chicago: "A lot of the vibe depends what venue we're playing. We've moved around, but settled in well at Park West the last couple of years."
On the 'perks' of a Chicago visit: "The thing about us, a New Orleans band on the road, usually what I remember is the food that I've eaten in any given place and Chicago is a good eating town...a good day on the road for Galactic. Certain cities... you wake up on the bus and know you're gonna be allright. I like finding good cheap food. The greasy places. I indulge in that in towns like Chicago.
Luckily, Ben Ellman, has a lot of extended family in Chicago so we get pointed in the right direction [for food]. His dad's family is a Chicago family, though he grew up in LA. He's got a few in Milwaukee. Usually there's about 20 of them on the guest list and it's great hanging out when we come through."
