New Orleans is a city chock full of culture. While the Saints are a huge part of that culture, there is so much more. My other favorite thing about New Orleans that I love almost as much as the Saints is the local music scene. I can often be found at local music clubs like Tipitina's, The Maple Leaf, House of Blues etc. on a regular basis. Since everyone in this city seems to care at least a little bit about the black and gold, it stands to reason that some of our talented musicians are loyal Who Dats as well. And so I thought what a great idea to blend the two staples of New Orleans culture on CSC by interviewing well known local musicians about everyones favorite football team. This will be the first installment of Canal Street Chronicles' Saints and Music series and it starts off with Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth. Hope you guys all enjoy.
Fred rocks it out in a Saints jersey during the10th Annual Music Midtown Festival May 3, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia. Via jamd.com.
CSC: I know you guys are huge Saints fans. Tell us about the bands relationship with the team.
Fred LeBlanc: Well, who has lived in New Orleans and not been a Saints fan?
I had some friends on the team, Kyle Turley and Jerry Fontenot. Kyle
Turley's wife and my girlfriend are very close friends going back many years
and I helped Kyle and Jerry stage a benefit music show, along with Cam
Cleeland, right after 9/11. Doug Bryen, Jake Delhomme, and many other
players have been counted among the CM faithful.
CSC: How long have you been a Saints fan?
Fred LeBlanc: On and off, all my life. iIsay off at some times because being
a touring musician, I wasn't always able to follow the games like I have
wished to. Now we have the satelitte sports package on the bus and we watch
every single game.
CSC: Do you have any memorable Saints moments from your past?
Fred LeBlanc: So many. I guess, for me personally, the moment I remember
most was playing on Poydras Street right before the first Atlanta game of
the golden season. we played a fun show in front of 10,000 or 15,000 people who
were going crazy. You could just feel the excitement in the air. I kept
saying that the Saints were the team to beat that year, simply because I
wanted it so bad. That turned out to be the beginning of the greatest Saints
season... so far.
CSC: You guys going to any games, maybe london?
Fred LeBlanc: We are hoping to play at a game this year and often our agent
books a concert or two so that we can be in the same town as away
games...London would be perfect!
CSC: What you do on gameday?
Fred LeBlanc: Usually we're on the road so on Sundays we fire up the
satellite on the bus so we can catch the pregame shows. Then we usually stay
glued all day.
CSC: Who is your favorite player and why?
Fred LeBlanc: I'm a Brees fan. When the city needed him to deliver, he did.
That's why I usually wear Brees' jersey when we play. As a tribute to both
the team and the great city of New Orleans.
CSC: How do you feel about the Saints off-season moves?
Fred LeBlanc: Certainly the moves that the Saints have made over the last
several years have for a fantastic team. I don't know enough about
individual positions to have an opinion on whether the recruits and draft
choices will be better than the players currently in those
positions...remember I just beat drums for a living.
CSC: Who do you think will start at running back this year?
Fred LeBlanc: I'm a lot more optimistic than some of what is printed.
Personally, I think Deuce can come back as strong as ever and that Stecker
is a first string running back. I also think that this will be the year that
Reggie adjusts to the NFL.
CSC: What do you think will be the keys to success this season?
Fred LeBlanc: It seems like they made some acquisitions for positions that
got picked on last year by other teams.
CSC: Wanna make a prediction on the Saints final regular season record this year?
Fred LeBlanc: Nah, but I can tell you that if our tour schedule works out,
my regular season record will be 6 or 7...the number of games I hope to
attend.
CSC: Since you have been so generous in taking your time to answer these
questions, do you have any albums or upcoming shows you want to plug?
Fred LeBlanc: We have gotten a lot of comments from Saints fans about a
line that I use in a song called 'Avenue.' The song is on our last cd but the
version in our dvd has the line I'm referring to...and even though that
dvd was shot in Los Angeles, a bunch of fans showed up waving Saints banners
during that song.
CSC would like to thank Fred Leblanc and the band for taking time out of their busy schedule and answering these questions. Keep rocking guys! For more info about Cowboy Mouth, check out the bands wesbsite.