About the Author

Michael Patrick Welch is the author of several books. His writing has appeared in New Orleans rags like Gambit Weekly and OffBeat, and his freelance work has appeared in Salon, Columbia Journalism Review, McSweeney's, Oxford American, and Vice magazine. On the side, Welch teaches a music writing class for kids and is the leader of electro-rock-n-R&B band the White Beach.

Brian Boyles is creative director of The People Say Project and program director at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. His work has been featured in Oxford American, Vice, Louisiana Cultural Vistas, and other publications.

Zack Smith is an editorial and fine art portrait photographer. He is the drummer for Rotary Downs and an instructor of photography at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Oxford American, and Filter.

Jonathan Traviesa has been photographing New Orleans since 1997. His prints are collected privately around the United States and held in the collections of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Reviews

"In this wonderfully quirky music- and art-focused book, Welch concentrates on his New Orleans -- the New Orleans that he and his friends know. There is plenty of information on many aspects of artsy New Orleans: Mardi Gras festivities, literary New Orleans, art galleries, burlesque clubs, theater, comedy clubs, thrift stores and costume shops, record stores as well as a discussion of the Mardi Gras Indians, profiles of local musicians, and even a chapter on family fun." -- Chicago Tribune