***Note: The Original Lagniappe Website has Closed: This blog is now the place for all the Lagniappe News /schedules!***
~~Just wanted to let everybody know. Thanks!~~Sophia~~

New Year's Eve Package at Arnold's with Lagniappe!

Dec. 31st 9:30pm to 1:00am

Arnold's 210 E. 8th Street
513 421-6234

$40 for Dinner and Champagne Toast
$10 more to sit with Lagniappe in Courtyard

A bit of "New Orleans" is in Springdale, Ohio

Tonight, Lagniappe played at New Orleans To Go in Springdale. Even after a long day on her feet, a tired Mother-to-be again, Latoya (in colorful hat) was smiling and in the mood for music. Or as I call it "Music Therapy". Folks were dancing and a good time was had by all. In case you've never been there, I can recommend the red beans and rice, jambalaya and the tilapia...The band favors the Po' Boys. Here are some photos of this evening. Stop by for food/carry out the next time you are in the area, and Lagniappe plays there about once a month. Check the interesting links column on the right for the phone number of Nola2go. Click on photos to view full-sized in your browser.

A holiday gift from this blogger who is still a kid at heart!

Okay, so I do not have any cinematography worthy, studio sounding clips of Lagniappe. But I do have one of my favorite dog cartoons to share. It's called "Dixieland Droopy" and was written by Tex Avery, a cartoonist far ahead of his time. This was my introduction to old time New Orleans Jazz. I remember as a kid watching the Dixieland "fleas" smoke cigarettes and no, it never influenced me to smoke. But Droopy Dog as jazzman "John Pettybone" is a hoot. Not enough bands work to keep the history and flavor alive of this old style jazz in this area. Thankfully, Lagniappe does. From 1954. ~~ Sophia

Earthsave Holiday Party Pictures !











Lagniappe played at the Earthsave Holiday party. Folks danced and had a great time. That's Earthsave's Mr. President on keyboard and various brass instruments, the beautiful Jessie and her beautiful Accordion. Is there an instrument she does not play? Other members; Yvan on drums and rub board, Chris on trumpet/ guitar and Chico on Violin and Sax. Just a good lookin' bunch on the stage. (It ain't braggin' if it's true)
And the dancers weren't bad either.

Great to see so many having fun. Nice bunch of people. Music was great, as always.
Please feel free to leave a comment below if you attended this wonderful get together. Just click on the word 'comment'.

P.S. Click on the photo to see them full sized, depending on your browser.

Busy weekend for Lagniappe. Put on your dancing shoes and warm yourself up.
DECEMBER

12/12/08 7:00 - 10:00 pm Dilly Deli

EDIT: My thanks again to Mark for emailing me cell phone pictures from the Dilly Deli. Always nice to hear from fellow Lagniappe fans. Photographs are always welcome. Just send to me in my profile. ~~Sophia

P.S. Please feel free to leave COMMENTS as well under each blog addition. Just click on the the word comments. No membership is required.

12/13/08 9:00 - 12:30 am Arnold's

12/14/08 4:00 - 7:30 pm EarthSave Christmas Party
Clifton United Methodist Church
3416 Clifton Ave

12/20/08 6:30 - 8:30 pm Nola2Go

12/31/08 9:30 pm - 1:00 am New Year's Eve Arnold's

The CEA Award Nominee for World Music !

The CEA Awards were held November 23rd at the Emery Theatre. Though Lagniappe did not win, it was nice to see a low key band nominated out of the hundreds of good bands around town. I wanted to post a mention here and that the photo was taken by drummer Yvan's daughter, Gini, for the show. She caught the eclectic group in a great, fun, offbeat photograph taken a few weeks ago. If you look closely, Chico's dog Norman is on the stairs. :-)
You should be able to click on the photo to see it full sized in your browser.

Song bite from New Orleans to Go on the 22nd.

Well, it's a slow cold month for gigs. The 22nd was another lesson in frustration with the THIRTY minute FLIP Video for this blogger. I was borrowing one from my sister for a couple of band jobs and it eats batteries like crazy and often dies mid song, OR fills up with no notice! &^%$#?!

I did capture 1 minute, 52 seconds of this song (but who's counting) and the band sounded great. When the Flip cam slammed off and said Camcorder full, I wanted to throw it into the deep fryer...... but I rather enjoy listening to the band at this venue and the food is great!! So I did what any adult would do; swore, sulked and sat down to enjoy the rest of the music. :-)

THINKING of the Flip Video cam for a gift, I STRONGLY suggest the 60 minute ULTRA and it allegedly has a fitting for any tripod! 30 minutes is not enough time and unless you travel with a laptop (where you can empty out the cam after a few songs ) save yourself the aggravation and get the Ultra. This is not a commercial just a consumer tip from one who knows. There is the FLIP Mino 60 minute Cam but it's more expensive than the Ultra (by about $40) and the battery is built in. I would NEVER trust a battery I can not remove to charge or replace. Cause if the battery goes dead, there goes the ENTIRE camera.

Anyway, it's still been fun to capture the band at some gigs and I hope Santa brings me a 60 minute video so I can get some 'good stuff in 2009 and really make the band shine.'

Slam poetry at it's finest. Not.
~~Soph

Lagniappe's Myspace Page has been updated!

In case you missed it, or did not know about it, check out the band's updated Myspace page. There are some tunes recorded live (Not studio quality but still fun) and a slide show.

Also, if you use a magnifying glass, or really strong reading glasses, look under the band photo at the top of the page here and on Myspace: In the world's smallest font you will see the words View my pics/video. You can catch a couple of home made videos of the band, too.

This is an older picture of the band and does not show the newer Lagniappe members, John Mooter and Jessie Berne. But Martine (Yvan, the drummer's wife) took the photo and I really like it. You have to love it when the pets are in the band photograph as well. :)

http://www.myspace.com/lagniappe


Oh, and check out Lagniappe on youtube with the latest fan cam from "Agnes".
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=agnesz123

If you have the option, please choose to watch in higher quality in the lower right hand corner under the video. That's not always available but when it is, it makes a big difference. However, nothing can save us from digital camera 'burn out' from fluorescent lighting...thus the glowing skin and hair on some videos. Music's still fun.

Both Myspace and you tube are listed in the "Interesting Links" on the side bar of this blog.

A Sample of what you missed at New Orleans To Go

Ok, I admit, I am still thumbs with this moody Flip video and it's ability to eat AA batteries like Tic Tacs without any notice. And since I am not the Amazing Kreskin, I have no idea when the batteries are going to croak, (but it's often mid-song--SURPRISE! !$*? ) and without a stopwatch, no clue when the 28 minutes of music is going to fill up the "30 minute" FLIP card. Nevertheless, here is a little under two minute sound bite of "When the Saints Go Marchin' in".

They have done longer versions of this FABULOUS song but tonight chose to do the short "A.M" version but I am posting it anyway. Worth it to hear a bit of Yvan's "Louis Armstrong" imitation, and John's bilateral use of arms for two instruments at the same time. Hope to get a longer rendition in the next couple of months as each musician adds a lot to this classic song.



You'se a Viper, a song about a special herb the old jazz musicians sang about in the 30's and 40's.

Lagniappe Saturday November 22nd, New Orleans to Go

Lagniappe is there from 6.30 - 8.30 pm.

Good food, great music and fun people that own the place.
Be there or be square.....or Yosemite Sam will make you dance! :-)

A Recent Video from New Orleans To Go

Ok, this is from last month's gig at Nola2go. It's a cold Sunday afternoon and I need something to warm me up. Next week Lagniappe is at Nola2go on the 22nd. I LOVE this song but I am sorry if the mic and sound is a 'bit fuzzy' or distorted (my little Flip mic is sensitive and better for acoustic or "unplugged" sets than music through a monitor.)

THAT SAID, I have a couple of CD's of Flammes D'Enfer, have searched all over youtube and CD wav sound bites, gotten CD's from the library, and in this humble bloggers opinion, Lagniappe's is the best version where the melody and singing is concerned. I need to reshoot this so we can hear the accordion and drums better, and I hope, to hear Yvan's repeat phrasing being sung after Chico. Hopefully if I stand back further from the monitors, less distortion and more even sound. ..I shall endeavor to try again.

But the violin on this surpasses anything on any recording I have come across and Yvan's energy on the drums needs to be better captured...so I hope to capture another version of this soon.

This was only my second time using a Flip video so be kind if you leave comments! :)

~~Sophia




P.S. For better video quality, go to you tube and click VIEW in higher quality underneath the lower right corner of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59PG_DxU-ow

Big Stef Benefit Sunday night goes from 4-11pm.
Music Fest Sunday, November 2, 4-11pm
Bellevue Vets Bellevue, KY

A photo from Dilly Deli of the band!

Great to meet you guys. Reminded me of the Scottish country bands I used to hear before I came to USA. Great talent and beautiful privilege to see/hear you. Mark.

P.S. Thanks for the second photo, Mark. Just added it. ~~Soph

Arnolds October 3rd

Ok, this blogger gets a thump on the head for forgetting to post about Arnold's before Friday. Thanks to the kind person who took the photos even though driving to Arnold's turned out to be a real challenge!? If you recognize yourself, feel free to let us know with a comment under today's entry. :)

Above ladies, enjoying their evening with Lagniappe: Irena, Norma, Isabel, Sonia

Isabel dancing with her husband.

Lagniappe Played Saturday Night at

The weather was gorgeous, the food was great, the company was good and the band? Fantastic! This quartet rocked the patio tonight and blew the roof off the joint. If you didn't catch them tonight, check the schedule and catch them here next month. Adults were dancing, little kids were dancing, many were taking photos (and not just this blogger) A lady from New Orleans was there and told me she could not believe the music they were hearing because it was so wonderful. She seemed almost speechless as she clicked away photos with a huge smile on her face. She could not wait to tell everybody back home of the great music of Lagniappe. So I gave her the blog site and told her to check for photos and to email me some if she wanted.

Feel free to leave a comment below and just follow the easy directions. To share a photo, check my profile. Thanks for stopping by. ~ Sophia

A Slide Show of Recent Photographs but older Music Recording

While the Instruments do not always match the music, think of this as a gumbo of photos while Lagniappe plays a Gypsy tune. Recorded several years ago, but the photos were taken over the last several months. Maybe YOU are in a photo. :)

Lagniappe At Springdale Chatters

Great place to hear the band, nice acoustics, good food.
Some friends out for an evening. Mother and daughter, too.

Enjoying a ladies night out of dinner, movie and music: Martine, Christina, Bettie, Irma, Isabel

Rivertown Breakdown held at the Southgate House this past June (2008)
Photo by Scott Beseler

This is a picture that was taken for the Rivertown Breakdown held at the Southgate House this past June (2008), which is a yearly benefit, organized by Jake Speed, to help clean up the Ohio River. Pictured from left to right:

Yvan Verbesselt and Chico Converse of Lagniappe; Chris Cusentino of The Turkeys and Lagniappe; Jake Speed of Jake Speed and The Freddies; Lance Kaufman of The Stardevils; Benny Harnich of The Queen City Zapatistas; and Norman Converse, Chico's "dowg" in the foreground.

Some of you may wonder why am I posting this photo here now. Well, it was just sent to me, and this blog was not 'yet born' when the Rivertown Breakdown was happening. But many of us have been living like the "old days with no power" ....Back when rivers were a major source of power and transportation for many people. So this picture is not a total non-sequitur. See Scott's site listed in the Interesting Links section for lots more photographs of Yvan, Chico, Cuz and the gang. Woof to Norman!

Well, it wasn't a Night At the Opera with the Marx Brothers, Exactly.

But the band had a guy named Chico (table dancing) and a good time was had by all. Lagniappe was at their best.


On this steamy hot August night, many friends, of all ages, gathered at the Riverbank Cafe and many photographs were taken. Feel free to email me (address in my profile) if you would like your names added here or if you just wish to remain smiling faces of anonymity, that's cool, too.

Some just like to share online and email to friends where to find the photgraphs. One never knows who should be living in Idaho under the Witness Protection Program! You know who you are. :)

The band was in a playful mood and the crowd enthusiastic.
If you took a cell phone photo, please forward it to me and I will be happy to add it.

I hope you will fill free to leave comments and if you have more photos you would like to see added, please contact me. Just click on the comment area, there is no membership requirement, or email needed. You may post as anonymous.

Thanks for stopping by.
Soph~