One of the great aspects about music at the Crystal Bay Casino is its connection to bands from New Orleans.
Dr. John, Galactic, Tab Benoit’s Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Dumpstaphunk, the Neville Brothers, Anders Osborne and Big Sam’s Funky Nation are just a few which quickly come to mind. Devil Dog Productions’ penchant for bringing the Big Easy to Lake Tahoe includes Dragon Smoke.
An undisputed super group comprised of Galactic’s Stanton Moore and Rob Mercurio, Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville and blues and rock guitarist Eric Lindell, the band only gets together for a handful of shows a year, and for the second time in as many years, Dragon Smoke will play in the Crown Room. The show is Dec. 8.
Fortuitously, Tahoe Onstage managed to get three of the four members of the band on the phone. Neville was tardy for a rehearsal when Lindell gave us a call and passed the phone to the players.
“Regrettably we only get about maybe seven or eight shows when were all available,” Mercurio said. “Everybody has so many other projects and commitments. But we are playing today in New Orleans.”
Lindell is a Northern California native who went to high school with Adam Theis, who is the leader of the Bay Area’s Jazz Mafia and often plays Moody’s Bistro in Truckee and the Crystal Bay Casino. “Love” inspired Lindell to move to “NOLA” in 1998, and he is now firmly entrenched in the city’s music scene. That’s what led to Dragon Smoke.
“It stemmed out of a super jam,” Moore said “A promoter, Alex Andreas, wanted to put us all together and it started in the Dragon Den in New Orleans and he called it Dragon Smoke. A few of the projects he’s put together have turned into recurring projects. Robert and I also play in Frequinox, which is a soul-jazz-funk kind of thing with Robert Walter, Will Bernard and Donald Harrison.”
The three each commented about a potential EP.
“We’re getting ready to go in and start writing all new material,” Lindell said. “There will be some covers, some of Ivan’s tunes and some of my tunes.”
Mercurio added, “We are looking are seriously recording an album in the winter and hopefully have something out by next summer or fall and probably have more dates.”
A record certainly would lead to more shows for this rarely heard super group. And its Tahoe connection is solid.
“We feel right at home with the snow and the mountains; it’s just like New Orleans,” Moore joked. “No, I think the promoter, Brent (Harding), has got his eye on what’s going on with the New Orleans scene. And there also is a really good crowd in the Tahoe area that seems to be tied in with New Orleans. If people come, then we will play.”
The interview came to a quick halt when Neville arrived.
While the Smoke Dragon concert is a ways off, getting tickets early is advised. Also, Galactic will play March 16, and those tickets also are on sale.
As it did last year, Reno’s Jelly Bread opens the Dragon Smoke show.
The Red Room after-party will be the Mike Dillon Band. Dillon also resides in New Orleans. He has collaborated many times with Moore, Ani DeFranco and Les Claypool. He also plays in Garage A Trois.
Dragon Smoke
Opener: Jelly Bread
Red Room after-party: Mike Dillon
When: 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8
Where: Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room
Tickets: $17 in advance or $20 on the day of the show