my [JOE] blog: the dailies of a portrait & documentary photographer. who doesn't take pictures.

The Balsa Wood Flyers’ last stand

Posted by jOe

For the last ten years, the Balsa Wood Flyers have been a signature sound in the landscape of the New Orleans music scene.  Saturday night at the Kerry Irish Pub on Decatur, they played their last show, encore and all.  It was an emotional night for a lot of people--those who had been there in the beginning, as well as those who've just come along in recent years.

Founding members include Paul Tobin and Lee and Heidi Campbell, who were all present.  My cousin, Holli, shed more than a few tears as she recounted memories of being five-years-old and sitting with her Dad, Lee, in their living room writing songs.  More than a band, the BWF have become a long thread in the sound of New Orleans' Americana music.

Also playing last night was BWF-regular Tom Campbell on drums and Kevin Specht, an amazing guitarist in anyone's right, hashing out lead guitar.

The first time I saw Tom in action was before the Storm at a Christmas Eve party.  In New Orleans it's a musical tradition to get together in somebodies living room, drink lots of wine, and play until the morning.  By the time I had arrived, Tom had already put back a few glasses of some very fine boxed wine, but that was far from the end of it.  In the next few hours, I don't know where he put it all, but with every song came a fresh glass, and with every glass a new, louder and wilder Tom emerged.  I started feeling sorry for the drums he was pounding, but as I write this, I think back knowing I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.

Pulling myself out of this revelry, I remind myself, it's not all over.  The music is still alive and evolving, if no longer under the BWF label, it exists in the different members pressing on in their own ways.  But until it surfaces again, here are some pictures of their last show I'm proud to have been able to capture.