Star La’Moan, frontwoman for the local eclectic band Star La’Moan and the Kitchenettes (jazz, blues, all things New Orleans), likes to bring a box of wooden spoons, pots, pans and other kitchen implements to shows.
She’ll hand them out to members of the audience and encourage them to use them as percussion. At a recent show, she handed some spoons to two young boys. One was 8, the other was 11.
“Once I handed them the spoons, they went berserk—and they were great percussionists. They played all night long with us,” La’Moan says. “I think it’s really important to engage the audience. That’s the gift I think we give as performers.”
The band came together four years ago, while its members were working together in the kitchen at Kuumbwa Jazz Center. La’Moan had previously fronted Star La’Moan and the Deltoids, which started back in the early ’90s. She released one CD, Livin’ on the Edge, a little over a decade ago, and is hoping to have her first Kitchenettes CD out early next year. It’s tentatively titled Outta The Kitchen, Into the Streets.
“We march in. We go up and down the aisles. If we’re allowed to go outside, we do,” La’Moan says of the band’s shows. “We do everything from old timey standards to jazz, some R&B, some of my originals. They all fit with what I feel is the heart of New Orleans music. It’s everything and the kitchen sink, because that’s what our musical cuisine is.”
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. Michael’s on Main, 2591 S Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.
Thank you Aaron, for a great article!