In today’s episode, we head over to the Historic New Orleans Collection in the French Quarter, and explore their newest exhibit, titled, New Orleans, the Founding Era.

The exhibit is part of the tricentennial of New Orleans celebration and is a great way to envision what the city was like at the very beginning. It brings together a vast array of rare artifacts from the Historic New Orleans Collections holdings, and from institutions across Europe and North America to tell the stories of the city’s early days.

To help us explore the exhibit, I am joined by the exhibition curator, Erin M. Greenwald. Erin is currently the Curator of Programs at the New Orleans Museum of Art, but was previously the Senior Curator and Historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection. She was the lead curator in putting New Orleans, the Founding Era together and shares her stories and insights about what you'll see when you visit the exhibit.

The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection is open Tuesday-Saturday year round, and offers both permanent and rotating exhibits. There is no admission charge to the view the exhibits. There is a small charge of $5 for non-members if you would like to tour the Williams Residence.

Located at 533 Royal Street, it is a nice destination when you want to escape the heat and the crowds. Be sure to let them know you heard about the museum from Beyond Bourbon Street!

The Historic New Orleans Collection is also a wonderful resource - I use it frequently when researching topics for the podcast. If you have a particular interest about New Orleans and want to learn more, try the research desk!

Additional Resources

You can follow the Historic New Orleans Collection on Instagram (@visit_thnoc) 

They also publish a quarterly magazine with historical essays and information about exhibits. You can download free copies of the current and past issues at their website.

Related Episodes

Today's show was the 3rd one we've done we done with the Historic New Orleans Collection team. Here are the others:

• 34 – Guidebooks to Sin, with Pamela Arceneaux - the guidebooks are the blue books that listed the names and details about the prostitutes who worked in the Storyville District of New Orleans
• 35 – Madams, Music and Musicians of Storyville - this discussion was about a now-closed exhibit that explored the Storyville District. While the exhibit is gone, this episode will give you a glimpse into that infamous red light part of New Orleans.

If you want to learn more about the founding of New Orleans, I strongly recommend you check out my discussion with author Richard Campanella, in episode #53 - Bienville's Dilemma and the Founding of New Orleans.

Thank You

Thanks to Erin Greenwald for talking with us about the exhibit. Erin is extremely busy with both the exhibit and her role as the the Curator of Programs at the New Orleans Museum of Art, not to mention being a mom. (Erin - I hope the performance of James and the Giant Peach was splendid!)

Thanks to the team at the Historic New Orleans Collection for inviting me to the sneak preview of New Orleans, the Founding Era, and for reaching out about the interview. A special thanks to Lauren Noel and Eli Haddow for pulling everything together!

John Thomas Griffith, Rock n Roll Guitarist

Born in Texas, John Thomas Griffith lived in a handful of places before he landed in New Orleans. The son of an engineer, Griff fell in love with music at an early age. He was part of the 1980s punk band Red Rockers who had a hit with the single "China," before teaming up with Fred Leblanc, Paul Sanchez, and Paul Clement to form Cowboy Mouth.

Today, John, Fred, Matt Jones, and Brian Broussard are Cowboy Mouth. As Fred likes to proclaim, "the name of the band is Cowboy Mouth, and we are from New Orleans, Louisiana."

In this episode, Mark sits down with John Thomas Griffith (or JTG or Griff) to talk about his life in music. The two wander through an incredible history of music influences, from a man his parents invited over to dinner when Griff was a child to playing alongside Chuck Barry and Bo Diddley.

Along the way, we learn about the various influences and how they affect Griff and the band today. If you are a fan of rock n roll music, you'll love this trip through history. If you love Cowboy Mouth, you'll appreciate the chance to learn about the guy who makes a living rocking out on the left side of the stage 150+ times a year.

And, if you simply love New Orleans, sit back and enjoy learning about how this city and her music got into the veins of one of the best guitar players around!

Note: we recorded this interview while aboard the Rock Boat, with Sister Hazel, Barenaked Ladies, Cowboy Mouth and a host of other bands and music lovers.

Resources

You can find John's music and information about what he is working on at his website. You can also purchase his music on iTunes.

Follow Griff on Twitter (@JTGWorld), too.

For all things Cowboy Mouth, head on over to their webpage.

Thank You

Thanks to John Thomas Griffith for taking time out of his vacation to sit down with me and talk music. It was an absolute pleasure. Special thanks to his girlfriend Kim for putting up with the two of us at the expense of enjoying a drink on the pool deck!