New Orleans favorites Dash Rip Rock have posted an account of the disaster now facing the city and region brought on by Hurricane Katrina. The below message was written by singer / songwriter Bill Davis (who now lives in Nashville, TN, although his bandmates still live in Louisiana). Dash Rip Rock, founded twenty years ago in Baton Rouge, released the record Recyclone on Alternative Tentacles earlier this year.
Reportedly over $90 million has been donated by both corporations and private citizens to the hurricane relief fund started by the Red Cross. If you'd like to donate to the fund yourself, you can do so by clicking here. For a simpler donation form, click here.
We at Punknews.org encourage you to give whatever you might be able to spare, and we also wish for the best for any of our users who may be living or have family and friends living in the affected areas.
"We played the Rail Pub in Savannah Friday Aug. 26 and it was a Luau/Hurricane Katrina party. It was windy and spitting rain, the storm was a Category 2 and had just crossed Florida. We joked about Katrina and the Waves all night long and it was one of the best gigs we've played in years. Next morning Leon had a serious look on his face and was fuming about Katrina. She had turned Cat 5 and was heading up towards New Orleans. That evening's show with Drivin n' Cryin would have to be cancelled. If they left Savannah that minute they would barely have enough time to make it home, board up and evacuate.
We decide to cut and run and they began the 12-hour drive home. On my way back to Nashville, I started calling all my New Orleans friends to offer them a place to stay. People were starting to head out and the contraflow was in effect through Mississippi. "Contraflow" is when both sides of the interstate run in one direction. It was still a nightmare; drive times from East NO to Slidell were about 5 hours (it's usually 30 minutes). Those who waited to leave would have to sit in traffic for 10 to 12 hours, just to reach Meridian, MS or Houston, TX. It wasn't until Sunday morning that Mayor Nagin declared a mandatory evacuation.
To my current knowledge, all Dash Rip Rock members, former members and email-listers loaded up and got out. Most thought they would be able to return within a few days and only packed lightly. Leon and Brian weren't able to return our rental vehicle as all roads into the city were closed. They got in the back way finally and Leon collected his fishing boats and chained them to a fence by his parent's Lakeview house. He called and said his father wanted to ride it out and they may stay. Brian met up with his family and headed west.
On the day of the hurricane, it appeared that New Orleans was not badly hit. Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Waveland and Biloxi had been raked much as it had been by Camille in 1969. Nothing was left standing near the beach. Calls started coming in Monday night and most felt they had dodged a bullet. Tuesday morning, Katrina was a tropical storm and passed through Nashville. It was still a terrific storm, knocking down trees and cutting power. Our power was off for 12 hours or so and we didn't get to watch TV. Later that afternoon, a friend's brother called and told us a levee had broke. It was the 17th St. canal levee, one that had been recently repaired or reconstructed. More than likely, it was a poor patch job and 300 ft. of the wall sank into the lake.
Leon finally called from Pensacola and said they'd escaped with all family, friends and pets. But his house, drums, bike and car in Lakeview were under 7 ft. of water. Former sound man Mike Mayeux's house in Violet is completely covered to the roof. Peter Holsapple's (dB's) house in Arabi is covered by 20 ft. of water. In the 9 th ward, water is coming in to the second story of most houses. Uptown landmarks fared better, Crepe Nanou is high and dry, Jimmy's and Carrollton Station had some water - but inches, not feet. Currently: Kyle and Andy are in Lake Charles with their families, Leon is in Pensacola with his parents and 99-yr. old Grandpere (who wanted to stay and ride out the storm!) and Brian just texted us saying he was camping near Mandeville and was out of food. We will more than likely be able to do all our scheduled gigs with borrowed equipment. Ironically, Fred and Cowboy Mouth are playing Nashville tonight with Better Than Ezra. More than likely I'll go out and see them for some distant commiseration.
We haven't heard from members of the Swingin' Haymakers - Dave Clements, Mike Rouillier and Joey Torres, so those are our main worries at the moment.
As of now, it will be 2 months before anyone is allowed back into the city. People are beginning to look for jobs and schools in the places they fled to, trying to make a living and return to some normalcy. Imagine being ripped from your house for 2 months! Everyone is having to buy new clothes and crash on friend's floors. The biggest favor those of us in TN, AR and TX could do for them is offering them a place to stay for a couple of weeks. Everyone is displaced and confused.
Of course, all this Dash news is a cakewalk compared to the horrors the poor of New Orleans face, those who didn't own a car or couldn't afford a ride out of town. They had no other choice but to stay. These are the people on the rooftops, in the dome, looting, and floating face down in the street. The city will rebuild, but never be the same. It's become a lawless island like that in Lord of the Flies. Jello compared this disaster to Pompeii, he wonders if New Orleans will ever be able to be a viable urban area again. It's obvious we will be experiencing effects from this flood for the rest of our lives."