By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-878477.mp3
Memphis, TN – Before Katrina forced guitarist Robert Mache from his home, he played with the Continental Drifters, based in New Orleans. Candice Ludlow visited with Robert and his wife in their MidTown dining room to find out how they're finding their way in the Memphis music scene.
It's like a storm at sea. Where everyone is lost
Robert and Candace Mache blew into Memphis with their daughter, Vivian, who was two. They were lucky enough to have a friend to stay with. But on one of the first cool days after the storm, Robert reached for his jacket... "That's really when it kinda hit home. It's like, I don't even have a jacket to put on. So our friends went down and laminated some kind of award," Robert said.
And Candace chimed in, "best advertising award that I think they got from the Jewish Press in New Orleans. He just happened to have a copy in his car, so they laminated it. And it looked like an official press pass. And that's what they used to get through the roadblocks, to get in and check out our house and bring Robert's jacket and his guitar, and the sit and spin. The sit and spin was our daughter's favorite toy. That made everything complete in our family again."
When Robert took the guitar out of its case, he was surprised to find it still in tune. They had been glued to the TV, watching the images of destruction caused by Katrina. Robert began to play the Sandy Denny song that Candace had been singing as she thought of the flood, and Candace joined him. All they had to offer to their saviors was a song.
It will take a long, long time .
Now, they're picking up the pieces. Robert's finding his way in the Memphis music scene. He just finished a CD project with Nancy Apple and is working on another with Dan Montgomery. Candace works for a doctor, and she's finding her voice again. She has sung over the years, but mostly for fun. Recently, she and Robert did a gig at Otherlands in MidTown with Dan Montgomery and Giant Bear.
Robert enjoys improvisational playing, which he picked up while playing in New Orleans.
"I guess it has a lot to do with my history of playing. I played with Continental Drifters for a long, long time. I mean we'd learn a song in sound check and play it that night pretty much. We'd always have guests coming up. They'd just show us the song as they were playing it pretty much. It was just wonderful," Robert said.
But when he started playing in Memphis, he found that most wanted him to learn a bunch of songs and rehearse several times before the gig.
"And you'd get $15 at the gig or something like that. Wow, where's the logistics of this? I just, ya know Let's wing it. Let's have fun. And not worry so much about arrangements and stuff like that and it just started to flow," Robert said.
Now, there's not as much practicing in Memphis, but the money is still sparse. Still, Robert makes the trek back to New Orleans each month to play with John "Papa" Gros of Papa Grows Funk. There, he can still get funky when he plays.
Robert and Candace still call New Orleans home, but they're settling in Memphis. Now all Robert needs to find is a good po'boy.
Current Music Projects of Robert Mache :
Link to John Papa Gros' page: http://www.myspace.com/johnpapagros
Nancy Apple's new CD "Shine" - recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis.
Dan Montgomery's website: http://www.danmontgomery.us/dan/index.html
Dan Montgomery Trio + Three and Robert and Candace Mache
Friday, January 8th at 8:00 PM
Otherlands Coffee Bar
615 South Cooper, Memphis, TN
901.278-4994