"Yes We Can"

"Hell, yes, the city will come back. It's New Orleans. No matter how bad it is, the pride that New Orleanians take in the city is so strong. As long as politicians don't steal the money for the rehabilitation, the city will come back.

"[The revitalization] will start in the neighborhoods. Neighbors helping neighbors again. The neighborhood bars, the neighborhood groceries, will come back. People who live in Uptown take pride in Uptown. Treme takes pride in Treme. Mid-City takes pride in Mid-City. It's their pride, their life. That's all they know.

"And I can't wait for the songs that will come out of this."

-- John "Papa" Gros in the Times-Picayune yesterday

"I realized something watching the Minutemen doc tonight, about punk rock. About the word-meaning of punk rock, something that despite all the familiar screes we hear from oldsters (38+ holla!) about the freeness and unformalized definitions of back in the day version, is that when you hear Mike Watt, and D Boon (RIP) talk of their punk rock, esp. D--his punk is synonymous with hope."

-- Jessica Hopper on her blog last month

My friend Machelle says she's dropping out of school to help rebuild New Orleans.

That's all the news I'll post this week. Look for a full interview with her next week.

Meanwhile, I'll see some of you at Pizza Luce Duluth tonight, many more of you at the Cabooze benefit Saturday (here's my interview with New Orleans greats the ReBirth Brass Band), and the rest of you (I hope) at the Fine Line benefit on Sunday (Mint Condition play early at 7:00 p.m.!). A complete schedule of benefit concerts and newly updated news and charity links are below. Let's do all we can for the New Orleans diaspora. They've done more than you know for us.

Pete

UPDATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Read Katy Reckdahl's amazing story in Blotter.