On August 28th, I packed his 1990 VW Passat with a change of clothes, water,
a few snack items, some maps and left for Atlanta, leaving my possessions
and instruments behind to escape hurricane Katrina. The decision to
evacuate was made at the last possible minute when it became clear that
Katrina was not going to veer from its head on collision course with New
Orleans. It has been more than 3 weeks since Katrina destroyed New Orleans
and I still find myself with out proper clothes or tools of my trade to resume my
livelihood as a musician, composer, recording engineer and art film
scorer. My business relies on a network of people that are now scattered
throughout the United States. The future of my band, Permagrin, is uncertain
because my partner, Dan Sumner, has now relocated to Indiana. I am still
unable to return home and salvage any remaining material possessions I may
have. The fifteen years I’ve spent investing in the New Orleans music scene
is all but lost. It will take months, even years, to rebuild my network. I
did not have a savings to fall back on because I had not yet achieved
commercial success in my field. All the money I earned was reinvested in my
career, building a recording studio whose sole purpose was to output
original, high quality music.
Musicians like me are New Orleans’s most valuable cultural resource
and we give a lot to our community. But now I need help. Government
disaster aid is not enough. The government looks at musicians as self
employed and thus, ineligible for unemployment insurance. Health insurance
is expensive and I can’t afford it. The Red Cross has given me some money
for his evacuation travel expenses, which only covers a fraction of the
actual cost, and FEMA has given me some emergency housing money. But I don’t
have enough money to buy an instrument so I can work, or to fix my car so I
can get to my gigs. I need outside help to so I can begin to give back to
my community again.
I need financial assistance with relocating costs, clothes, instruments
and cost of living while I rebuild my business. Relocating will cost about
at least $1000.00 (gas and truck rental). For $750.00 I can purchase a
decent used drum kit and dress clothes so I can work. My cost of living
includes gas, food, phone, and bills which currently run me about 600.00/
month. I did not have insurance to cover my damaged personal property such
as household furniture and I am not asking for assistance in this area. I
simply need help getting back on my feet so I can work again.
You can help by either donating money or buying my music. You can listen to and buy the music
individually for .99 cents per song from www.broadjam.com
(when Broadjam gets their shopping cart set up) search artist: Louis Romanos
Please help
support me and the future of New Orleans music.
Thanks a million,
Louis Romanos
Background:
In 1995 Louis graduated Loyola University in New Orleans, a Jesuit run
institution, with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a minor in music.
Since then he has written and performed creative, experimental, and
traditional New Orleans music in the United States and Europe, influencing
people from around the world. Louis has played literally thousands of gigs
with hundreds of talented musicians. He performed at Saint Francis of
Assisi church for two years playing gospel music with local celebrity, Al
Bemis. He donated his scoring talent and recording studio to the C-E-N-T-E-
R art project which is a collaboration of video artists and composers from
all over the world. Composers and musicians graduating Loyola University
and University of New Orleans would ask him to donate his time and talent to
perform their original pieces in their recitals for the school of music. In
1997, Louis donated is scoring talent to an indie student film that appeared
in the New Orleans Independent film festival. Perhaps one of his best bands
was the LRQ, which was an integration of classical music influences and
Jazz. David Anderson, who held the Principal Bass chair in Louisiana
Philharmonic Orchestra, Dave Easley, who performed with Brian Blade’s
Fellowship, performed with Louis in the LRQ and brought this original music
to thousands of people.
In addition to being a performer he is also a gifted teacher. He taught a
course in music at Lusher, a New Orleans school for gifted children. His
most gifted student, Joey Peebles, won a region Guitar center drum-off and
now currently plays with New Orleans Native, Troy Andrews, who is best known
for his work as the child prodigy “Trombone Shorty” and his current work
with Lenny Kravits. Through his method of teaching, students learn how to
relate music to their life to help solve problems and strengthen their
social and mental development.