'Animal Advisor' still hot when playing Cold
by Richard Boyd (8/13/89)
"The revolution started before the record played / The hit man came and caught us and said that he was slayed." - from "Russian Around" by Bert Smith, 1981.
"It's not true that dogs often act against babies out of jealousy, but dog owners should be careful when introducing their pet to a new member of the human family." - from "Animal Advisor" by Bert Smith, 1989.
Bert Smith grew up in suburban River Ridge in a household filled with pet dogs and cats. As a youngster, he owned horses. And when he was 10, a fourth-grader at St. Matthew the Apostle School, Smith banged the drums, a classmate played guitar, and they entertained their friends with Beatles songs.
For the past six years, Smith has been public information officer for the Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter, working at the Marrero shelter on Ames Blvd and the East Bank shelter in Jefferson. He has a wide following as writer of the "Animal Advisor" column published in The Times-Picayune.
Smith, 36, enjoys both lives. "I've always loved animals, and through this job I have really come to respect the work of the animal rights movement throughout the world," he said. "I truly feel if we can understand the rights of animals and the delicacy of the rhythm of life cycles, we can't help but be better human beings."
Smith, in his paisley coat or black leather jacket, also brought thousands of adoring New Orleans
area fans another verse of the rhythm of life. It was the steady beat of cutting-edge rock 'n' roll. It was The Cold, a five-member band that enjoyed a strong local following from 1980 to 1984. "It was magic. It was wonderful. I loved it at the time," he said. Smith, with his 1978 Fender Stratocaster rhythm guitar, was a vocalist, songwriter and co-founder of the group of five musicians, now accorded legendary status in a city rich with musical legends.
Smith was attending the University of New Orleans and was editor of the campus newspaper, The
Driftwood, in 1977 when he met Kevin Radecker. Smith hired him to write movie reviews for the paper. "During 1977 and 1978 Kevin and I both shared a passion for the Normals, then the hottest New Orleans rock band. We saw them everywhere we could," Smith said. "Kevin played guitar and we both decided that we could do as good as the bands that were opening for The Normals at clubs around town. We got Rick Connick, from a band called Men in Black, and Ronnie Blanchard to join us and we formed a band called Totally Cold."
Totally Cold lasted about a year, but has a revered place in the hearts of many New Orleans rock
fans. "We made it as an opening act for The Normals," Smith said. "That was our only ambition. We played the old Jed's in Uptown (New Orleans) and the Showboat in Fat City (in Metairie). We took the name as a satiric takeoff on an album by Olivia Newton-John out at the time called Totally Hot. We thought it was really tame, uninspiring stuff. We thought her album was totally cold."
By 1980, Connick and Blanchard left the band. "It was a crossroads," Smith said. "To our total surprise we had developed a following and I guess fate intervened." Vance DeGeneres and Barbara Menendez both knew Radecker, who had come to know Chris Luckette, The Normals drummer. In early 1980, the five came together and called themselves The Cold. They played their first gig at the Showboat.
Inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Damned and experimental rock of the 1960s and 1970s, The Cold was on the cutting edge of a musical form that didn't get a name until 1986. "They now call what we were doing then - the stuff that Dire Straits and others do now - minimalistic music. We did it that way because we only knew a few chords and we couldn't think of anything else do," Smith said.
And The Cold galvanized the New Orleans music scene.
The band was, simply, New Orleans rock, with Menendez on vocals and keyboards; Radecker on lead guitar and vocals; Smith on rhythm guitar and vocals; DeGeneres on bass and vocals; and Luckette on drums and vocals. During its playing years, The Cold released five singles. After the band broke up in 1984, an album was released on its Top Pop label. Titled 16 Songs off a Dead Band's Chest, it is much prized among collectors and fans. Another Top Pop album, Major Minor, a collection of eight new songs, was released after that. The Cold anthem, "Three Chord City" is included on only one album, the rare Crescent City Jam produced by B-97 FM radio.
Before disbanding, The Cold ventured briefly out of the city for jobs in Austin, TX and up the
East Coast to New York. The magic ended in 1984. But on two occasions, The Cold has attracted
multitudes of fans for its reunion concerts. The last one, at Jimmy's at 8200 Willow St. in Uptown, packed the house and the line stretched more than two blocks from the club. "I love those," Smith said. "We have one coming up this Thanksgiving weekend at Jimmy's."
After the first reunion in 1984 on a sold-out Riverboat President, the band reformed. "We all went to Los Angeles. We had a producer and we did clubs and we were all ready to give our careers a big push," Smith said. "But Barbara got restless and quit and I came back to New Orleans. Kevin, Vance and Barbara stayed behind." And Smith began work at the animal shelter.
Menendez came home and married Ray Ganucheau, best known for his bass work with RZA, an
early New Orleans rock band featuring Lenny Zenith. They have two children and recently moved from Mandeville to Dallas.
DeGeneres then teamed with former Go-Gos member Gina Schock to form House of Schock. They produced one highly acclaimed album and a song, "Middle of Nowhere," for the "Bull Durham" soundtrack. They disbanded and he writes songs under contract on the West Coast.
Radecker works for the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and writes songs under
contract.
Luckette is still visible on the local music scene and around the country, playing drums for the critically acclaimed New Orleans band Dash Rip Rock.
For collectors of the complete recorded works of The Cold, the albums are not enough. Five songs from the singles are not on albums, including a spirited Menendez vocal on the old Del Shannon hit "I Go to Pieces" and the eerie "Missing Hit Man."
But there is hope.
"We will have albums, singles, buttons, shirts and all kinds of stuff for sale at the reunion concert," Smith said. "I have no desire to make a career of music again, but I love the reunions. The response in the past has overwhelmed all of us."
by Richard Boyd (8/13/89)
"The revolution started before the record played / The hit man came and caught us and said that he was slayed." - from "Russian Around" by Bert Smith, 1981.
"It's not true that dogs often act against babies out of jealousy, but dog owners should be careful when introducing their pet to a new member of the human family." - from "Animal Advisor" by Bert Smith, 1989.
Bert Smith grew up in suburban River Ridge in a household filled with pet dogs and cats. As a youngster, he owned horses. And when he was 10, a fourth-grader at St. Matthew the Apostle School, Smith banged the drums, a classmate played guitar, and they entertained their friends with Beatles songs.
For the past six years, Smith has been public information officer for the Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter, working at the Marrero shelter on Ames Blvd and the East Bank shelter in Jefferson. He has a wide following as writer of the "Animal Advisor" column published in The Times-Picayune.
Smith, 36, enjoys both lives. "I've always loved animals, and through this job I have really come to respect the work of the animal rights movement throughout the world," he said. "I truly feel if we can understand the rights of animals and the delicacy of the rhythm of life cycles, we can't help but be better human beings."
Smith, in his paisley coat or black leather jacket, also brought thousands of adoring New Orleans
area fans another verse of the rhythm of life. It was the steady beat of cutting-edge rock 'n' roll. It was The Cold, a five-member band that enjoyed a strong local following from 1980 to 1984. "It was magic. It was wonderful. I loved it at the time," he said. Smith, with his 1978 Fender Stratocaster rhythm guitar, was a vocalist, songwriter and co-founder of the group of five musicians, now accorded legendary status in a city rich with musical legends.
Smith was attending the University of New Orleans and was editor of the campus newspaper, The
Driftwood, in 1977 when he met Kevin Radecker. Smith hired him to write movie reviews for the paper. "During 1977 and 1978 Kevin and I both shared a passion for the Normals, then the hottest New Orleans rock band. We saw them everywhere we could," Smith said. "Kevin played guitar and we both decided that we could do as good as the bands that were opening for The Normals at clubs around town. We got Rick Connick, from a band called Men in Black, and Ronnie Blanchard to join us and we formed a band called Totally Cold."
Totally Cold lasted about a year, but has a revered place in the hearts of many New Orleans rock
fans. "We made it as an opening act for The Normals," Smith said. "That was our only ambition. We played the old Jed's in Uptown (New Orleans) and the Showboat in Fat City (in Metairie). We took the name as a satiric takeoff on an album by Olivia Newton-John out at the time called Totally Hot. We thought it was really tame, uninspiring stuff. We thought her album was totally cold."
By 1980, Connick and Blanchard left the band. "It was a crossroads," Smith said. "To our total surprise we had developed a following and I guess fate intervened." Vance DeGeneres and Barbara Menendez both knew Radecker, who had come to know Chris Luckette, The Normals drummer. In early 1980, the five came together and called themselves The Cold. They played their first gig at the Showboat.
Inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Damned and experimental rock of the 1960s and 1970s, The Cold was on the cutting edge of a musical form that didn't get a name until 1986. "They now call what we were doing then - the stuff that Dire Straits and others do now - minimalistic music. We did it that way because we only knew a few chords and we couldn't think of anything else do," Smith said.
And The Cold galvanized the New Orleans music scene.
The band was, simply, New Orleans rock, with Menendez on vocals and keyboards; Radecker on lead guitar and vocals; Smith on rhythm guitar and vocals; DeGeneres on bass and vocals; and Luckette on drums and vocals. During its playing years, The Cold released five singles. After the band broke up in 1984, an album was released on its Top Pop label. Titled 16 Songs off a Dead Band's Chest, it is much prized among collectors and fans. Another Top Pop album, Major Minor, a collection of eight new songs, was released after that. The Cold anthem, "Three Chord City" is included on only one album, the rare Crescent City Jam produced by B-97 FM radio.
Before disbanding, The Cold ventured briefly out of the city for jobs in Austin, TX and up the
East Coast to New York. The magic ended in 1984. But on two occasions, The Cold has attracted
multitudes of fans for its reunion concerts. The last one, at Jimmy's at 8200 Willow St. in Uptown, packed the house and the line stretched more than two blocks from the club. "I love those," Smith said. "We have one coming up this Thanksgiving weekend at Jimmy's."
After the first reunion in 1984 on a sold-out Riverboat President, the band reformed. "We all went to Los Angeles. We had a producer and we did clubs and we were all ready to give our careers a big push," Smith said. "But Barbara got restless and quit and I came back to New Orleans. Kevin, Vance and Barbara stayed behind." And Smith began work at the animal shelter.
Menendez came home and married Ray Ganucheau, best known for his bass work with RZA, an
early New Orleans rock band featuring Lenny Zenith. They have two children and recently moved from Mandeville to Dallas.
DeGeneres then teamed with former Go-Gos member Gina Schock to form House of Schock. They produced one highly acclaimed album and a song, "Middle of Nowhere," for the "Bull Durham" soundtrack. They disbanded and he writes songs under contract on the West Coast.
Radecker works for the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and writes songs under
contract.
Luckette is still visible on the local music scene and around the country, playing drums for the critically acclaimed New Orleans band Dash Rip Rock.
For collectors of the complete recorded works of The Cold, the albums are not enough. Five songs from the singles are not on albums, including a spirited Menendez vocal on the old Del Shannon hit "I Go to Pieces" and the eerie "Missing Hit Man."
But there is hope.
"We will have albums, singles, buttons, shirts and all kinds of stuff for sale at the reunion concert," Smith said. "I have no desire to make a career of music again, but I love the reunions. The response in the past has overwhelmed all of us."
