Perhaps because punk rock didn't originate here, New Orleans seemed a little slow to take to the art form when it emerged in the 1970s. At least, that is, until the emergence of The Cold in the early 1980s. Although bands such as the Normals, a seminal local punk outfit, inspired devoted followings, it was The Cold that broke through the cultural consciousness of a town known more as a haven for jazz and rhythm and blues.

Influenced by New Wave acts like Elvis Costello, Squeeze and the Pretenders as well as the do-it-yourself ethic endemic to punk and New Wave, The Cold played its first show in December of 1979. The band consisted of keyboardist Barbara Menendez, lead guitarist Kevin Radecker, and rhythm guitarist Bert Smith -- all musical amateurs who shared singing duties. The lineup was rounded out by a couple of more seasoned musicians, drummer Chris Luckette (fresh from the Normals) and bassist Vance DeGeneres. Combining spirited, audience-friendly originals with a wide range of well-selected covers, the band became an instant success.

But after three years, The Cold broke up in 1982, and after a reunion show one year later, the members tried unsuccessfully to get back together. Twenty years later, the band retains enough of a following that it released a retrospective anthology, Three Chord City, in 1997. To commemorate its 20th anniversary, The Cold reunites this week for two shows at the Howlin' Wolf. The band's own label, Top Pop, also is releasing Cold Sweat, a collection of 26 live tracks (including a number of previously unrecorded songs) in honor of the occasion.

While DeGeneres doesn't discount the possibility of future reunions, the band has no such current plans. He says the band members' individual interests complicate scheduling future reunions. DeGeneres lives and works in New York as a correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show, while Luckette works as a musician and Menendez is busy caring for her fourth child. Radecker and Smith, meanwhile, are working on a new musical project of their own, targeted to debut next year.

The revived interest in the band is a testament to its brief but marked success, which was a surprise to many.

"Within a matter of months, we were packing clubs," recalls DeGeneres, brother of actress/comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. "We'd had no aspirations of making it big or anything like that. I think it was just because we were doing what we wanted to do. That's what people responded to."In record time, the quintet had achieved a goal unheard of at the time. "We started making money, and everyone quit their day jobs," DeGeneres says, "which was extra rare in New Orleans at the time. We were the only band [of its type] that just played music for a living, and we did very well." The Cold was popular at local clubs, whose owners weren't at all deterred by the band's music. "We'd play disco palaces, or places that a year before might have only been playing Cajun stuff," recalls Radecker. "As soon as it could be shown that we could draw people, we could play anywhere. If you could draw people in, that was all that really mattered."

While a fixture at local clubs such as the late Ole Man Rivers, and the popular hangout Jed's (which later became Muddy Waters), the band also broadened its appeal by making sure not to neglect the teen demographic, a key source of fans for the group's accessible sound. "I don't think any other local rock or pop acts were playing high schools at the time," Radecker says. "I don't know if they do that now. You always had bands playing the prom, doing covers, that's traditional. But not a band like us. But I never saw the fact that we played high schools and stuff as a negative. If teenagers like you, they're passionate. They learn the songs, they come to the shows and they're really into it."

Soon the band that began as a lark was a legitimate business, at one point employing a five-man road crew as it trekked across the Southern club circuit. Despite the lack of a major record label, The Cold convinced local radio stations to play its independently produced singles. "Part of that was because we had a manager, Bruce Spizer, who kept hustling the songs to local stations, getting doors slammed in his face," Radecker says. Eventually, swayed by the group's popularity, local station B-97 FM agreed to play the band's first single, "You," with the popular anthem "Three Chord City" on the flip side. "Then WTIX AM and Q-93 fell in line," Radecker says. "We had credibility because we had such large crowds at our shows."

Before long, the band found itself in the enviable position of turning down an offer from a major label. "We had one very solid offer from a subsidiary of CBS Records back in '81 or I think '82," DeGeneres says, "and we actually turned it down because we wanted a bigger deal with a bigger label."

Consequently, the group would release five singles and two albums (16 Songs Off a Dead Band's Chest and Major Minor) on its own Top Pop label.   The group also was courted as an opening act for established national touring acts, the same groups that had influenced the band. The Cold opened for such big names as Squeeze, Split Enz, the Go-Gos, Human League and the Pretenders -- all of which were at or near the fringe of the poppier side of the New Wave movement. "I remember we came offstage after opening for Squeeze," says Radecker, "and we were all sweaty, and there were Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, standing to the side, applauding. I said, `Wow, that's really nice.' But later, someone told me that they had just gotten there and hadn't actually seen our show. I still thought it was nice, though."

At another show, the band opened up for a group billed as Herman's Hermits, one of the key figures in the '60s British Invasion. "All it was was the drummer and the guitar player from the old days," Radecker recalls. "It was like, two-fifths of Herman's Hermits. We played some British Invasion songs in our set, and I remember when they came on the singer came up and said, `Those guys remind me of us when we were starting out.' And I was like, `Us?  He wasn't even in the band back then!'"

Just as quickly as The Cold became big, it was over. In 1982, The Cold broke up -- for the first time. "Our last gig was on the Riverboat President in 1982," DeGeneres recalls. "Barbara just decided she wanted to stay home for a while and raise a family." The band considered replacing Menendez, but nixed the idea after some unpromising auditions. Before long, however, DeGeneres and Menendez were playing together again in the short-lived Apt. B, with drummer Carlo Nuccio. After that, DeGeneres played in the Backbeats, which also featured Fred LeBlanc and Paul Sanchez (both later of Cowboy Mouth).

In 1984, the band performed a couple of reunion shows on the President ("for the hell of it," DeGeneres says), and the fan reaction was strong enough to bring the band back together. However, only a year later, it disbanded again, this time for good. "I think it's sort of the natural order of things, that bands are only going to play for a certain amount of time," Radecker says.    "The Radiators are still playing together, but they're an exception. I think it was just the intensity of everything we were doing, being in each other's faces 24 hours a day. Overall, it's really hard to keep five different people focused on the same wavelength, musically and professionally."

In hindsight, DeGeneres says, "We probably would have been better off saying, `Let's take a break for six months,' or something. But that's just not the way you think in those situations."

The Cold was gone, but certainly not forgotten. Among its many impressive achievements, perhaps the most significant was the group's legacy to the local rock and punk communities. New Orleans rhythm and blues had been the foundation of rock 'n' roll, with locals like Fats Domino, Ernie K-Doe, Allen Toussaint and countless others making significant contributions. But as rock evolved into the multiheaded hydra it is today, the city's influence on modern pop music lessened. Although The Cold never exploded onto the national scene, it nonetheless shifted local perceptions of the genre. In doing so, the band helped make it easier for subsequent bands to get bookings and develop substantial followings. In the early '80s, groups as diverse as Multiple Places, Final Academy and Dash Rip Rock benefited from the increased acceptance of different types of rock music engendered by The Cold's success.

Even later successes like Deadeye Dick and Better Than Ezra might have benefited from the foundation laid by The Cold. 

Twenty years later, the band that made New Orleans safe for the non-indigenous form of New Wave punk-pop remains close to its members' hearts. "I really cherish those times in The Cold," says DeGeneres. "I've been in a lot of bands, but we just really clicked, personality-wise, sound-wise, song-wise -- it was my favorite band. I just had great times with those guys, and I miss playing with them." .

The Cold perform Friday and Saturday at the Howlin' Wolf. Isaac's Guns opens Friday, and British Invasion tribute band 1966 opens Saturday. Tickets are $15 for both shows and available at the door.