taught themselves. LIE asks about the music stand in the photograph. KT studied with Manuel Manetta. RBA says that Charlie

Transcription

1 Also present: Richard B Alien Lars Edegran Barry Martyn Draft: Kay L Wicker Check: Richard B Alien Retype: Kay L Wicker Date Completed: August 2, 1980,* Kid Thomas started working with Eiaile Barnes around 1941 KT had Steve Angrum when "we first had our band " After SA left, KT hired Barnes See photo with "Tit" [pronounced as in "petite"] Rouchon, KT, SA This was before the depression [ie, October/ 1929] They used to play on the lake "and everywhere" It was KT's band The oldest man in the band played the bass [therefore, TR? RBA/ June 21, 1980] CTR?] asked members of the band for their names He said "those names don't fit" KT, w"ho was young, said his name was "Thomas," so TR named the band "Kid Thomas' band" That's tnow KT got the name "Kid 11 Few people know his name is 0104 Valentine This band played "ragtime/" [ie], jazz The band with TR and SA used no music then Robert and Edmond Hall, KT and others [in Reserve, Louisiana] taught themselves LIE asks about the music stand in the photograph KT studied with Manuel Manetta RBA says that Charlie DeVore told him that KT has studied the Arban method [of trumpet playing] KT has a book at home "that thick" RBA says that CD told him KT had been through the whole book "and that's about as hard a trumpet method as you're going to find" 125 Emile Barnes was a nice/ kind fellow, but EB would not show up for jobs He would be on his way to a job and he would meet someone who liked to drink He'd go into a bar and forget about

2 Page 2 + the job "That was the onliest trouble" with EB "He was a / darn good clarinet player" He should have been the top clari- netist EB played off and on with KT? he was not regular with the band KT used [John] Handy; Edmond Washington/ alto saxophone; Henry Horton, tenor saxophone (along with the alto saxophonist) They travelled all over then [Steve Angrum?] was his last clarinetist; after that, he used saxophone players [Cf KT f file folder] EW used to play clarinet; but then he took up the saxoplione/ "but he had started back on the clarinet again" Manuel [Paul] has been playing [tenor saxophone] with KT for a long time 0173 KT has had a band for fifty years He never fires a man He feels that if you can hold a band together, you'll have a better band "Everybody know what they got to do when they get on the job" People who come to Preservation Hall know when the band members are not together Manuel [Paul] and Sammy [Penn] are the senior members of the band [other than KTV himself] 0200 KT says he does not play any differently even if the band behind him is not together No matter how good a particular musician is, when he is new in a band/ "he can't play nothin'' "He got to sit there and get the understanding, the style you play/ you know/ I mean everytining,before he can get loose" Cie [Frazier] is not used to playing with KT's band He subs for SP The rhythm of the band is the same - it does not change the way people dance

3 Page The Saturday before last, KT played at Dixieland Hall with Eddie Summers, Placide [Adams] and othees The band's time was bad The pianist got out of key? "he wanted to make too much on the piano/ running all over that piano" The clarinetist/ Manuel Crusto/ came by Preservation Hall one night and played with the band He played nice clarinet, but he just wasn't used to tlie band "Fat Man" [Dave Williams] plays piano at Dixieland Hall DW would like to play with KT [DW?] says the fellows at Dixieland Hall "don't play no jazz» II KT doesn't like to play with [other?] bands 0270 KT likes to play for dancing rather than listening KT does not play a different tempi for dancing He will play tunes in a variety of tempi: a slow fox trot, a waltz, etc You get more of a kick out of playing for dancing because you can play all types of music KT doesn't like playing concerts because one plays only one type of music It refreshes his memory when [different?] tunes are played Waltz^ are the prettiest thing in music People would laugh at you if you played a waltz [at a concert?] WTnen KT was in California for three weeks, they played for dancing They had a nice dance floor "Most of them boys" play for dancing out there KT really liked it out there He was there with Bill Bissonet [sp?] at Turk Murphy's club 0312 Reuben Roddy, from Kansas City, played a different style of saxophone KT says RR did play a different style/ but with

4 Page 4 the same beat Everybody plays a different style, that's why "you got to get acquainted" with each musician's style KT gets musicians through [his musicians] on the other side of the river [from Algiers] Sammy [Penn] got [Louis] Nelson for him [RESTRICTION: when Nelson was drinking all that wine END OF RESTRICTION] Burke [Stevenson] was playing bass with KT then * 0345 Sam Charters and Dr Pepper from France recorded KT's band KT describes [Speck's Moulin Rouge?] : The bandstand faced the wall toward the river There was a room in the back where they used to put all the instruments The room would be locked The man from France [Dr Pepper] couldn't speak a word of English, but he was a nice fellow Ralph Collins, a friend of Mr Bill' s [Bill Russell?] from Canada, told KT that the recording was out A threat[ening] letter was written and "a couple of dollars" were sent by "the "boy II RC told KT "that rascal/ man, / \/ done double-crossed you" There were many things in the book [SC's book?] that weren't right "I don't mind tryin' to do things for people, but man, I'm gonna tell you the truth: people do you some dirty tricks, man" Mr Bill said it wouldn't be worthwhile to sue him since he would cry he didn't have any moneẏ 0388 " [Grayson "Ken"] Mill[s] was a nice boy, but he did a lot of smutty things" One night KT's band was playing "over there" [at what is now Preservation Hall] [Louis] Nelson or Punch [Miller] had told KT that G"KI<M had been taping bands and the

5 Page 5 bands didn't know he was taping them The band was playing and KT had to go back in a little room, and he recogni'zed the tape recorder KT could see the red light of the machine in the darlc room RC was running the tape machine; KT wondered why he was standing by the door for so long, stooping down every now and then KT wasn't suspicious/ but when he went to the bathroom/ he happened to see the maclnine KT told Larry [Borenstein] about it and he raised somehell RC had taped up to number four [ie/ had taped three reels and was ready to tape the fourth?] WT-ien the band had an intermission, he cut the machine off* LB made [RC and G"K"M?] give him the tapes [According to George Guesnon/ G"K"M paid off all his debts RBA/ August 13, 1971] KT sold some records * to a lady who ran a record shop on Bourbon Street "just -past the corner" and he found out from her that G"K"M still had one tape of KT's band The lady offered to help KT 3436 LB, who was living upstairs on Bourbon [Street]/ asked KT to come to his house one evening, but he wouldn't tell him why He still wouldn't say after KT arrived- LB got out the tape recorder and played a tape [LB?] asked "Wliat band is that?" 0446 LB got this tape by accident from G"K"M "It was comical I man" A fellow had made a tape of Babe Stovall/ and LB offered to pay him $100 for it G"K"M wanted the tape to put it on the market LB gave him the tape, but G"K"M didn't do anything with

6 Page 6 it so LB asked for the tape back G"KMM mixed up the tapes, putting KT's tape in fhe wrong box and gave it to LB After J LB got it/ [he gave it to KT and put it in the union office?] GIIK"M taped a lot of bands 0472 KT recorded with Emile Barnes "and them" [under KT's name]/ but not witb KT's [regular] band [Issued on American Music] KT doesn't remember people recording in New Orleans "il^ them days " 0481 When KT first had his band, he listened to Louis Armstrong records When LA went to Chicago, people didn't have radios * People went to neighbor's houses to hear special programs KT likes LA'S playing above all trumpet players, but he doesn't play like LA KT plays his own style KT learned some songs off of records/ but he learned "Confessin*" from Edmond Washington, who used to sing it 0512 KT played various country towns like Raceland/ Lockport, Golden Meadow, Grand Isle, TTnibodeaux, Houma and Baton Rouge [Specks Rodriguez] started running dances at the Moulin Rouge during the war [World War II] They played at Raceland on Saturdays Wilfred Bocage "and them" had a job at Napoleon and Tc'houpitoulas "This boy" had a bar room/ a nice place replaced WB's band there, playing Monday through Friday Right after that, the war broke out They had played for SR before KT

7 Page 7 * During the war time, it was hard to get lumber, and SR wanted ^' to build a dance hall He went all over buying used lumber Joe James [KT's piano player], who lived up there [near the Moulin Rouge]/ got the job for KT at Speck's He wanted a big band KT's band then included: KT/ trumpet? JJ\ piano; "Rodney" [Reuben Roddy?], alto saxophone; Burke [Stevenson/ bass]; Albert Jackson, trombone; Jimmy Davis, [plays bass with Fats Domino/ played guitar with KT]7 and Ernest Roubleau [electric guitar or banjo?] [Two guitar players?] KT tells people/ "I may look dumb, but I'm not that dumb;" They were working at the Moulin Rouge every night The [musician's] union "was after" KT to join/ but he didn't want to KT had more work than he could play; he had jobs to give them' )572 When songs were requested/ if KT's band didn't know them at that time, they would learn them by the next Saturday bought [sheet music so they could learn new tunes?] People expect bands to play new tunes; they don't want to hear the KT same things all the time KT used two saxophones 0588 Andrew Morgan played with KT; Henry Russ, drums, and Elton Theodore, banjo/ were in the band at that time also The band split up KT left it KT [found?] the band when he came here and built the band up/ but he was double crossed They used to play "all down the bayou/" in Lockport [Members of the band?]

8 Page 8 started knocking KT/ but people told them they couldn't hurt KT That man [?] wouldn't hire [KT's former?] band any more Henry Russ switched to trumpet HR played trumpet, drums and bass The newly formed band didn't last long 0615 Specks first had a dance hall called the Rose Room on [Silver Lily Lane?] where RBA [saw] cows "second line" [Charlie DeVore has a film of Uiis'* RBA] The first time they played there it was a house [and?] a grocery There was bootleg liquor in tliose days KT, W^ilfred [Bocage?] and Joe James played there SR gave parties for "colored" for a month and then for 0634 white He settled on white as the best business Business picked up The fellow who owned the place was Italian SR got money to build the Rose Room The owner of the place [on Silver Lily Lane?] double crossed SR He sold the Rose Room to another white fellow That's why SR had to build the Moulin Rouge "What-cha-call-it" played at the Cocoanut Grove [Note 0660 on tape box: Unknownwas a drummer] END OF INTERVIEW