Paul Sanchez
New Orleans, LA, US
Rock / Americana / singer/songwriter
|
Join the Mailing List |
Paul Sanchez
To look at Paul Sanchez you wouldn't necessarily know he was from New Orleans but when he takes to his guitar and mic on stage there is no doubt the man is New Orleans in his heart. It's evident. It's clear. It's remarkably and unmistakably original New Orleans music he plays, paradoxically familiar and new.After his first musical endeavor in New Orleans' own Backbeats, and a stint in New York in the late eighties where he befriended artist Michelle Schocked and refined his art in the flourishing “anti-folk” scene, Paul returned home to New Orleans in the early ‘90s to help form Cowboy Mouth (CM) whose popularity and ambitious touring schedule kept him on the road for most of 16 years. Though he contributed greatly to the band's catalogue and success, Paul was left unsatisfied artistically. His desire to make music that was closer to his heart and better demonstrated his talent as a singer/songwriter led to a solo career that paralleled his day job, and he recorded seven solo albums while performing his duties in the band. When Katrina ravaged the gulf, Paul was on tour with CM. Attempting to process the extent of the losses; he stayed on tour and wrote perhaps the best post-Katrina tribute to date, “Home”. The song was released on Cowboy Mouth's album Voodoo Shoppe. Paul's music has also appeared on CMT's Travel America series, Homicide: Life on the Streets, The Accused (starring Jodie Foster), Underneath (by Steven Soderbergh), and the independent film, At Last (starring Martin Donovan and Kelly Lynch), for which Paul was also musical supervisor, and his song "Hurricane Party" is featured during storm season on NPR. Further contributing to his soon to be legendary status is the inclusion of his song, "At the Foot of Canal Street", co-written with New Orleans Jazz great John Boutte, on the critically acclaimed Shout Factory New Orleans musical-history boxed-set, Doctors, Professors, Kings and Queens: A Big Ol' Box of New Orleans.
Paul never takes for granted his many opportunities to write and record with some of New Orleans' most pre-eminent musicians such as John Boutte, David Torkanowsky, Ivan Neville and many, many others. His recent album, Between Friends, was a project that allowed him to write songs for some of his favorite singers, including Susan Cowsill, Darius Rucker, Mark Mullins, Theresa Andersson, and once again, long-time collaborator, John Boutte. Paul recently released Washed Away, a compilation of songs from his first six solo albums, songs whose masters were lost in the Katrina levee failure. Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner produced his latest release of new material, Exit to Mystery Street. Paul is also working with Pirner on John Boutte's latest album Good Neighbor, the material for which was a joint effort by both Sanchez and Boutte.
Katrina may very well have been the catalyst to take Paul off the rock band's road, and place him in settings more intimate; performing songs better-suited to his worldview, disposition, and soul. Like so many Gulf Coast residents, Paul's priorities were put in-check by the devastation of the hurricane, the flood, and the ineptitude of the government. And like so many New Orleans musicians, he came to feel it was his responsibility to articulate his city's losses. He is now where he belongs, and where he has always been, one of New Orleans' ambassadors to the world.
When he takes to the stage and begins to sing you undoubtedly feel his pain, his joy, and his love – and, simultaneously, you better understand your own. As you listen on, as he shares his stories and his gift, you also become better acquainted with Paul and his hometown. In fact, if you listen closely and uninhibitedly, you just may begin to understand what it actually means to miss New Orleans.
Exit to Mystery Street - NEW!
Between Friends
Washed Away
This artist recommends
Contests/Events
