Coco in the Spiritland November 25, 2011
Posted by The Typist in cryptical envelopment, music, New Orleans, NOLA, Toulouse Street.Tags: Coco Robicheaux
trackback
New Orleans musical and spiritual icon Coco Robicheaux is walking with the ancestors. One candle goes out and a thousand new are lighted in mourning and memory. Go with sage and sweet grass, go with a song and a bottle, go with a guitar in hand and bring New Orleans to the spirit land.
“I had to use my voice and hands/To make the music of the spirit land.”
— Coco Robicheaux
or at these independent New Orleans bookstores:
Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans 
I heard he collapsed. Has he passed away? Aw, shit.
LikeLike
Yes, the word spread on the Internet last night, so I called my sister, who was an Apple Barrel regular and a friend, who quickly confirmed it. In the days after the Flood, when he was living here and there, she had to help him home a couple of times and one night he forget where he was living, which made the stroll through the Marigny of a drunken Coco and a woman in her early sixties with a bum knee–who may have had a few vodka and sodas herself–quite comic, if only in retrospect. The last time I saw him play was at the memorial of my sister’s very close friend Jerry, another daily Barrel regular. It was probably a year ago Thursday I remember speaking to him at an length, at the Apple Barrel Thanksgiving dinner. I was ordering a glass of ice water to drown the whiskey and wine from early in the day and he told me, “if you libate, you must hydrate” which stuck in my head to this day. I stopped by there Thursday just for a while on my way to somewhere else, to deliver my sister’s regrets she couldn’t come with a dish, but nobody mentioned his collapse to me (and they all know me as “Pam’s brother”). I’ve met a musician or two who complained that he would sometimes tune his guitar strangely or not at all. I never noticed anything discordant about it which makes me think it was in tune, but to to a strange key only he could hear. All else I can think to say now is in the blog post. And there will be a tremendous send-off on Frenchman street, no doubt. I flash back to the quiet, respectful memorial for the character Harley in last season’s Treme in which he appeared. Coco’s may, no should begin that way but will no doubt end in a drunk to astound the druidly druids, one that will go down in the fuzzy memory of the Apple Barrel as one the like of which may not be seen again.
LikeLike
Rest in Peace, my friend. I will see your smiling face in my dreams tonight. It’s all good 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for turning me onto him.
LikeLike
Last week I listened to a 40 min voice memo I recorded on my phone at Mimi’s. I had taken lots of pics too. Coco and I talked on breaks and I offered to buy him a drink, he knew me for a sucker and smiled asking for either a Remy Martin or a Courvosier, I can’t remember now, kinda waiting to see if I’d actually do it. I did. He showed me his new CD, which of course I bought, and was so proud that there was no plastic case. The CD clips onto a material made of potatoes and the cover is of recycled paper. He said he wanted his music to enhance the earth not help screw it up. I teased him about his white fleur de lis loafers a la 1970 and he said they “still walked good.”
I swear he died at the Barrel so he could stay there forever, and I’m betting he will in his way.
LikeLike
I think you’re right, a piece of him will be there always. I think I’ll have to start to buy him a drink from now on, the way the few who remember still stand one for Max at Molly’s.
LikeLike
[…] thin veil I was reading a post about the passing of Coco Robicheaux on a friend’s blog and was thinking to this week where Wednesday marks the second anniversary of my mom’s […]
LikeLike