Robert Gary Ingram
June 9, 2008
Marilyn Chapman Moore
June 11, 2008
Houma musician to sing coastal erosion blues to panel on Capitol Hill
By MIKE BROSSETTE
Houma blues musician Tab Benoit will discuss Louisiana’s eroding coastal wetlands with a panel of Congressional aides on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 17, along with Louisiana wildlife photographer C.C. Lockwood and Paul Harrison, the Environmental Defense Fund’s coastal Louisiana project manager.
As a three-time Grammy nominee, Benoit has used his standing in the music world to promote coastal restoration in Louisiana, founding the coastal preservation group Voice of the Wetlands in 2003 and serving as its president.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get our foot in the door, to make the coast of Louisiana a priority,” he said. “We need to make sure the nation doesn’t forget we’re washing away. Congress gets the same news we get. Still, things need to be done.”
The trip to Washington will be Benoit’s first time talking to Congress about the state’s eroding wetlands.
“I’d love to see a whole bunch of people go up with us,” he said. “After Katrina and the way it was portrayed on the news, people outside of the country were amazed that we didn’t rush Washington to walk the streets.”
“People are not big fans of the U.S. now, but they love New Orleans,” Benoit said, calling the city the birthplace of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. “It’s the one place where we could take different cultures and races and make something beautiful.
“The slow response of the federal government – it should have been an exercise in democracy. We’re supposed to be a democracy, but it’s not working here,” Benoit added.
During his time on Capitol Hill, Benoit will promote the idea of Congress giving Louisiana special status.
“We have to find some kind of way to make Louisiana an exception,” he said. “We don’t have five, 10 or 20 years. We don’t have that time. Things need to be prioritized differently.”
“Louisiana is a different place,” he said. “It needs to be handled differently. Maybe there ought to be a special committee to handle Louisiana.”
Benoit said too much time passes between the engineering of wetlands restoration projects and construction, a point many Tri-Parish officials have voiced as well.
“The Corps backed out (from starting construction on Morganza to the Gulf) because they don’t have the money,” he said. “It was engineered 10 years ago. Dollar values are not the same.”
“Dubai can build an island in two years,” he said. “We can’t build anything in 10 years. Are we really the best country on the planet? Don’t waste any more money. This is fixable. We’re on borrowed time. We’re not doing enough to change it.”
In May, Benoit was named Contemporary Blues-Male Artist of the Year by the Memphis, Tenn.-based Blues Music Association.
On Aug. 24, the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, which has Houma musicians Benoit and Waylon Thibodeaux and seven New Orleans musicians including Dr. John and Cyril Neville, will play at the Democratic Party presidential nominating convention. The group will play at an after-party at the Republican convention on Sept. 1.
Benoit, who often weaves his “save the coast” message into his sets as he performs before audiences across the nation, will likely continue that theme in front of the Democratic and Republican faithful.
