Tough Times for New Orleans Musicians

[mcscajun]

August 26, 2007

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:52 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Musicians, instruments strapped to their backs and signs in hand, marched to the French Quarter on Sunday, demanding better wages and asking tourists, music lovers and political leaders not to take them for granted.

''It ain't easy to be in the Big Easy,'' Deacon John Moore, the president of the local musicians union, told onlookers after the low-key march through the rain from Louis Armstrong Park. ''Our musicians are suffering. We hate to come out here and beg, but we have no alternative at this point.''

Many musicians, like other New Orleanians, are struggling with life since Hurricane Katrina struck nearly two years ago. Many venues that offered live music have not reopened or offer the stage as often.

That's creating a ''cutthroat mentality'' among the working musicians in town, Moore said. While the union has a minimum scale wage, not all members are adhering to it, Moore said. Some are working on the streets for tips from tourists and other passers-by -- cheapening the value of what they're producing, he said.

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