LAST WEDNESDAY WITH GABE WOOTTON FEAT. ROD GATOR
https://www.missingpiecegroup.com/rod-gator​
THE OLD QUARTER IS A LISTENING ROOM. LOUD CONVERSATION DURING ARTIST'S PERFORMANCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. PLEASE CONSIDER THIS WHEN PURCHASING TICKETS TO SHOWS.
Gabe doesn’t have as many songs about trains as he thought he would at this point. But, he does have a new record out on Old Quarter Records. It’s a live recording from the historic Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe on Galveston Island. It is a complete snapshot of a Gabe Wootton show.
Years before launching his career as an internationally-celebrated southern songwriter, Rod Gator grew up in the Louisiana backcountry, making trips to his family's crayfish pond while absorbing the sounds, stories, and swampy swagger of his surroundings.
"My dad is an old-school Cajun guy who wanted to name me 'Gator,'" he says. "He's got a good sense of humor, and I think he was also a big fan of Burt Reynolds' Gator films, which were a hit at the drive-ins in the '70s."
Gator's mother didn't approve of the suggestion, and the boy was christened "Rod Melancon" instead. It was under that name that he first made his stand as a musician, releasing four albums — including 2019's critically-lauded Pinkville — that blended Louisiana soul with greasy country-rock, Texas blues, and electrified funk. Rod's music didn't just nod to the American South; it created its own sonic geography, too, channeling everything from the dark, cinematic sweep of Los Angeles (where he moved as an 18 year-old actor) to the amplified twang of Austin (his adopted hometown for nearly half a decade). With 2021's For Louisiana, he blends that diverse sound with sharply-written songs that take a hard look at his old stomping grounds. This isn't just a love letter to Louisiana — it's also an examination of the state's hard-to-love struggles with social justice, political reform, and natural disasters.
