The Radiators recall the Grateful Dead in their laissez-faire approach to live structure. If anything, the band is a loving musical batc of New Orleans components as filtered through a sort of Little Feat-esque prism. Formed in January 1978, ...the Rads have basted into their third decade together with the same lineup: keyboardist Ed Volker, drummer Frank Bua, guitarists Camille Baudoin and Dave Malone, and bassist Reggie Scanlon.
Heavily taken with the primal funk of civic giants Professor Longhair, the Meters, Champion Jack Dupree, Allen Toussaint and even Jelly Roll Morton, yet raised in the era when rock was stretching out to experiment with country and jazz, the Radiators instinctively assimilated all those resources with their own compositional skills to create what is lovingly called Fish-Head Music. (Rick Koster, Louisiana Music pp. 229-30)
They eventually broke up in June 2011, getting back together every year to play JazzFest...
Interesting. File under: New Orleans Institutions
Discography: Albums 1980-2001 2004-Present; Compilations; DVD
In the music library:
Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol' Box Of New Orleans: Confidential
Links: Official web site Twitter Facebook AllMusic YouTube Jazzfest 2014 Live Recordings (Archive.org)