In the late \u201990s, bassist and vocalist Jake Springfield and his Jai Alai bandmate, drummer Jay Abbott, split a double camelback shotgun house on Cortez Street between Banks and Palmyra. With Springfield and his then-girlfriend on one side and Abbott and a roommate on the other, it was cheap, and there was plenty of space to practice in the giant house.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking about it \u2014 and you don\u2019t hear this anymore \u2014 but we\u2019d walk to Mona\u2019s (Cafe on Banks Street) and we would hear three bands practicing,\u201d Springfield says. \u201cThat certainly has changed. I think there\u2019s more practice spaces available than there were, but housing was so cheap, you didn\u2019t need another practice space.\u201d<\/p>\n
From around 1998 to 2005, Springfield anchored the indie rock band Jai Alai<\/a>, which included Abbott, guitarist David Dismukes, percussionist Dave Greengold, guitarist Tim Perkins and other musicians in different lineups during its run.<\/p>\n The band was active in the era\u2019s small indie rock scene, frequently playing the Mermaid Lounge and touring regionally with a couple of trips to the East and West coasts. And Jai Alai recorded a full-length and a couple of EPs of meditative indie rock with post-rock and math-rock leanings.<\/p>\n But as is often the case, life took people in different directions, Jai Alai slowed down, and Hurricane Katrina turned the page on the band. Jai Alai reunited at least once, in 2011 for a tribute night to the Mermaid Lounge, which had closed in 2004, but there hadn\u2019t been much heard from the band prior to this year.<\/p>\n New Orleans label Strange Daisy Records, though, decided to start this year by reissuing three Jai Alai releases<\/a>: the band\u2019s first cassette, \u201c99,\u201d the 2000 EP \u201cDivision\u201d and a 7-inch with two songs. There also are hopes, Springfield says, to throw a Jai Alai reunion show this year.<\/p>\n