<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4JWCg4_0wDrbOrS00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4JWCg4_0wDrbOrS00" width="940" height="470" ><figcaption>Professor Louie and The Crowmatix perform Oct. 26 at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. Photo Provided</figcaption></figure>On Oct. 26, Professor Louie &amp; The Crowmatix, are set to make their yearly sojourn to the venerated listening room at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. Professor Louie’s long and storied career tells a story of a musical rose that continues to blossom. From playing with such heavyweights as The Band, as well as racking up five Grammy nominations, Professor Louie &amp; The Crowmatix keep moving forward, never letting their foot off the gas. Currently, the band is in the midst of getting their 18th record ready for release in early 2025. Blending Americana with blues, soul, gospel, and more, this is sure to be an entertaining night of music.For more information on the show, as well as purchasing tickets, please go to www.caffelena.org. Tickets are $28.00 for general admission, $25.00, and $14.00 for students and children.I had a chance to sit down with Professor Louie prior to the show. What follows is our conversation, edited for length and clarity.Lucas Garrett: The first thing I want to ask is: What got you started with music all those years ago? What made you say, “I want to do that?”Professor Louie: I started in music because the school I went to — Peekskill school system — had an excellent music teacher that really got me interested in playing music. We’d have a good time in his class and he’d take us out to play professional shows with him, and around the age of 15, I knew it was a good thing to do. It was because of that school system that I became a musician.LG: Awesome. You’ve gotten to work with so many amazing people, and have an impressive career in your own right. What was it like working with the folks in The Band?PL: The thing about that is, when I was young, we played a lot of great shows with great R&amp;B and soul bands; a lot of those musicians were fabulous. From there, I played with a lot of the great gospel groups: The Highway Q.C.’s; The Soul Stirrers; Mighty Gospel Giants of Brooklyn. I was with tremendous singers and musicians my whole life. When I got opportunities to work with The Band, Graham Parker, and Commander Cody, we all came from the same place; that soul and R&amp;B. It was a great experience to work with great musicians.LG: Was there ever any time along the way where you stopped, looked around, and said, “I can’t believe this is all happening?”PL: Absolutely. My whole life, just about. We live a charmed life being musicians, and there have been times — especially when I produced the first The Band album — that it was a tremendous opportunity, and I tried to seize the moment as much as possible. Even now, I really love playing shows, and I feel extremely lucky and thankful that we have fans that keep wanting to see us. Without an audience, you’re pretty lost after a while. I got to thank all the audiences, and I’m very respectful of that.LG: You’ve come close to winning Grammys, too, right?PL: There have been a few times the Crowmatix — we’ve been making records since the early 2000’s — got nominated in the blues category, the folk category, the folk rock category, but we never made it. But that’s been an honor. I just produced a record with Guy Davis, a blues acoustic player, and he’s been nominated, also! I’ve been close a few times but never quite got one. But the game isn’t over yet! We’ve already won the Grammys in our own way: being able to continue to do what we do.LG: I love your band name, Professor Louie &amp; The Crowmatix. How did that come to be?PL: We were working with Levon Helm, and Levon came to me and said, “I’d love to play some solo shows.” The best band in the Woodstock area at the time was The Crows. We got together and said “There’s so many crow bands out right now. If we go out nationally with Levon, we should change our name.” We wanted to keep it in a musical name, and The Band family — originally it was Levon and the Hawks and Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. We kept it [musical] and called it Crowmatix. Levon said it’s a great idea and we went out and played as Levon Helm and the Crowmatix for a few years.When Levon went back and wanted to [restart] The Band, and [then] Rick Danko passed away years later, [my band] wanted to keep playing, so we called it Professor Louie &amp; The Crowmatix.LG: It was Rick Danko that gave you the moniker, Professor Louie?PL: He did. He was a very smart guy when it came to the music world. When me and him would play a duo show together on television or radio, he’d say, “Take it, Professor Louie.” It got known within the industry that I was Professor Louie. The other honor is that The Band used a lot of their middle names, so calling me Louie — that’s my middle name — made me fit right into that world.<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0iPgFnGp2e8?si=dJgiUJoa22ta4FaX" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>LG: Did you ever think that you were going to have a professional name given to you by Rick Danko of all people?PL: I never dreamed in… everything’s been a dream come true all the way around. I never thought about anything ever happening other than to play the best I can and work as hard as I could. That’s the way a lot of life is: try to help people out, do the best you can do, and maybe some good things will come your way now and then.LG: You have a show on Oct. 26 at Caffe Lena. You’ve played that room quite often. What draws you to that room? What do you get out of it musically, and personally?PL: Caffe Lena, with its history, is an honor to play there. As you know, great people have come through there for years and years. Sarah [Craig] and the staff are really respectful towards musicians. And, you can play your own originals there. The thing about playing Caffe Lena is it’s a nice, intimate situation. You’re with the audience and it’s a small room, so you can really communicate and tell some stories, which is fun to do. They have a nice acoustic piano, so we don’t have to worry about electronics too much. [It’s] a great place to play. We always try to do some new material for them. It’s a barometer for us — we’re doing some new songs for them and songs we know they really like up there.LG: What material are you doing this year?PL: [We’re releasing] a new CD right in the beginning of 2025, so we’re getting that material ready to perform live. Recording in the studio, and getting it together in the studio, is different than connecting with an audience live. We always try to sneak in one or two new ones to see how they’re shaping up and if they’re connecting with the audience.Since we have 17 CDs out, there’s some songs we didn’t play originally when the records came out, so we’ll go back and play some of [those ones]. Then, we’ll go out and play some blues songs, gospel songs, and some Band songs. Maybe throw in a Commander Cody song, which is fun to do. The repertoire is large and keeps moving along, so that’s really good. It keeps everyone on their toes and keeps the audience fresh.LG: Seventeen albums is a very impressive repertoire! Do you ever find yourself hearing your songs and going, “Wait, how did I play that?”PL: I’m constantly rearranging and relearning the material, there’s no doubt about that.LG: Who’s going to be on the show with you at Caffe Lena?PL: The members of the band are: Miss Marie on vocals, piano, and percussion; Frank Campbell on bass and vocals — we’ve been great friends for years; Todd Mihan on guitars — he’s come a long way and really adds a lot to the band; Dan Hickey on drums. They’re excellent musicians.LG: Take away all these heavy hitters you’ve worked with, and your music stands easily on its own; it’s great work.PL: Thank you so much.LG: You’ve been around so many folks, and while your music on its own is great, when you look up Professor Louie, a lot of times your name will be adjacent to people in The Band and things like that. Do you ever have a moment, however fleeting, where you think, “I wish people would know me for me, and not for those I’ve worked with?”PL: Not really. I’m proud of the people I’ve worked with, and I’ve helped them out, and it’s been a great experience. Everything comes in its own time. If people want to know me for what I do, they’ll find out. I’m never concerned with that, to be honest with you, Lucas. I promote the people I’ve worked with, and have their greatest respect.There’s a lot of unknown people I’ve worked with that’ve helped me along the way, and I’m just as proud working with them as I am working with Commander Cody or Graham Parker, or any of the guys in The Band. That’s one of the ways I've made a living: working with others and helping their careers, instead of just mine. It’s a nice balance.LG: In the industry, there can be a lot of ego flying around when we’re talking about musicians, but you are such a laid back person. I’m curious how you, after all these years, have managed to keep the whole attitude and ego at bay, enjoy what you have, and live in the moment. Can you weigh in on that?PL: Of course. You work with a lot of people that have very big egos, and you have to know how to work with them. That’s one of the things I’ve learned how to do — working with famous people that have big egos, and maybe they deserve it, and maybe they don’t. I’ve always kept my mind on the business of music. I’m always working on music, and putting out new music. I remember when I had no name and no recognition, and it was hard to get shows or talk to people. I haven’t forgotten that at all.For instance, a great show that we do that I’m exceptionally proud of, is “Melodies of Christmas” at Proctors [in Schenectady] with the symphony. We’re doing it again this year, and that’s raised $13 million for the cancer ward for the kids in Albany. One of the reasons we keep getting asked to do it is: no attitude, just concentrate on the music. One-hundred piece symphony and 100 piece choir of kids. You gotta set a good example and do the best you can do. You don’t want to come off as a jerk; you want to come off where you’re trying to help everybody. That’s what matters to me. I’m always aware of trying to stay as humble as possible, and be appreciative of what you have. At the same time, keep getting better: good things will rise to the surface.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Q&A: Professor Louie & The Crowmatix set for annual Caffe Lena stop on Oct. 26

On Oct. 26, Professor Louie & The Crowmatix, are set to make their yearly sojourn to the venerated listening room at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. Professor Louie’s long and storied career tells a story of a musical rose that continues to blossom. From playing with such heavyweights as The Band, as well as racking up five Grammy nominations, Professor Louie & The Crowmatix keep moving forward, never letting their foot off the gas. Currently, the band is in the midst of getting their 18th record ready for release in early 2025. Blending Americana with blues, soul, gospel, and more, this is sure to be an entertaining night of music.