Hey, where y'at!
I'm Chuck, native New Orleanian, former KCRW/KCSN DJ, current streaming radio DJ, and occasional guest host on KPFK's "Roots Music & Beyond."
Welcome to my personal web site, started in 1994 (surely no one was alive then!). This thing has gotten out way of hand over the years... it's been a huge, labyrinthine and delightfully overgrown compendium of knowledge about New Orleans and Louisiana cuisine and culture, and lots of other fun and fabulous stuff; dedicated to the enjoyment of great food, drink and music, and to spreading the joy of New Orleans culture. I've tried to slim it down a bit to make it less unwieldy, and I'm afraid I must warn you that not only is the site quite mobile-unfriendly, but I also don't really have the time to work on it and keep it updated anymore, therefore a lot of stuff is out of date (but not the recipes!).
Radio! Hey, I'm doing radio again! It's streaming internet radio this time, as of March 28, 2020. Please enjoy my program "Safe at Home" streaming on demand via Mixcloud, at your leisure. All of my shows since 3.28.2020 are there. I'm currently on something of a hiatus but will resume in July 2026!
My "Roots Music & Beyond" guest host shifts on KPFK are on their archive for two weeks; when they scroll off I upload those to Mixcloud too.
Welcome Alta Journal readers! The fabulous author and journalist, Grammy Award-winner and Hugo Award finalist Lynell George, wrote a lovely article about me, my new streaming radio show, and my journey from "New Orleanian in Los Angeles" to "Angeleno from New Orleans," in the Spring 2021 edition of Alta Journal, a quarterly magazine focusing on culture, personalities, politics, lifestyle, and history of California and the West.
My old radio shows: "Down Home" (KCSN, 1998-2008) and "Gumbo" (KCRW, 1988-1998), ancient pages archived here. A little museum of my 20 years in L.A. public radio. Old playlists, etc.
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When you're visiting New Orleans and southern Louisiana, remember these things:
1. You don't need a full 8 hours of sleep a night -- there's too much fun to be had to waste it sleeping.
2. In Louisiana alcohol, butter, cream and big piles of fried seafood are still good for you.
You're probably mostly here for this:
The Creole & Cajun Recipe Page: Woild-famous! Fo' true!
Looka!: A weblog featuring musings on cocktails, food, music, New Orleans culture and much more. Kinda dead (or undead) these days; aren't "blogs" dead? (I'm old school and still say "weblog." I'm still not a fan of the word "blog," which was originally coined as a joke. Yes, you are correct, I am indeed a pain in the ass about that!)
Cocktails: An index of 350+ new, classic and original cocktails. There's much fine drinking to be done here.
I'm on Bluesky, where I swear about politics too much (I tried to cut down on that once the Orange Shitgibbon is gone, but then he came back), Instagram, and older photos on Flickr but I don't really post there anymore.
"Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans": A 4-cd box set celebrating the joy and diversity of the New Orleans music scene. Produced, compiled and annotated by Chuck Taggart (hey, that's me!), with liner notes by Mary Herczog (former author of Frommer's New Orleans) and myself. Released by Shout! Factory. Sadly out of print now (although I was thrilled that it remained in print for a dozen years!), but worth having if you can find it. Ahem, if'n I do say so myself. There are usually some used copies on Amazon or eBay. Also, it seems as if you can listen to most of it on Spotify!
Bands: My old Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and Son Volt pages. (Also, don't miss Factory Belt, the world's most exhaustive Uncle Tupelo fan site.)
My antique radio collection. Modest, but cool.
Tip Jar! Everything you find on this site is free. Your tips help keep it all going and are greatly appreciated. I happily accept contributions via Paypal, or if you're feeling particularly generous, you can buy me something. Thanks!
About this site: Credits, dedication, origin, history, the early funny stuff, zzzzzz, etc.
About your proprietor (Who, me? What'd I do now?!)