“John “Papa” Gros is a bedrock New Orleans artist, a keyboardist, singer and songwriter who draws on funk, rhythm & blues and Americana songcraft; he also knows his way around the Mardi Gras music repertoire about as well as anyone.” – Keith Spera The New Orleans Advocate
Latest News
Different Each Night
You can play a song the same way every night. The composer wrote the songs, wrote the notes and the goal is to recreate it every night as it was originally written. This comes from the classical music tradition. Our approach comes from the New Orleans jazz tradition,...
read moreA Rewarding Process
The process for recording my vocals on "River's On Fire" was to record each song a bunch of times -- 10, 15, 20 times — then figure out what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. I would practice the song for a day or two, then re-record it another 10, 15, 20...
read moreVoice Work
Towards the end of Papa Grows Funk, I started working with a vocal coach. I knew that my throat was a complete wreck. My vocal cords were shot. I needed to learn how to sing so my true self could be heard. So ever since PGF ended, one of my personal goals was to...
read moreGreat Song To Play Live
One of the new songs that's been fun to play live is "Cocaine and Chicken Fricassee". It's got a great groove and it gets people moving. It's also fun to watch the audience's reaction to the opening lines. You can see it on their faces. "Did he say what I think he...
read moreHer Love Can’t Be Denied
"Her Love Can't Be Denied" is another song I enjoy playing live. It's a simple song with a thick, lush arrangement, which makes it a challenge to perform live. The risk / reward is high, so it's a great barometer as to how we are playing as a band.
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