Iguanas' strong musical marriage takes stage at Cooper-Young Festival

Photo by Rick Olivier, Rick Olivier

The Iguanas -- Rene Coman (from left), Rod Hodges, Joe Cabral and Memphis native Doug Garrison -- blend roots-rock with Latin styles and a touch of the blues.

Ask Iguanas bassist René Coman how the veteran New Orleans band has managed to survive the ups and downs of a 20-plus-year career — including natural disasters, relocations and record label woes — and he’ll tell you that it’s simple.

“The secret to the Iguanas is the same secret as to a good marriage: You just don’t leave,” says Coman, laughing. “If things are going well, or if things are going not-so-well, you simply stick it out.”

Photo by Rick Olivier

The Iguanas -- Rene Coman (from left), Rod Hodges, Joe Cabral and Memphis native Doug Garrison -- blend roots-rock with Latin styles and a touch of the blues.

The group, which headlines the main stage of the Cooper-Young Festival on Saturday evening, has stuck it out since forming in 1989, and built a dedicated following and reputation for their seamless syntheses of regional Louisiana, American and Latin roots music.

For Coman and the band, this month marks a somber anniversary: It was four years ago that they were forced to evacuate their homes and lives in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Though they lived as refugees in Texas for a time (even forming a band there called the Texiles) the Crescent City native says there was never any doubt about going back home.

“I wouldn’t know anywhere else to go,” says Coman. “I didn’t even consider it.”

Since returning, Coman has watched as the city has tried to rebuild itself — slowly, but surely. “Initially, right after it happened I thought it’d be like 20 years before things were back to normal. And I’m still of that mindset. It could go faster. But New Orleans moves at a different place; it’s much more glacial here than anywhere else.”

For a city so closely identified with music, the New Orleans live scene has struggled, with the recovery problems compounded by a sagging national economy and slowed tourism. But Coman notes that the value people place on live music is different now as well.

“It’s not just exclusive to New Orleans,” says Coman. “People are reassessing how they spend their free time. When we first started out playing, people didn’t have computers that they spent hours on every day, and engaged with just for entertainment purposes.

“There’s definitely a turnover in who goes out and when they go out and what’s there when they get there,” he adds. “The whole idea of the way people look at (live) music in general is changing.”

Aside from his work with the Iguanas, Coman maintains performing sidelines with several New Orleans outfits including moody rock group the Geraniums and saloon singer Glyn Styker. “This city gives you an opportunity to do a lot of different things, and play with a bunch of different people,” he says. Coman has made a career out of playing with a variety of artists, including a succession of Memphis-connected acts such as Alex Chilton, Tav Falco and Green on Red.

Coman says the role of sideman can sometimes be tricky. “But the thing is, if you can be useful and bring something to the table and be someone that people can hang with, that’s the most important thing.”

The Iguanas released a critically acclaimed Katrina-themed album If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times in 2008 and have been playing regular dates in support of the disc. More recently, they began doing a residency at the Maple Leaf — the same New Orleans club where the band first established itself in the late ’80s. “We decided to resurrect that situation and to raise our profile around town and play here more,” he says.

While plans for a new Iguanas record are still shaping up, Coman says whatever the future holds, the group will ultimately persevere.

“There was a spark that resonated with all of us right from the beginning,” says Coman. “We’re all cognizant of the precious nature of something like that. And so we tend to be able to put things in perspective as far as any personal trips anybody gets on, or people’s individual evolution. At the end of the day, we know we’re a lot better off together than we are by ourselves.”

COOPER-YOUNG FESTIVAL

Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. at the intersection of Cooper and Young. Free. Go to cooperyoungfestival.com for more information.

East Stage:

12:30 p.m. Organ Thief

1:30 p.m. Ryan Peel

2:30 p.m. Good Luck Darkstar

3:30 p.m. Streetside Symphony

4:30 p.m. Bullet Proof Vests

Congo Stage:

12:15 p.m. The Will Tucker Band

1:15 p.m. Groundspeak

2:15 p.m. Valencia Robinson

3:15 p.m. Two Mule Plow

4:15 p.m. Queens of Zion

Main Stage:

11:30 a.m. Rhythm Realm

12:15 p.m. U of M Jazz Band

1:15 p.m. River City Tanlines

2:15 p.m. Tonya Dyson

3:15 p.m. Darrel Petties and Strength

4:15 p.m. Susan Marshall

5:15 p.m. The Iguanas

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