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Hanging out with New Zealand blues duo Swamp Thing

Image courtesy Jenn Ocken Photography

As Michael Barker finishes a sip of tea in a small house on Beauregard Street, he wonders aloud about his extended stay in Baton Rouge.

“You guys are putting on that hospitality, huh?” he says, jokingly. “Since I’ve gotten here, I’ve thought, ‘Is this real?’”

Barker and his bandmate Grant Haua make up the powerful New Zealand blues-rock outfit Swamp Thing. Through a cultural exchange initiative with former Arts Council President and CEO Eric Holowacz, Swamp Thing was able to experience the Baton Rouge blues scene for a month.

A former arts director in Australia, Holowacz saw Swamp Thing during a folk festival. When he moved to Baton Rouge, he kept in touch with the band and brought up the idea for the exchange program.

During the month-long visit, Barker and Haua played gigs at Phil Brady’s, Teddy’s Juke Joint and Chelsea’s Café’s side bar. They sat in with local players at The Roux House and Lock & Key Whiskey Bar.

They taught a small group of kids at Baton Rouge Music Studios. They shot a music video and even recorded a few tunes at PreSonus.

Along the way, Holowacz and other locals treated the duo to some Cajun cuisine. Crawfish, red beans, gumbo—they got a little bit of it all.

“I have been overwhelmed, really, by people’s generosity,” Barker says. “It’s blown me away. It’s made me want to be more generous with everything when I get home.”

Now, the band is back home, hard at work on its third release. But during an interview, you can sense how much a visit to the American South meant to the duo.

“We’ve grown up with a lot of you guys’ Southern stuff,” Haua says. “There’s the literature, the South, the Mississippi River … I remember as a kid reading Huckleberry Finn. We went down to the Mississippi, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is Huckleberry Finn.’ To get over here and see it and to be treated so nicely—I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”

Part of the allure of the visit was getting a feel for the home of the blues.

“You’re living and breathing it here,” Haua says. 


Recommended by Swamp Thing

While Swamp Thing was in town, the duo traveled all over Baton Rouge. We asked the guys about some of their favorite local attractions.

Frostop. “I’d say if you want a vintage, Southern fast-food experience, this is the place,” drummer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Barker says.

“They make a damn good burger, too,” guitarist/singer Grant Haua adds.

The Roux House for Red Beans & Rice Mondays. “That’s where we saw some really good players,” Barker says. “And it’s younger and older players, playing together. It’s really nice to see that encouragement and respect, going both ways.”

Phil Brady’s for Blues Jams on Thursday nights. When the duo first landed, they went straight to Phil Brady’s. “Everyone’s been sharp musically,” Haua says. “When you go there and jam, it’s a combination of intimidating and fascinating.”

Baton Rouge Music Studios. Perhaps the most intimidating part of the trip for Haua was performing and doing a class with students from Baton Rouge Music Studios. “Gimme a room full of drunks over kids any day, man,” he jokes. “After about three songs, though, I was relaxed.”

Barker says the challenge was teaching the kids something fresh. “I had seen the kids play at the [Baton Rouge] Blues Festival. They were all awesome. I thought, ‘What are we gonna teach them?’”

Beauregard Gallery & Bistro. This art space and lunchtime spot is located directly behind where the band was quartered during its stay. As a send-off, the restaurant/art gallery hosted a shindig that featured an extended jam session where the band performed with local musicians.