In light of the writing in the sky over Jazz Fest, meet the man behind it. Frank Scurlock is a member of one of New Orleans’ first families. Like the Marsallises – the first family of music – and the Brennans – the first family of restaurants – the Scurlocks are New Orleans first family of fun.

Frank’s father, John, invented the Space Walk, perhaps better known as the bouncy castle. Frank has bounced a long way out of the family business. He leaves his kids to run the day to day inflatable biz while he concentrates on far grander visions. Like Transformation Village – a theme park the size and scope of Disney World which he’s developing in New Orleans East, a zipline running from the top of the World Trade Center to the West Bank, and there’s more! Wait till you hear how kids are going to spend time inside inflatable classrooms shaped like NASA’s space shuttle to get their “Eduflation.”

Catrina Cerny loves beer so much she brought a backpack of it to Happy Hour, which by the way is in a bar. Catrina unpacks her backpack of Chicago beers and explains how she loves New Orleans so much she moved here twice – both before and after the  hurricane that was not named after her. The hurricane is spelled with a “K” this Catrina is spelled with a “C”.  Anyway, that’s s digression which, although important to Catrina’s psyche, is not as important as her opinion of alcoholism. Catrina believes “All of us in New Orleans are dysfunctionally acoholic, and that’s not bad.” That might not be an exact quote – we’re a few beers in by now – but around this table it leads to a vigorous quest to discover who of us are alcoholics and by whose definition.

Andrew Duhon would like an alcoholic scale that allows for enough drinking to get into the mind-frame to write a good song, but possibly not enough to end up in a bar on a Sunday afternoon with a dominatrix and a girlfriend you’re in a fight with after starting drinking earlier in the week without letup and ending the bender by getting in a fight with a random guy big enough to settle the dispute in a manner that will have a very disadvantageous personal outcome. That’s how it went down for Michael Cain, singer and songwriter for New Orleans band The Parishioners.

Michael and Parishioners’ guitarist Damien Williams impress with two songs from their new album From Piety to Desire, and Damien impresses twice over with his encyclopedic general knowledge.

There are about a hundred more funny and fascinating moments in this show. Suffice to say they include an impromptu singalong of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” and the revelation about a particular donut that will get you crazy.

Photos on this page were taken at Wayfare by the fabulous and bearded Douglas Engel. See more of Douglas’s Happy Hour pix here.