Close to four years in the making from the start of shooting to the files being sent to press – Local Spirit: Neighborhood Bars of Orleans Parish almost didn't happen. I pestered Ken for years about the project—trying to convince him we would do it like it had never been done, of the potential of the book and the fun we'd have making it. Local Spirit was put on the back burner as I moved onto other projects. Then Ken reached out one day and said, "let's do it." He finally got it! We dove in head first, and for the next several years immersed ourselves in the local watering holes of Orleans Parish.

I'm not from New Orleans originally, but have called her home since 2009. I've lived in South Louisiana since 2005. I was born and raised in Gulfport, about an hour east of the city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Growing up so close allowed my friends and I to make frequent weekend excursions—in high school and in college—for shows and other shenanigans. These weekend trips in the 90s were my first exposures to the New Orleans neighborhood bar scene.

The name Local Spirit has several different connotations—the most obvious being that this book makes a fervent effort to showcase locals' spots, not tourist destinations. Another meaning comes from a term I borrowed from my good friend, Logan. When the night is perfect, everything is firing on all cylinders and you can feel the city's heartbeat, he always says that the "spirit is moving." Yeah you right, Logan. Our book name also alludes to the vast source of pride that our city grants us—a local spirit if you will. Lastly, the word spirit also pays homage to the storied drinking culture and historic hospitality of New Orleans.

Our goal in making this book was to create a photographic essay of the locals' bars of Orleans Parish. We wanted to shine a light on the broad assortment of character and personality that our neighborhood watering holes possess. From Snake & Jake's Christmas Club Lounge (featured on the cover) to the Columns Hotel, each establishment's interior and exterior tell their own unique stories. By showing these spaces in large color photographs we aim to give the viewer a sense of being there – feeling it – smelling it – tasting it.

An important objective from the start was to exhibit diversity and be all-inclusive Parish wide. Whether you're black, white, gay, straight, a young professional, old salty dog, college kid, barfly or somewhere in between, we are quite confident there's something in this book for you.

That being said we aren't naive. We know that we will not please everyone. Some may—and will—notice omissions. I assure you it is not from a lack of thoroughness. Some bars turned down participation in the project while others just didn't respond to multiple attempts at correspondence. 

Making Local Spirit: Neighborhood Bars of Orleans Parish was a wild and crazy adventure. We hope y'all enjoy our book as much as we did creating it.

Rick Dobbs
Creator / Publisher