Music is a natural byproduct of humanity, resulting from the need to entertain and fill the quiet spaces of life.
For some people, just making music won’t cut it. They want to get this music out to the ear of the people, producing publications, websites and magazines.
Jessica Orgeron is one of these people, and a little over a year ago, she started Jive Flamingo, a blog devoted to bringing together listener and artist. Orgeron is a local attorney who spends her spare time writing on the blog with contributing author Ben Herrington. The two of them, along with photographer and promoter Chelsea Layne, are the eyes, ears and typing fingers behind Jive Flamingo.
The site was built out of Orgeron and Herrington’s desire to express Baton Rouge’s true potential as a musical hotspot. Many people know of the jazz scene present in New Orleans and Lafayette’s prominent Cajun/Zydeco influence, but Jive Flamingo felt Baton Rouge was getting the short end of the stick.
Herrington said any apparent music scene is being formed out of the large amount of university students who are classically trained. From there, musical ability flourishes into full-fledged groups. Herrington, a founding member of the local band Minos the Saint, is a prime example.
Moving from the web to the stage, Jive Flamingo hosted Lafayette-born jazz performer Brad Webb and his group Making Faces at Mud and Water last Thursday, a milestone in the site’s short history. The show came as the initial installment of Jive Flamingo’s “Jazz Night at Mud and Water” series, which will be held monthly with a variety of jazz acts from Louisiana.
Though Jive Flamingo has stepped away from the keyboards for sponsored events before, “Jazz Night” shows a progressive step for such a young blog. The trio hopes to move onward and upward with web content and overall coverage format, including ideas for video-based reporting.
Jive Flamingo’s cause is simple: to bring the listener the music that wasn’t previously being sought out. Herrington described the team as “three people who are passionate about the Baton Rouge music scene.”
“If we didn’t have a music scene worth reporting about, we wouldn’t have anything to do with our time.”

Gallery • 7 Photos

Trey McGlothin

Brad Webb's Making Faces' Brad Webb, drums, performing Thursday night at Mud and Water.