SXSWORLD

Real Life Meets Fictional Depictions on the Streets of Treme by John Swenson characters based on real people and in some cases, played by the people themselves. Musicians like Dr. John, Kermit Ruffi ns, Tom McDermott and Trombone Shorty play themselves in a remarkable twist on reality television. Other musicians, such as Davis Rogan, watch themselves played by an actor-avatar, while still other actors play fi ctional musicians created out of composites drawn from real people. Rogan's avatar is the character Davis McAlary, played by Steve Zahn. N ew Orleans musicians have been dealing with an iden- tity crisis over the past two years. Th e HBO series Treme has depicted a version of New Orleans populated with On his album Th e Real Davis, produced by Treme musical supervisor Blake Leyh, Rogan addresses the dream-like quality of seeing yourself in someone else's body. Th e "real" Davis is moved to make distinc- tions between himself and the Davis McAlary character in his song: "I never sacrifi ced a chicken while I was on the radio ... I'd like to think I'm a bit dressier." But the diff erences run deeper than Rogan himself imagined when series producer David Simon approached him about basing a central character in the show on his life. "Steve Zahn is from Minnesota," says Rogan. "He likes to listen to bluegrass music. I'm from New Orleans. I like to listen to hip- hop and funk. His idea of a good day is to sit in a duck blind; he's a hunting and fi shing kind of guy. I like to travel around and play music. I wasn't prepared for him to portray me as an unconvincing frontman. When they convert moments in my history into the story line, like Davis getting fi red from his own band, I have to disengage myself from the experience." Tom McDermott, one of the musicians who plays himself in the series, watched in fascination as many of his peers showed up in Treme. "It was interesting to see how people reacted to the camera," McDermott notes. "Some people who are very natural and relaxed "How does it feel to have a character loosely based on you in a TV show? Is it surreal, like you're in a play? What can I say? It's my every day." —Davis Rogan, "My Every Day" in real life looked uncomfortable playing themselves, while others looked like seasoned actors." McDermott himself is a self-eff acing performer whose strength is his playing, not his personality, yet he is one of the most eff ective of the musicians asked to portray himself in Treme. I started writing a book about New Orleans musicians in the wake of the post-Katrina diaspora before I heard of Simon's plan to produce a series on a related subject. By the time my book, New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans, was fi n- ished, the fi rst episodes of Treme were airing. At fi rst I tried to downplay the connection between events in the book and the teleplay, but people kept asking me about similarities and bloggers began comparing parts of the book to recent episodes. A number of characters and incidents in the book are paralleled by action in the dramatic series, which is to be expected since both stories are about the same place at the same time. Th e biggest diff erence is one of expectations. Th e only fi xed idea someone has before he or she begins to read the book is its premise, which is stated in the title. But Treme is charged with adhering to people's ideas of what New Orleans is supposed to look and sound like as well as the responsibility of delivering a com- pelling drama. And while I'm writing directly about the musicians themselves, in Treme the musicians aren't all fully drawn characters — the actors drive the narrative. Yet music is central to Treme's story. Th e diffi cul- ties of putting a band together and an examination of the creative process are main themes that several of the actor-musicians deal with, which presents Leyh with unique problems. "In order to write a screenplay about writing songs you actually have to write the songs," he explains. In the end, the musicians in Treme are doing far Antoine Batiste (played by Wendell Pierce) plays trombone in the Treme Brass Band during a funeral march at the end of the pilot episode of Treme 26 SXSW ORLD / N OVEMBER 2011 more than just collecting checks for another gig. Members of the tightly knit New Orleans music community understand that Simon and co-pro- ducer Eric Overmyer are doing a good job of telling an important story. COURTESY OF HBO

• Cover