News Banner Weekend Profile: Randy Hébert
Hébert: World-class Musician, Innovator

By Nate Thacker

MANDEVILLE - Mandeville resident Randy Hebert, when prodded, admits he plays a little music. He plays the guitar, bass, piano and the drums in a style he describes as jazzy pop. Little about the soft-spoken, easy-going Hebert would suggest he is a world-class performer with myriads of accomplishments.

Hebert, 55, grew up on the Southshore, a block away from Canal Street.

For his 15th birthday Hebert's parents bought him a guitar that forged his life-long love of music.

"That was it," said Hebert. "I fell in love with the instrument, and I've been playing music ever since." Hebert played in numerous bands from age 15 up into his late 20s, including Orange, his first rock 'n roll band, and Jackson Brewing Company, a rhythm and blues band.

After graduating from the University of New Orleans with a degree in music, Hebert went to work playing a solo act on Bourbon Street, mostly for the Tricou House bar. There Hebert gained a high regard for being the first musician to introduce the synthesizer to the New Orleans. The synthesizer is an instrument that attaches to a guitar and can imitate virtually any musical instrument.

"Fifty thousand people a night would walk by and see me play and hear my name, and basically they liked my style," said Hebert. "It was like free ultra advertisement."

Hebert recorded five albums based on his French quarter performances, including "One Man Music," "Take Me to your Love" and "Just Me." He says these albums have been sold all over the world.

As a young adult in the 1970s, Hebert's musical idols were internationally acclaimed Jazz guitarists Wes Montgomery and George Benson.

"Not only did I get to meet Benson, but in 1986 I was the opening act for one of his concerts in Chicago," said Hebert.

Hebert is now in his fourth year playing for The Nobles, a pop band that was formed in the 1950s. The band plays three or four times a week, in various venues from Texas to Florida.

The Nobles have played in countless Mardi Gras balls and perform in the Superdome for Endymion each year.

"Once we did the opening act for Earth, Wind and Fire," said Hebert. "That was pretty special."

Hebert established a reputation as a creative innovator for introducing the synthesizer to New Orleans, and he has built on that reputation with the music he creates with his unique custom-designed guitar.

"Most guitars have six strings. Mine has seven," said Hebert.

"I added a base-line, which I play in between chords. I play the guitar with my fingers. I play base with my thumb, cords with my index and middle finger, and I play the melody with my pinky."

Hebert plays a solo act at Boule Primehouse and Caf/ Paparazzi in Covington, as well as at private engagements all over the country.

"People who heard me play on Bourbon Street have arranged for me to play at their private parties," said Hebert. "Once I performed in Washington, D.C. for some congressmen. Those kinds of things are very profitable."

Hebert has a studio in his home, where he masters CDs and writes music for private clients.

"To 'master' a CD is to basically take out all the flaws from the original recording, and I do that with a computer," said Hebert. "When I write music for clients, it's usually for a commercial or a medical video or something of that nature."

Does Hebert think the Northshore environment is musician-friendly?

"Not compared to New Orleans," said Hebert. "No way. New Orleans is the mecca of Louisiana music.

"The Northshore is just starting to bud as far as the culture and the arts. Covington has the most going for it what with the downtown area and the block parties and all that. The city is starting to come of age in that direction."

Randy Hébert: Thoroughly Technical, Completely Original

See BIO page for excerpts from the article.

Guitar Player Magazine, Ibanez Midi Guitar Profile

Excerpt:

In almost every industry, there is a person who is a best kept secret. Someone who is known to insiders as THE authority on a particular subject. In the music business, these people are looked to for opinion and direction by musicians and instrument manufacturers alike. When they talk, we listen. Randy Hébert knows a lot about the state of guitar synthesis in the real world. He's been playing them far longer (and far more musically) than anyone else in the country.

Fan Comments from Across the Internet:

— "The food was good. The venue was lovely. But I think my favorite part was the music. The Randy Hebert Duo was two guys, one on guitar and another on saxophone. It was amazing how much sound just those two instruments made. I really enjoy jazz, and that's what they played. And it was ALL for a good cause." (Ann Porter)


— "When I lived in New Orleans, I used to go hear a guy back in the mid eighties (86-87ish). He had a midi guitar and a rack of yamamha synths that enabled him to play horn solos, drum solos and fills, keyboards, etc. It was an interesting one man show 'cause he sang all the tunes too. His name was Randy Hebert and he was ahead of his time with his setup and command of music. He played everything too but mainly jazzy things. It was a small intimate upstairs venue in the French Quarter I used to go to when I had a night off from playing myself. Wish I could go back to '86 and hear Randy Hebert play again!" (Wally, aka Wallace P. Gator)


— "One of my favorite MIDI guitarists was Randy Hebert, who did a solo act on 711 Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the '80s. He used a customized Ibanez MC1 into a TX816, which was like multiple DX7's in a rack unit. He also had a Yamaha drum machine. He was a great singer & guitarist, and you'd swear he was playing the whole band on the guitar. He had setup a synth bass sound on the bottom 2 strings and either a grand piano, or DX Rhodes sound on the upper 4 strings. Then he also added drum fills frum above the 12th fret on the guitar. The music was always funky and fun, and he played tricky songs... Stevie wonder's 'That Girl', 'Minute By Minute' by the Doobie Brothers... The TX816 was a fantastic synth. Nowadays those sounds are just a little dated, but lots of people love the '80s sounds." (Gerry O'Dowd)


— "Back to the One Man or One Woman Band concept and Bourbon Street. At least fifteen--maybe twenty years ago, there were two performers that were fixtures in the French Quarter. These one woman and one man acts kept pulling in people night after night for years. Each one would earn more money than was typically paid to a five piece band. The other act was vocal and all guitar driven through synthesizers and the same types of devices that the lady used with her keyboards. I remember the artist's name--Randy Hebert. Randy became a fixture at the very first Margaritaville restaurant/club in the French Market section of the French Quarter which was very close to Cafe DuMonde. It was common for all types of musicians and singers to sit in with either of these two performers. Some of the biggest name performers would ask if they could do a number or more with Randy." (leedybdp, name unknown, Plano, Texas)