Biography
The 9th Ward Marching Band (often styled Ninth Ward Marching Band) is an underground, Mardi Gras–season marching ensemble that emerged from the DIY music and art community of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[1][4][5] It was started by a loose group of friends rooted in the Ninth Ward music scene, including organist, inventor, and performance artist Quintron (Mr. Quintron), who became the band’s principal organizer and de facto leader.[1] Conceived less as a traditional school or civic marching band and more as a costumed, hard‑riffing street spectacle, the project brought together punk musicians, artists, puppeteers, and neighborhood characters who wanted a noisy, mobile outlet for their creativity during Carnival. The group’s home base was the same Ninth Ward milieu that nurtured Quintron & Miss Pussycat’s eccentric organ‑driven shows and puppet theater.[1][4]
The 9th Ward Marching Band typically appears during Mardi Gras and related New Orleans parades, where it is known for loud, guitar‑ and drum‑driven riffs, simple but powerful rock motifs, and an anything‑goes attitude rather than the precision drill and repertoire of high‑school or college bands.[1][4] Accounts of the Ninth Ward underground scene describe the band as a key annual tradition, with Quintron “continu[ing] to lead the hard rock‑riff‑driven Ninth Ward Marching Band” through Carnival, embodying the neighborhood’s irreverent, community‑first approach to music and performance.[4][5] Though the band has not sought mainstream recording careers or major‑label releases and remains largely undocumented on streaming platforms, it occupies a cult place in New Orleans’ post‑Katrina cultural memory as part of the resilient Ninth Ward art scene that rebuilt its own celebrations in the wake of the storm.[4][5]
Musically, the band draws from brass‑band street traditions and second‑line culture in its marching, call‑and‑response energy, and parading context, but replaces traditional jazz and funk charts with distorted rock riffs and ad‑hoc arrangements generated by its rotating cast of players.[1][4] Its legacy is less about commercial output than about reinforcing the Ninth Ward’s reputation as a hub for experimental, community‑driven art: writers covering the neighborhood’s underground music after Hurricane Katrina consistently single out the Ninth Ward Marching Band as one of the scene’s emblematic Carnival manifestations, a living example of how local musicians repurposed marching‑band and parade customs for their own off‑center, grassroots aesthetic.[4][5]
Fun Facts
- The band was started by a group of friends in the Ninth Ward music scene rather than by a school or institution, making it more of a community art project than a formal marching organization.[1]
- Writers covering the New Orleans underground after Hurricane Katrina highlight the Ninth Ward Marching Band as one of the neighborhood’s most vivid Mardi Gras traditions, driven by loud rock riffs instead of typical brass‑band charts.[4][5]
- Organist and inventor Quintron, known for his custom instruments and experimental club shows, leads the band, bringing his avant‑garde club sensibility directly onto the parade route.[1][4]
- Accounts describe the band’s performances as tailored primarily to a tight circle of friends and local supporters, reflecting the Ninth Ward scene’s deliberate distance from mainstream indie‑music trends.[4]
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Traditional New Orleans brass bands and second‑line parade culture - Cultural and stylistic template for using marching formations, street parades, and call‑and‑response energy, which the 9th Ward Marching Band adapts in a more rock‑driven, underground context. (General second‑line and Mardi Gras parade repertoire and practice, not tied to specific recordings.) [Long‑standing New Orleans tradition predating the band; influence is ongoing.]
Key Collaborators
- Quintron (Mr. Quintron) - Founding organizer, leader, and core musician from the Ninth Ward underground scene; his broader work with Quintron & Miss Pussycat overlaps personnel, venues, and audiences with the 9th Ward Marching Band. (Live Mardi Gras performances with the Ninth Ward Marching Band; recordings and shows under Quintron & Miss Pussycat that share the same Ninth Ward creative circle.) [Late 1990s / early 2000s through at least the mid‑2000s Carnival seasons.[1][4][5]]
- Miss Pussycat - Frequent artistic collaborator of Quintron; part of the same Ninth Ward DIY community that feeds performers and aesthetic ideas into the marching band. (Collaborative performances and events in the Ninth Ward underground scene alongside Ninth Ward Marching Band appearances during Mardi Gras.[4]) [Early 2000s onward within the Ninth Ward underground scene.[4]]
- Ninth Ward underground music community (various local bands and artists) - Pool of friends, bands, and performers who supplied rotating members, costuming, and organizational support for the marching band as a community project. (Shared Mardi Gras events, house‑party circuits, and Ninth Ward–based performances documented in oral histories and scene overviews.[4][5]) [Primarily early 2000s through post‑Katrina years.[4][5]]
External Links
References
Heard on WWOZ
9th ward marching band has been played 2 times on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.
| Date | Time | Title | Show | Spotify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2026 | 19:09 | little red riding hood | Music of Mass Distractionw/ Black Mold | |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 14:50 | The Cisco Kidfrom Cisco Kid | Bluesw/ DJ Giant |