The Iguanas

New Orleans, Louisiana's Iguanas wove together the state's eclectic sonic palette, blending blues, Latin, classic R&B, zydeco, Cajun, Tex-Mex, and roots rock & roll. Formed in 1989, the band coalesced around vocalist and guitarist Rod Hodges, whose guitar journey began at age 14 in San Francisco Bay Area blues and rock outfits. During a stint with a Colorado blues group, he reconnected with conjunto music rooted in his mother's Mexican background and, drawing inspiration from master accordionist Flaco Jiménez, added the accordion to his instrumental arsenal. Vocalist and saxophonist Joe Cabral, raised in Nebraska, first encountered music through his father's Mexican band before absorbing Chicago blues, New Orleans R&B, and a robust honking saxophone approach while in college in Montana. Bassist Rene Coman, a New Orleans native, brought recording experience with Alex Chilton, Guitar Slim, Jr., and Willy DeVille, while saxophonist Derek Huston and drummer Willie Panker completed the initial roster.

The Iguanas delivered their self-titled 1993 debut on Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville label, mixing New Orleans funk on "Late at Night," Latin elements on "Para Donde Vas," and Mexican polka on "Take Your Pictures, Your Letters and Your Ring." By the 1994 follow-up Nuevo Boogaloo, Doug Garrison had taken over drums from Panker; Garrison's prior collaboration with Rene Coman in the Alex Chilton band during the mid-'80s fostered deep musical connections, and the pair later worked together in Tav Falco's Panther Burns while Garrison also appeared on Charlie Rich's final jazz-tinged album Pictures and Paintings. Their last Margaritaville effort, 1996's Super Ball, featured a guest appearance by guitarist and admirer Dave Alvin. After issuing 1999's Sugar Town on Koch, the band moved to Yep Roc, rejoined producer Justin Niebank, and released Plastic Silver 9-Volt Heart in 2003. Displaced temporarily by Hurricane Katrina, they regrouped with Niebank and Yep Roc for the measured If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times in 2008. Maintaining a steady schedule of Crescent City gigs and Southeast festival dates, the group waited four years before returning with the lively, Latin-tinged Sin to Sin on Piety Street in 2012. Prior to that studio's closure, they revisited their origins on the 2014 Latin garage rock album Juarez, tracked with Mark Bingham. Regular participants at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Iguanas have released several live sets from the event, among them Live at Jazzfest 2016 and Live at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2019.