Slide guitarist Sonny Landreth considers himself one of the lucky ones.
When Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast last August, it narrowly missed Landreth's Louisiana hometown of Lafayette.
Hurricane Rita came even closer. The fierce storm brushed up against the city of 200,000 but managed only to knock out the power and rattle a few windows.
In the end, Lafayette seemed to be the only part of southern Louisiana still standing.
"It was a mess," said Landreth in a phone interview last week from home. "The devastation east and west of us was just mind-boggling."
The 55-year-old musician has since played New Orleans, to a full house no less.
But the city wasn't what it used to be.
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"We played there right before the holidays," he said. "There are parts of the city that are fine, but there are so many other parts that are in total darkness. It is disarming."
Landreth wants Louisiana to get back on its feet and encourages his fans to donate to aid organizations at every one of his concerts.
He plans to do the same at KXCI's Fifth Annual Mardi Gras party at El Casino Ballroom March 3.
The performer's zeal to help his fellow Gulf Coasters should come as no surprise.
Landreth's expert guitar play may be internationally known — Eric Clapton called him one of the world's most advanced slide players — but he is a homegrown musician, born, raised and taught by artists in Louisiana and the South.
Inspired early on by country great Chet Atkins and Elvis Presley's guitarist, Scotty Moore, Landreth's first professional gigs were playing guitar with Clifton Chenier, the undisputed king of zydeco, in the 1970s.
His solo efforts on albums such as "Blues Attack" in 1981 and "Way Down in Louisiana" in 1985 bolstered his reputation as a top-notch slide guitarist, particularly when it came to Louisiana-style electric blues.
Today, it's difficult to keep up with the performer's busy schedule.
In the last two weeks alone he has recorded songs with his pal, producer Mike Post, and laid down tracks for a children's movie produced by Jimmy Buffett.
On top of a busy touring season ahead, including a stop at New Orleans' famed Jazz and Heritage Festival in late April, Landreth also plans on heading to Key West, Fla., at some point to record on Buffett's latest studio album.
"I met Jimmy a few years ago at Jazzfest," Landreth said. "We hooked up and since then I sit and play with him occasionally. It is a bit of a juggling act to get in all the things I have going on these days, but I don't like to miss out on anything."
Landreth has a few of his own albums in the works, including an instrumental release and a straight blues CD, but for now he is touring off of his 2005 release, "Grant Street," the artist's first official live album.
The 11-track set features Landreth's skillful guitar work on hits like the zydeco-influenced "Gone Pecan" and the flavorful "Blues Attack," at the Grant Street Dancehall in Lafayette.
"I really had never accomplished anything like that," Landreth said. "But it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to grab a snapshot of the band on one night out of the year. I wanted to catch us in the heat of the moment and catch things that happen spontaneously that just can't happen any other way.
"I can't possibly play like that sitting on my couch at home. You depend on the audience and their energy. It is a give and a take, and that pushes us to go where we go with it."
Grant Street Dancehall is a longtime comfort zone for Landreth, who plays the venue whenever he can.
But knowing this particular set was being recorded still unleashed the proverbial butterflies.
"There was that obvious pressure of what you are playing is what you get," Landreth said. "And there were flubs here and there, but sometimes you drop the ball and it pushes you another way creatively. I think that is a lot more in the spirit of playing music, and that is what I love about it."
Landreth's Tucson stop is the first of six concert dates that will have him zigzagging the country in March.
KXCI's holiday party comes a few days after actual Mardi Gras celebrations end, but Landreth — who celebrates Fat Tuesday the Cajun/Creole way in Lafayette — says the show will still pack the punch of a Mardi Gras performance.
"It's a time to stop the clock on regular business and cut loose and have a good time," Landreth said. "There's nothing wrong if the show is a few days late. Mardi Gras is a state of mind, anyway."
Quick Take
KXCI's Fifth Annual Mardi Gras party with Sonny Landreth
Also Featuring: Dr. Mojo & the Zydeco Cannibals
When: 7 p.m. March 3
Where: El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th St.
Tickets: $20 with discounts available through Antigone Books, KXCI and Hear's Music. $23 at the door. 623-1000
