NORTHSIDE SKULL AND BONES GANG FULL
NORTHSIDE SKULL AND BONES GANG PROFESSIONAL

Delectable indulgences of every kind are realized before they have to be discreetly tucked away during Lent, a time of penance. Elaborate masks cover the faces of reality beneath a deep and colorful veil. Mardi Gras might stir up visions of laughter and joy, parades, costumes, beads, and delicious bavarian creme-filled king cakes, but there is a darker side to the festive masquerade. Krewes collect beads, doubloons, stuffed animals, and other “throws” to bestow upon parade-goers as their floats, marching bands, costumed dancers, flambeaux, and their very own royalty strut down St. Extravagant balls are hosted by social clubs and organizations who put on the famous parades of New Orleans Mardi Gras.

NORTHSIDE SKULL AND BONES GANG FULL

Sunpie has a passion for preserving traditions, both musically and culturally, and continues to keep them alive and pass them on to young people each year.While Mardi Gras may be celebrated all over the world as a raucous holiday full of satire, mockery, and breaking from tradition, New Orleans is the only place synonymous with the Carnival season the world over. He played one season in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs (1995).

NORTHSIDE SKULL AND BONES GANG PROFESSIONAL

Sunpie works as a naturalist with the National Parks Service and also had a stint as a professional football player.

He plays zydeco and blues music ('Afro-Louisiana') and currently leads Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots. He is also a multi-instrumentalist musician whose repertoire includes accordion, harmonica, rub board, piano, talking drum, and more. Sunpie is the Big Chief of the Northside Skull & Bones Gang. This feature's narrator is Bruce 'Sunpie' Barnes. The traditions honors the dead, because skeletons are the universal symbol of those who came before us. The Northside honors the family spirits and African ancestral spirits, inviting them to take a walk on Mardi Gras morning. The skull and bone is the literal meaning of carnival the shedding of the flesh. Seeing and hearing them walking down the street is a reminder of your mortality

Many grown adults have vivid memories from childhood of being scared by the Skull & Bone Gang. Their voices and music are primal and frightening. The gang takes the street rituals seriously, knocking on doors and scaring young folks away from the dangers of gun and domestic violence. The gang calls out, letting people of the neighborhood know, 'If you don’t live right, the bone man is comin' for ya,' 'Dead man walking, the bones are walking,' and the ever-present 'You next!' They wake up the 6th Ward before daylight with scary suits and unearthly music: tambourines, cowbells, drumming, calls, and chants. The Northside Skull & Bone Gang revived this tradition in 1991. It is one of the most meaningful and mysterious aspects of Mardi Gras. This African Creole tradition of music and masking predates most Carnival traditions in New Orleans, and traces its roots all the way back to 1819. It’s the Skull & Bone Gang, reminding you just how short your time may be.

In the dimness of the light you may see skeletons walking down your street. Early on Mardi Gras Day, the very first thing you may hear is drumming and chanting.

Northside skull and bones gang