An Important Message from American Routes

While we all open our hearts to the people of New Orleans as they cope with the catastrophe of Katrina, we want to share this letter from Nick Spitzer, the host and producer of "American Routes," which is produced in the Crescent City.

To all of our friends, family, colleagues, and listeners,

The city and people we love have taken a hit few could have imagined ... and it's far from over. We are all trying to grapple with where to go, how long to be there, what to do next, and when, if ever, we'll get back to the New Orleans we know and cherish.

First, rest assured that our entire New Orleans staff is safe with family and friends, spread from Birmingham to Oxford (MS), Natchez (MS), Baton Rouge, Lafayette (LA), and Houston.

I, and American Routes assistant producer Jason Rhein, did the final evacuation of the Routes studios in the French Quarter on Sunday. We spent three hours copying essential hard drives, securing future programs-in-progress, laying down plastic sheeting, and barring windows and doors with 2x4s. The studios are up 20 feet on the second floor, and we want to believe that all our original archival tapes (DATs, LPs, 45s, CDs, books, photos, art work, and radio gear) are OK.

We likewise want to believe that our homes are dry, secure, and undamaged.

Neither can be determined with certainty, though the blogs of friends driving by the city and some of the TV footage give us hope.

I hope you all will stick with us in the coming months and lend us your ears and ideas. Next week, we hope to bring you a post-hurricane program from here in Lafayette, LA. Beyond that, we have great new programs devoted to Johnny Cash, Flaco Jimenez, and Eddie Palmieri, and we'll also bring out some encore classics.

If you have thoughts for music, programs, ways to rise above the flood, etc. please e-mail us at mail@amroutes.org. Until that time, the best you can do for us is to keep us in your thoughts, and stay tuned!

— Nick Spitzer, host

You can hear American Routes every weekend on WFUV, Sundays from 5-7pm.