The journalists celebrating a good story in their local bar at the end of episode 51 of The Wire are listening to none other than Davis Rogan, the formidable pianist, composer, bandleader, DJ, raconteur, and provocateur from New Orleans.

I had the privilege of seeing his band play down there last year, and they tore up the venue, which happened to be a tent in a parking lot next to Ernie K-Doe’s Mother-in-Law Lounge. As the show progressed, the enthusiastic but admittedly small audience apologetically and politely departed to do some other important things, until I was the only one left, slowly sipping a Dixie and self-consciously bobbing my head in time to the music. Completely unperturbed, Davis and his band continued to complete their set, resulting in one of the live performance highlights of recent memory: my own private recital of I Quit, Davis’ rude masterpiece of anti-corporate R&B irreverence.

While you might initially be drawn to Davis’ music because of his hysterical stories and fierce attitude, you’ll end up sticking around for more because it turns out he’s a great pianist and songwriter with a real talent for dragging New Orleans musical heritage through the keyhole into the future.

The song we used in 51 was Do Me That Way, which like I Quit comes from Davis’ self-released album The Once and Future DJ. Other standout tracks are Hurricane and Godzilla v. MLK. The album was completed moments before Katrina hit, and the masters were actually lost because of the storm. Read that story here.

You can also read about Davis getting fired from WWOZ for playing hip-hop here. The artist has a Myspace here, where you can hear several more songs. You can buy The Once and Future DJ here.