Most people go through life with the satisfaction of being good at something that is usually tied to their career. But for Donaldsonville Fire Chief Kirk Landry, the success he has experienced while serving as a firefighter has been balanced with his talent as a songwriter and performer.

Landry fronted the regionally-known band The Dick Nixons during the 1980s and early 1990s before it disbanded in 1993, all the while remaining as a member of the Donaldsonville Fire Department.

The Dick Nixons recorded among others, “Paint the White House Black,: an album with themes about former President Richard Nixon written with Landry’s touch of humor and sarcastic twist. The album’s title track video was played on the USA network.

Landry’s love for writing and performing music can be traced back to his days as a student in Ms. Dottie Davis’ eighth grade class at Ascension Catholic.

“It really depends on what your definition of what a musician is,”Landry said with a smile.

Landry and fellow classmate Anthony Marcello caught the writing and performing bug and made use of whatever was available to entertain the other students.

“We called ourselves The 80’s and used to sit out of Ms. Davis’ room and beat on the desks and make up songs about her and a classmate John Oschwald,” Landry recalled. When we got to high school, the nuns really liked it and encouraged us to go to each classroom and perform. When we had a new song, we’d just pull out the desks and beat.”

Word quickly spread about The 80’s and an outdoor concert in front of the student body was scheduled.

“The year the high school auditorium burned down, we played a concert on top of two tables. It became an annual event after 1972, my freshman year,” he said.

The 80’s continued to perform and during their junior year included classmate and former parish councilman Jeff Poche on guitar, “because he really could play guitar.”

“Jeff said, ‘Kirk and Anthony, I’ll teach you how to play guitar if you teach me how to be stupid.’”

Landry and Marcello did gradually learn the guitar and Landry’s passion for songwriting grew also.

Modest about his ability to play, Landry just wanted some accompaniment to his songs, a song list that has grown to over 200 songs.

Landry continued to write music during the late 1970s while pursuing a physical education degree that would lead to teaching. It was then that Landry joined up with the Donaldsonville Fire Department.

“When I first started here, I had no intentions of staying,” Landry said. “But I then became assistant fire chief in 1982 and I felt I had an opportunity to make a difference within the department and the community. I was also given the opportunity to teach in the fire services so cold do both here.”

The music bug continued to bite Landry, prompting him to join local outfit The Nite Flyers with Floyd Ourso, Bill Ourso and Ray Capone.

While the Nite Flyers played local nightclubs, Landry’s songwriting ability caught the ears of Miller Productions out of Crowley.

He signed a seven-year songwriting contract and had his songs recorded by regional favorites Bas Clas and Dash Rip Rock.

The Nite Flyers disbanded leading Landry to his next musical quest.

He formed the Dick Nixons around 1984.

“The Dick Nixons was to music what professional wrestling is to sports.” Landry said.

Describing their music as sounding like “a bunch of coins going through a meat grinder,” the Dick Nixons soon became a statewide hit with college audiences.

Landry was joined by firefighter Chuck Montero (now assistant fire chief) on bass and Johnny Cavalier on sax and percussion.

The band went through five drummers that included Cliff Weber, Bill Ourso, Joe Daigle, Ray Capone and Skip Doran.

One of the band’s trademarks was the “trash kit,” which was used as the band’s drum set.

It consisted of a metal trashcan with a cymbal attached to it on a pole.

“This way all our drummer had to do was play on the down beat,” Landry said.
The word soon spread of the unique brand of rock and roll played by the Dick Nixons. National television exposure and touring that included a stint in France opened avenues for the band.

In 1992, Landry met Sun records founder Sam Phillips, the man known for recording the early Elvis recordings. Landry and crew were invited back to Memphis and recorded their album, “Paint the White House Black.” It was produced by industry heavyweight Jim Dickinson, who had just produced an album for Bob Dylan.

While holding down their jobs at the fire department, Landry and Montero continued to perform until the band disbanded, or took a long hiatus (depending on how you look at it, Landry said) around 1993.

Also, the fact that Landry became fire chief in 1992 made an impact on how many live dates could be played.

Landry continued to write music on his Fender Telecaster and Yamaha acoustic and rekindled his love of performing last year by joining fellow bandmates Anthony Marcello, Chuck Montero, Ray Capone and Floyd Ourso.

Their band, Run Tell Otis, entertained listeners at the 1999 Sunshine Festival. And as they continue to write original music, Landry and the band plan to enter the studio this year.