The Whirlybird Compound

The Whirlybird Compound Not a place — an underground movement. Folks highly motivated by fun, music, stories, and keeping the fire lit.

Y'all - another late night, can't-get-no-sleep-or-respect, poem...Humor: frequently an act of affection toward the ridic...
09/08/2026

Y'all - another late night, can't-get-no-sleep-or-respect, poem...

Humor: frequently an act of affection toward the ridiculousness of being alive and human.

We’re magnificent. We’re ridiculous.

We contemplate eternity. We fall down the stairs.

We fall in love. We murder each other.

We build religions. We lose buttons.

We seek Eternal Truth. We burn the biscuits.

And somehow, Y'all, the ridiculous doesn’t cancel the profound.

It may actually be one of the ways we recognize it.

Sweet dreams... Nicky Butler

Y'all a late night poem:Return to Your SensesSmell something.Taste something.Touch something.Listen.Look.Breathe.Come ba...
09/07/2026

Y'all a late night poem:

Return to Your Senses

Smell something.
Taste something.
Touch something.
Listen.
Look.
Breathe.

Come back here.

Y’all… “Whispers” may not be the best descriptor.WBRD FIELD REPORT — 1008 AMRadio for the Restless SpiritThis is Nicky B...
08/29/2026

Y’all… “Whispers” may not be the best descriptor.

WBRD FIELD REPORT — 1008 AM
Radio for the Restless Spirit

This is Nicky Butler reporting from somewhere in St. Landry Parish, where, after thirty-six years of rumors, rewrites, false starts, spiritual confusion, and general screwing around, Whispers from the Bayou has actually appeared on Amazon.

Who’da thunk it?

We have confirmed the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGRNZKRF

Authorities are asking family and friends to remain calm.

The book contains:

• An old murder somebody didn’t have enough good sense to leave alone.
• A guru of uncertain warranty.
• A commune with questionable zoning.
• A VW bus with more spiritual authority than mechanical reliability.
• A school bus full of spiritual seekers.
• A suspicious amount of coincidence.
• Several questionable decisions.
• South Louisiana humidity sufficient to bend theology.
• At least one truth nobody can prove.

And enough enlightenment to cause mild dizziness if taken on an empty stomach.

That Little Bastard immediately checked the Amazon sales ranking.

There was a long silence.

“Well?”

“Apparently enlightenment is a niche market.”

After all that, I drove out to the Basin to see Pop Squally.

Figured somebody ought to tell him Whispers from the Bayou had finally made it to Amazon.

Pop was sitting by the fire frying chicken.

I gave him the news.

He nodded.

I asked him whether thirty-six years seemed like an unusually long time to write one book.

He thought about it.

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether he’s finished.”

I left it there.

The paperback is available now.

Buy one.

Read it.

If you understand everything in it, you probably read it wrong.

This has been Nicky Butler reporting for WBRD 1008 AM from somewhere in St. Landry Parish, where a man can spend thirty-six years writing a book—

and Amazon can still deliver that SOB tomorrow before 2 PM.

Who’da thunk it?

Radio for the Restless Spirit.

Keep the fire lit.

Y’all…WBRD FIELD REPORT — 1008 AMRadio for the Restless SpiritY’all, Nicky Butler here.We interrupt our regularly schedu...
08/25/2026

Y’all…

WBRD FIELD REPORT — 1008 AM
Radio for the Restless Spirit

Y’all, Nicky Butler here.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a developing story out of South Louisiana.

The damn book is finished.

Whispers from the Bayou: Southern Gothic Adventures has officially escaped.

Authorities say it took approximately 36 years.

I have been asked what the book is about.

That is not an easy question.

There’s an old murder.

A guru.

A commune.

A school bus full of spiritual seekers.

A VW bus.

South Louisiana.

Some questionable wisdom.

A fair amount of humidity.

And a voice inside JD’s head named That Little Bastard, who at one point offers perhaps the most responsible spiritual advice in the entire book:

“Easy now. Let’s not get carried away.”

Pop Squally doesn’t help matters much.

His general philosophy of storytelling can probably be summarized by this:

“A good story don’t bloom while you’re readin’ it. It blooms on the walk home.”

Which may also be our official excuse for anything in the book that doesn’t make sense immediately.

And somewhere along the road, JD reaches the dangerous conclusion:

“Maybe Babaraj wasn’t all bullsh*t.”

To which That Little Bastard, once again acting as the book’s Department of Quality Control, replies:

“Easy now. Let’s not get carried away.”

That right there may be the whole damn book.

People go looking for answers.

South Louisiana keeps handing them stories instead.

Some are true.

Some might be true.

Some get truer every time somebody tells them.

And every now and then, if everybody would just shut up long enough, something whispers from the bayou.

We’re not promising enlightenment.

We are promising mosquitoes.

Whispers from the Bayou is finally out wandering around in the world.

And, apparently, Jim has decided people should be able to buy the damn thing.

$12 — PDF + EPUB

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/LW5CQTMDUKR64

Once the financial authorities confirm the transaction, a highly sophisticated South Louisiana book-distribution system will swing into action.

Meaning Jim will email you the files.

If you read it and start hearing That Little Bastard yourself—

WBRD assumes no responsibility.

This is Nicky Butler, somewhere in St. Landry Parish, Southwest Louisiana.

Keep the fire lit.

And y’all…

we’re just getting started.

Y’all, here’s Christy with Whirly, a lovable piece of denim art handmade and realized by one of our favorite Artist in R...
08/22/2026

Y’all, here’s Christy with Whirly, a lovable piece of denim art handmade and realized by one of our favorite Artist in Residence, George Gianakopoulos - it will soon be installed in The Bird

LATE NIGHT WBRD REPORT

Nicky Butler here, broadcasting from somewhere in St. Landry Parish where it is officially too late to be making important decisions.

The coffee is cold, the porch light is attracting insects with legal grievances, and one of our cats is nearby loudly arguing with a possum.

Quick Jim report:

One week and a day into the new knee, and the old boy is doing well. Walking, healing, three official PT sessions behind him, making early progress—whatever that is—and complaining just enough to reassure everybody he’s still himself.

He has also developed the dramatic sigh of a man who believes every chair should rise to greet him.

But while the knee’s been rebuilding Jim, Jim’s been finishing something of his own—something dear to his heart.

He’s been working on the damned thing for more than 40 years. He even self-published it once, way before it was remotely ready.

But soon, God willing and Jim quits fooling with it:

Whispers from the Bayou: A Southern Gothic Adventure will finally be let loose among people who love a good story.

Not exactly written. Not exactly discovered.

More like it’s been wandering around Jim’s brain—and South Louisiana—for 40+ years, waiting for somebody foolish enough to pay attention to what Jim was foolish enough to begin.

There’s a murder. A guru. A commune. A school bus. A VW minibus. A bayou or two. Some questionable wisdom. A fair amount of humidity…

And Crazy David.

And somehow, against considerable odds, there’s a whole damn book of adventures Jim is finally proud to let loose.

We even received our first advance review:

That Little Bastard: “I’ve been trapped inside this damn book for over 40 years waiting to make my debut. Three stars. Would’ve been four if he’d listened to me.”

Pop says that’s enough advertising.

So from all of us here at WBRD—

Yes, it’s weird. So pay attention

Y’all — KRVS, KRVS!! help us pass this one around.We just turned on a new little station over at WBRD — Radio for the R...
08/10/2026

Y’all — KRVS, KRVS!! help us pass this one around.

We just turned on a new little station over at WBRD — Radio for the Restless Spirit.

1062 — THE RADIO REMEMBERS

Stories from the people who keep Southwest Louisiana on the air.

And this one is about KRVS.

This isn’t a memorial.

It’s an appreciation station.

For generations, KRVS has helped Southwest Louisiana hear itself — Cajun, Creole, zydeco, blues, roots music, local voices, strange discoveries, old favorites and the people behind the microphone.

We decided we shouldn’t wait until something is gone to start talking about what it means to us.

So we built a KRVS STORY MACHINE.

And the first question is about as simple as it gets:

What do you remember?

Maybe KRVS rode around in your pickup truck for thirty years.

Maybe there’s a DJ you’ll never forget.

Maybe you heard a musician there for the first time who changed what music meant to you.

Maybe you performed there.

Worked there.

Volunteered there.

Listened from your kitchen, your shop, your porch, Lake Charles, Lafayette, somewhere down the bayou — or halfway across the country.

Maybe something completely ridiculous happened on the air that could only have happened at KRVS.

We want that story.

👉 TURN THE KRVS STORY MACHINE:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIhQ4lSMGoxvhWtQLqsVhmmBrRaVjZ4Z-mHQXxkJt_-FO0KQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Answer one question. Answer five. Answer all of them.

A sentence is fine.

A story is even better.

And please — SHARE THIS POST.

Send it to the old DJ.

Send it to the musician.

Send it to somebody who used to work at KRVS.

Send it to the friend who always has KRVS playing in the kitchen.

Send it to somebody who moved away twenty years ago but still remembers what home sounded like coming through the radio.

And while we’re remembering what KRVS has given Southwest Louisiana, we can also help keep the signal alive.

🎙 LISTEN TO KRVS: https://www.krvs.org/

❤️ SUPPORT KRVS: https://krvs.secureallegiance.com/krvs/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=MAIN&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=r7ZyK9McKTWqK20krF35cqUOstgWaB20

We’re not waiting until something is gone to decide it mattered.

Let’s appreciate it while it’s here.

1062 — THE RADIO REMEMBERS
Stories from the people who keep Southwest Louisiana on the air.

WBRD — Radio for the Restless Spirit

Y'all - WBRD 1008 AM — THE VOICE OF THE WHIRLYBIRDCOMING HOME — OF A FEATHERThis is WBRD 1008 AM.Radio for the Restless ...
08/07/2026

Y'all - WBRD 1008 AM — THE VOICE OF THE WHIRLYBIRD

COMING HOME — OF A FEATHER

This is WBRD 1008 AM.
Radio for the Restless Spirit.

We’ve got something coming across the wire from The Whirlybird.

Tuesday night, August 11, Kelly Hunt is coming home.

Some of y’all remember Kelly from March, when she spent a month with us as Artist in Residence. With a little help from Dirk Powell, her room in the Elvis Tower became a recording studio, and before she left, Kelly joined Dirk and Amelia Powell for one of those Whirlybird evenings we’re still talking about.

Well…

she’s headed back.

And this time, she’s bringing Sara Morgan.

Together, they are Of a Feather.

Kelly, from Memphis, and Sara, from McGehee, Arkansas, bring two remarkable voices together in close harmony, moving through Americana, Country, Southern Rock, and the old roots running underneath all three.

Their first songs together—“Wild Cotton” and “No Man’s Land”—give you a pretty good idea of what happens when two strong songwriters discover they’ve got something to say together.

But we have a better idea.

Come hear it in the room.

Of a Feather.
Tuesday, August 11.
7 PM.
The Whirlybird Fiddle Bar.

Ten dollars at the door.
Twelve online.

Come help us welcome Sara for her first visit…

…and welcome Kelly home.

You know how these Tuesday nights work.

A few chairs.

A good room.

Some mighty fine music.

And every now and then…

a beneficial accident.

WBRD 1008 AM.
The Voice of The Whirlybird.

Keep the fire lit.

Y’all, This morning I came across a post here on Facebook from a Hindu page explaining “The Laws of Detachment.”It got ...
06/27/2026

Y’all, This morning I came across a post here on Facebook from a Hindu page explaining “The Laws of Detachment.”

It got me wondering what Pop Squally might say about it.

So I asked Nicky.

This is what he told me…

⸻

One evening we were sitting around the campfire. Pop was frying chicken, the coffee had been on long enough to qualify as an archaeological artifact, and somebody asked,

“Pop… what’s the secret to a happy life?”

Now, I’ve learned not to interrupt Pop when he’s tending a fire or frying chicken. He seems to trust flames and fumes more than words. Usually, the answer shows up about the same time the wood settles.

Pop poked the fire for a while before answering.

“Folks talk a lot about detachment.”

He nodded, smiled, looked up into the cypress trees where the smoke was running its fingers through the branches and hanging moss, and said,

“I reckon there’s some wisdom in that.

But I’ve spent my whole life getting attached.

Attached to old musicians.

Attached to kitchen tables.

Attached to front porches.

Attached to stories.

Attached to places where people gather.

Attached to asking questions.

Attached to curiosity.

Attached to beneficial accidents.

Attached to keeping the fire lit.”

The fellow who had asked the question looked puzzled.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to get attached.”

Pop grinned.

“Oh, I don’t get attached to how things are supposed to turn out.

I get attached to the journey.”

He poured another cup of coffee, poked at the chicken, stared into the blackpot for a moment, and added,

“You know something funny?

The best things in my life all arrived disguised as friendships.”

Nobody said much after that.

Which, if you’ve ever sat around a good campfire, is usually a sign somebody has said something worth carrying home.

So, y’all, I figure sometimes the best answer around a campfire isn’t the one that ends the conversation.

It’s the one that quietly follows you home.

Maybe that’s what we'll call the first law of The Whirlybird:

Become deeply attached to the journey.

Stay lightly attached to the destination.

And keep the fire lit.

06/25/2026

Y'ALL - new broadcast available
WBRD 1044.20 on the dial
Nicky Interviews Nicky #3
THE UNDERGROUND HONKYTONK

For years, Jim has called The Whirlybird an underground honky-tonk.

And, most people assumed he meant it was hard to find.

Maybe that wasn’t what he meant at all.

In this conversation, Nicky Butler explores how gathering places grow—not through advertising, but through friendships, trust, and the unseen connections that keep culture alive.

🎙️ Listen here:
https://wbrd.org/1044-20-underground-honkytonk/

Radio for the Restless Spirit.

Address

Opelousas, LA
70570

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