cover story “My dad had committed suicide the last day of school when I was in seventh grade,” Gabel said. “So I kind of fell off the deep end. I was having to go through counseling and they had to put me in a special class because I couldn’t read that well. DJ was in the same class.” Fortuitously, the teacher for that class, Gail Miller, was able to empathize with boys’ individual plights and, over time, she gave them a sense of pride, selfworth and confidence. “She inspired us to get on the right track,” Jones said. “She instilled leadership in us and we took that and kind of ran with it.” “She helped us out a lot. Gave us a second breath,” Gabel agreed. Given the confidence-booster from Ms. Miller, Jones went on to become a stateranked running back for the Northshore High School Panthers football team where he graduated and later enjoyed a successful career in the music industry. Gabel went on to graduate Salmen High School and carved out a niche in the vintage car business, garnering write-ups in widely circulated trade publications. The story of the two boys and their teacher and their success was the subject of an article in the Times-Picayune. It will also be the subject of a documentary Jones and Gabel are creating. The paths of the two longtime friends would converge in the years just prior to Hurricane Katrina when they built a recording studio on Fremaux Avenue in Slidell. However, according to Gabel, the day they were supposed to have their grand opening was the day Katrina made landfall over the St. Tammany coastline. The studio took on six feet of water and everything in it was destroyed, Gabel recounted. It would take more than a decade for them to rebuild but they did and their new RPM Studio is now up and running. Along with the Crab Festival itself, the studio is under the aegis of the company founded by Jones and Gabel: Deep South Entertainment. “That’s what we’re all about: entertainment,” Jones emphasized. “Entertainment for all people, whether they be black, white, Hispanic or whatever. We have entertainment that’s geared to you. We’re not just a one-sided festival. People can look at our lineup and see the different attractions that we have.” Jones also noted that the Crab Festival now markets its own brands of cooking seasoning and bottled artesian water. He is eventually envisioning an entire line of seasonings, barbecue sauces and steak rubs, all bearing the festival name and logo. They will be available for order online and in stores once a distribution agreement can be worked out. Reflecting on their lives and what got them to where they are now, both men acknowledged that the struggle has been worth it. “The way I look at it is ‘What don’t kill me makes me stronger,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t change anything about my life or the way I am. Right now I feel like I can conquer the world and nothing’s going to stop me but death.” Likewise for Gabel. “When bad things happen in your life it isn’t the end of the world,” he said. It’s not over by any means. And you can’t put a price tag on everything either. It isn’t always about money. I tell my kids this all the time.” With one daughter and three teenage sons, two of whom play football for Salmen – the oldest of whom is an honor student set to graduate next year – Gabel passes along this advice to them: “Whatever you do in life, make sure you don’t focus on how much money the job makes. Do what makes you happy and you’ll be the richest man in the world.” As for the Crab Festival, Gabel compares it to “a kid playing with Legos. You play with them until you finish what you’re building then you sit back and look at it. Once it’s up and running it’s great to see all these people having fun, and knowing that next year we’re going to do something to make it even bigger. And that’s the goal: to continuously climb up that ladder and make it bigger and better and get as many people benefiting from this as we possibly can.” For more details about the St. Tammany Crab Festival, visit their website at https:// www.sttammanycrabfestival.com/ and on Facebook. Be on the lookout for details and updates on the full documentary Jones and Gabel are producing. �� 18 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 7
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