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This article originally appeared in Gary Hayman's Zyd-E-Zine on January 7, 1997.
THE BAY AREA CZ SCENE
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by Andrea Rubinstein (updated 6/15/00)
[ Don't miss this very interesting and informative article written by Andrea. She is most knowledgeable about the happenings in the Bay area and has an excellent WEB page that I am happy to link to. --gh ]
I've been dancing in the Bay Area for about 5 years, so this information is from a fairly recent perspective...
The Bay Area Cajun and Zydeco dance scene has been developing since the mid-sixties. A sizable Louisiana Cajun & Creole population emigrated here from Louisiana and brought their music and dance traditions with them. Church dances featured such musicians as Danny Poullard and Queen Ida. The late David Nadel opened Ashkenaz in Berkeley to Cajun and Zydeco music in the eighties. The California Cajun Orchestra, with Danny Poullard, Suzy & Eric Thompson started playing there regularly in 1982 and is in large part responsible for the current popularity of this music in the Bay Area. Ashkenaz now sponsors a C/Z dance mid-week and about one Saturday per month.
Other regular venues currently include:
Bobby's Back Door BBQ, serving up Louisiana style BBQ, red beans & rice, and specials of gumbo, jambalaya or etoufee along with their regular Thursday Zydeco nights. Bobbie's occasionally has Sunday and Saturday night dances as well.
DeMarco's 23 Club in Brisbane with a monthly Sunday evening dance from 6 to 9:30 pm.
Eagle's Hall, a large dance hall in Alameda, featuring a Cajun or Zydeco band every Friday night, with occassional Saturday nights from 9 pm to 12:30 AM with a free dance lesson at 8 pm, and occasional Sunday evenings from 5-9 pm.
In addition to the regular dance clubs, Cajun and Zydeco music is also occasionally featured in the more commercial venues such as Great American Music Hall, Slim's, Biscuit & Blues, the Boom Boom Room and Lou's Pier 47 (all in San Francisco).
To fill these venues on a regular basis, the Bay Area has a wealth of local bands: veterans Queen Ida, her son Freeze Guillory, and her brother, Al Rapone, still play the local scene occasionally. Danny Poullard, another local legend, is currently the accordion player for the award-winning California Cajun Orchestra as well as Danny Poullard and Friends. Danny gave many of the local accordion players their first lessons on that instrument. Also in CCO is Suzy Thompson, (who can be seen playing with Dewey Balfa in J'ai Ete Au Bal) and her husband Eric, who also play in a traditional Cajun band, Aux Cajunals. Billy Wilson fronts three bands: Motor Dude Zydeco, Bayou Pon Pon (Cajun) and Zydeco Slim. Bruce Gordon fronts the Zydeco Flames with vocalist Lloyd Meadows (who also sings with Motor Dude). Andre Thierry, featured in a 1997 Offbeat article on the upcoming generation of Zydeco players, plays accordion for Zydeco Magic and will be playing at the Plaisance Zydeco festival in 1997. Maureen Karpan is the accordion player for Frog Legs (Cajun) and also plays in the Creole Belles (an all-female Cajun traditional band). Ed Luckenbach fronts a very authentic sounding zydeco band, Tete Rouge, that also showcases some of his original compositions. (Editor's Note: Ed Luckenback passed away in 1999 and Tete Rouge has been dissolved.) Gerald Landry fronts the Cajun Bandits, and Andrew Carrier fronts the Cajun Classics. Tom Rigney plays mostly original Cajun compositions in Flambeau. Kent Menard comes up from Los Angeles regularly to play Zydeco here. Tee Fee, with Linda Schmidt and Annie Howard, play a mix of Cajun, Zydeco and swamp boogie incorporating many original compositions. Dana Mandel plays accordion and writes original material for D.P. and the Rhythm Riders. Santa Cruz, Richard Dominque leads Gator Beat, and Crawdaddy plays regularly. Frieda Fusilier plays with the Cajun Fusilliers in the Sacramento area.
The Bay Area also has several annual festivals worth noting. The biggest is New Orleans by the Bay, sponsored by Bill Graham Productions at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View in late June. Patterned after Jazz Fest, the two-day event features 5 stages with Cajun, Zydeco, and New Orleans-style jazz, blues & gospel. In past years, I have seen Beausoleil, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Boozoo Chavis, Sunpie Barnes, Terrance Simian there as well as Zachary Richard, Dr. John, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Al Green. In addition, NOBYB features Cajun/creole cooking in booths located around the amphitheater. One of the highlights for me each year is arriving early on Sunday morning, ordering some beignets, and then joining the others from the regular C/Z dance community to listen to the glorious singing of a gospel choir. The sense of community, thankfulness and joyfulness is overpowering.
"Louisiana Sue" Ramon also runs several festivals throughout the year. In the past, she has held the Gumbo Ya-Ya festival in Napa. and festivals in Vallejo, Vacaville and Sacramento. For the last several years she has held, in Alameda, 2 or 3 day Zydeco Extravangza weekends, with dance and musical instrument workshops, as well as an annual West Coast Cajun-Zydeco awards dance. Sue also tries to bring a Louisiana band to play Alameda's Eagle Hall once a month and has been fairly successful doing so. She works closely booking events with Dana DeSimone, who is also an excellent local dance instructor and responsible for teaching huge numbers of us in the Bay Area how to zydeco.
The Berkeley Farmer's Market has held an annual C/Z festival each August for the past 10 years featuring local bands.
To support these activities are two Cajun/Zydeco music and dance associations. The West Coast Cajun & Zydeco Music and Dance Association is the older organization, with an annual awards dance held in November. The California Friends of Lousiana French Music Association is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and appreciation of Cajun and Creole music and dance. It sponsors dances, house parties, instructional workshops and educational booths at many local festivals.
All this good music and dancing is appreciated by a crowd of about 75-100 on a week night, and about 125-300 on a Friday night (depending on the band). Festivals drawn many more music lovers.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to say something about the Bay Area Cajun/Zydeco dance community. When I first started dancing, I noticed that there was something distinctive at these dances versus the bar and nightclub scene. You saw families and people of all ages. Smoking and drinking were minimal. Everywhere people were smiling and looking quite blissed out. Fashion was secondary; having fun and learning to dance well were the motivators. People came from all walks of life, but what drew them together was a passion for the music and dance. Eventually, as I started meeting people, attending house parties and potlucks, I came to realize how special the whole scene was and have since made many dear friends. We've traveled to festivals together and celebrated holidays, birthdays and other special occasions, as well as supported each other during tragic events. I've come to think of these folks as an extended family (sometimes a squabbling family, but isn't that always the case?), and I feel very fortunate to have joined the party.
[originally posted January 7, 1997, revised June 15, 2000]
