Zydeco New Years Eve Blow Out 2001
(1/1/02) Zydeco fans from the Bay Area and beyond enjoyed
an exhausting 4 days of great music and dance over the 2001
New Year's Eve weekend at Eagle's Hall in Alameda.
Presented by Louisiana Sue, Dana DeSimone and The West
Coast Cajun/Zydeco Music & Dance Association, the
weekend began with a high energy set on Friday night with
Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers from Houston Texas,
who started full force from their opening number, and never
let up. Saturday, the Bay Area's Andre Thierry & Zydeco
Magic played, Sunday was a "Zydeco Shoot Out" with Andre
Thierry laying down the gauntlet to Brian Jack & the
Zydeco Gamblers and New Year's Eve was celebrated in style
with Lil Malcolm & the House Rockers. It was great to
see friends from around the country and it was impossible
to pick a winner among all the bands.
Brian Jack writes & performs some great songs in the
urban zydeco style - fast paced, great harmonies, and
shares some great stage moves with his frontmen Adrian
Zavala (guitar) and (rubboard ) Jody Lemelle . Among the
highlights were "L'Argent", "Step Back - Give Me Some Room"
and "Get it Started".
Andre Thierry was accompanied at times by special guests
Steve Nash on rubboard, Brian Jack on guitar and various
members of Lil Malcolm's band for his sets. Andre moved
effortlessly from one accordion to another playing inspired
renditions of songs ranging from Keith Frank's "Rainbow" to
Clifton Chenier's "I'm Coming Home". He also played bass
for Lil Malcolm on Sunday.
California Cajun Orchestra Says Goodbye on a High
Note
Sat. Dec. 15. After 18 years, the California Cajun
Orchestra (CCO) bid adieu to its many fans. For their final
performance, they were greeted by a packed house filled
with friends both on stage and off. Suzy Thompson explained
that, "The California Cajun Orchestra was put together
around the music of Danny Poullard, and without him, it
feels like the heart has gone out of the band."
It seemed like old times at Ashkenaz this evening. A lot of
folks showed up for this dance who don't come round much
any more, causing Dana Desimone to remark that he
remembered seeing many in the audience when they had hair
and/or when the hair they had wasn't grey. Ouch!
For this special evening, Edward Poullard (Danny's younger
brother), came in from Beaumont, Texas to join the band,
playing fiddler, accordion and singing some soulful tunes.
Former CCO member Kevin Wimmer, (now playing with Balfa
Toujours & based in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) played
fiddle, sang and played a few numbers on the accordion
(including a Keith Frank tune!). Regular band members,
David Hymowitz on drums and Steven Strauss on bass joined
Suzy (fiddle and vocals) and Eric Thompson (acoustic
guitar) in the band's final performance. If you've been
counting, you would see that this made 3 fiddlers on stage,
and in fact, the highlight of the evening was the many
songs from the classic Cajun and Creole repertoire that
were superbly performed triple fiddle style. For many of us
in the Bay Area, these were songs that we learned from and
through Danny, and it was particularly poignant to hear and
see Edward performing them for us one last time in this
particular band. In fact, I was asked by someone if Edward
and Danny were twins, the resemblance is that striking.
The two sets followed traditional Cajun dance hall style,
two-steps alternating with waltzes, with an occasional
blues/shuffle thrown in for good measure. The evening began
with Suzy and Kevin on fiddle, and Edward on accordion.
Suzy, Edward and Kevin all traded off vocals and the songs
were long and jammin'. We were all happily appreciating the
rarity of hearing this material played by two such
excellent fiddlers, when Edward put down the accordion,
picked up his fiddle and upped the ante. We loved it! And
for most of the remainder of the evening, we had 3 fiddles,
no accordion and a lot of happy ears and feet.
What a testimony to Danny Poullard's Bay Area legacy and
what a way to go!
2001 Year in Review
Once again, it is time to participate in that year-end
ritual of looking back and remembering some of the year's
Cajun and zydeco musical highlights both here in the San
Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This year the list includes
my top Bay Area performances, some favorite festivals I
attended this year, my top 10 Cajun and zydeco CDs of the
year, Bay Area CDs of interest plus a little extra
commentary thrown in here and there for good measure. Some
of the CDs mentioned were technically released in 2000, but
since I first discovered them this year, I chose to include
them.
First, though, a fond farewell to several musicians with
strong ties to the Bay Area: 1st and foremost, to Danny
Poullard, without whose gifts and musical generosity, the
Bay Area music scene would not have existed in its present
richness and variety. Also to Bebe Carriere, Andrew
Carriere's father and a talented Creole fiddler. And
finally to Boozoo Chavis, that ornery old man of zydeco,
who was a frequent visitor to the Bay Area.
Top Bay Area Performances:
1) Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys at Eagles Hall in
Alameda (July 27) Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys got
back to their roots at their Eagles Hall performance
playing a dream set of Cajun music and transforming the
venue into a Cajun dance hall for the evening. While SRMP
have over the last few years been venturing into new
directions that is sometimes less immediately accessible to
a crowd of folks mostly wanting to dance, this evening the
band energetically ripped into one Cajun favorite after
another. As always, the musicianship was excellent with
Steve Riley playing accordion, the consummate David Greely
on fiddle (occasionally joined by Steve on fiddle for some
great twin fiddle numbers) and newest band member, Sam
Broussard, lending his incredible talents on vocals and
guitar to the cause.
2) Beausoleil at Ashkenaz in Berkeley (September 13) .The
most affecting performance of the year was Beausoleil's
show at Ashkenaz just 2 nights after the tragic events of
September 11th. Michael Doucet began their Thursday night
set saying "Maybe what we all need more music in the
world." Front men Jimmy Breaux on accordion, David Doucet
on guitar and of course Michael Doucet on fiddle didn't let
the shock of the week get in the way of putting on a
heartfelt performance. I certainly found the evening's
performance profoundly therapeutic, as it allowed me to
absorb some joy to replace that which had been sapped from
me, and as well as to spend some time with the many friends
I had in the dance community.
3) Roy Carrier at Eagle's Hall (September 21) Roy Carrier
brought his chug- chuggin', freight train coming down the
track, get out of my way cuz I ain't gonna let up til you
drop, old time zydeco to Eagle's Hall to the delight and
exhaustion of all those in attendance. It was a great show
of hard-drivin' relentless two-steppin' zydeco music plus
some blues, shuffles and waltzes and a fine introduction to
Roy's style of music for the many in attendance who had not
previously heard Roy play (his last trip to the Bay Area
was 4 or 5 years ago). The mix included fine renditions of
'Allons Danser' and "Found My Woman, two of Roy's signature
tunes.
4) Farewell Performance of the California Cajun Orchestra
at Ashkenaz. Dec 15. After 18 years CCO went out in style,
joined by Edward Poullard and Kevin Wimmer on stage and a
full house of well-wishers in the audience.
Also Worth Mentioning:
J. Paul Jr. at Hamilton's Club over Mardi Gras in
Lafayette, LA. Houston's J. Paul, Jr. put on an incredible
show at Hamilton's Club during Mardi Gras, starting the
evening with traditional zydeco tunes and as the evening
wore on, progressively funking it up with a driving urban
sound tinged with strains of gospel and hip-hop. An
extremely creative musician with strong song-writing
skills, J. Paul is a trail-blazer. He closed Hamilton's
with a fiery rendition of "Where My Soldiers At", a
original tune paying tribute song to the zydeco masters
before him, in which he depicts himself carrying the torch
of the zydeco tradition and moving forward with it. I see J
Paul breathing new vigor into the music and keeping it
fresh, vital and relevant to a younger audience.
Andre Thierry's gigs with Chuck E Bush and Bobby Broussard.
Arguably the most accomplished accordion player in zydeco
today, Andre plays zydeco like it was free-form jam rock or
perhaps jazz. He never plays the same songs the same way
twice, blending tunes, changing up on the rhythm and
remaining incredibly inventive. Watching him improvise with
Chuck E. Bush on bass and Bobby Broussard on guitar, two
musicians who not only keep up with him, but inspire him to
push the limits of his talent, is an absolute delight.
Favorite Festivals of 2001
1) Ft Lauderdale Crawfish Festival (Mothers Day weekend
May). Bigger and better than ever, this South Florida
festival just keeps improving and attracting more and more
dancers. This year's performers included, Roy Carrier &
The Night Rockers, Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp
Band, Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Bruce Daigrepont,
Hackberry Ramblers, Balfa Toujours, Nathan & The Zydeco
Cha Chas , Filé, Savoy/Doucet Family Band, Geno Delafose
(photo) & French Rockin' Boogie, Andre Thierry &
Zydeco Magic, Lil Brian & The Zydeco Travelers, Lil
Malcolm & The House Rockers, Donna Angelle & The
Zydeco Posse, La Bande "Feufollet", T-Mamou, Bayou Teche
Band, Porchdogs, Atlanta Swamp Opera, River City Slim &
The Zydeco Hogs, Murphy's Law, Magnolia Sisters, Zydeco
Bone Shakers, Big Al & The Heavyweights, Willis
Prudhomme, Gris Gris, and Sean Ardoin all playing in
regularly scheduled sets or jam sessions.
2) The First Annual Gator by the Bay Festival in San Diego.
(October) It was amazing to see this festival spring full
blown in less than a year from the vision of Peter Oliver.
The musical line-up and performances were strong,
(including Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Road ,Willis
Prudhomme & Bonne Musique Zydeco, Andre Thierry and
Zydeco Magic, Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin' , J. C.
Labbie Et Ses Amis Cajun, Lisa Haley and the Zydecats, the
San Diego Playboys and Theo and the Zydeco Patrol), the
sound mix and stage lighting were excellent, the site was
beautiful (right on the water front) and thoughtfully laid
out. Best of all, the Main Stage festival tent was arranged
so that both dancers and viewers could have unobstructed
views of the performers. A great addition to the annual
dance calendar.
3) At the 4th Annual Zydeco Jamm, in Crosby, Texas (March),
just outside Houston, I witnessed an event unlike any other
zydeco festival I have been to in the 7 years I have been a
fan of this music. If you can imagine zydeco presented in a
stadium, rock & roll style, with overhead video
screens, over 10 TV monitors presenting the on-stage action
to the fans in the stands, laser light shows, explosions of
flashing lights and smoke machines on stage, fabulous stage
costumes on the performers, 2nd line marching bands &
karate acts sharing the stage while zydeco acts played, and
a squad of dancers looking like cheerleaders choreographed
to zydeco music, you would only have a small sense of what
it was like to be at the Zydeco Jamm, with a crowd of
nearly 10, 000 other zydeco fans. This was zydeco on
another level, to quote Friday night's headliner, J. Paul.
Jr. Other performers during this 2 day event included Lady
Dee, Little Porter & The Zydeco Hustlers and J. Paul
Jr. & The Zydeco Nubreedz on Friday, and Dora & The
Zydeco Badboys Leroy Thomas & The Roadrunners, Lil
Brian Terry & The Travelers, Nooney & The Zydeco
Floaters, Step Rideau & The Zydeco Outlaws, Keith Frank
(photo) & The Soileau Zydeco Band and Rosie Ledet &
The Zydeco Playboys.
4) Big Easy 2001 in Sparks NV.(July) 4 nights and 3 days
included non-stop zydeco & Cajun music, plus a zydeco
dance contest, parades, beads, jazz, brass bands, arts
& crafts booths, and samba schools. After the sun went
down, several bars provided free music by zydeco bands into
the wee hours of the morning. The weather was perfect and
over 500 dancers showed up from all over the country for
this Silver Club Casino and Louisiana Sue Enterprises
production. Bands included Thomas "Big Hat" Fields and Geno
Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie; Texas by Step Rideau
& the Zydeco Outlaws & Brian Jack & the Zydeco
Gamblers; and California by Kenny Menard MGZ & Andre
Thierry & Zydeco Magic. Miss Frieda & the Cajun
Fusiliers and Gold Country Cajun.
5) The 5th Annual Cajun Zydeco Festival at Ardenwood (End
of September) The 5th year was the charm for this Bay Area
festival. Upgraded facilities, including a real stage and a
covered dance floor , and a great line up featuring Jesse
Lege, Edward Pollard and Horace Trahan made this an
unforgettable day.
Top 10 Recordings:
1) TOP CAJUN: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys,
"Happytown". This CD sort of snuck up on me. When I first
heard it, I was disappointed, finding parts of it dense and
cerebral. I put it away for months, preferring to listen to
"Friday at Last", when I needed a SRMP fix. But in
anticipation of the band's summer tour through the Bay
Area, I picked it up again, and with further listening
found it absolutely compelling. The title tune, "Happytown"
(aka Aldus Roger's "Creole Stomp"), has some amazing
fiddling on it by David Greely, and rest of the CD has a
resonance that still surprises me.
2) TOP ZYDECO: Boozoo Chavis, "Down Home on Dog Hill". This
posthumously released CD may just be Boozoo's best studio
recording. With a fantasy band featuring Sonny Landreth on
guitar, and David Greely on fiddle, joining Boozoo's
regular collaborators, Classie Ballou, Jr on bass, Charles
Chavis on rubboard and vocals, and Rellis Chavis on drums,
there are some catchy new tunes here (try not to sing along
to the nursery rhyme-like, "I'm Still Blinkin'" or "Tell Me
What You Want"), and some killer remakes, including
"Johnnie Billy Goat, and "Negre est pas la", all enhanced
by Greely's & Landreth's excellent contributions.
3) Al Berard & Karen England "Feet Off the Ground". Two
fiddles playing old style Cajun-Creole songs, this
evocative CD is absolutely captivating. Go ahead, put this
on your player, close yours eyes and imagine you are
driving through the backroads of SW Louisiana.
4) The Best Recordings of The Touchet Family. The Touchet
Brothers played house dances in South Louisiana during the
1940s. and since then various members of the family have
been playing in this band as the decades rolled by. There
are some wonderful songs on this CD including "The Life I
Thought I Wanted" and one of the best renditions of the
"Ossun Two-Step" I have heard. Here the simple elegance of
what sounds like hand-clapping accents the accordion at the
opening of the song, then the rest of the band kicks in,
and later, the band stands down to let the
clapping/accordian segment repeat itself to breathtaking
effectiveness. There is some fine steel-guitar playing on
this track as well.
5) Creole Connection, "The Masked Band". Keith Frank pays
tribute to his roots on this excellent CD. A Frank family
project which includes Carlton Frank on fiddle, and both
original and traditional songs by Keith Frank as well as
tunes by John Delafose, Canray Fontenot, Roy Carrier and
Clifton Chenier, a CD highlight is the gospel-tinged "Went
Down to the River".
6) Hadley J. Castille, ""Quarante Acres et Deux Mules".
There is some incredible fiddle playing on this CD, which
mixes in the proverbial South Louisiana kitchen sink: Cajun
swing, two-steps, waltzes, blues, ballads plus Nathan
William's zydeco hit "Everything on the Hog is Good" for
good measure. I particularly liked the track "Charivari"
and the rip-roarin' "Le Swing Cajun". More info:
www.whatbayou.com
7) J Paul Jr & the Zydeco Nubreedz, "Who Do You Love?"
This CD grew on me. Initially not as compelling as J Paul'
s last 2 efforts, it is nonetheless a worthy recording that
tracks J Paul's eclectic approach to zydeco. He performs
quite a few songs in an minor key, that lends this CD a
distinctive sound, as kicked off by the title track and I
Don't Know What You Come 2 Do!!! (refrain: I come to
zydeco). Yup!!
8) BeauSoleil, Looking Back Tomorrow: Beausoleil Live!
BeauSoleil's recordings have sometimes disappointed me
because they could not capture the magic of seeing the band
perform live. Well I am happy to report that this CD,
recorded live in concert, succeeds. From the opening notes
of "J'ai Ete au Bal", to "It's You I Love" (the 1st Cajun
tune that hooked me years ago), this CD is a complete
delight.
9) Brian Jack, Give Me Some Room. This Texas band's CD
features a thumping dance beat, driving accordian and
strong vocal harmonies, and some really catchy material
including "Get it Started" , "L'Argent and a cover of Roy
Carrrier's Step Back "Give Me Some Room" .
10) Roy Carrier, "Whiskey Drinkin' Man" Roy Carrier &
the Night Rockers, Not only is Roy a Whiskey-Drinkin' man,
but he's a hard-driving, bat-out-a-hell, freight car comin'
down the tracks accordion playing man as well. There are a
few tracks on this CD, particularly Allons Danser and Rock
It Like Roy that perfectly capture what it is like to be
listening (and dancing to exhaustion) to Roy when he is in
the groove.
CDs of Bay Area Interest
1) Poullard, Poullard & Garnier. With Danny Poullard on
accordion, and his brother Edward on vocals and trading
sharing fiddle honors with D'Jalma Garnier (from File),
this CD is a fine collection of tunes done in the
traditional Creole style.
2) Tete Rouge, Live at Ardenwood, '98, This limited edition
CD was made from a video recording made at Tete Rouge's
September 1998 Ardenwood Cajun/Zydeco Festival performance.
It is thought to be the only existing recording of a
complete set from this band that played regular Sunday
night gigs at Bobby's Back Door in Richmond, CA, from 1997
through 1999. More info: Tete Rouge website
3) Kenny Menard, Live at the Silver Club Big Easy
2001/Sparks, NV. This live recording, made in July 2001 at
the Big Easy street festival, captures Kenny Menard at his
best. Included are great renditions of "Diamonds and
Pearls" and "Lake Charles Connection". More info:
www.mother.com/louisianasue
4) West Coast Mardi Gras Party A collection of songs from
the best of the West Coast bands playing Zydeco, Cajun, New
Orleans R&B, Funk & Dixieland. There are 15 tracks
from 15 West Coast artists, including The Zydeco Flames,
Gator Beat, Andre Thierry, Motordude Zydeco, California
Cajun Orchestra (w/ Danny Poullard), Mumbo Gumbo, Tom
Rigney, Tee Fee & Frog Legs. A good sampler of the
local talent.
Other Noteworthy CDs
1) Sam Broussard, "Geeks" As the new lead guitarist for
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Lafayette-LA based Sam
Broussard adds some virtuoso guitar-playing and sweet
harmonies to this Cajun band's performances. In his debut
solo album, which won the Offbeat 2000 award for best
Country/Folk CD, Broussard has created one of the most
intelligent CDs I've heard in a long time, albeit not in
the Cajun genre. Broussard is a masterful guitar player and
can write haunting melodies that stick in your brain.
However, the strength of "Geeks" is in his characters and
his storytelling. He is an articulate lyricist with a
unique and adult perspective and his songs can be both
brutally direct and wonderfully lyrical.
2) Dan Bern, "New American Language". Five years ago I saw
Dan Bern playing his often hilarious and wonderfully
sardonic acoustic folk music sets at the Freight and
Salvage in Berkeley. Now, backed by a rock band called
"Bernstein and The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy"
which brings to mind Bob Dylan in his Al Kooper days and a
bit of early Bruce Springsteen & Elvis Costello, Bern's
amazingly witty and insightful lyrics shine about God and
politics and love and literature with a new maturity in
this excellent CD.
A Fortnight in Southwest Louisiana
(11/6/01) Southwest Louisiana is a land filled with
story-tellers and I felt like a sponge, trying to absorb
all of them. After spending almost 2 weeks visiting the
Lafayette area (with a short stop in New Orleans), on a
trip that got rescheduled from Festival Acadians weekend
due to the events of September 11, I have to say that this
trip, with no festival crowds and lots of time to make
friends of acquaintances, showed me a side of the place
that I understood intuitively was there, but never quite
saw this clearly. In my past visits, much was masked by the
frenzy of festival-related activities. On this trip it
became evident to me that the music I love so well is
nurtured by community and family ties, and rooted in a
specific place. I felt grateful to be made to feel so
welcome on this journey.
Rather than providing a day by day account of my travels, I
will try to describe this trip in some broad categories:
music, events, people, environment, food and accommodations
and later expand on some highlights. Here is a quick
summary of how I spent my time:
Among the bands I saw this trip were: Zydeco Joe; Steve
Riley and the Mamou Playboys (3x); Geno Delafose and French
Rockin' Boogie (3x); Horace Trahan; File; the Ann and Marc
Savoy Family Band; Kevin Naquin; Keith Frank; Donna
Angelle, Chubby Carrier, the Hardheads; Corey and the Hot
Peppers; Jason Frey & Travis Matte with Lagniappe,
Damon Troy, Hadley Castille, Lee Benoit; plus Sonny
Landreth, Michael Doucet, Jimmy Breaux and members of Le
Band Feufollet jamming with Steve Riley and/or Geno
Delafose at a Red Cross benefit. The list of those bands I
missed because several events were happening simultaneously
included: Zydeco Force, Chris Ardoin, J Paul, Sean Ardoin,
Thomas Fields; Roy Carrier and Willis Prudhomme.
Among the events I attended were: the Cajun Folk Life
Festival in Eunice, the Yambilee Parade in Opelousas &
2 Downtown Alive events (with Chubby Carrier and the
Hardheads). I missed the 1st Rayne Creole-Zydeco Music
Festival and the Giant Omelette Festival in Abbeville.
I visited the Floyd's Records and the offices of Flat Town
Music in Ville Platte, a private home music studio in
Lafayette, What Bayou in Opelousas, Avery Island, the
Tabasco factory, and a nature center in Lafayette. I
traveled through many small towns just to put together
names with specific places.
I danced at Whiskey River, Vermillionville, Slim's Y-Ki-Ki,
Randol's, Mulate's, Rock N Bowl, Grant Street Ballroom, El
Sidos & on the streets of Eunice.
I listened to Cajun jam sessions at the Savoy Music Store
in Eunice and at Chris' Po-Boys in downtown Lafayette.
I visited Geno Delafose's ranch and shared gumbo there with
Francis Haymark's Louisiana Zydeco Tours group.
I ate bowls of gumbo, several dozen oysters, po-boys, sweet
potato-boudin pie, crawfish etouffee, bread pudding,
biscuits, grits, and homemade peanut butter pie, and still
managed to fit into my jeans.
I had fascinating conversations with musicians, artists,
photographers and others deeply tied to the French speaking
community about the culture, music & language.
I stayed in two remarkable places during this trip: the
Ambassador Hotel in New Orleans and the Blue Moon Guest
House and Hostel in Lafayette.
In greater detail and no particular sequence, here are some
trip highlights:
Music:
A benefit for the American Red Cross at Grant Street was
the musical highlight of this trip. Sharing the stage for
this worthy cause was Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys,
Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Damon Troy,
Michael Doucet & Jimmy Breaux of Beausoleil, Chris
Stanford of Le Band Feufollet, Junior Melancon and the
inimitable Sonny Landreth. The show opened with Damon Troy,
who plays Cajun music a la Wayne Toups, and struts around
stage reminding me of Tom Cruise in "Top Gun" pumped up on
steroids. He was joined by Jimmy Breaux for part of his
set. SRMP were next and played a fine, short set, including
a few songs in which they were joined by Chris Stafford of
Feufollet. Chris left to be replaced by Michael Doucet.
Doucet, always the showman, launched into a frenetic fiddle
duet with David Greely, playing so fast I thought the
sparks coming off the fiddles would set the room on fire.
Steve Riley later joined in on a third fiddle and then
Jimmy Breaux jumped on stage & grabbed Steve's
accordion to add to the madness. Moments later, Sonny
Landreth arrived to cap off the stage dynamics. Needless to
say, the crowd went wild. Afterwards, Sonny Landreth did a
short set with a 3 piece band, followed by Junior
Melancon,. Finally, Geno Delafose & French Rockin'
Boogie came on to close the show. During this set, Geno was
joined by both Steve Riley and Damon Trop for some
additional stage antics. It was one of those magical
evenings that could only happen in Lafayette.
I saw both Geno Delafose and Steve Riley and the Mamou
Playboys several more times this trip and couldn't have
been happier about it. These bands put out enough good
energy to wipe away the cares of the world for a few hours.
Geno played at Slim's to a sparse crowd my first Friday
night in the area, but Saturday night at Whiskey River the
place was packed and by the end of the evening 7 ladies
were literarily dancing on top of the bar. Steve Riley
& the Mamou Playboys appeared as the headliner for the
Cajun Folk Life Festival, a delightful event held outside
the Liberty Theater in Eunice, following Horace Trahan, the
Mark & Ann Savoy Family Band and Kevin Naquin, on a
gloriously sunny day (although it was COLD after the sun
went down). Saturday night SRMP played as "The Boyz" (or so
the light over the stage said) at Whiskey River in
Henderson. They were joined by Kevin Wimmer this evening
and so the show featured a lot of twin and sometimes triple
fiddle numbers (David Greely, Kevin and Steve) as well as
the distinctive guitar playing of Sam Broussard. Danny
Collett also sat in later in the evening to play lead
guitar for 2 or 3 songs. One memorable new song added to
their repertoire was a great version of the Touchet
Family's "The Life I Thought I Wanted". I also enjoyed
their exuberant version of Creole Stomp. During festival
time, I've always found Whiskey River to be too crowded and
smoky, but this weekend, the place was crowded but not
uncomfortably so, and the smoke was not bothersome. Geno's
and SRMP's shows were the best times I've yet spent at this
club.
Jason Frey (accordion) and Travis Matte (fiddle) cut one of
my favorite CDs of 2000 and I finally got to see them this
trip at Mulate's. Their band, Lagniappe, includes Rodney
Thibodaux, who has played with Belton Richard and Aldus
Roger among others, on second fiddle. Frey and Matte play
high energy traditional Cajun music, and even played one of
my favorite songs, Bebe Carriere's "Blue Runner" after we
had talked about it during the break. If you get the
chance, be sure to check out this talented Cajun band.
I caught Zydeco Joe for the first time in several years at
Rock N Bowl in New Orleans. He was joined on stage by
Boozoo's guitarist, Classie Ballou Jr., but unfortunately
his drummer was having problems finding the beat on several
songs, and this really threw the performance off.
Keith Frank played El Sidos while I was there. If not for
the black cowboy hat, you would have mistaken Keith for a
portly banker this evening, as he was dressed in a black
pin-striped suit, white shirt and tie. Keith managed to get
the sound properly balanced in that booming club and it
was, in fact, one of the few times I didn’t need my ear
plugs at El Sidos. Although I found his futzing around
between or during numbers annoying at times, Keith is still
a fine singer and arranger of tunes (he put in a new
Sixties medley the evening I saw him) & creates
memorable accordion riffs. He later switched to drums while
his brother Brad took over the accordion & vocals for a
few numbers.
Cajun Jam Session at Chris' Po-Boys in downtown Lafayette.
A regular Wednesday night jam session, the night I attended
(Halloween) featured 3 accordion players, 6 fiddlers
(including David Greely, plus Chris Segura from FeuFollet),
7 guitar players, plus 2 folks playing triangle and
mandolin, respectively. The space has a good acoustics and
the physicality of being in the room surrounded by all
those instruments was really special. It was also
interesting to watch the mentoring going on between the
more experienced musicians and the beginners in the room.
Zydeco Brunch with Donna Angelle at Café Des Amis was a fun
time. Donna has a bluesy singing style that went down
smooth with my café au lait. The restaurant was crowded,
but unlike during festival times, I was able to get a table
within a few minutes and eat breakfast as well as dance
while I was there.
Chubby Carrier played a no-nonsense set at Downtown Alive.
He brought 10 year fiddler Amanda Shaw on stage for several
numbers. This youngster has remarkable skills and stage
presence for someone her age and basically stole the show.
Randol's had several good bands playing while I was in
town, including Hadley Castille, File, Lee Benoit and Roy
Abshire.
Festivals:
I attended the 56th annual Yambilee Festival in Opelousas.
The highlight was the Grand Louisiyam Parade and the best
float, of course, featured a giant Yam coming down the
street.
Cajun Folk Life Festival: As mentioned earlier, this was a
great festival featuring three stages with continuous
music, great food, and craft booths. The main stage was
located outside, across from the Liberty Theater
Music Business:
One of the highlights of my 2 weeks was visiting the
offices of Flat Town Music, producers of the regional
record labels Maison de Soul (zydeco), Swallow (Cajun) and
Jin (Swamp Pop). My host was the legendary Floyd Soileau's
son, Chris, who is now deeply involved with the family
business. Walking into their building is like entering a
museum. Throughout the lobby are music posters, artifacts,
awards gold records and dozens of binders with original
articles and mementos documenting the musical legacy Flat
Town has been party to. I randomly opened one book and
found the program to Clifton Chenier's funeral mass. Chris
allowed me to enter the music vault where the master tapes
are stored. Looking around were piles of tapes with names
such as Clifton Chenier, Nathan Abshire, Balfa Brothers,
Rockin' Sidney, John Delafose and hundreds of others,
written on the boxes. Chris opened the box containing the
master tape of Rockin' Sidneys "My Toot Toot' for me and I
found it fascinating, having never seen the master for a
recording before. He also played for me, from the master
tape recently transferred to digital, the original
recording of "Blue Runner" by Bebe Carriere, one of my
favorite songs. It was a magical moment. Chris also showed
me how he produced the artwork for their CD covers and
mastered their CDs.
Original Master Tapes for My Toot Toot by Rockin' Sidney at
Flat Town Music. {photo}
Not far behind my visit with Chris Soileau was the
opportunity I got to visit a private recording studio. I
was shown step by step how a song is recorded, mixed and
balanced, instrument by instrument. For a music fan who is
only familiar with the finished commercial product, it was
a fascinating experience and taken with the Flat Town visit
really opened my eyes as to the nuts and bolts of recording
music.
Food
Logan's Family Restaurant, Ville Platte, The $5.50 lunch
buffet is a feast of home-style Cajun cooking. Among the
items I sampled were okra gumbo, crawfish etouffee, deep
fried & breaded pork chops, ham, stewed cabbage, fried
chicken, and more.
Café Des Amis. Breaux Bridge. Breakfast was wonderful, as
always.
Borden's, Lafayette. I was told this ice cream parlor
hasn't changed its décor or menu since the 1950's
Dwyer's Café. Downtown Lafayette. Great breakfasts, now
open 7 days a week. I tried their sweet potato pancakes for
the 1st time.
Dupuy's Oyster Shop, Abbeville. What can I say, $3.50 for a
half dozen oysters, add $1 for a full dozen! Yum!
Cedar Grocery - downtown Lafayette, great Mediterranean
food and inexpensively priced, for when you need a break
from Cajun-Creole specialties.
Ray's Diner, Opelousas. Located in a gas station off Hwy
182 and Judson Walsh, Ray's makes great gumbo and po-boys,
among other home-cooked items.
Lagniappe Too, New Iberia, homestyle Cajun cooking in a
friendly atmosphere. Plus you can get a spinach salad here!
Accommodations:
Some of the places I stayed this time really enhanced the
trip. One was The Ambassador Hotel in New Orleans, which
was created out of 3 masterfully restored 19th century
warehouses and conveniently located just down the block
from Mother's Restaurant on Tchoupitoulas Street. Our room
was so nice, large with exposed brick walls, hardwood
floors and exposed wooden beams, that we didn’t want to
check out. In Lafayette, I stayed at The Blue Moon Guest
House and Hostel, an inexpensive, homely and friendly place
recently opened and located within 2 blocks of the Downtown
Alive site. The facilities include use of a kitchen, washer
and dryer, and even a DSL PC connection for a nominal
charge. Be sure to check out the Chambre de Bois Sec
Ardoin, where this legendary musician stayed a month ago.
One of Blue Moon's proprietors, Catherine Schoeffler, is
the grand-niece of Father Daigle, who authored the
definitive books "How to Speak Cajun French" and compiled
the key Cajun-English dictionary. The desk where he wrote
these seminal works supports a PC in the Blue Moon Guest
House these days. Catherine was in a baking mood while I
was there, and every afternoon I came back to a treat of
brownies or biscuits in a pan labeled 'eat me'. The
highlight of her offerings during my stay was the homemade
sweet potato-boudin pie. The guest house's other owner,
Marc Falgout, sits on the musical committee of Festival
International and has recently started Blue Moon Tours,
which focuses on cultural and natural aspects of Acadiana.
Local Attractions
I visited Vermillionville in Lafayette the day the Blue
Angels were putting on an aerial show. It was quite a
contrast sitting in that restored village as we were buzzed
by reminders of the 21st century.
Tabasco Pepper Factory and Avery Island. The pungent smell
of hot peppers and vinegar fills your nostrils as you turn
the corner approaching the Tabasco factory. During the tour
you saw 4 different varieties Tabasco sauce products coming
down the line to be bottled, capped (by equipment
appropriated labeled as a CaPeM machine), and labeled. Some
of the men's faces were covered while working and first I
thought they were wearing masks to cut down on the smell,
but later I saw a sign that said workers had to wear hair
nets and beard-guards while on the assembly line. Next to
the Pepper Factory was Avery Island, where you can take a
self-directed driving tour, stopping off periodically to
see the sites, including a marsh, where several gators were
sunning themselves, a Buddhist temple, and a bird nesting
area. Unfortunately, there were NO birds while I was there,
only a dozen or so turtles resting in the middle of the
lake (perhaps after scaring the birds away?). Nonetheless,
it was a lovely place to visit.
Conversations
The most interesting aspect of this trip was just talking
to people. If you were willing to ask questions and listen,
people will share with you some of what makes SW Louisiana
so special. Everyone seemed to have time to stop and talk,
and I was frequently invited to join complete strangers at
restaurants, since my accent gave me away as a tourist
immediately, and share my impressions of the area and learn
something about them.
(True story: A friend from the area corrected my
pronunciation of some place names, saying I would sound
like an outsider pronouncing them incorrectly. I just had
to laugh, as if that were the only thing giving me away.
Another friend, also blessed with a New York accent, told
me, "I don’t have an accent, I have a handicap!" Yeah you
right!)
I was particularly fascinated to hear so many personal
tales of how the French language was passed down to the
current generation. In many of the stories I was told the
grandparents spoke little or no English, the parents were
discouraged from speaking French, and the grandchildren,
sitting at the knees of their grandparents (and sometimes
going to immersion schools) were bilingual.
The next time you are planning a trip to Southwest
Louisiana, I would highly recommend that you consider
visiting when there is no special event going on. The heart
of this special place reveals itself in its unhurried
moments, away from the frenzy of festivals and special
events.
The First San Diego Gator by the Bay Festival
(Oct. 23, 2001) I attended the first Gator by the Bay
Festival last weekend in San Diego and I was truly
astonished at what the organizers were able to create from
time of inception (6 months ago) to execution. The musical
line-up and performances were strong, the sound mix and
stage lighting were excellent, the site was beautiful
(right on the water front) and thoughtfully laid out. Best
of all, the Main Stage festival tent was arranged so that
both dancers and viewers could have unobstructed views of
the performers.
The festival was actually held in Chula Vista, a 15 minute
drive from the San Diego airport. Four different areas were
set up at the festival site and spaced far enough apart so
as not to intrude on each other. Besides the main tent, a
smaller tent served as the location for 2 days of
continuous dance lessons. Eleven different instructors took
turns teaching moves from beginning to advanced dance. A
third tent hosted Gospel acts. The fourth tent, home to the
Cajun and Creole Heritage Stage, had lots of seating, all
the better to enjoy the interesting discussions and
demonstrations taking place there. Unplanned but equally
appreciated was the beautiful, sunny weather, in the low
70s- just perfect to dance or hang out in. Besides the
normal festival food (including gumbo, hot dogs &
roasted corn, etc.) there was a nice variety of vendors
serving gourmet soup, fish tacos, vegetarian items and
homemade corn fritters. All the net profits from the
weekend went to the American Red Cross National Disaster
Relief Fund and this worthy organization had an informative
booth set up with educational material about emergency
preparedness. Inexpensive accommodations were available
within a few miles of the festival site.
On the Main Stage, Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Road
Runners opened the festival on Saturday and closed the
festival on Sunday. In between, music was provided by
Willis Prudhomme & Bonne Musique Zydeco, Andre Thierry
and Zydeco Magic, Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin' , J. C.
Labbie Et Ses Amis Cajun, Lisa Haley and the Zydecats, the
San Diego Playboys and Theo and the Zydeco Patrol. On two
nights, the festival sponsored dances at the Bavarian Inn,
a very nice club close to the festival grounds. Andre
Thierry played Friday night and Chris Ardoin played on
Saturday night to packed houses.
Although I spent the majority of my time at the Main Stage,
I did enjoy two excellent sessions at the Cajun and Creole
Heritage tent. The first was an introduction to Cajun
French, presented by Famee Harrington, LSU Francophone
Studies dept, and Prof. Marie-Louis Harms, Chairman
Language Dept, SDCC. Topics explored included the
differences between Cajun French and traditional French, as
well as the ways in which the Cajun community was trying to
preserve their language and pass it down to the next
generation. Later in the day, I listened to Willis
Prudhomme and Bervick Deculus discuss rural zydeco
accordion and music styles. Willis gave a demonstration in
the difference between Cajun and zydeco accordion styles,
as well as talked about how he wrote, "Salty Dog" (with his
brothers in the barn where his mama couldn't catch them
singing the lyrics), and "Cornbread". The latter song,
inspired by the traditional "mamma's little baby wants
shortening bread" was later turned into a hit by Beau
Jocque and Willis played his version and then Beau
Jocques's arrangement.
Some of the musical highlights were:
Willis Prudhomme & Bonne Musique Zydeco Willis
Prudhomme plays with a spryness that belies his 70 years.
One of the few musicians still playing in the traditional
French zydeco style, Willis Prudhomme carries on in the
tradition and spirit of the late Boozoo Chavis and John
Delafose, injecting an earthy humor characteristic of rural
zydeco. Among the highlights of his set were "Salty Dog"
and "No Sad Songs".
Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin'. Chris Ardoin is a member
of a famous Creole musical dynasty: the grandson of Bois
Sec Ardoin, a legendary accordion player whose cousin,
Amédé Ardoin, was a central figure in the development of
both Creole and Cajun music, and the son of Lawrence
"Black" Ardoin, who plays music in the old Creole style.
Chris Ardoin has been performing most of his life and was
only four years old when he first played the accordion in
public. Collaborating with his brother Sean, Chris
developed a distinctive "double clutchin'" beat
characterized by bass drum kicks. That sound was evident
both days of the festival . Along with his dynamic rubboard
player, Harold Guillory, who shared the front line, helped
pump up the crowd and sang lead on several songs, Chris put
on several high-energy sets at the festival and on Saturday
night at the Bavarian Inn. Their hypnotic groove is
enhanced by the bands' excellent singing. In fact, most
tunes were started with the band singing a short acappella
introduction to each song, setting up the melody before the
instruments and funky beat kicked in. Aside from the ever
popular" Lake Charles Connection" and "Stay in or Stay
Out", some set highlights included killer versions of
"Holdin' On", "I Don't Want to Hurt No One", "You're Love
Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher" and closing the show on
Sunday night, the "Amédé Two-Step".
Andre Thierry and Zydeco Magic. Sometimes when the Bay
Area's Andre Thierry plays accordion, you just have to stop
and stare. Arguably the most accomplished accordion player
in zydeco today, Andre plays zydeco like it was free-form
jam rock or perhaps jazz. He never plays the same songs the
same way, blends tunes and changes the rhythm and remains
incredibly inventive. Watching him improvise with Chuck E.
Bush on bass and Bobby Broussard on guitar was the personal
highlight of the festival for me. At one point, Andre did a
change up on an accordion riff and you could see the look
of surprise on Bush's face as he heard what Andre had just
done and adjusted his playing to riff bass patterns off of
it. Andre's sets included the original composition, "My
Way", Keith Frank's "Went Down to the River", and an
absolutely killer version of J. Paul's "Makes Me Wanna
Leave U Alone" with the strongest three-part harmony
singing I've yet heard from this band. Andre said later
this was the first time he had played this song in public.
J. C. Labbie Et Ses Amis Cajun. J.C. has played Cajun music
for more than 40 years and has performed at Diane's Brass
Rail, 2 doors down from the famous Fred's Lounge, in Mamou,
Louisiana for the past 13 years. The band played a set of
no-nonsense, down home Cajun music, highlighted by the
distinctive high tenor of the band's guitarist, Lennis
Soileau and the violin of Elridge Aguillard who was the
1999 CFMA Fiddler of the Year.
Lisa Haley and the Zydekats. Lisa reminds me of the Bay
Area's Tom Rigney, but with a blue fiddle instead of red
boots. Lisa began her high-energy show, at the festival's
request, with the "Star Spangled Banner" accompanied only
by her fiddle.
Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners. Leroy had the
most difficult job of the festival. He had to close the
festival right after two extraordinary sets by Andre
Thierry and Chris Ardoin. To everyone's delight, he pulled
it off. Starting the set by bounding back and forth across
the full length of the stage while pulling his accordion
out to the max over his head, he put on an amazing
performance that had the entire audience on its feet
Special guest Lisa Haley join the band on fiddle for the
2nd half of its set, including one song when his rubboard
player sang lead on John Delafose's 'Co-fe". The crowd went
wild. Leroy chose to close the show and end the festival,
with an encore that included "The Monkey and the Baboon",
the "Amede Two-Step " and a session of "Leroy'" aerobics,
where he had everyone stop dancing, face him and then
follow his stage movements - basically running in place
taking high steps in time to the music.
Credit goes to Peter Oliver, who had the original vision
for this festival, and his fellow Board Members, Maryann
Blinkhorn and Catherine Miller, who took the financial risk
and contributed their time and energy , to make this dream
a reality. The word was that this 1st time festival has
already turned a profit, so with net proceeds going to the
Red Cross, and the dancers and music lovers having a great
time, the weekend was an unqualified success. For those of
you who travel to Cajun and zydeco festivals, mark your
2002 calendars now!
The Lost Weekend: Bay Area Appearances by Horace
Trahan, Edward Poullard and Jesse Lege.
(Oct 2, 2001) Call it the lost weekend. There was so much
good music going on in the Bay Area for lovers of Cajun and
zydeco music, that I can't imagine you didn't get your
fill, and then some to top it off! To begin with, Horace
Trahan and the New Ossum Express played their old style
zydeco at 3 Bay Area gigs: The Powerhouse in Sebastopol on
Wednesday night, Eagle's Hall in Alameda on Friday night,
and at the 5th Annual Ardenwood Festival in Fremont on
Saturday. Danny Poullard's brother, Edward, and Jesse Lege
performed at Ardenwood on Saturday afternoon, moved the
party to Ashkenaz in Berkeley on Saturday night and then
played again at DeMarco's 23 Club in Brisbane on Sunday
afternoon. Local bands including Andre Thierry, Gator Beat,
Motor Dude Zydeco, and California Cajun Orchestra filled in
any spare moments you might have had. I caught all the
shows, except for Ashkenaz, and had a blast.
Horace Trahan originally gained prominence in Cajun music
circles as a teenager. In 1999, with the encouragement of
Geno Delafose, he started exploring zydeco music and has
been a big hit in the Southwest Louisiana, playing
accordion and singing in the traditional French style. His
band is tight musically with a ragged singing style that is
both charming and disarming. At one point I felt like I was
listening to zydeco being channeled through The Kingsmen of
"Louie Louie" fame. With their whoops, hollers and assorted
barnyard sounds, goofy choreographed stage show, great
renditions of songs played in the old-time zydeco style
and, of course, the wonderfully silly, "High School
Breakdown", Trahan's shows were high energy and lots of
fun. Some other musical highlights included the more
serious, "Reach Out and Touch a Hand", which Horace
introduced as summarizing the band's attitude, Boozoo's
"Talk About Your Woman", "Monkey and the Baboon", and a
Trahan original, "We Gonna Party on Down". Yup!
The 5th Annual Cajun Zydeco Festival at Ardenwood Historic
Farm, which has been organized as a labor of love by
Maryanne Canaparo, outdid itself this year. Much to
everyone's delight, the large dance floor was covered by a
huge tent, and a real stage replaced the flatbed truck.
More booths were set up, including one with a small
historical exhibit of museum-quality photographs depicting
Cajun and zydeco performers who have played in the Bay Area
since the Seventies. The California Friends of Louisiana
French Music and Ardenwood also had an informational booths
this year. This year's festival was dedicated to Danny
Poullard.
The lineup was well-balanced. The opening act was Gator
Beat who played their Queen Ida influenced gumbo style mix.
Motor Dude Zydeco reunited with Lloyd Meadows on vocals and
performed a crowd-pleasing high energy set that left
everyone buzzing about how fabulous they sounded. Olivia
Thierry joined MDZ to sing a soulful rendtion of "Bon Soir
Moreau". Next, Edward Poullard played accordion with
California Cajun Orchestra, and if you closed your eyes, it
was like having Danny back with us for a few moments.
Edward later switched over to fiddle and played a few twin
fiddle tunes with Suzy Thompson. Then came Horace Trahan
and New Ossum Express who 'Louie-Louied' their way through
a set of party hardy, fun-lovin' old style zydeco much to
everyone's delight. Edward Poullard and Jesse Lege, backed
by the Bay Area Cajun All Stars played some amazing Cajun
music. It was the first time I'd heard Jesse play and he
lived up to his reputation, as an CFMA award-winning
accordion player. Last but not least was Andre Thierry who,
backed by New Ossum Express, displayed his prodigious
talents on all three styles of accordion,
characteristically ornamenting his melody lines with those
lightning fast trills and thrills. The festival closed with
Edward Poullard setting off sparks as he joined Andre on
stage to play a killer version of "Blue Runner". All in
all, great music, great weather, a wonderful setting and a
comforting feeling of community made Ardenwood a big
success this year
The final event I attended over the week was Edward
Poullard and Jesse Lege playing at Demarco's 23 Club with
the Cajun All-Stars in Brisbane. The afternoon began with a
community potluck organized by Betty LeBlanc. When Edward
and Jesse started playing in that space, I was flooded by
memories of Danny and his various bands who called
DeMarco's home for many years. The 23 Club has, in my
opinion, the best acoustics and most down-home atmosphere
of all the Bay Area C/z dance clubs. The club is operating
as DeMarco's again, and some recent remodeling, which
included refinishing and expanding the dance floor, moving
the booths to the upper level, and removing most of the
Lost City pillars and bric-a-brac, has really improved the
place and returned it to its roots. Backing up Edward and
Jesse were Billy Wilson on steel guitar, Steven Strauss on
bass, David "Killer" Hymowitz on drums and Marty Jara on
guitar. Marty in particular had the broadest grin I've seen
on his face in ages, and later commented that this evening
was the most fun he'd EVERY had playing music. Quite a few
other musicians were in attendance, including Queen Ida,
Maureen Karpan, Delilah Lee Lewis, Karen Leigh, and Gerald
Landry, and all but Queen Ida got up and played a few
numbers that night. It felt like 'old times' at the club,
with terrific music, fabulous food and a room filled with
dancers and musicians, and was a wonderful end to a great
weekend.
Rockin' it with Roy Carrier and the Zydeco
Nightrockers
(9/22/01) Roy Carrier brought his chug- chuggin', freight
train coming down the track, get out of my way cuz I ain't
gonna let up til you drop, old time zydeco to Eagle's Hall
on September 21st to the delight and exhaustion of those in
attendance. It was a great show of hard-drivin' relentless
two-steppin' zydeco music plus some blues, shuffles and
waltzes and a fine introduction to Roy's style of music for
the many in attendance who had not previously heard Roy
play (his last trip to the Bay Area was 4 or 5 years ago).
The mix included fine renditions of 'Allons Danser' and
"Found My Woman, two of Roy's signature tunes.
Roy Carrier is a bridge from all that zydeco was to what it
is today. With his own family including Broussards,
Ardoins, and Cheniers, Roy Carrier learned from zydeco's
creators and remains close to his roots. Born in 1947, Roy
was playing rubboard by age six. With his father, Warren
and other relatives and friends that would come by, Roy
played "La-La" at night in the living room. A farm
machinery accident cost Roy half of the index finger on his
right (chord) hand, and he developed a unique technique of
"crossing" chords. Other than his cousin Clifton Chenier,
Roy's Uncle Bebe Carrier had the most influence on Roy's
music.
Special thanks to Dana Desimone and Louisiana Sue for
continuing to take the financial risk involved in
introducing some fine Louisiana zydeco bands to the Bay
Area.
Note: Two of Roy's most popular CDs are Twist and Shout and
Whiskey Drinkin' Man, both on the Right On Rhythm label.
Joy Among the Tears: Beausoleil at
Ashkenaz
(9/14/01) How do you dare to write about music events after
the week we've been through? Just going to an event which
makes you feel good now also makes you feel guilty. Is it
okay to let the joyousness of sounds flow through you
knowing what you know about the current situation in New
York City, Washington DC and Pennsylvania? And how to write
anything at all and not sound trite or clichéd or
disrespectful or just plain dumb?
I've received some interesting feedback after I sent out an
email that Festivals Acadiens would be held, and also had
some soul searching moments with friends wondering if we
should still try to attend that event or not (the airlines
ultimately made that decision for most of us in the Bay
Area, by canceling our flights and rescheduled flights).
Some of you may know I grew up in NYC. You may not know
that my brother-in-law is a captain in the New York City
Fire Department. He has been spending his days at 'ground
zero' and so when I call back East to check in I have been
getting eye witness reports from him. Equally difficult is
talking to my sister who is trying to put on a strong face
for him and her kids. My brother-in-law goes on duty for 24
hours on/24 hour off shifts. He's lost friends and
colleagues in the close-knit family that is the FDNY (his
father was a captain and brother is also currently in the
department). He's a thoughtful, quiet man with whom I've
spend hours over the years discussing philosophy and what's
important in life among other things (we were both big fans
of Joseph Campbell's "Power of Myth", Covey's "7 Habits",
and as recently as last June he turned me on to Andrew
Mather's "Follow Your Heart, Finding Purpose in Your Life
and Work".) Sometimes it takes a shock to truly see and
recognize the heroes you have in your own life. "New
Yawkers" have had a reputation for thinking of their city
as the center of the universe as well as for, to put it
politely, having a certain reputation for brusqueness or
arrogance. While the former may have been proven woefully
too true last week, I think the image of New Yorkers has
been forever changed by recent events in the collective
consciousness. Underneath the loudness and brashness lies
the universal heart that unites us all.
When the organizers of Festivals Acadiens made the decision
to hold the festival as scheduled they wrote, "Evil does
not have the last word". A counselor on the news remarked
that it is human nature to need a mental break from the
overbearing sadness, horror and solemnity of the current
tragedy in order for us as human beings to be able to
function. And so, first, I must offer my apologies to any
of you who think that focusing on music at a time like this
is uncalled for. And then, I offer this, from Michael
Doucet, who said as Beausoleil began their Thursday night
set at Ashkenaz, "Maybe what we all need more music in the
world". I certainly found the evening's performance
profoundly therapeutic, as it allowed me to absorb some joy
to replace that which had been sapped from me, and as well
as to spend some time with the many friends I have in the
dance community.
I feel fortunate that Cajun music just makes me happy.
There is a joyousness and soulfulness present that has
always had the capacity to lift me up and make me smile.
Every time I hear Beausoleil, the band served my first
introduction to SW Louisiana French music in the late
1980's, I feel this way, and Thursday night was no
exception. This is the band's 25th year together and they
have honed their musical skills so as to fill up a room
with wonderfully complex tones and textures. This evening
Cindy Cashdollar joined them on steel guitar (she has also
played with Asleep At the Wheel and Lyle Lovett).
To set the tone of the evening, the band started with
lively song, introduced by Michael Doucet as "Happy Two
Step". In contrast, the 2nd number began with Doucet
playing one of the most haunting, sad and soulful waltzes
on his fiddle you'd ever heard. All you could do was close
your eyes, hold your partner, think of the week's events
and be grateful for the friends, family and brief moments
you all share (at least that was what was going through my
head). From there the mood picked up and the band skimmed
through their vast repertoire of waltzes, two-steps, swamp
pop and those unclassifiable songs they always do (one
sounded like Gypsy music, another made me think I was
sitting at a Paris Bistro on a cool autumn evening). I've
also always admired what I've come to call the "Beausoleil
wave". This is when Michael Doucet sets up a musical theme
on his fiddle and then a few measures later it is
seamlessly picked up by Jimmy Breaux on accordion, and then
finally passed over to David Doucet to complete on the
guitar before passing the melody back to Michael. This
evening the wave included Cindy on the steel guitar and it
was glorious to have it wash over you and cleanse your
spirits.
It was a wonderfully therapeutic evening, in the midst of
all this tragedy and I am so grateful I had the opportunity
to attend.
Zydeco Force and Charivari Play the SF Bay
Area
(9/10/01) What a fine weekend it was for lovers of
Louisiana music as two very different bands made their Bay
Area debuts here. The recently reunited Zydeco Force played
their first gigs at Eagle's Hall on Friday and Sunday
putting down their hard, fast, insistent zydeco beat.
Charivari, a traditional Cajun dance band, put on a
wonderful show at Ashkenaz on Saturday night. I found
myself fascinated by the creative accordion playing of
Jeffrey Broussard of Zydeco Force on one hand and by the
virtuoso fiddling of Mitchell Reed with Charivari on the
other.
I caught the 2nd set of Zydeco Force on Friday and the
entire show on Sunday at Eagle's Hall. The band came out
both nights dressed in matching shirts, and often moved in
Motown-like unison on stage. They staged on a high volume,
funky show, singing in three part harmonies and playing
long, fast songs which featured creative accordion
improvisations on the two steps, plus waltzes and line
dances. I particularly enjoyed the band's versions of
"Farmer's Waltz", and "Morning Train", the latter with
their added vocal stylings riffing rhythmically and
repetitively off the word "hop". Zydeco Force also played a
wondrous instrumental called "Japanese Zydeco" which
strange as it sounds, sounds exactly as is stated, with the
melody's chordal arrangement sounding very Japanese indeed.
Jeffrey Broussard really soared with his intricate
accordion playing on this number.
Charivari was in the Bay Area to perform at a private
corporate gig, and we were fortunate enough to have them
scheduled to play an evening show at Ashkenaz before
heading back home to Louisiana. The band plays traditional,
down home Cajun dance hall music and includes in their
repetoire waltzes, two-steps, twin fiddle tunes and Creole
songs from all of the old masters as well as their own
compositions. Most impressive were the fiddle playing of
Mitchell Reed and the vocal styling of Randy Vidrine.
Mitchell Reed is an interesting musician to watch. Very low
key in his stage presence, he just stands center stage and
plays his fiddle in an unassuming way, rarely smiling or
making large gestures. But, as they say, sometimes you have
to watch the quiet ones, for his musicianship is
spectacular and his old style fiddling sets off sparks.
Randy Vidrine has one of those Cajun singing styles that
just makes you smile when you hear him. He can hit those
high yelping Cajun pitches like nobody's business. Jonno
Frishberg is the accordionist and also literally played
second fiddle. When he plays accordion he just closes his
eyes and zones out. During the second set, the band played
a series of 3 or 4 twin fiddle tunes which was capped by an
amazing version of Bebe Carriere's "Bluerunner". The band
started by playing the song with Reed setting up the melody
on his fiddle. A few minutes later, the other instruments
stopped and Reed continued on with his fiddle pyrotechnics.
Then with a subtle nod of his head, he stopped and
Frishberg picked up the tune a half an octave or so lower
and much slower. Several minutes later, the whole band
kicked in again and cranked up the energy level. It was an
amazing rendition of this classic Creole tune.
New Directions in Cajun Music: The Bluerunners and Steve
Riley and the Mamou Playboys play the SF Bay Area
(July 31, 2001) It's not often that the SF Bay Area gets
visited by 2 top quality Cajun musicians in the same week.
Zydeco is hot, popular and draws the crowds. Nonetheless,
in the last 7 days, we have been lucky enough to be have
two terrific bands, The Bluerunners and Steve Riley and the
Mamou Playboys, play here. Both bands are deeply rooted in
the Cajun tradition yet are evolving in new directions,
bridging and broadening Southwestern Louisiana genres and
appealing to wider audiences.
To my ears, the Bluerunners, who played at Eagle's Hall on
Friday night, July 27, are the most eclectic of the two
bands. This band, which gets its name from the classic song
by Bebe Carriere, put on a fascinating performance, mostly
performed in French, and including both traditional and
original compositions. As the evening progressed, their
set, a veritable musical chairs of instruments, passed
through genres starting with a sax-based, New Orleans/Queen
Ida sound. One waltz featured a wonderful interplay between
the saxophone and accordion which was masterful. Several
songs later, the sax was dropped in favor of a fiddle.
Several songs were performed in that old-style, creaky
Cajun fiddle playing style, and later the fiddle repertoire
expanded to some more progressive, modern tunes. At which
point, the fiddle was abandoned for a rubboard and the band
went zydeco, followed later by some swamp pop and
straight-on rock and roll. The vocal stylings of band
co-founder, Mark Meaux's, were particularly noteworthy.
With a distinctive, high voice, his Cajun singing initially
made some of us look up from the dance floor and turn to
the stage, wondering where that compelling sound was coming
from. All in all, the Bluerunners' music is very danceable
and the band stays high energy all night long. To my ear,
the band's only weakness (although some may argue that this
is their strength) is that they lack a distinctive,
unifying style that ties all the pieces together.
A few days later, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
(SRATMP), made their first of two Bay Area performances, to
a capacity crowd at Ashkenaz. It may have been cool
outside, but it was a swamp on the dance floor. This was
the band's first Bay Area performance with its newest
Playboy, Sam Broussard, on guitar, replacing the hole left
by the late Jimmy Domegeaux and filled for a while by
Roddie Romero. Sam, formerly with T-Mamou (one of my
favorite Cajun bands), lends a strong guitar presence and
harder edge to the band. He holds his own against
frontsmen, Steve Riley and David Greely, adding some
dynamic, high -energy guitar stylings to the sound mix.
Long-time, rock-steady drummer Kevin Dugas, and new bass
player Blaine Gaspard complete the band.
SRATMP is the contemporary band that, along with
Beausoleil, has been most successful in exporting and
popularizing the traditional syncopated Cajun dance hall
sound to places far beyond Southern Louisiana. Progressive
within the Cajun tradition, the band continues to
experiment and expand their repertoire, adding swamp pop,
zydeco, jure and South Louisiana flavored rock & roll
to the mix. The set they played at Ashkenaz leaned heavily
on the Cajun dance hall songs, included a few swamp pop and
zydeco tunes (including the ever popular Zarico est pas
sale/Clifton Chenier medley), but also ventured deep into
their newer, more challenging, material, from their latest
CD, "HappyTown". In fact, a few of their older songs seemed
to be cut shorter than I remembered them and ended rather
abruptly, as if the band had suddenly grown tired of
playing them.
From "Happytown", the band played the dirge-like Gros
Jean/Big John, which tells the tale of a black man who
waiting to be hung after killing Gros Jean, the man who
stole his women. It's a strong performance piece, but not
really dance material. In the equally serious, Les
vigilants/The Vigilantes, they tell the tale of a man being
stopped on the road to his lover's house by vigilante
riders. Even one of their more upbeat sounding new numbers,
La creve de faim/Starvation 2-Step, has a double-edge to
it. Riley sings to his dance partner in French, "Get your
hands out of my pockets, I'm the one who pays for your fun,
I know how to starve. I don't need your help." The band has
a way with waltzes, and from the same CD, they played the
wistful Mes enfants/My Children, the lively swamp-pop/rock
influenced original, Heat Lightning, and the more free-form
and rhythmically complex rocker, La Pointe aux Chenes/Oak
Point. Riley and Greely walk a tight-rope trying to satisfy
an audience attracted to their dance hall roots while
simultaneously venturing in new directions that sometimes
require more serious attention (and a knowledge of French
or familiarity with translated lyric sheets) to fully
understand the path they are following. It's the challenge
of all adventurous, roots-based musicians, and it is
fascinating to watch their journey.
The Playboy's Friday night show at Eagle's Hall was a big
surprise, especially coming right after the band's
wide-ranging Ashkenaz performance. To quote Monty Python:
"And now for something completely different". Steve told me
before the set they were going to play a lot of Cajun songs
during the evening and he was a man of his word. This was a
dream set for long-time Steve Riley fans and worked
perfectly for the huge dance crowd that showed up. Steve
transformed Eagles into a Cajun dance hall for the night,
as he and the band energetically ripped into one Cajun
favorite after another, with big grins on their faces. With
rock star poise, the band pulled out all the stops. Steve
stretched out his accordion, hanging over the edge of the
stage, with a twinkle in his eye. He also played some fine
double fiddle numbers with David Greely. Sam Broussard was
the sensation of the evening and was given quite a few
opportunities to showcase his incredible talents on lead
and slide guitar. On one of the two zydeco medleys the band
played, he simultaneously tuned the bass string of his
guitar lower and lower while picking out some incredible
riffs. I think everyone I spoke to that night made a
comment to me about how impressed they were by Broussard.
In his laid-back way, he lit up the stage and arguably
stole the show.
Aside from the kick-ass accordion, fiddle and
guitar-playing, the band also showed its mellow side,
playing a beautiful rendition of "The Lover's Waltz",
singing gorgeous three-part harmonies and at times sounding
so good I wanted to stop dancing and just watch them. They
had the audience sing-along to "Allons danser" and towards
the end of the evening brought up to stage Bay Area
accordionist, Billy Wilson, who played, at Steve's request,
Boozoo's "Deacon Jones" and also "Uncle Bud" (David
Greely's fiddle playing flourishes on these songs worked
amazingly well). The band just kept going and going, and
finally, at 12:45 AM, they literally had to be told to stop
by Walter ...but then they still played one more tune, to a
large and happy crowd that hung out until the end. It was
an inspired, over-the-top evening.
The Big Easy 2001 Festival in Sparks, NV
(July 18, 2001) Did you ever have so much fun that your
eyes just crinkle up in pleasure thinking about the time
you had? Well, that was the kind of fun to be had at The
Big Easy 2001 in Sparks, NV last weekend.
The Silver Club Casino in conjunction with Louisiana Sue
Enterprises went all out putting on a fabulous, and free,
street festival in Sparks. The 4 nights and 3 days included
non-stop zydeco & Cajun music, plus parades, beads,
jazz, brass bands, arts & crafts booths, and samba
schools. After the sun went down, several bars provided
free music by zydeco bands into the wee hours of the
morning. The weather was perfect and over 500 dancers
showed up from all over the country…. including Louisiana,
Northern & Southern California, Washington, Colorado,
Washington DC, Minneapolis, Texas & Georgia.
The main dance stage had a fine sound system, and a raised
dance floor. While sunny in the morning and early
afternoon, the dance floor was shaded by buildings for most
of the time the zydeco bands played, a very welcome
occurrence. In the shade, the weather was perfect for
dancing… low 80's no humidity, and cooling to the upper
60s/low 70s as the evening set in. Food and drinks were
reasonably priced and the casinos were always available to
escape to for some air-conditioned comfort, clean restrooms
and inexpensive buffet meals.
One nice aspect of the festival was that, because there was
only one zydeco stage, all the dancers congregated at the
same spot most of the day. This unifying feature made it
easier to see your friends, get to know new dancers and
find dance partners throughout the day. Plus when you were
too tired to dance, you could sit in the shade and be
entertained watching the other dancers. In addition, most
of the dancers stayed at the sponsoring hotel, the Silver
Club, so the lobby was always filled with familiar faces to
chat with.
A parade was held each day and tons of beads were thrown
from the floats and by Louisiana Sue from the zydeco stage.
In addition, a zydeco dance contest and zydeco dance
workshops were held.
The band lineup was terrific: Louisiana was represented by
Thomas "Big Hat" Fields and Geno Delafose & French
Rockin' Boogie; Texas by Step Rideau & the Zydeco
Outlaws & Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers; and
California by Kenny Menard MGZ & Andre Thierry &
Zydeco Magic. Miss Frieda & the Cajun Fusiliers and
Gold Country Cajun played at the smaller Cajun Back Porch
stage.
Most of my time was spent at the Zydeco Dance Stage. Each
band played about a 90 minute set and there wasn't a
"weakest link" in the line-up. Brian Jack, whom I had only
heard perform briefly once before in Texas, especially
impressed me. His band features tight vocal harmonies, some
catchy original tunes (my favorite was L'Argent), a lively
stage show and a beat that stays in that mid-tempo dancing
sweet spot. Andre Thierry, whom we Bay Area folks are very
familiar with, put on several terrific sets with a band
that included most of the all-star crew that accompanied
him on his recent East Coast tour, including Chuck Bush and
Bobby Broussard. Kenny Menard recorded a CD on Friday plus
played each night in the Silver Club Lounge on the 10PM to
2AM late shift. Step Rideau was outstanding. Thomas Fields
and Geno Delafose were also big crowd pleasers.
In addition, the quality of the dance attendees was
fabulous, perhaps attracted by the $500 grand prize, as
well as by the great band lineup. 20 talented couples
entered the dance contest, which was judged by Gary Hayman,
Dana DeSimone and Mona "Zydeco Queen" Wilson (who also
released a dance instructional video during the weekend,
and conducted several dance workshops). I'm sure the judges
had a hard time selecting the winners. First place was
eventually taken by Darius and Sharon Johnson, from the SF
Bay Area; 2nd place by Kent Donley & Ann Burstall from
Louisiana, and third place by Dana Mandell and Kathy
Barrett, also from the SF Bay Area.
For those of you who always knew zydeco dancing was great
exercise as well as great fun, the statistics reported by
my SportBrain, which I was wearing for much of the weekend,
were as follows: over 15 miles on Friday (29000 steps, 1600
calories, with some dances averaging 6 mph and peaking at
over 9 mph); almost 28 miles on Saturday (51000 steps, 2800
calories); and 22 miles on Sunday ( 44000 steps, 2400
calories). (FYI: a SportBrain is a personal-fitness device
that records every step taken in a day. The egg-shaped
gadget clips onto a waistband like a pager. It has a tiny
pendulum inside that counts each step. Each SportBrain
comes with a transmitter that sends the individual's data
to the SportBrain Web site. At the site, each user has a
password-protected page. After the individual's data are
received, the site calculates the number of calories burned
based on the user's height and weight. It posts the results
on the person's Web page located at www.sportbrain.com.
Charts show steps taken, miles covered, calories burned and
high and low activity zones.)
The only sour note to this festival was the abbreviated set
by headliner Geno Delafose, whose performance was
unexpectedly cut short due to a miscommunication over
festival permits between the Sparks police department, The
Silver Club and Louisiana Sue Enterprises.
All told, The Big Easy 2001 was a Big Success. For those of
you who couldn't make it, seriously consider checking it
out next year. Several folks added side trips to Lake Tahoe
and Yosemite to their plans to round out their Sparks
vacation. Or if you can't wait until then, the buzz in
Sparks was about a new West Coast outdoor festival making
its debut this fall: the 1st Annual Gator by the Bay
festival to be held in San Diego the weekend of October
19-21. The festival site is supposed to be fabulous and the
partial band lineup currently includes: Chris Ardoin,
Willis Prudhomme, & Leroy Thomas, J.C. Labbie et ses
amis Cajun from Mamou, LA and Southern California's Lisa
Haley and the Zydecats and the San Diego Cajun Playboys.
Another zydeco band is reportedly in the works. See ya on
the dance floor!
Zydeco From Sea to Shining Sea
(6/30/01) I've been on the road a lot lately. Although I
was unable to attend this year's Long Beach Bayou Festival
or New Orleans by the Bay, my travels have allowed me to
stop in at zydeco dances in Southern California and New
York City as well as attend several great dances at home.
It's been really fun
experiencing the zydeco dance scene in these two coastal
regions and great
to see friends I knew from various festivals on their home
turf.
In late May I was in Southern California for two dances:
Kent Menard
playing in Gardena, and Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco
Roadrunners playing in
Pasadena. Kent played a great set at the Gardena VFW Hall.
The hall
itself had a big wood dance floor and decent acoustics.
Kent was backed by
Bonne Musique. The crowd itself was small, but there were
some fun dancers
there and I really enjoyed the evening. Bonne Musique a new
CD out and
reading the liner notes, I learned that this band was
formed expressly for
the purpose of supporting Louisiana musicians who were
passing through the
LA area and needed a backup band. The CD shows their
versatility and they
did a fine job with Kent.
Leroy Thomas got off to a slow start in South Pasadena due
to some problems
with the sound system. Once those got resolved, everything
started to
cook. The dance crowd again was small but everyone was
friendly. One of the
highlights of this evening for me was actually the venue
itself. The War
Memorial Hall is a lovely Mission style building featuring
high ceilings,
beautiful wood floors, a stone fire place, and large
picture windows which
open up for lots of fresh air. If you ever get to the
Southern California
area and have the chance to go to a dance there, don't miss
a chance to see
this place.
In late June, I was in lower Manhattan listening to Andre
Thierry and Zydeco
Magic, which for this tour was composed of Chucky Bush on
guitar and Steve
"Skeeta" Charlot on drums (both from Beau Jocques' Zydeco
Hi-Rollers band),
Steve Nash on rubboard (formerly with French Rockin'
Boogie), and Bobby
Broussard on bass (from Rosie Ledet). With this powerful
rhythm section,
Andre really cooked. He played both original compositions,
a J. Paul
medley, a killer version of Nathan & the Zydeco
Cha-Chas' "Let's Go" and
closed the show with a Beau Jocque medley that really
brought the house
down. The dance was held at a charming restaurant near
Union Square,
called Le Belle Epoque, which reminded me of a smaller
version of Great
American Music Hall in San Francisco, with lots of
Victorian architectural
details. The crowd was friendly and numbered about 80-100
on this Sunday
night.
I should also mention some great dances I attended in the
Bay Area. In
mid-June I was home long enough to catch an Alameda set in
Eagle's Hall,
featuring Sacramento accordion player, Mark St Mary. I had
never seen Mark
before, so I was very curious to hear how he would sound.
It turns out Mark
has an 'old school' sensibility. He played piano accordion
featuring two
steps and lots of waltzes. His style made me think he may
not have listened
to any zydeco recordings made in the last 10 years. It was
very refreshing,
very danceable and the crowd seemed to really like what
they were hearing.
Later in the month, I saw zydeco poster boy, Geno Delafose,
with French
Rockin' Boogie, play Eagle's Hall to a capacity crowd. As
always, Geno
was the consummate entertainer. He put on a performance
that showcased the
enormous breadth of his musical tastes.from the songs of
his father, John,
to Beau Jocque's "Richard's Club" to a few country songs,
to some delightful
Cajun numbers, where he was joined by the Bay Area's Agi
Banne on fiddle.
The magic from the stage made the heat in the hall that
night seem like
merely an atmospheric touch, lending an authentic Louisiana
ambience to
the evening.
And a mere three days later, I saw Andre Thierry's return
to Eagle's Hall
following his East Coast tour. This Friday night Andre was
two days shy of
his 22nd birthday. Andre's accordion playing, singing and
stage presence
seemed to have taken a few more steps forward following
this tour where,
despite his youth, he was able to command the stage
accompanied by a band
of seasoned zydeco professionals. During the Eagle's
performance, Andre
dug up a few lesser known Keith Frank songs, including the
gospel-tinged
"Went Down to the River" from Creole Connection, which
seemed to suit his
voice and style perfectly. In addition, I especially
enjoyed his virtuoso
cover of "Rainbow" from ""What's His Name" in which Andre
and his drummer
started playing riffs back and forth and I heard tonal
sounds coming out of the accordion that I've never heard
before. Some of Andre's improvisations on songs these days
now makes me think of him as jazz accordionist, whereas he
takes the melodic theme of a song, goes off into the
musical atmosphere, sets off sparks, and then eventually
steers himself back down to earth. No matter how many times
I've heard Andre play, he always sounds fresh and manages
to surprise me.
I must confess though, that no matter how much fun it is to
travel, it is
also great to be home for a while, especially with the
fabulous summer &
fall line-up we have coming up. The bookings at Ashkenaz
and Eagle's Hall
are first class: Steve Riley, Beau Soleil, Balfa Toujours,
Charivari,
Horace Trajan, Zydeco Force, Roy Carrier, Thomas Fields
& Willis Prudhomme.
My thanks to the local producers & in particular Suzy
Thompson, Dana
DeSimone and Louisiana Sue, who work so hard bringing
Louisiana music to
our area
Oh Danny Boy: Danny Poullard, RIP (1937-2001)
5/6/01. It's been a sad time in the Bay Area these past few
weeks. First Andrew Carrier lost his father, Bebe, and then
we lost Danny Poullard, the accordion player who was the
central figure in the development and popularity of
Cajun-Creole music in this part of the country. Danny was
laid to rest on Thursday. Dance memorials were held at two
clubs he was closely associated with, Ashkenaz in Berkeley
and the 23 Club in Bribane, plus the Friday night dance at
Eagle's Hall was dedicated to him. All the events were well
attended, and Saturday's Ashkenaz memorial was packed so
tight you could hardly move. Friends, family and musicians
from both the Bay Area as well as Southern California &
Louisiana were in attendance.
I was unable attend the rosary and funeral, but was told it
was very moving. The tribute at Ashkenaz included an
ofrenda or altar set up in the back room with memory books,
many old photographs, and items of sentimental value placed
on several tables.
What struck me most about the three nights of music was how
many people Danny touched. His musical influence was
enormous and the sheer number of local musicians and bands
that are part of his legacy was astonishing, even when you
intellectually knew about them all. As an example, most
bands on Saturday at Ashkenaz were only allowed to play 2
or 3 songs by way of tribute. Well, the 1st band started at
9:30 pm and the last one end at 2 pm (and there was barely
any time wasted between bands setting up). Among the
musicians performing were Andrew Carrier, Andre Thierry,
Frog Legs, Bayou Pon Pon, California Cajun Orchestra,
Gerard Landry, Dana Mandel, Sauce Picante, Y2 Cajuns,
Creole Belles, Miss Frieda and quite a few others who
learned from Danny. The music was inspired and inspiring.
Andrew Carrier and Suzy Thompson played an amazing version
of Bebe Carrier's Blue Runner. Andre Thierry demonstrated
that he can play Cajun music with the best of them. Two
bands that had been formed from jam sessions at Danny's
carport, Frog Legs with Maureen Karpan on accordion, and
Sauce Picante, played heartfelt numbers. Gerard Landry
fronted CCO with Andrew Carrier on vocals to move the
audience.
The weekend made me realize how I sometimes take living in
the Bay Area for granted - seeing Danny's musical heirs
playing musical chairs on stage with a repertoire that in
many ways he passed down to them was heartbreaking and yet
incredibly moving. Suzy Thompson on Saturday and Betty
LeBlanc on Sunday, with their teams, went all out
organizing these events which reminded us how special Danny
was and what a gift he left us with.
A final story: After the funeral service, everyone had
departed, except two of Danny's closest and oldest friends,
Andrew Carrier and Gary Thibodeux. Andrew pulled out an
accordion and played a slow waltz by the graveyard. I think
Danny & Bebe were looking down on them and smilin'...
Danny Poullard on the Main Stage of Festivals Acadiens 2000
(see photo archive)
Danny Poullard, RIP (1937-2001)
(April 27,2001) Danny Poullard, the heart and soul of the
SF Bay Area Louisiana music scene, had a heart attack this
morning while working in his yard and died. He was 63 years
old and had had a history of heart problems, having just
undergone an angioplasty in December. He was in the process
of being put on the list to receive a donor heart for a
transplant.
Danny was born to a musical family in Ritchie, Louisiana
near Eunice. His father, John, was a farmer and accordion
player who had played with Amede Ardoin, but later moved
the family to Beaumont, TX, when Danny was 13. As a kid in
Beaumont, Danny was teased and called "Frenchy" at school
for speaking broken English. He quickly learned English,
but after a stint in the military, he decided to move to
San Francisco Bay Area in California because he liked the
melting-pot atmosphere there.
Danny didn't take up the accordion until he was in his late
thirties, living in California. His father never wanted him
to as he had once been ambushed, like Amede, coming back
from house dance in Louisiana, and shot. In the early
1960's, Danny began playing bass guitar with Cajun
accordionist John Simeon as part of the Opelousas Playboys.
During this time, he also started playing accordion,
learning his style and repetoire from his father as well as
John Simeon. He eventually formed a splinter group called
the Louisiana Playboys. Both bands built devoted followings
in the Bay Area during this time. After John Simeon's
death, Danny became the leader of the Louisiana Playboys,
performing at church dances in the local Creole
communities. Danny also recalled playing at 'hippie dances'
where he couldn't watch the free-form dancers because they
would throw him off his beat.
In 1982, Danny formed the California Cajun Orchestra with
Suzy & Eric Thompson, to considerable success. CCO has
been playing regular Saturday night gigs for many years at
Ashkenaz in Berkeley, and is in large part responsible for
the current popularity of Cajun-zydeco music in Northern
California. One of their albums, "Not Lonesome Anymore" won
the "Prix Dehors De Nous" (equivalent to a Cajun Grammy)
for best out-of-state band album from the Cajun French
Music Association.
Danny appeared regularly at major Cajun music festivals
around the country and also recorded with Canray Fontenot,
D.L. Menard, and Michael Doucet among others. His last
recording, released just this month, was made with his
brother Edward on fiddle, and D'jamier Garnier of File' on
guitar and called Poullard, Poullard and Garnier (available
on Louisianaradio.com). He also appeared in the films,
"J'ai
Etais Au Bal", and "Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers", both
by filmmaker Les Blank.
Heavily influenced by the playing of Amede Ardoin, Nathan
Abshire, Lawrence Walker, and Aldus Roger, as well as his
father and John Simeon, Danny developed an instantly
recognizable accordion style. Danny not only played music
but was a fine teacher and mentor to many accordion players
across the United States. He regularly taught at the
Augusta Heritage Center Cajun/Creole Week in Elkins, VA. As
the major force in creating the Bay Area Cajun-zydeco
scene, he started a tradition of teaching accordion to
other musicians in the carport of his Bay Area home.
Virtually every diatonic Cajun accordion player in the Bay
Area learned to play from Danny Poullard.
He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered.
(Thanks to Michael Tisserand's Kingdom of Zydeco and Suzy
Thompson for some of this information)
Cards can be sent to:
Ruby Poullard
2925 Camrose
Fairfield CA 94533
Wilson "Boozoo" Chavis, 1930-2001
Boozoo Chavis passed away around 6:30am this morning
(5/5/01) in Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, TX. He was 70
years old. He had been in the hospital since Sunday, April
29 after suffering a mild heart attack in his hotel room
during the middle of the night. He later suffered a stroke
while in the hospital. His last performance was at the
Austin Swamp Romp on Saturday evening.
From Lake Charles, LA, Boozoo is considered one of the
fathers of Zydeco music and his compositions, including his
1955 hit, Paper in my Shoe, as well as Uncle Bud, Dog Hill
and Motor Dude Special are standards of the repertoire.
Paper in My Shoe is considered by many to be the first
modern recording of zydeco. He was wildly popular and
central to the revival of the 'French Creole' music after
World War II that later became known as zydeco.
Boozoo's distinctive sound was a marriage of South
Louisiana's Cajun & Creole French music to Afro-
Caribbean blues played on a diatonic accordion. His
influence was enormous. Whereas Clifton Chenier played
zydeco using the bluesier piano accordion, today the
dominant style employed by the most younger musicians, uses
the smaller accordion that Boozoo championed.
Boozoo began playing house dances around Lake Charles in
the late 1940s. A farmer, horse trainer and jockey who
played dances on the weekends, his quirky songs often threw
in barnyard sounds and personal references.
Wearing his trademark Stetson and apron to protect his
accordion from perspiration, Boozoo was a true original.
His manager, Jack Reich, writes, "If you ever had the
chance to meet Mr. Chavis you saw that beneath that tough
exterior was a gentle man with a kind soul. He played with
more passion and energy than some musicians half his age.
As Boozoo once told me, there's only one Boozoo. 'Don't do
like me. Do like you.'"
Chavis finished recording an album for Rounder Records,
with Cajun blues guitarist Sonny Landreth and fiddler David
Greely, in April.
Boozoo is survived by his wife Leona, six children, 21
grandchildren and
3 great-grandchildren.
If you would like to extend your condolences to the Chavis
Family you can forward cards and letters to:
Mrs. Leona Chavis
115 Petah St.
Lake Charles, LA 70607
Creole Fiddler, Joseph "Bebe" Carriere, 1908-2001
The great pioneering Creole fiddler, Bebe Carriere', passed
away on Sunday, April 22, from a heart attack at the age of
93. Bebe was the father of the Bay Area's Andrew Carrier
and cousin to Roy Carrier.
Bebe and his brother Eraste performed old style 'la la'
music and as the Carriere Brothers formed a bridge from
traditional Cajun to the rural zydeco style. They were from
a sharecropper family in Lawtell and played at mixed
audience house dances around Lawtell in the 1930s. Bebe
made his first fiddle out of a cigar box strung with wires
from a screen. With proper instruments, he played with the
legendary Amede Ardoin, as a teenager. He was so gifted
that a talent scout from a national record label asked him
to come to New Orleans to record, but "I was a young fella,
near 18, and it just kinda slip my mind." With the original
Lawtell Playboys, Bebe often played at Slim's Y Ki Ki in
Opelousas until his retirement in the 1960s.
Bebe Carriere's Cigar Box Fiddle
(photo by Thomas A. Wintz, Jr.) (see photo archive)
Suzy Thompson commented in a note to me on the difference
in the spelling of the family (Carrier vs Carriere' ),
"Bebe and Eraste spelt it the French way (with an e at the
end) but Roy, Andrew, Chubby et al spell it Carrier. Not
sure how Calvin spells his. Same family though. ... Bebe
was the very last of that old generation of great French
fiddlers from SW Louisiana. The end of an era."
Wayne Kahn, who produces Roy's CDs, wrote: "It is sad news
but what brings forth the emotion is the memory of his
beaming smile from the stage at Jazzfest 2 years ago, his
only performance in the city of New Orleans."
I Have Seen the Future of Zydeco
The Original Zydeco Jamm Festival March 16-17,2001,
Crosby, TX
(March 23, 2001) Last weekend I attended the 4th Annual
Zydeco Jamm, in Crosby, Texas, just outside Houston, and I
witnessed an event unlike any other zydeco festival I have
been to in the 7 years I have been a fan of this music. If
you can imagine zydeco presented in a stadium, rock &
roll style, with overhead video screens, over 10 TV
monitors presenting the on-stage action to the fans in the
stands, laser light shows, explosions of flashing lights
and smoke machines on stage, fabulous stage costumes on the
performers, 2nd line marching bands & karate acts
sharing the stage while zydeco acts played, and a squad of
dancers looking like cheerleaders choreographed to zydeco
music, you only have a small sense of what it was like to
be at the Zydeco Jamm, with a crowd of nearly 10, 000 other
zydeco fans. This was zydeco on another level, to quote
Friday night's headliner, J. Paul. Jr. The Texas promoter,
Steve "Red" Delasbour of Across the Board Entertainment,
emailed me before the event and said it would be a big
show. He wasn't kidding or exaggerating. This was a HUGE
Texas-style show, complete with an official Zydeco Jamm
anthem (commissioned from J. Paul Jr. & the Zydeco
Nubreedz ). For the first time I could see what form zydeco
would take to bring this music to a mainstream audience.
Keith Frank
The Lineup: The band line-up for the festival was
extraordinary and included: Lady Dee, Little Porter &
The Zydeco Hustlers and J. Paul Jr. & The Zydeco
Nubreedz on Friday, and Dora & The Zydeco Badboys Leroy
Thomas & The Roadrunners, Lil Brian Terry & The
Travelers, Nooney & The Zydeco Floaters, Step Rideau
& The Zydeco Outlaws, Keith Frank & The Soileau
Zydeco Band and Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys on
Saturday. At the clubs in the evening, you could also go
see Boozoo Chavis, Roy Carrier and Brian Jack, as well as
the festival performers. In addition, Friday night at the
Jamm included a gumbo cookoff, and a dance contest with
prizes ranging from $75 to $250 for which I was asked to be
one of 4 judges. (more about that later).
The Crowd: The crowd cheered, chanted, screamed their
appreciation of the music and bands, danced and was
incredibly friendly and mellow, for so many folks hanging
out for hours. Friday night the crowd exceeded 3000 and on
Saturday I would guess more than 9000 attended. From a
dance perspective, anywhere near the stage was very crowded
during the headliner acts, but if you didn’t mind moving
further back, you could dance between the aisles near your
table (or in my case sometimes on my chair!). As a newcomer
to the area, I found that most of the dancing was with
folks I already I knew from Louisiana, Texas, Denver and
San Diego and there was minimal dance interaction with
strangers, although lots of friendly conversation and
commentary. If you decide to attend next year, I would
highly recommend you bring a dance partner, or come with a
group of dancing friends.
The Festival Grounds: The festival itself was held in the
area of the Crosby Fairgrounds, in what appeared to be a
rodeo site. This large outside arena had a covered roof,
with bleacher seats on the side. The promoters set up well
over a hundred tables and chairs on the main floor, plus
left room for a large wooden dance floor (about half the
size of Alameda’s Eagle Hall), altho had they tripled it,
there would still not have been enough room for all the
dancers. It didn’t matter because by the time the main
bands got to performing, the area in front of the stage was
packed solid with folks who wanted to get up close to the
bands, rock show style. There were also lots of good,
reasonably priced food booths, and booths selling CDs,
festival and band T-shirts, and Western wear. The logistics
to park and get in and out of the festival was well
organized and security was evident but the crowd was so
mellow it almost seemed unnecessary
The Bands: I was really looking forward to seeing many of
the Texas bands whom I’d only known by reputation. These
included Little Porter, Lady D and Dora. I was already a
big fan on the other Texas bands, J Paul Jr., Leroy Thomas,
Lil' Brian and Step Rideau and the Louisiana team of Keith
Frank and Rosie Ledet. Talking to the locals, I discovered
the bands they were most looking forward to were Nooney,
Keith Frank and J Paul. Nooney was mentioned a lot
(including one woman who was overheard shouting repeatedly,
"Nooney, I want to marry you".
The opening act on Friday night was Lady D, who started the
evening with the ever popular "I Got Loaded". She had a
tough task, to get the crowd who was trickling in warmed
up, but as her set progressed, folks started moving to the
dance floor and at one point she even came down from the
stage to join them. Lady D put on a spirited performance.
Act #2 was Little Porter and the Hustlers, who I hadn't
seen before. Because I was a judge for the dance contest
that occurred during their set, I was not able to focus on
their set; however my friends in the audience said they
sounded terrific and thought Porter was very talented.
J. Paul, Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreedz were the headliners
Friday night. J. Paul Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreedz seems to
be a band you either love or hate, because of the direction
they are taking zydeco. This evening they were recording a
CD and video from their show, and what a show it was. From
a performance stand-point, it reminded me of the first time
I saw the Rolling Stones graduate from being a act playing
fairly small venues (in mid-1964), walking out on stage in
sweatshirts, to becoming a full-blown stadium act. Well, J.
Paul had it all this evening - the colored lights,
professional lighting, costumes, props, laser beams &
bursts of white smoke at crucial moments. And the crowd
behaved like a big-time stadium crowd, not just dancing,
but singing along, screaming, waving their arms, and
generally participating in the bigger-than-life moment.
After J. Paul's introduction (with his bandmates teasing
the crowd), J. Paul started his act with a medley of some
of his great compositions, that showcased the band's great
vocalizing & in-your-face style. The only flaw to the
show was the band's excessively long build-up to J Paul's
initial appearance, and later, the extended dramatic
introductions to some of the songs. Part of this may have
been because of the filming and part may have been that the
band is still a relatively new entity and still evolving.
Nonetheless, the talent and ambition is quite evident and
eventually they will figure out the right balance between
showbiz versus getting down to business. Still you couldn't
help but be impressed: watching J Paul, I felt like I had
just witnessed zydeco coming into its own, fully poised and
ready to take on the MTV crowd.
Saturday, Dora & the Zydeco Badboys had the challenge
of warming up the crowd. But it didn’t take long before the
dance floor was comfortably full - good energy but lots of
room to dance. The environment was very conducive to
meeting folks, switching dance partners and watching
everyone's dance style. It was a very friendly crowd.
The good dancing continued into Lil' Brian's set, a Crosby
area hometown boy. I was interested to learn that Lil'
Brian & his band had toured Russia & when I asked
him about it backstage after his set, he said it was a
fascinating trip & that, understandably, very few
Russians were familiar with zydeco music and didn't know
what to expect when they played.
Following Brian was Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco
Roadrunners, dressed up in orange and gold shirts. They
looked and sounded terrific, and were enthusiastically
received by the crowd.
Next up was a band I'd never heard play before, but which
had great word-of-mouth… Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters.
And from their first notes, they lived up to their advance
press. Nooney is an extremely talented accordion player and
vocalist, with a strong command of the stage, and a
dynamic, energetic act. He shows ferocious concentration
when he plays the accordion and yet his interaction with
the crowd is teasing and friendly. The women love him, and
he announced to the gals that they shouldn't be shy to come
up to him when they saw him wandering around the
fairgrounds (yeah, right!). A very tough act to follow. But
the show must go on, and it did, with Step Rideau and the
Zydeco Outlaws.
Step was the absolute best I have ever seen him. The
structure required to play on a big festival stage did
wonders to focus his act. With no time to indulge in the
sometimes free-form instrumental solos the band enjoys when
they have more time to perform, his show was tight and
moved briskly.
Step has some great songs in his repertoire and the band
played them with style. Plus Step has matured into a
commanding stage presence: intense in his accordion
playing, larger than life in his gestures, glorious in his
vocalizations and effective in his interaction with his
many fans. It was a bravado performance.
The last act I saw at Zydeco Jamm was Keith Frank & the
Soileau Zydeco Band (circumstances forced me to leave prior
to Rosie Ledet's set). And this was one of the most
interesting sets to me. I've seen Keith perform similarly
structured shows many times, including last year's New
Orleans Jazz Festival and Long Beach Cajun-Zydeco Festival.
The songs ranged from straight-on zydeco to his
pop-songs-set-to-zydeco medleys. But this was the first
time I understood how brilliantly the show could work. It
seems Keith's set was made to order for an arena setting.
The spotlights and huge stage, with roaring fans in front
of him, was the perfect venue for his show, and the energy
could not be contained. Imagine thousands of people,
shouting back "Keith Frank", when the band sang out "What's
His Name"…. it was spine-tingling. Keith & the band
were dressed in orange shirts covered with Asian designs. I
was backstage as the set started with Keith playing
accordion off stage while the band warmed up the crowd.
During this time, I watched in fascination as Keith
gestured to those on stage to adjust the sound. For the
Zydeco Jamm, Keith had some show-biz moments as he shared
the stage with a karate act. Actually he was part of the
karate act, splitting a board with his foot, and later,
punching through another board with his fist (all I could
think of when he was about to do this was, how could he
risk damaging his hands?). He also brought what may be the
newest member of the Frank family on stage, a 3 or 4 year
old little girl named Julie. She danced around at the front
of the stage, flashing smiles, dwarfed by Keith at her
side. It was an impressive performance by a seasoned
showman with a firm vision of how to present his music.
Judging: Prior to my arrival in Texas I had had some email
correspondence with Steve "Red" Delasbour, the festival
promoter, and when I arrived, Red asked me if I would like
to be put to work. I said sure so he asked me to join the
two local residents, Ron Nelson and Jerry Dial, and Greg
Benusa from San Diego, to judge the dance contest and the
"Battle of the Bands". For the latter, we were given sheets
with criteria to rate, including introduction,
presentation, wardrobe, crowd participation, and
musicianship, and were told to rank each band on each
factor and then add up the scores. For the Friday night
dance contest, during the first few rounds we were asked to
eliminate a certain percentage or number of couples and
then, when we got down to 6 couples, to rank them and
select 3 winners. The actual process was very exciting. The
couples danced to Little Porter and the judges were on
stage looking down on the amazing dancers and enthusiastic
audience. There was such a commotion of activity it was
hard to focus on each couple's particular strength.
Eventually however, we did get down to our semi-finalists,
and remarkably, all 4 judges ranked the top couples in the
same order, with the top 2 couples almost a dead heat. For
me, the winners we chose showed great innovation on some
moves and yet still managed to demonstrate incredible grace
and style in executing ‘the basics’.
The Texas Dance Style: Texas zydeco dancing at its most
uninhibited is something to be seen. The best I can do is
to say it is more down & dirty than what I’ve seen in
Louisiana. A lot of humping and bumping and other moves
that I could not begin to describe and still keep this
review rated PG. Some of the dancers in the dance contest
told me after the judging that they tried to keep their
dancing cleaner during the contest because it was a family
event.
The Cha-Cha Slide: Between band sets, the organizers
provided some great local entertainment, such as
choreographed zydeco cheerleaders, and a marching band, to
name a few examples. In addition, a DJ played a huge
variety of zydeco songs in between acts. But nothing
compared to scene that broke out when the DJ played the
Cha-Cha Slide, an infectious shuffle that is apparently all
the rage, a kick to do, and easy to learn. The slide was
played during each break (about 9 times throughout the 2
day festival) and by the last time, I would estimate about
50% of the crowd was doing it, including the jammed dance
floor, folks dancing between the tables, on the tables, on
their chairs, down the aisles, in the stands, out by the
food booths, and even, it was reported to me, the entire
line of 30+ folks waiting to get into the restrooms. That's
about 4500 people doing the Cha-Cha Slide, folks! It was a
sight to behold.
The Clubs: We only managed to get to one club after the
festival, and that was the grand opening for Club Boozoo.
Brian Jack played Friday night and Boozoo Chavis played
Saturday. The club itself was really nice. Huge murals
(maybe 10 x 10 ft) of zydeco musicians were painted in
shades of black, gray and white on the walls and behind the
stage. The acoustics were good. In addition, there was a
large wooden dance floor (although it needed some
maintenance to make it more slippery), lots of tables and
areas to lean against, a large side bar, and pool tables in
the back. One evening our admission ticket even included
free crawfish and corn! Brian Jack sounded great and I'm
looking forward to seeing him again.
Conclusion: The Zydeco Jamm is a first rate festival, which
in many ways resembled a mainstream rock & roll event.
I was astounded by the size and professionalism of the
festival, impressed by the energy, professionalism and
polish of the bands, and charmed by the enthusiasm and
friendliness of the crowd. If you go mainly to dance, be
sure to bring a dance partner or a group of dance friends,
and you will have a great time. Or just go to watch the
show… you will not be disappointed.
Mardi Gras 2001
I love going to Mardi Gras in Acadiana. It is such a
wonderful mix of music, dance, culture, local traditions,
partying, family, fabulous cuisine, street food and reunion
with friends. In fact, the more I go, the more I value the
extended family that has been built on our shared
outsider's love of this vibrant Cajun-Creole culture.
After a harrowing start, where I was bumped off my flight
connection to Lafayette & told I was going to have to
spend Friday night in Dallas, I was allowed to board the
plane just as they were closing the doors. Others had
similar rough starts getting into Lafayette. Luckily it was
uphill from there.
As with the other Mardi Gras's I've attended, there were
multiple things to do each day, so you had to make choices
between parades, courirs, trail rides, Cajun and zydeco
clubs, street dances, zydeco breakfasts, folk festivals and
other tempting events. You can't possibly do it all, so
when you ran into a friend, the first thing you asked was
"where ya been?' and 'where ya goin'?" A brief (and
incomplete) listing of bands playing during the 5 days I
was in the area included, for Cajun Music: Jambalaya, Lee
Benoit, T-Mamou, Don Fontenot, Kevin Naquin, Steve Riley,
Balfa Toujours, Walter Mouton, Le Bande Feufollet, File,
Bradley Venable, Hadley Castille, Scotty Pousson, Sheryl
Cormier, Joe Simon, Hunter Hayes, Mark & Ann Savoy, and
Richard LeBouef; and for Zydeco: Chris Ardoin, J. Paul Jr.,
Keith Frank, Zydeco Force, Brad Randall, Horace Trahan,
Willis Prudhomme, John Wilson, Step Rideau, Terry & the
Bad Boys and Chubby Carrier.
Everyone experiences Mardi Gras in his or her own way. Some
of my personal highlights from this trip were, in no
particular order:
Balfa Toujours at Whiskey River. Balfa Toujours played
their hearts out in front of an enthusiastic, and packed
home town audience, that included lots of visitors.
Angelle's Whiskey River Landing is on the levy of the
Atchafalaya Basin and behind the stage is a picture window
of the swamp. There was not much room to dance but the
music and energy from the crowd made up for it. Young
Courtney Granger, a great-nephew of the Balfa Brothers, has
developed quite a stage presence and is featured front and
center in the band these days. The double fiddle numbers he
played with Kevin Wimmer were outstanding. The crowd went
wild each of the three times Balfa Toujours played the
Mardi Gras song, the last time wearing Mardi Gras masks.
The music became so inspiring that, in the middle of a
dance, both myself and my partner simultaneously stopped
dancing and started watching the band… the music was THAT
good and dancing became a distraction. Let me tell you,
that has NEVER happened to me before. As the sunset over
the swamp shown through the windows and the band called
forth their joyous music, I thought it doesn’t get much
better than this.
The Church Point Courir and Mardi Gras Dance at their
Saddle Club. This was a lucky bit of serendipity. Our plans
for the morning were to go to Eunice to see Kevin Nacquin.
Unfortunately I mixed up the start time with the end time
of his set, so we needed other plans for the afternoon. A
fortuitous tip send us to Church Point. When we got there,
we were the only outsiders at the local Saddle Club. A very
talented young accordion player, Bradley Venable, was on
stage and we danced among ourselves and with the locals. I
watched in curiosity as a local man scattered cornmeal from
a bag on the dance floor (to make it more slick?) Later a
few more dance gypsies showed up. Halfway through our stay,
the courir started returning to town. This is a smaller
version of the Eunice parade, with riders on horseback and
Mardi Gras decorated flatbeds pulled by trailers hauling
party-goers and port-o-potties. I was fortunate to have a
local resident explain to me some of the local traditions
and urge her friends passing by in the courir to throw
beads to her visitor from California. Because of this I
caught more beads here than I have any other Mardi Gras
festivity I've ever attended. Afterwards, the riders came
into the dance and Don Fontenot took the stage, interrupted
by an award ceremony, which included one award for the
person who caught the most chickens during the run. One
detail from the Saddle Club facility: the restrooms were
labeled Fillies and Studs!
J. Paul Jr. at Hamilton's Club. This was the dance I was
most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. J. Paul
is a very talented musician, who during the evening started
with traditional tunes, including Boozoo's Uncle Bud. As
the evening wore on, he progressively funked it up playing
driving, compelling, gospel and hip-hop tinged music that I
find very progressive and wildly exciting. In my opinion,
he is the one of the most creative forces in zydeco today,
and is moving the music forward in the same way that, most
recently, Beau Jocque and Keith Frank did before him. It's
not that he can't play the traditional repertoire, as he
amply demonstrated, but, as he sang when he closed the show
with "Where My Soldiers At", a tribute song to the zydeco
masters before him, he sees himself carrying the torch of
the zydeco tradition and moving forward with it. I see J
Paul breathing new vigor into the music and keeping it
fresh, vital and relevant to the younger audience. And in
fact, a good part of the audience consisted of his younger
fans who shouted, chanted and screamed their approval of
his performance. J Paul Jr. also appears to be more
comfortable with himself and confident himself on stage. He
does less posturing and has eliminated most of the long,
self-aggrandizing introductions to songs that broke the
momentum of his stage show the last time I saw him.
Instead, during the 4 hour set he played without a break,
he just moves from tune to tune, with few pauses in
between. The flow of his performance has improved immensely
because of this. J Paul is so talented he really didn't
need those James Brown build-ups. Now his music stands tall
on its own merits. Several of my friends who couldn't
understand why I have been raving about this band for the
last year, came up to me after the show, and said they now
knew.
The traditional Mardi Gras Folklife Festival at Tee Mamou
(Iota). Iota puts on a great small town Mardi Gras party.
With traditional Cajun bands on the main stage, lots of
traditional food and crafts booths, and a children's music
tent, this is a great town to experience a traditional
country Mardi Gras. The highlight of the day for me was the
arrival of the Tee Mamou courir, when the costumed adult
and children celebrants come up separately on the stage,
wildly costumed in screen masks and capuchons, to chant the
traditional Mardi Gras song and beg for coins (in exchange
for candy). First almost 100 children in costumes climbed
up onto stage. On the side, men in masks with whips,
ordered them into circles. The children started pounding
the floor and chanting. Then they started breaking up the
concentric circles and moving towards the edge of the
stage. They pounded the floor some more and held out their
hands begging f or coins. If they got one, they threw you a
candy. This ritual was repeated by the adults. Although I
am unclear about the precise background of this particular
tradition (I think it may be a variation on begging for
ingredients for gumbo), it was fascinating to watch.
Café des Amis Zydeco (no) Breakfast with John Wilson &
the House Rockers. The wait was so long by 8:30 AM that we
never got breakfast here, but the Saturday morning Zydeco
breakfast at Café Des Amis is an annual hightlight. The
restaurant is packed with dancers (and non-dancing
tourists) who take up every square inch of space between
the tables to zydeco from 8:30 to noon. This year's music
was provided by John Wilson and the House Rockers, who play
in the traditional zydeco style. As one of the 1st weekend
events, this is also a great time to find out who is in
town for Mardi Gras.
Zydeco Force at Ville Platte. The band sounded great and
lots of dancers made the trip worthwhile. Jeffrey
Broussard's ability to mimic Beau Jocque still gives me
chills. I also admired the "K-Jon" signs on the
port-o-potties.
The Krewe de Canaille Mardi Gras celebration with File at
Randol's. This event was an unexpected delight. A formal
ceremony commenced, in which the Krewe, festivally clad in
glittering purple, green and gold costumes marched out.
Then the jester, prince and princess, and then king and
queen from this and last year 's Mardi Gras were
introduced. Some of the group performed a pantomine while a
Mardi Gras story was read. When File played the Mardi Gras
song, the particpants second linee in concentric circles
and the lights reflecting off their costomes twinkled in a
most delightful way.
Keith Frank at El Sido's. I still can't figure out how
Keith Frank managed to tame the poor acoustics at El
Sido's, but he did and sounded great. No booming bass or
thumping drums… just good clean vocal harmonies and tones
dominated the evening. During the refrain of one song,
Keith sounded like he was yodelling around the melody line.
It was virtuouso singing.
Chris Ardoin at Soileau. The town of Soileau is so small it
is not even on the map. The Mardi Gras party is held at the
end of the community's trail ride in the community center.
This year, there were fewer out-of-towners attending than
last, and the townsfolks were less surprised by our
presence. It made for a mellower event. I also had the
pleasure of meeting Lawrence "Black" Ardoin, Chris's
father, at the dance, who's 1984 CD with Edward Pouillard
(Danny's brother) on Arhoolie Records is a wonderful
traditional Creole recording. Black now manages his son's
band, who adds to the tradition by playing pumped up
original material and occassionally some mainstream rock
songs adapted to a zydeco beat. Chirs was in fine form this
evening.
And of course, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys were
there to close Mardi Gras day festivities at Eunice:
Favorite Quote: "Richard's Club is a Feng Shui nightmare."
(told to a newcomer who was having a hard time trying to
figure out how to settle in her first time at Richard's
Club.)
Best meals: Dinner at Café Des Amis in Breaux Bridge and at
Don's Seafood Hut in Lafayette (still gets my vote for best
gumbo).
And last but not least, visiting with all the folks I know
in the area and from around the country. As I was getting
on my flight home this time, I was really sad to leave. Not
just because I would miss the music and the dancing, but
also because I've made a lot of great friendships and,
sentimental me, I was wishing the extended dance community
wasn't quite so extended during the rest of the year. Until
next time, Happy Mardi Gras and laissez les bon temps
rouler to y'all!.
Beausoleil - Heart and Soul
To many music lovers, BeauSoleil epitomizes Cajun music.
This is the band's 25th year playing together and as
Billboard magazine once wrote, you don't need a "PhD in
fais do-do" to figure out how special they are.
The band may be the tightest ensemble playing in the genre
today; however, if you go to a BeauSoleil concert,
expecting a totally traditional set, you will be
disappointed. Michael Doucet and the band may be Cajun
music's ambassadors to the world, but they have not kept
their ears closed to the broader world of music. As their
numerous recordings, extensive repertoire, and performance
Thursday night, February 1, 2001, at Great American Music
Hall in San Francisco, demonstrates, BeauSoleil has taken
their musical heritage and intentionally enriched it with
sounds and textures from far and wide. The songs ranged
from waltzes and two-steps to some swamp pop and double
fiddle duets. In some numbers you could even hear the
strains of Eastern European, Italian and French melodies.
"We loved old-style French music and vowed to pursue and
preserve this music," Michael Doucet says. "Not in a stiff,
academic manner, but in the way that we had learned it,
straight from the heart and played like one's life depended
on it.
"I can't look at this [Cajun music] like I'm a farmer and I
was born in 1890, because I'm not. I was born in 1951, and
we were the last generation of people who could look before
them and see the culture before it got totally enraptured
by television, by the oil boom.
"The culture is always shedding its skin. I look at it like
a serpent, the culture is continuing to evolve. For me, I
try to encompass it all, what came way before I was born,
and what is current." (from an interview with Michael
Tisserand, author of The Kingdom of Zydeco ).
The other thing I was struck by, on Thursday night, was the
band's astounding virtuosity. After years of playing
together, the band seems to almost collectively breath its
melodic lines. Michael Doucet will set up a theme on his
fiddle, pass it on to Jimmy Breaux on accordion, and then
see it move on to David Doucet's guitar. It looks
effortless but it is stunning in its beauty and magic.
BeausSoleil holds a place in my heart as the first Cajun
band I ever listened and responded too, more than 11 year
ago, and way before I started dancing. As many times as
I've seen them before, I am always freshly surprised on
just how GOOD they sound during a live performance. They
can fill a room with texture and rhythms, like no other.
Credit this sound to front man Michael Doucet's singing,
with his yodels and yelps, and the intense look in his face
when he zones out playing licks on his fiddle, Jimmy
grinning next to him making complex accordion riffs sound
easy, David picking out both rhythm and lead guitar licks
and lending vocal assistance, Al Tharp plucking away on his
funny- looking bass, Billy Ware playing rubboard, &
congas, and Tommy Alesi never letting up on the drumming.
The music makes you feel good, not just in a happy way, but
in a more joyous, soulful way, celebrating life and how
damn good it feels to be alive and kickin!
Louisiana Sue & Dana DeSimone's THANK YOU
Dance
A record crowd turned out at Louisiana Sue & Dana
DeSimone's Thank You Dance on Sunday January 14th at
Eagle's Hall.
Music was provided by the Zydeco Flames and Kenny Menard.
Bob MacKensie from TV station, KTVU/Fox 2 Oakland, was
there with a film crew shooting footage to be shown, which
was later shown on Sunday's 10pm evening news on January
21, 2001. There were so many folks at this free event that
the coat rack collapsed from the weight of coats!
The evening started with the Zydeco Flames & a hyped up
crowd putting on their fanciest dance moves for the
cameras. Mardi Gras came early as Sue and Dana threw beads
to the crowd. After the Flames' set, which lasted about an
hour, Kent Menard came on with a band that included June
Barfield on bass guitar. I have to say that whenever June
plays bass, the music is kicked up a notch. With a great
backup band, Kent was on fire this evening, probably the
best I've seen him in years. Vocally, he just attacked the
songs with his growling voice & his accordion playing
which rocked and soared. It was an amazing set.