http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2011/03/album_review_mama_ill_be_long.html#more
Amede Ardoin cd collection
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 19:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Steve Riley east coast tour on now. Bandmate David Greely is leaving after this tour because of ear damage. They have a nice new album with various special guests on it. They are at Artisphere outside DC tonight, then 2 nights in NYC I think
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 16:33 (thirteen years ago) link
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/travel/24zydeco.html?pagewanted=1
Nice long article on zydeco trail rides by Shaila Dewan. Here's a small excerpt
Virtually everyone wore T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to a particular riding club: the No Limit Riders of Mamou, La., the Spare Time Riders of New Roads, the Hip Hop Ghetto Riders of Breaux Bridge. Some clubs, like the Exclusive Steppers, showed loyalty to a particular kind of mount, the high-stepping Tennessee walker, considered the Cadillac of trail riding (“If you ain’t steppin’, you ain’t reppin’ ”). Others, like the Wild Bird Riders, honored their favorite whiskey, while the Suga Riders were named in memory of “one of the realest cowboys you would ever get to know,” a Lafayette man who rode his horse to nightclubs. The Mixed Breed Riders, a youthful posse in short-shorts and tank tops, gave a nod to the racial mélange so common in Acadiana. I counted upward of 50 riding clubs, though a few of them didn’t seem to bother with actual horses.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/travel/24zydeco.html?pagewanted=3
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 28 April 2011 17:10 (thirteen years ago) link
If you get a chance to see the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations tv show where he visits New Orleans and Cajun country (where Red Stick Ramblers and members of the Savoy family play at an outdoor feast and cook too) you should
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 31 August 2011 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
http://rhythmandroots.com/ws/pages/schedule.php
A fair amount of interesting zydeco and Cajun acts at this Rhode Island fest (plus various roots-rock acts)
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:02 (twelve years ago) link
Big zydeco fest in the W. DC area this weekend
http://dancingbythebayou.com/
― curmudgeon, Friday, 21 October 2011 19:29 (twelve years ago) link
And I missed it. There's plenty of zydeco acts coming to the DC area these days(but alas, not those Houston hip-hop inflected ones I am curious about)
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 25 October 2011 16:16 (twelve years ago) link
I wish Texas writer (and ocassional ILX poster) John Nova Lomax was still writing about Houston zydeco...
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 25 October 2011 16:25 (twelve years ago) link
zydeco in Opelousas
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20111103/ACADIANA04/111030310
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 19 November 2011 15:33 (twelve years ago) link
In his year-end wrapup Southern soul blogger Daddy B. Nice said in part:
--The Zydeco sound was contagious, with artists from T. K. Soul to Kenne' Wayne to Ms. Jody endeavoring to incorporate it into their music. All of the attempts paled next to the mesmerizing rhythms of the real thing in the hands of veterans Keith Frank ("Cassanova," "Haterz") and Rosie Ledet ("When I'm Gone"), whenever Southern Soul deejays deigned to insert their masterful work into their playlists.
http://www.southernsoulrnb.com/corner2012.cfm
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 4 January 2012 05:32 (twelve years ago) link
Zydeco acts are always coming through the W. DC area and somehow I always miss CJ Chenier. Missed him again last night at Hill Country BBque. I like his albums. I think some zydeco dance fanatics are less crazy about him, as he does not always just stick to that zydeco beat
― curmudgeon, Friday, 16 March 2012 13:10 (twelve years ago) link
Minneapolis seems to have fallen out of favor for touring zydeco bands, so I haven't seen him for quite a few years now. Always prefer his concerts and albums to Buckwheat. I think he's a better, more soulful singer than many of those guys.
― On the sidelines in a trash can grumping (Dan Peterson), Friday, 16 March 2012 14:17 (twelve years ago) link
Curley Taylor, Leroy Thomas, Rosie Ledet, Dennis Stroughmatt, Steve Riley, and others are always coming through the Washington DC/Baltimore area.
http://wherewegotozydeco.com/
I wish obscure Houston and Louisiana zydeco bands that rarely tour would come through.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 16 March 2012 14:31 (twelve years ago) link
The same bands tour up and down the East Coast. Here's a June 2012 Connecticut fest schedule. But no obscure Houston bands I don't think.
http://www.strawberrypark.net/cajun-zydeco-festival/
― curmudgeon, Monday, 9 April 2012 15:14 (twelve years ago) link
Saw Cajuns Goldman Thibodeaux, Hadlee Castille and Steve Riley at Jazzfest in New Orleans, among others.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 16:04 (twelve years ago) link
Missed new and upcoming zydeco artist Ruben Moreno appearing in Maryland last weekend
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 22 May 2012 20:19 (twelve years ago) link
"New" means he has only been leading a band and touring the East coast recently, but this 22-year-old has been in bands since he was 13
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 22 May 2012 20:20 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.zydecoevents.com/texaszydecoevents.html
lots of zydeco in Texas
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 13:52 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu-kzTtrlFg&feature=related
Extended video version of zydeco-r'n'b dance song "Do It With Your Boots On" by Cupid
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 27 May 2012 02:32 (twelve years ago) link
there's a cajun music thread and i never posted thishttp://images.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drc500/c581/c58105g0898.jpg????
― Never translate Dutch (jaymc), Sunday, 27 May 2012 07:45 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/06/01/why-zydeco-player-curley-taylor-likes-r-kelly/
― curmudgeon, Friday, 1 June 2012 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
New York City's zydeco scene is in trouble
http://jimsrootsandblues.com/blog/letter-from-zydecolaura/
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 2 June 2012 01:53 (twelve years ago) link
Pine Leaf Boys are probably the first Cajun band to tour in these countries
June 13-18 Kyrgyzstan U.S. State Department TourJune 19-24 Tajikistan U.S. State Department TourJune 25-July 2 Uzbekistan U.S. State Department Tour
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 04:05 (twelve years ago) link
The Savoy family (maybe with Wilson Savoy from the Pine Leaf Boys) were just in the UK, France and Belgium.
x-post re the future of zydeco gigs in the Northeast USA:Read nice writeup of recent New Jersey and Connecticut festivals with zydeco bands. The zydeco fanatics are making it out to the festivals if not to single band shows in individual East coast towns.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 14:40 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/garden/at-home-with-louis-michot-of-the-lost-bayou-ramblers.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Nice NY Times piece on the fiddle player from raucous Cajun Band Lost Bayou Ramblers and his unique home
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 5 July 2012 13:52 (eleven years ago) link
Rhythm and Roots Festival, on Labor Day weekend in Ninigret, RI is getting lots of attention from zydeco fanatics although the bill does not look as good as fests in Louisiana or Texas, naturally
http://www.cascadezydeco.com/trips/festivals.shtml
Host Band: The Pine Leaf Boys Featuring Steve Riley, David Bromberg, Geno Delafose, The Gourds, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Johnny Nicholas, Roddie Romero and that's just the start... many more TBA!
Bed & Breakfast Referrals (from Bed and Breakfast Referrals of South Coast Rhode Island)
There are two huge dance floors, and dancers galore of both sexes! Dancing goes til midnight all three days.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:12 (eleven years ago) link
I go to R&R every year (we’ll be there Sunday). It’s my favorite festival ever — very relaxed, cool people, great workshop tents, good food. Just a fantastic all-around atmosphere.
― Jazzbo, Thursday, 30 August 2012 16:47 (eleven years ago) link
I have never been, but I am on a Washington DC area zydeco and root-rock email list with a number of people who go up there every year and always seem enthusiastic
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 30 August 2012 17:54 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.offbeat.com/2012/10/25/hadley-castille-1933-2012/#.UIoJwNqOB1E.email
RIP. I saw this great Cajun fiddler a few times.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 26 October 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
zydeco and Southern soul line dance music come together with autotuned vocals:
Here's the zydeco remix of Bigg Robb's "Work That Sexy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHCqyrXzMh0
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 21 November 2012 04:42 (eleven years ago) link
Lost Bayou Ramblers were raucous and rocking in San Francisco tonight, where I saw 'em while on vacation
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 6 December 2012 09:45 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/2012/nov/29/issue-79-dragged-through-forest-long-gone-sound-am/
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Thursday, 6 December 2012 17:26 (eleven years ago) link
Those old-time Creole fiddlers like Amede Ardoin are great
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 December 2012 05:48 (eleven years ago) link
he was an accordionist iirc.
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Monday, 10 December 2012 16:56 (eleven years ago) link
Doh! Of course. I must have been thinking about Canray Fontenot, who performed often with Bois Sec Ardoin
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/obituaries/canray-fontenot-72-a-singer-and-violinist-in-creole-style.html
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 December 2012 20:27 (eleven years ago) link
I need to check out that Oxford issue
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:28 (eleven years ago) link
I've been listening to the new Oxford CD at work a lot. Some familiar songs ("Bon Ton Roula," "Sugar Bee") but lots new to me: a great Johnny Adams oldie I hadn't heard before, and Margaret Lewis covering Johnny's "Reconsider Me." They always include one or two "arty" cuts (this time it's "Fifteen Saxophones" by Dickie Landry) that disrupt the flow.
Having friends over for jambalaya this weekend, and already planning what NOLA music will accompany!
― Sailor-neighbor of Chaucer's wife (Tubby) (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:45 (eleven years ago) link
Step Rideau & the Zydeco OutlawsSTEP IS COMING TO TOWN! IT'S BEEN WAY TOO LONG@Tremont Suites Ballroom, 222 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD"Take Off" Texas Rollin' Empire Inaugural Zydeco GalaDoors Open 8pm - 12 midnight Music all night
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 15 January 2013 18:49 (eleven years ago) link
Oh that's Friday and Saturday the 18th and 19th plus Dress: Semi Formal Western Wear "Glitz & Jeans"
I like Step's funky zydeco but am not likely gonna be able to head up to Charm City for the gig
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 15 January 2013 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
Panel discussions Saturday April 20th at the EMP Pop Conference in New orleans at Tulane
Dancehalls of South Lousiana12:00pm–1:00pm
A brownbag talk with John Sharp FeaturingJohn Sharp
The Creolization of Cajun and Zydeco1:15pm–2:45pm FeaturingMichael TisserandBen SandmelD'Jalma Garnier
http://empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/2013/emp-pop-conference-2013-new-orleans.aspx
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 17 April 2013 16:47 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/26/2552992/young-musicians-cling-to-cajun.html
"Cling"
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 27 April 2013 15:36 (eleven years ago) link
heard lots of interesting stuff re zydeco and Cajun at EMP.
Meanwhile over in Texas there's a great Mothers Day weekend zydeco and Southern soul gig:
94.5's zydeco meets the blues fest:
May 11 (Skyline Ranch @ 1801 E. Wheatland Rd., Dallas, TX, 75241) 1:15pm
Step Rideau & The Zydeco Outlaws, Brian Jack and The Zydeco Gamblers, Lil' Nate & The Zydeco Big Timers Cupid, Mel Waiters, Floyd Taylor, Latimore, Denise LaSalle & The PG Man, and Don Diego & Eddie G
― curmudgeon, Monday, 29 April 2013 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
― curmudgeon, Monday, 29 April 2013 19:42 (eleven years ago) link
So if I was to get just one cajun/zydeco compilation, which should it be?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 29 April 2013 19:54 (eleven years ago) link
let me think about it. I hope you realize that Cajun and Zydeco are 2 different things-- Cajun is more country and slower tempoed and is created by white folks descended from the French (and relies more on the fiddle); while Zydeco has faster tempos and is created by Afro-Creoles who incorporate r'n'b influences (and uses the accordion more than the fiddle).
― curmudgeon, Monday, 29 April 2013 21:44 (eleven years ago) link
Yes, I realize I'm guilty of conflating two distinct styles. So recommend me one of each, then, fair play.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 30 April 2013 00:17 (eleven years ago) link
You can't go wrong with any discs from Rhino's "Alligator Stomp" series. Start with Vol. 1.http://s.ecrater.com/stores/67628/508d8fc58e9b8_67628n.jpg
― Jazzbo, Tuesday, 30 April 2013 11:19 (eleven years ago) link
As a marketing technique and from folks who don't know the difference Cajun and zydeco are often used interchangeably.
I still need to think of an answer as I just have mostly individual releases from artists and not compilations
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 30 April 2013 14:14 (eleven years ago) link
There's a nice reissue of Amade Ardoin that complicates the genre issue. He is a Creole who was making music long before zydeco became established. His sound is a bit like more what we think of as Cajun, but its different.
Arhoolie began releasing Cajun and zydeco long ago, need to see if they have any nice comps.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 30 April 2013 14:19 (eleven years ago) link
Did not make it to Jazzfest this year, but this Gambit writer did:
The Fais Do-Do stage hosted a Lafayette double-header with stalwart young Cajun bands Feufollet and Pine Leaf Boys moving big crowds — despite a formidable mud pit. Showing off just how far Cajun music traditions can be pushed, Feufollet struck up an eerie uptempo take on Brian Eno's "Baby's On Fire," before cheekily asking the crowd, "Y'all ready for some Hall and Oates?"
Roots revival
The Pine Leaf Boys kicked the crowd into gear with a couple of mid-set covers, including a raucous "Great Balls of Fire" and a gorgeous, reverential Cajun tribute to George Jones with his "A Picture of Me (Without You)." The band continued its memorial with a tribute to Les Blank, the documentarian who helped revive interest in Cajun culture with a series of films in the 1970s. The band also caved to an audience request of an early track, "Pine Grove Blues."
Ramble on
"Who's beastin' it today?" shouted Lost Bayou Ramblers singer Louis Michot before the band launched into "The Bathtub," its cut from the Beasts of the Southern Wild soundtrack. The band ripped through songs from old and new albums, including the vinyl single "Bastille" that featured Gordon Gano and got a remix by GIVERS. The band finished its set by dedicating its French version of The Who's "My Generation" to a 30-year-veteran Jazz Fest stage member.
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/thrills-and-chills/Content?oid=2197009
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 14 May 2013 15:37 (eleven years ago) link