First jam in Austin will start at 1pm June 7 at Fiddlers Green Music Shop (see link #2).
We'll play for at least 2 hours. Right now we are thinking first and third Sat of every month. Time is changeable.

Sorry to the couple of people who showed up last Sat. Hope to see you on the 7th.

See you there
Capt. E

Man, I've been trying to reply to this post, but it's locked.

R!CK

Ohhhh, Rick, you need a beer bad.

Actually we may lock the doors when the room fills up.

You bringing the beer?

I wish I could make it! Funny thing... Bryan knew I didn't have any beer last night. So I dug through the liquor cabinet and found some Cachaça. That stuff is so strong that it beat the hell out of a vintage bottle of cab next to it, and then refused to be opened. It just stood against the wall, leering at me. I finally wrestled it to the floor and poured it over some ice and mulled sugar and lime. It punched me in the gut when it got there.

Anyway, about your jam. I had no idea that the Austin Cajun music scene was in such a jam. Sorry 'bout that. The whole idea of locking in this good music is a tragedy. Have you seen if there's a back door to pass thru? Do they have sufficient boudin and beer to sustain them? How many are off in there? Such a pity. I'm not surprised that Austin would do such a thing.

I'd like to bring my band down there to play some Saturday night. I talked to the Evangeline Cafe and the guy almost hung up on me because I wasn't from Louisiana. He said, "Reid?! "Where are you from in Louisiana?!" Apparently he only books bands from Austin that have the last name, Thibideaux and the first name, Charles. He also said bands that had 5 members were too big -- especially if they were not from Louisiana (Lake Charles to be exact). I tried to explain that Lake Charles is my second home. I think it only counts if Lake Chuck is my first home. When I spoke with him, I had just returned from LC and was about to give him the Calcasieu weather report when he then just said, "we are booked up until 2009 anyways". So I gave him the DeQuincy salute! He then ordered me to "go away before I taunt you a second time -- your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries..."

Where else would you recommend we try to book down there in that extremely C/Z-friendly city? [cough]

R!CK

I feel your pain. Austin is not the most C/Z friendly city, it is where the singer/songwriter rules when the punk rocker has passed out from playing all night. Steve Riley had to play a small town 15 miles from Austin towards Houston. He should have played something like the Broken Spoke. Things are changing, though and the C/Z community is growing.

Sorry about the reception you got at Evangeline, but they are constantly booked and can pick and choose their bands. There just aren't that many places for C/Z bands to play. It took me several months of hit and miss attempts to find a place for a jam. There is a good active group of dancers who travel often and far to find Cajun bands. I wish the clubs in Austin would realize there is a market. It is still somewhat under the radar.

Of course, I have a good friend who had a country band named Diamond Back,based in Austin for at least 10 years. He always said that you can't make any money in Austin. The band always had to travel to find venues large enough to make it worthwhile to play. Small acts can struggle along, but larger bands just can't make it without being almost exclusively on the road. Maybe it's a relic of the 70's when Willie Nelson was the highest grossing act in the country, but would come back to Austin and play for free.

Capt. E.

I'll buy you a beer at Evangeline if you ever come to Austin.

Back in '98, when I was still playing with Balfa Toujours, our booking agent was from Austin. She booked us all over the world, but couldn't book anything in Austin. After months of trying, she finally got us a forty-five minute set opening for Marcia Ball at Antone's. We were paid with a free meal and 1/2 price drinks. Ironically, the agent's name was Cash.

Jah love, Captain! I'll buy you a beer, too!

Eh, not to rail on the Evangeline -- it certainly wasn't the reception I was expecting after receiving a myspace message from them inviting us down to play when we first emerged from an embryonic state, and were just getting up and running here in Big D. At that time we weren't even considering anything outside of I-635. Now, I think we'd like to do it -- not for money, but for the fun of it. I've got a lot of friends in Austin that I don't get to see that often, so I think a gig down there would be a way to get 'em all together at once.

I'll work on finding an open door in Travis County.

DFW has been fairly keen on the C/Z idea -- there's enough venues to keep the welcome mat clean and we play all that we really want to, anyway. We aren't looking to [ahem] do music on a full-time basis! We're all very happy with the day gigs and health insurance is kinda hard to find when you're playing for chump change in bars. So we do it for fun. And it is! Music is what keeps us young, man... I tell ya! It's also a huge part of our social scene. It brings folks out and connects them more than any ol' house party, poker party, whatever, you name it. I think our fans see it as a reason to not only come hear us, but to socialize amongst themselves. Heck, you know what I'm sayin'... that's why folks love to gather 'round live music. It's brings hope to humanity, puts a shake in the hands, a hug on the necks, and a smile where it belongs.

God bless all the players of instruments and purveyors of harmonious felicity! ...And bon chance with the jam, moi Capitainne!

R!CK

Rick,
try the above link # 1
Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys played to a small but animated & appreciative group here last Sunday, if you will believe that. I doubt if there were much over a hundred souls there, at $ 12.00 a pop. I know you have heard of the place, cause it's your kind of place, you know, they sell beer... about the only live music scene left in the Alamo City...where has all the music gone???
And I do hope that when I get to Austin on Saturday, the door is UN-locked, otherwise I'ma gonna be less than happy. Maybe the good Capt'n E will give me the key.
JB

I know 'bout the legendary Sam's, for sure! I appreciate the knowledge dropped, brutha!

Mercy buckets,

~R!CK

Oh, it will be unlocked. I may be there before noon to check it out and set up and warm up a while. KOOP radio did an annoucement of the jam. I have no idea how many people will come, probably the perfect number. Marlon and Beth and friends will be bringing their wonderful dancing feet.