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Balfa 2006 Photographs

Hello Braves!

Here are a few thumbnails of some photog's from
Balfa Heritage 2006!

Hope that they're large enough to see!

(Maybe someone can help me figure out who the
people are who's names I didn't get)

Merci beaucoup!

--Big Nick


Dang .. didn't get this guy's name, but he cooks!


Stirring up the roux, Bruce Daigrepont!


Courtney Granger knocks me out every time I hear him!


David jamming in the tent. What a talent & personality!


Dirk and .. Sophie? (Or is this Amelia?)


I believe that he's from "Up-North" Great talent, but I didn't get his name.


That's one mean accordion Jeffery!


Proof positive that that talent flows in the Savoy blood (Joel).


Jono was a tremendous help with the band labs, and talented!


Larry & Jackie Miller. What great people! (Nice picture too, no?)


David's better half .. and quite the guitar player!


This woman is an excellent A-1++ musician. Of course, I didn't get her name .. DOH!


Guess who! Another band lab band sans vocalist, Betsy.


Nick B. gets excited at the impromptu jam session.


I think that Nick won best accordion competition! He really tore it up!


Nicole smuggly put away her accordion after a top-shelf performance!


Ugh! How much further to Ville Platte?


Peter did an exemplary job coordinating band lab & bass player extraordinare!


The master speaks!


Steve gets into it.


Susna from the East Coast (I think) enamored by the music.

Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Great pics Big Nick! David's better half (Linda Handelsman) great folks too. I stumbled upon David when I answered a car ad. Best buy I could have made! He really inspired me to get into fiddling. The lady working on the violin is Anya Schoenegge, I'm taking her mine this week to get setup, she ain't bad in Celjun amoung the other bands she plays in either. Wish I could have been at the camp, but settled for Festival International which was great too. Glad to see floks are into our culture and appreciate it.

Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Toby,

Thanks for the info.

I knew who Linda was but not Anya.

Anya plays in the Magnolia Sisters too, right?

We were thinking about attending the
Festival International but had run out of time.

Dang these day-jobs anyways!

I gotta come up with a million seller accordion hit
so's I can retire!

Thanks again,

--Big

Re: Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Hey Big,

Great photos! I wish I had taken more myself. I was too sleep-deprived to find my camera.

Thanks for the compliments, and I really enjoyed playing your F box. I can't wait for my Savoy A accordion to be ready. It'll be a long wait until October.

Too bad we can't do this every two months!

Nick B.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

I had a great time...glad to see y'all again. Some
great jams. I ordered a b flat from randy falcon
and he let me play his old sterling and monarch.
That was a treat.

I didn't take out my camera once....I
can't believe it. But I got this link from andrea...
who did take some photos. I figured she wouldn't mind
if I shared it.

www.sfbayou.phanfare.com

That all for now...back to work. Mark

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Hi Mark!

Yes, what a great time.

It really gets nutz! I mean, it seems like
everything happens at once and then it's all over.

'twas good hearing y'all play again too ..

Did I tell you about the blues player that Liz
and I met at the "wash-i-tarium" (AKA Laundromat)?

I was practicing accordion in my van while Liz was
doing laundry in Ville Platte. (Liz is a good
woman .. very supportive!)

A Senior gentleman came up to the van and was very
enthusiastic about the music and Louisiana and
explained that he was a blues player.

So, I took my acoustic guitar out of the van and
he did a mini-concert for us.

He was really good too! (You can get a complex in
that state!)

He played some nice delta blues and had a great
vocal too. Really cool.

I wouldn't doubt it if the squirrels can play
in Louisiana!

--Big

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

They will play until their nuts hit the ground, my friend.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Yo Nick,

Good to hear from y'all!

I know, waiting for an accordion is torture!

But then when it shows up with the fresh smells
of wax, glue & leather and after a couple of
satisfying squeezes, the wait is quickly forgotten.

So, I've got a contender for the dumbest video camera
story ..

Sunday night at Balfa camp, my TRV-250
Digital Hi8 camera just died!

It displayed a goofy error message and just died.

So, I had to run into Ville Platte to buy another
camera

All's they had was an analog Sony Hi8, so at least
the tapes I brought along would work.

I recorded the band lab's perfomances but the audio
was kinda crummy.

When I got home, a week later, I tried my old
camera and now it works just fine!

Here's the kicker .. I already owned two digital
Hi-8's cameras but only brought one with!
(Now I have 3, two digital & one analog .. Sheesh!)

Anyway, I can send you a copy of your performace
if you'd like ..

--Big

Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Well, did anyone check out FLOYDS RECORD SHOP and THE PIG STAND restaurant while in town for BALFA?

Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Y'know, we check out Floyd's just about everytime
we visit.

This year, we drove past Floyd's everyday, but
I'm afraid we didn't stop in :-(

I've accummulated quite a CD collection from there!

--Biggeroo

Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

shoulda stopped, FLOYD'S is celebrating it's 50th year in 06'

Re: Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Floyd's is great....but the Pigstand is absolutely awful.

My buddy Kev and I had the worst "bbq pork" ever devised -- it was gelatinous, gooey, and hyper-salty. Neither of us managed more than 4 or 5 bites.

Nick B

Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

eewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. sorry about the pig stand. they may have changed chef's since my last visit. I know the quality at Floyd's is consistent though, excellent cajun music. Nick when you are back in the area, you need to check out www.mcgeeslanding.com. guaranteed good food and scenery.

Pigs Take A Stand!

I love the Pig Stand and it doesn't really have much to do with the food. I can eat a greasy bowl of chicken gumbo with coffee there at 10 AM, smoke a cigarette at my table without making anyone mad, and listen to an elderly Cajun couple speaking French over the clamor of pots and pans while wondering if my waitress forgot about me. It's about as "local" and "authentic" as I can get. I suppose I could sit at the counter near the front door, but those stools are generally taken. The Pig Stand does not have the best food or service in Acadiana, but I savor the minutes when I am there, knowing I am far, far away from the expected. It's a little slice of realism. Nothing candy coated in neon. You won't find the waitstaff sporting flair or singing happy birthday. It is Ville Platte, Louisiana. My tab? $6... and an experience no one could fabricate in Dallas, TX (like Razzoo's and Pappadeax's.) Plus, Floyd's Record Shop in right down the block!

Pass the pork, mon ami... ev'rything on the hog is good!

Ricky

Re: Pigs Take A Stand!

Last time that I had visited Mark Savoy's shop,
we ate at a little "smoke-house" not far away.

Dag-nab-it, I cannot remember the name of the place.
It was a small red building. One entered thru the
front door and walked up to a window to order & pick
up.

I think that there may have been one table w/2
chairs inside.

Anyway, we got pork sandwhiches to go.

Liz and I ate them in a near bye park.

Man, I could not believe that sandwich. It had
the equivalent of a couple-two/three pork chops
on a bun.

We had to dissasemble our sanwhiches to eat 'em
becuase they were so large.

(I was sort as if someone had served a half chicken
on a bun!)

So, my LA pork experience was a good one!

Merci!

--Big Nick

Re: Re: Pigs Take A Stand!

Man, Big Nick, you are making me hungry! My girlfriend packed me a ham and cheese sammich today, and it just ain't cuttin' the mustard (literally!)

I got another place for you to try next time you are in St. Landry Parish... heck you've probably been there -- it's been around for decades... in Opelousas: The Palace Cafe (across from the courthouse and next to the Jim Bowie Oak.) You talk about fried chicken... best fried chicken I've ever had! Their plate specials are good and a great bargain, too. And their gumbos and crawfish bisque will take away any hangover you may have from drinking those leetle 10 oz. Budweisers the night before! The place is plain and simple with family portraits and crafty oil paintings adorning the walls. They still have a diner counter with the old stools and cakes and pies behind the counter reflected in angled mirrors. The waitresses (and cooks) have been there since my first visit there back in '93. Occasionally I've run into Hadley J. Castille in there who's always cordial and never short on spinning yarns of the Louisiana gospel and Cajun philosophy. The Palace is a step back in time, fer shure. Love it. Can't get enough of it.

Another great place in Opelousas is Ray's Diner. It's in an Exxon gas station... or maybe the gas station is part of Ray's -- heck, I dunno. But they've got one of my favorite shrimp gumbos and excellent boiled crawfish. It's just south of town on the back road to Washington.

Speaking of crawfish in Opelousas, there's an old Sonic restaurant (on the way to Ray's), which if memory serves me, is named, Crawfish Tyme or something like that. You can get a bag full of fresh spicy crawfish and drive next door to a shady park (I forget the park's name) and enjoy them. Don't forget the cooler... did I mention the cooler?! Don't forget it!!!

Bon ap!

RR

Re: Pigs Take A Stand!

Hey Ricky,

I know what you mean about the atmosphere. Believe me, I really wanted to the love the place. It's true that it's 100% unpretentious, unpolished Acadiana -- nothing like the stressful, pricey experience of having North Dallas waitresses rush past you while you stare at crab nets and quasi-Cajun novelties bolted to the wall. Not to bash Pappadeaux's and Razzoo's -- they're your best bet for Cajun in Dallas (do you remember place called Red's Cajun Queen? It was right off of Northwest Highway.)

But yeah, may I should stick to po-boys next time. The price is definitely right.

Nick B.

Re: Re: Pigs Take A Stand!

Shucks, Nick. It'a all good! I hear ya though... it's hard to find a meal that's less than satifying in Acadie, brutha! And when you do, it usually registers as a shock to the system! I wish I knew of other hole-in-the-walls in Ville Platte, but I don't. I betcha one of these Braves know one they could shed some light on. Pig Stand has always been a VP default, simply because of its close proximity to Floyd's.

After my cold ham and process cheese on two slices of white bread sandwich I just had for lunch today, I'd take dang near anything under par that came from the Golden Triangle!

BTW, your Doc Marshalls are way cool!



T-Rick

Re: Balfa 2006 Photographs

Hey Big nick! Nice Pics! The young guy in the first pic is Logan, and he is from Louisiana-don't know too much more but I think we will be hearing more from him! Nice to see you again at camp!



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