Hi Chris,
Thanks for your reaction!
You can email her directly if you want (I'll mail you her e-mail address for the case you don't have it yet). But, because I'm also very interested, it should be great if you could e-mail me a copy (or place it here).
Thanks!
Yves
Yves wanted to read some of my reminiscing...here it is for him and any others of you who might be interested:
Hello Zula,
This is Chris Miller in Lake Charles. I played with Leo in the band "Joe Simon and the Louisiana Cajuns" back around 1984-86 ish. I heard that you were in need of a few stories or background because of a documentary that is being done on Leo.
One thing that has always stuck in my mind is how Leo would shrimp and crab and what poor condition his fingers and hands might be in...and still he could play the fiddle! To look at his hands in those times, you wouldn't think the man was a fiddler, but he did a great job.
One his strongest fiddling characteristic was his shuffle bow rhythm...man, he could really "get behind" the accordion and bass the accordion in such a way that the two became one. Although other fiddlers come close to that style when accompanying the accordion, Leo would continue his shuffle bow 'bassing the fiddle' style during his solos. This gave his playing a real rhythmic drive. His fiddle style can be more attributed to his bow and right hand technique than to his left hand. His choice of notes for leads was not particularly fancy. But he was like a "machine" with that shuffle bow...I haven't heard anyone since play the fiddle in quite the way that Leo did.
One amusing fact was his habit of playing with his eyes closed. We had a lot of fun making faces, changing positions on the stage, and playing other practical jokes on stage...we always wondered how long it would be until he opened his eyes again...we wondered how much foolishness we could perform while his eyes were closed!
God bless the memory of Leo Abshire--a Cajun fiddling legend, and a great man.
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
