It was good to see Mark St. Mary again and have a dandy visit. Play some music and catch up on some times and enjoy a good breakfast with Ms. Linda tending to us graciously. Yep, it's good!

I am sitting here now listening to his new CD (which Mark brought me)... Zydeco Tonight. It reminds me of why I dubbed him the Delta King and the reigning king of the west coast Zydeco, when he rocked the house at Isleton back a ways... What an event that one was. I only wish now, that Chris Miller and Mark St. Mary could have whirlwinded the stage together (just once), just to see and hear what rolled out. That was the year of the Dream Team with five accordions fronting a single stage with an all star cast of musicians cutting loose and showing what it is all about to have fun musically.

Now then:
Some may suspect that I am a traditional nut. Yes, I do play traditional, and, I normally call that my choice of the French music on the 10 button. But there is an impish side of this Nonc that gets a strange feeling with old Zydeco coming from that monster accordion. You might say that the old school of Zydeco is a huge part of my "I Wish" that I could play it and serve it up like those few that still seem to do in these changing times on the Monster Piano Accordion... but that is a form of French music that would take me far more years than I am willing to donate to the learning process to even go there.

Never-the-less, listening to Mark run the gauntlet on that keyboard with soulfull blues riffs (and more), while accompaning with the bass side to some of the old tunes; well it really gives me an appreciation for what it takes to master this big accordion.... To me this style is timeless and will always be in fashion for what it is... but that's just me folks and my opinion.

I doubt that there are but a handfull of this type of players remaining. I do thank my stars for the inspiration they (that can and do) instill with this type of French music done up on the huge accordion... Though a hand full remains....among the handfull was a fella that well, sorta fell out of the sky and on to a stage here in California a few years back, and he showed a tallent that knocked me over with the old school fashion of sound done up Clifton style... Chris Miller on Piano accordion.
He is also in the pocket for what this old soulfull sound is about, done up right with a gazillion bass buttons and row of black and white keys. Zydeco for how it oughta be, in my narrow estimation.

All said, that peach of an piano accordion (which needed to pass on) has a new home with Mark.. Cest Bon. It was a dandy visit we had. Good catching up yap and a few of the old Zydeco tunes that rock my world and makes me convinced that there are some very gifted musicians that still roam about on the planet within this genre.. Ever I should hit the big lotto, I am building a comune for old school squeezers! Where we can eat, sleep and play music day in day out, till we are called to the big fais do do in the sky. That would suit me just fine by going out with a dandy waltz or two step on my mind... even a hot lick of Zydeco for grins to set the flight in motion.

Just another episode from the book of you know who...

Nonc D

Can I reserve a room, Nonc?

BJ