Welcome to old and new friends who are interested in discussing Cajun and other diatonic accordions, along with some occasional lagniappe....



CAJUN ACCORDION DISCUSSION GROUP

 

General Forum
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

"They call it "Folk Music" because folks play it".---Pete Seeger.

Let others worry about the details.

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Bryan ~ The fact you ask such a question shows you've spent time diving deep into Louisiana-ism. The unenlightened population lump all of these labels into one and call it "Cajun" music. But I guess that surpasses the select few that refer to zydeco as "xylophone." See ya tomorrow -- looking forward!

R!CK

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

"All music is folk music. I never did hear a horse sing nobody a song." --Louis Armstrong

Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Bryan, I think that the older guys you mentioned like Iry did what musicians today are doing and he was playing for the local people at that time period and he packed dance halls doing what he did not what others did 40 years before him? Iry brought in steel guitar which was not traditional at it's time but it worked with what he did and his audience enjoyed it! I don't think were thinking of saving anything in those days and were just excited to be recording the music that came from their heart!?
I believe labels are good to a certain extent but again what was Country in the 1940's isn't the Country from the 70's and surely isn't the Country music you hear today...so who determines what is Country, Rock or Cajun/Creole/Zydeco/ZydeCajun/traditional/etc.?
It is all in the ear of the beholder and some people locally base traditional on what they were raised on?
Where I grew up in Church Point I knew of all the old timers such as Iry Lejeune, Aldus Roger, Lawrence Walker and Belton Richard but it wasn't until I was 19 years old and had been playing fiddle long enough to have won Cajun fiddle contest that I even heard of Dewey Balfa - my parents didn't know the name either nor had my grandfather who had won several fiddle contest throughout his life and had played fiddle all of his life, he had only heard of the Balfa Waltz which they pronounced it (La Valtz di Bullfaw) and being younger I thought it was the "Bullfrog waltz" by the way it sounded.....point being made is as great as Dewey was/is and as legendary as he is for myself being raised in Church Point not many musicians had ever heard of him at that time.....so, depending on where you were raised depended on what Cajun dialect you spoke and also what style of musis you considered traditional? I grew up thinking Club style of Cajun music was traditional and learned from the club fiddlers like Tony Thibodeaux, Doc Guidry, Dick Richard, Louis Formeman, Rufus Thibodeaux and my grandfather Ernest Bearb. I think there is a diffrence in the Cajun Folk styles opposed to Cajun club style...myself I enjoy both styles and love to hear Dewey as much as hearing Belton Richard but they are very different styles of music and my eyes they are both considered traditional just as Wayne Toups will be traditional to the younger generation when they grow older?
Very hard to label someone's music and place it in a certain category because everyone plays what's in their heart unless they are copying someone else's music?
I was in Mark Miller's (MTE - Master Track) studio last night and he is recording music just as his dad did in the 50's but he uses different equipment and has his own way of mixing and running the studio and has a totally different sound but yet he is follwing the tradition of recording that his dad passed to him just as I am playing music that was passed down to me from my family but playing it my own way. That can be said for Hank Williams Jr. I think he sounds different from his father but he is as great in terms of being a successful musician that plays what comes from his heart and he received a lot of rejection when he started playing music and should have been welcomed with open arms because he has done many great things for the Country music scene and has brought a whole new fan base to the music scene that may have never been there?
I guess I will end with saying everyone brings something different to the table and regardless if someone considers it to be what they know as roots or not it should be embraced and respected for the people that DO enjoy it. I will quote the guy who wrote that in order for the roots to survive you can't kill the branches that stem from it!?
Interesting subject!

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Actually that quote was made by Dewey Balfa:

"A culture/cajun music is like a whole tree, you have to water the roots to keep the tree alive, but at the same time you can`t go cutning off the branches every time it tries to grow"


Wilfred

Re: Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

In terms of modern Cajun music, (NOT zydeco -- that's a whole 'nuther list!) there are a several noteworthy artists who grew "new" branches from the musical tree. I'm talking about Cajun artists who are/were inspirations for other acts (limbs on the tree) to follow. Those in my opinion are:

1. Michael Doucet of Coteau/Beausoleil/Cajun Brew. I think Michael's approach to songwriting and stylizing traditional Cajun tunes and incorporating Creole music and a little rock, really shook the tree.

2. Zachary Richard. The Cajun Mick Jagger and an evangelist for the conservation of the French language; but an artist who really ushered in modern rock and roll mixed with Cajun flair. He also was the first white artist to flirt intimately with zydeco.

3. Wayne Toups of Cajun Creole/Zydecajun. The Cajun Bruce Springsteen and the founding father of the "zydecajun" genre. Many people don't remember when Wayne first hit the scene -- it was, "Wayne Toups and Cajun Creole." The only difference with that band was the addition of pedal steel and there was no B-3 organ. Wayne is probably the most influential "Cajun" artist of modern times. Personally, I don't really hear the "zyde" in his music. I hear more southern rock and roll mixed with Cajun. Wayne's got a lot of people emulating his accordion and vocal style. Wayne owes a lot of his accordion style to Walter Mouton. Some of the artists that have adopted "zydecajun" or are heavily influenced by Wayne's style in one form or another are: Roddie Romero, Damon Troy, Sean Vidrine, Dustin Ray; and to some degree artists such as Brian Smith, Ronnie Mathews, Richard LeBoeuf, Kevin Naquin, Danny Collet and KeKe Borque -- just to name a few of the most visible artists.

4. Steve Riley. Steve is one of the most versatile and inventive Cajun artists of all time. He's kept an even keel embracing the traditional side of Cajun music while incorporating some Creole style in many of his tunes. One of the genre's most talented and influential modern artists.

5. Pine Leaf Boys. The new leaves on the tree. No doubt, they are carrying the torch of traditional Cajun music. But as creative as they are, there's no telling what is down the road for them. They borrow heavily from traditional Creole music as well as the blues. They will, no doubt, inspire many other new budding artists in this genre.

R!CK

Re: Re: Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Ok, here is more muddy water along the lines Travis is talking about. The tree Dewey is talking about is actually a bunch of different trees. The "cajun" music from the era we consider traditional was different in different areas, just like the dialects and customs. The Balfa's family had different songs than the Lejeunes, who had different songs than the Pitre family. Then you get into the Evangeline parish area (where I'm from), where there is a strong Napolean army presence, and there are some very unique songs from people like the Deshotel brothers and Edius Nacquin. Many of which are still heard in Canada and France. Once they started traveling to other communities a little more, and recorded songs got more common, the music got more wide spread. My point is, even before you put different peoples twists on it, you had varying sources of the proverbial roots.

I find it fascinating, but I like I said before, you just wont find people to put the same labels on it all. The labels are just a loose point of reference. I am speculating some on this so I'm open to disagreements. I have delved pretty deep in this stuff and like a lot of other things, the more I learn the more questions I have, and the more confusing it is.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Regardless of what Dewey said or meant is not the subject. I was actually quoting someone else when I said that but I am sure several have said the statement. The point is music stems off in several outlets and to continue getting interest in the ROOTS of the music there has to be interest sparked in it.
The future of anything succeeding is always keeping the youth involved and that is why the CFMA is not doing what it could to spark new interest because it caters to older people and older people only?
Easy to see just go to the event and see the age group there and see the age groups on our website which has pictures from all of our shows www.travismatte.com and you will see a huge difference in age groups?
So, back the your subject about the quote from Dewey...again, I have no idea what he meant just as anyone can speculate but it doesn't matter pertaining to this subject? I have a lot of respect for his music but that is not the subject?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Oh, I was only using the quote as a reference for my own babbling, just make the point of so many sources that came to be. Hard to have these discussions on a screen, so much is lost in the translation, that and my fingers rarely put what I meant.

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Thanks so much for dropping by the forum and taking time to post. You know, at Cajun Woodstock last Saturday I got the distinct impression that I was the only one who knew who Belton Richard was! There was hardly anyone there and the only one crowding the stage to get a close look was me!
Sorry I didn't get down to Kaplan for your 2-4am gig last friday but after Jamie Bergeron and Rosie that night the spirit was willng but the 61 year old body wasn't. It was tough enough getting up for the Cafe Des Amie Zydeco Breakfast! The NE is looking forward to finally getting to see the band at Strawberry Park.

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Travis, I was just wondering--Now that you've amassed so many fans across the nation, have you thought about doing a solo album of traditional songs that influenced you? You called yourself "the horse that's leading them to [my] water". Don't you think it would lead a lot more people? Show them more about where you're coming from? Just a thought...

Re: Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Ha, that is possible!?
Our CD projects take nearly the whole year to complete and takes so much money in doing so and band time that it is hard to set time aside to slip another project in?
I would rather one day assemble a CD that featured all of the great accordion players around our area that would be on one CD! Could you imagine Walter Mouton, Marc Savoy, Steve Riley, Ricky Bearb, Jason Frey and accordion players of that caliber on one CD with a kick a*s band behind them and a well produced CD! That would be awesome!
That is something I've been wanting to do for a while! I have the sound in my head how I would want it to sound like and be produced. I think recording this on old Ampex Tube recorders with Tube preamps and doing it old style with everyone in the same room recording at the same time with no over dubs would be truly classic!
I have bigger plans for that project than my own traditional project?
So, hopefully one day...it's just to get all of these guys to record!ha

Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

I think you make a really great point here, Bryan, and I couldn't agree more. I think that all the labels only take away from the richness of our culture. That's the main reason I'm so against the idea of there being a Grammy for Cajun/Zydeco music. Cajun music is Cajun music, but there are a lot of subcategories and sub-subcategories that we can go into. For example, we can have Iry doing one thing, Belton doing another, the Hackberry Ramblers doing another, etc. The same goes for Zydeco. And what was Amedee doing? "The Roots of Zydeco" sound so entirely Cajun? Hmmm...

No. It's TOO hard to label all our music and why try to define away the beauty and mystery that attract so many people to it?

I just want everyone to understand that Louisiana music should be viewed very, VERY separately from any other world music. We have the traditional stuff and we have the pop stuff. Zach, Wayne, Travis, etc. are doing the pop stuff, Steve and Mike are sorta mixing the pop sounds into the old stuff, and then there's the old stuff.

I like the traditional music. That said, I like all it's subcategories. Let's not try to define past that. That's what comes from my heart. It's what I grew up with and what I want to play if I'm going to play "Cajun" music. I had a rockabilly band here in Moscow for a little while but I'm not mixing much of that into what I'm doing now.

Let's all do what comes from the heart. If we're going to play anything, let's play what inspires us. Let's toss in some new ideas if that's what we're moved to do, and call it what we can, choosing the label very carefully to avoid confusing people who don't know any better. I guess that's all that matters when it comes down to it. Some will love it, others will hate it. That's life.

Re: Re: cajun/creole/zydeco/zydecajun/traditional/etc

Let's not forget that there's also La Brise du Bayou! creating Cajun French hip-hop.



---Roy---



Jamey Hall's most excellent Cajun Accordion Music Theory

Brett's all new Cajun Accordion Music Theory for all keys!

LFR1.gif - 1092 Bytes The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week

augusta.gif - 6841 Bytes

Listen to Some GREAT Music While You Surf the Net!!
The BEST Radio Station on the Planet!