The posts from a lot of you about Mellowberry and assorted related subjects has been quite interesting...I have some thoughts about the general subject also...
I happen to like traditional music of several types...heck, recently I've been listening to "Old-Time gospel music recorded in the golden age." But mostly, I like traditional Cajun music and what I call Old-Time music. To me, the two types of music have much in common.
Only a few years ago, I knew nothing about either type. I can only wonder how I would have been if I had known about those forms of Folk Music much earlier in my life. But I guess it is never too late...
A few weeks ago, I learned about an Old-Time fiddle and banjo player named Christian Wig. I got in touch with him and bought his three CDs of fiddle and banjo music. His first CD was titled "Gate to Go Through." In the insert that he wrote, he said the following:
"As the title suggests, you stand before a GATE to a world of sound not present in today's popular music. It does not seek to amuse; neither does it ask for approval nor seek equality with other forms of entertainment. It hovers alone, radiated from the heart, a visceral expression of a mountain people and the revivalist tradition that shares its tradition. Stripped of polish and production, the tone is rich, yet raw - the resonance of bow on string, finger on gut. This is Old Time Fiddle and Banjo." (The last is a subtitle to his CD).
Well, that's how I also feel about traditional Cajun music. Most people in this Country have no idea what either type of music is. Even in SW Louisiana, a lot of people think that Cajun music is old and dated; but I guess that is their problem. I happen to believe that traditional forms of music are just yet to be "rediscovered" and that the world will be a better place when (not if) more people discover its strength and its beauty...so what if they look at me funny when I try to tell them about it...they don't know what they are missing...
Just some random thoughts...the accordion is beautiful! Just because most people have not "gone through that gate" doesn't mean that they cannot or will not or that those who have "gone through" are wrong.
Yes, I agree with Ganey. Well, said, Jack! Especially this last part:
"Just some random thoughts...the accordion is beautiful! Just because most people have not "gone through that gate" doesn't mean that they cannot or will not or that those who have "gone through" are wrong."
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It's funny, when I first fell in love with Cajun music (hard to believe it's so long ago, coming up on 19 years) I started out listening to Beausoleil. But I soon discovered Savoy-Doucet, and from there it was on to very traditional Cajun-Creole music, the primary sources, yearly pilgrimages to Augusta. We all know how that goes.
I was one of those "americain" musicians who was like a convert or "true believer." I went through a phase of becoming so wedded to a traditional sound that I became, I now realize, a little intolerant. Like I could no longer appreciate a band like Beausoleil. Or I thought it was some kind of sacrilege to play Jambalaya as opposed to the "real" tune, Grand Texas.
But I've now come round to thinking it's a matter of personal taste, as you say. Personally, I'm as wedded as I ever was to the more traditional sound. But I try not to judge others. Maybe I just getting mellower in my old age :-)
And I have to say that those Mellowberry kids in Houma--well, anything they do that will help hold on to French has to be worth something. And so often, the more accessible/commercial sounds serve as a gateway to the older styles, the wellspring of the music.
(I gave my rock musician son in NYC my old Hohner a few years back. I keep hoping! So far he hasn't touched it. But he's started to use the mandolin my husband gave him, so maybe there is hope that he'll discover traditional music one day.)
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
