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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Rock a bayou
Interest growing in energetic Louisiana music
Ian Hill
Record Staff Writer
Published Monday, Aug 7, 2006
http://www.recordnet.com
STOCKTON - You can't sit still when the music is playing.
It doesn't matter how old you are, or where you're from - the rollicking sound of zydeco forces you out of your seat and onto the dance floor, Mildred Jones said.
"It hits your heart. If you hear it performed, you've got to move; it's going to move you," said Jones, 55, a zydeco fan from Stockton.
Zydeco (pronounced zy-deck-oh) is Cajun-influenced, up tempo blues music born in Louisiana and built around an accordion. It rolls with a passionate fire similar to the early rock sounds of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Its origins lie in the 1920s with Louisiana's Cajuns, who are descendents of the first French settlers in Canada. They were expelled from Canada by the British in the mid-1700s.
Many zydeco songs still feature lyrics in broken French.
The tempo can speed up or slow down based on the audience's dancing. Zydeco dance calls for couples to follow eight beats and move in small steps without swinging their hips.
"It touches my soul, it really does, and it's very exciting," said Betty Tillman, 66, of Stockton.
The genre has recently has been gaining fans in San Joaquin County through dances and concerts, including performances by the BluesBox Bayou Band at the Lodi Grape Festival grounds. Band leader, accordion player and vocalist Pete Grimaldi, 51, said local interest in zydeco is growing.
"I see the energy rising in the area and I think Stockton is ripe for things to happen," Grimaldi said. The band is based in Modesto and Sonora.
Zydeco dances also are held from 5 to 9 p.m. every other Sunday at Chitiva's Salsa and Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Stockton.
"We get nice people. They come from all over the place - Lodi, Sacramento," said bar and grill owner Carlos Chitiva, 60. "It's very energetic. ... They all want to dance."
Jones' great-grandparents, Benjamin Jones and Caroline Murdoch-Jones, went to a zydeco dance after getting married, and her parents, Lawrence Jones and Willie-Mae Bryant-Jones, met at a zydeco dance in Appaloosa, La.
After the family moved to Stockton, Jones' grandfather, Munroe Jones, would sit on the concrete porch of their Pilgrim Street home and tell friends and family about seeing his niece's husband Clifton Chenier perform at Appaloosa parties.
Chenier, who is called the "King of Zydeco," won a Grammy and performed at the White House.
Stockton musician Adam La Tour, 50, said he learned zydeco at a young age. He was born in New Orleans, and many of his relatives were zydeco performers.
La Tour began organizing the zydeco events at Salsa and Sports after Hurricane Katrina decimated his hometown. Several dozen hurricane survivors from New Orleans re-located to Stockton after the disaster, and La Tour said he wanted to help them feel at home.
Since then, zydeco has gained a following among other local residents, he said.
"People are interested. It's catching on," he said.
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Essential zydeco albums
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"Cajun Swamp Music Live," Clifton Chenier: There are seemingly dozens of live discs out there featuring the undisputed King of Zydeco. This 1978 Tomato release, however, finds Chenier at the height of his powers with his Red Hot Louisiana Band at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
"Cookin' With Queen Ida," Queen Ida: More zydeco royalty and another great performance. The Bay Area-based Ida Guillory and her zydeco band cook on this 1989 set, particularly on "C'Est Moi," "I-10 Express" and "Dancing On the Bayou."
"Where There's Smoke There's Fire," Buckwheat Zydeco: The artist, born Stanley Dural, pushes the music toward the mainstream without sacrificing soul. This 1990 collection, includes a duet with Dwight Yoakam as well as a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden."
"That's What I'm Talkin' About!" Geno Delafose: The son of a Creole musician, Delafose was one of zydeco's brightest young talents when he recorded this in 1994. The rhythms are strong and the mood is lighthearted throughout, with the exception of the wonderfully morose "Teardrops."
"Live at the Habibi Temple," Boozoo Chavis: Born Wilson Anthony, his 1954 hit "Paper in My Shoes" --included here -- is credited with being the first zydeco hit. Other standouts include "Motor Dude Special" and "Boozoo, That's Who!" all recorded in Lake Charles, La.
-- Brian McCoy, Record Entertainment Editor
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Allright. I really hate to bump my own thread, but I can't really believe that I'm the only one around here who actually likes this shit. |
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| glencar |
Feh. |
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| edithgrove |
You're not the only one to like Cajun stuff. Check out WWOZ.org on Sunday afternoons (central U.S. time) or 90.7-FM in the New Orleans area. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Feh.
Good stuff....eh Glencar?
We've still got some "leftover cajuns" up in eastern Maine. Descended from some that never made it past Maine when the Brits threw them out all those years ago. |
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| glencar |
I was in NO once & I liked the music fine but it's not my fave stuff. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
glencar wrote:
I was in NO once & I liked the music fine but it's not my fave stuff.
That's cool. Most of the good Zydeco clubs are out in west Louisiana, near the Texas border. |
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| keefkid |
ever go to Rock & Bowl in New Orleans???
probably still under water .... |
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| edithgrove |
Rock & Bowl is alive and well! The neighborhood is still a mess, but Rock & Bowl was one of the first places back in business. |
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