PREFACE
In the near future I will add my comments about recent events regarding the Krewe De Walleye. Over the years there's been mutterings about this organization closing, but we all knew it wouldn't happen because this commnunity has a strong passion for Louisiana culture, music & dance. Recently there's been a more serious concern, even by previous board members and community leaders. I will add more comments on this subject, here, with background info, my opinions and hope for the Krewe...
Go ahead and add your comments here now, if you'd like. We all need to speak up.
THE KREWE'S WEBSITE
Yes, the Krewe's website is now 1 page. It used to be several pages, but it's been reduced. I would imagine to simplify things.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
Walker CajunFest 2006
Another year of the Northern Lights Casino CajunFest has come and gone. August 17-20, 2006, many people I talked to showed or talked about how nice this festival is, and about their regular attendance. So everyone knows, this festival is a thank you to their patrons, and cost nothing to those who attend.
Check out their Myspace page. www.myspace.com/walkercajunfest
THE LINE UP
The 2006 lineup was a repeat of last year. The premier Cajun group, the Basin Brothers, featuring Al Berard was first in the schedule. Their twin fiddles is always a wonder full sound. Combined with the Cajun tonal qualities & modes, the Basin Brothers sound is truely a treat. And for the dancers, every song is can't help but get us on our feet, moving around the dance floor.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Saw Dust Days '06, Oshkosh, WI
THE FESTIVAL
This festival is a multi-cultural, multi-event, happening hosted by the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Most of the events & festivities happen in Menominee Park, right next to Lake Winnebago. The area is rich with Native American Historical significance.
ANTICIPATION
This year I was really looking forward to the Saw Dust Days festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Tom Stephany, who organizes the Louisiana Hot Sauce stage with his wife Lynn, had ask my opinion on what Louisiana artists to bring up to this years (2006) festival. Every year Tom & Lynn seem to do a better job at making the next year's Louisiana Hot Sauce stage, better than the last.
PREVIOUS ARTISTS
The artists from the 2005 festival were Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin Cajuns, Dora & the Zydeco Bad Boys, Lost Bayou Ramblers, and a couple regional bands from Chicago & Milwaukee areas.
THIS YEARS ARTISTS
More to come.
DANCING & ATMOSPHERE
More to come.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
More to come.
THE FIREWORKS
More to come.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
San Diego's Gator By The Bay Zydeco & Blues Festival
THE FESTIVAL
San Diego's "Gator by the Bay" Zydeco & Blues Festival
May 13, 14, 2006 (Saturday & Sunday)
www.sandiegofestival.com/
MY PILGRIMAGE
Well, I finally made it out to the Gator by the Bay Zydeco & Blues festival. It was great. It also happened to be a trip back to my old stomping grounds. I was raised, from the ages of 2-19 right across the bay, in Coronado, California. Very significant years.
FLIGHT & ACCOMMODATIONS
My dance & instructing partner, Deb Clark & I found, made a non-stop flight into San Diego on Friday, the 12th of May. Since we decided to cough up the cash to stay right there at the Sheraton Inn, all we had to do was take the shuttle across the freeway from the airport, and we were there. We had just enough time to get something to eat, find our rooms and get ready for the Friday night dance with Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble.
FRIDAY NIGHT DANCE
The the dance with Curley was great, though I didn't know very many people, I did recognized a few. Some of the dancers that travel from around the country were there. And some I would come to know over the course of the weekend. The dance was held in one of the Sheraton's conference halls, and had a wooden dance floor brought in for it. I thought it was great fun, seeing all sorts of different dancers, from all over the country, try to identify where they're from by their dance style. And, many were or could've been from Louisiana, by their dance style. It was the first time I met and danced with Johnny, from Baton Rouge, and excellent dancer, and sweet person as well.
FESTIVAL / SATURDAY
As with all festival situations, the dilemma was deciding on who to see and when. Those of you who know the mental if not group discussion " X is playing over here at this time, but I've heard them recently, and I haven't heard Y. But, Y isn't as fun to dance to, and then there might be a bigger crowd over at Z, but I really really like X..."
SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE
After the festival wrapped up Saturday afternoon/evening, there was just enough time to eat, freshen up and/or change, and get down to the 'ballroom' for another zydeco dance featuring Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers. This time they opened up the space to it's full size, and added more fans. That's wind stirring, dancer cooling, blowing fans. It felt so nice stepping right off the dance floor, in front of one of the floor drying fans, that it almost seem sacrilegious to be so accommodated. But hey, I wasn't about to say anything.
ZYDECO LESSON ADVANCED
Early Saturday morning I was up figuring what was I going to teach. I had a veritable laundry list, with the usual debate "people have been asking for this, but I'll need to start with some basics, but people don't know my basics. That's okay, just assume these people know the basics, but people will be walking up not really knowing zydeco very well and will get frustrated. But, I won't have much time, I'll need to get right into the advanced stuff, yet it'd be nice if people could following along well enough."
San Diego's "Gator by the Bay" Zydeco & Blues Festival
May 13, 14, 2006 (Saturday & Sunday)
www.sandiegofestival.com/
MY PILGRIMAGE
Well, I finally made it out to the Gator by the Bay Zydeco & Blues festival. It was great. It also happened to be a trip back to my old stomping grounds. I was raised, from the ages of 2-19 right across the bay, in Coronado, California. Very significant years.
FLIGHT & ACCOMMODATIONS
My dance & instructing partner, Deb Clark & I found, made a non-stop flight into San Diego on Friday, the 12th of May. Since we decided to cough up the cash to stay right there at the Sheraton Inn, all we had to do was take the shuttle across the freeway from the airport, and we were there. We had just enough time to get something to eat, find our rooms and get ready for the Friday night dance with Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble.
FRIDAY NIGHT DANCE
The the dance with Curley was great, though I didn't know very many people, I did recognized a few. Some of the dancers that travel from around the country were there. And some I would come to know over the course of the weekend. The dance was held in one of the Sheraton's conference halls, and had a wooden dance floor brought in for it. I thought it was great fun, seeing all sorts of different dancers, from all over the country, try to identify where they're from by their dance style. And, many were or could've been from Louisiana, by their dance style. It was the first time I met and danced with Johnny, from Baton Rouge, and excellent dancer, and sweet person as well.
FESTIVAL / SATURDAY
As with all festival situations, the dilemma was deciding on who to see and when. Those of you who know the mental if not group discussion " X is playing over here at this time, but I've heard them recently, and I haven't heard Y. But, Y isn't as fun to dance to, and then there might be a bigger crowd over at Z, but I really really like X..."
SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE
After the festival wrapped up Saturday afternoon/evening, there was just enough time to eat, freshen up and/or change, and get down to the 'ballroom' for another zydeco dance featuring Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers. This time they opened up the space to it's full size, and added more fans. That's wind stirring, dancer cooling, blowing fans. It felt so nice stepping right off the dance floor, in front of one of the floor drying fans, that it almost seem sacrilegious to be so accommodated. But hey, I wasn't about to say anything.
ZYDECO LESSON ADVANCED
Early Saturday morning I was up figuring what was I going to teach. I had a veritable laundry list, with the usual debate "people have been asking for this, but I'll need to start with some basics, but people don't know my basics. That's okay, just assume these people know the basics, but people will be walking up not really knowing zydeco very well and will get frustrated. But, I won't have much time, I'll need to get right into the advanced stuff, yet it'd be nice if people could following along well enough."
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Cajun/Creole Week, Folklore Village, Dodgeville,WI
THE GATHERING
Out in the countryside of central Wisconsin, a gathering of Cajun & Creole musicians & dancers converge at what used to be a dairy farm. The Folklore Village is a renovated barn (very beautifully I might add), complete with farm house. and is dedicated to remembering and indulging our American Folk heritage. This includes heritage for other parts of the country, in this case, Louisiana.
THE LOCATION
more to come...
THE INSTRUCTORS & WORKSHOPS
more to come...
THE CAJUN COWBOY JITTERBUG
more to come...
THE DANCE
more to come.
THE COMMUNITY
more to come.
Out in the countryside of central Wisconsin, a gathering of Cajun & Creole musicians & dancers converge at what used to be a dairy farm. The Folklore Village is a renovated barn (very beautifully I might add), complete with farm house. and is dedicated to remembering and indulging our American Folk heritage. This includes heritage for other parts of the country, in this case, Louisiana.
THE LOCATION
more to come...
THE INSTRUCTORS & WORKSHOPS
more to come...
THE CAJUN COWBOY JITTERBUG
more to come...
THE DANCE
more to come.
THE COMMUNITY
more to come.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Sonny Landreth "The Road We're On"
I just picked up another Sonny Landreth CD, and a few of the songs are gems. Sonny has put together another solid CD. Not all of it suits my fancy, but the songs are tight, and mixed well. The thing is with Sonny's music, is that it begins to all sound the same. Of course you could say that with a lot of music, but this CD, as a whole, lacks some creative flavor. Since I'm a dancer, dancable songs tend to catch my attention, but not only. If the lyrics say something true, and the music has some creative tecture and/or flavor, I can get into any tune, especially if the breaks come from the sole.
List of songs:
List of songs:
- True Blue
- Hell at Home
- All About You
- A World Away
- Gone Pecan
- Natural World
- The Promise Land
- Fallin' For You
- Ol' Lady Luck
- Gemini Blues
- The Road We're On
- Juke Box Mama
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Beale Street Zydeco Festival 2006, Memphis, TN
THE FESTIVAL
The merchants of Beale Street in Memphis have gotten together and indulged a cousin of the Blues, and put together a zydeco festival every year. It's one night, with a usual dance the night before by one of the bands.
THE WEATHER
This year, the weather was the worst. Penni & Don, who happen to live in Memphis, were very gracious hosts, and my 'before hand' contacts regarding the festival. Penni had said that they usually only get one bad storm for the season, and that the one the weekend before should have been it. Unfortunately, the weather from Minnesota seemed to follow us down, because the weekend of the Zydeco festival the weather was cold and icy. Many people didn't come because of the weather. My dance partner (Deb) & I were pretty amused when we heard how local folks reacted to such weather, and I have to say they even made fun of themselves about it. We heard that some folks brought extra clothes and overnight stuff with them in the car in case they got stuck somewhere, and couldn't get back home. Being from Minnesota, we chuckled since weather like this was familiar, and not something we'd worry about getting stuck. First of all, in all fairness, I didn't see many cars stuck or in the ditches. And, since Memphis doesn't get this kind of weather very often, of course folks won't be familiar with how to drive in it. Heck, many Minnesotans still have trouble driving in winter weather, to the dismay of others.
THE NIGHT BEFORE DANCE
The night before the Beale Street festivities, at least one dance is held at a local venue. This dance seems to be for all those that are anticipating all the zydeco on Beale Street, and for those coming into town a day or so early. This year Thomas 'Big Hat' Fields and his Foot Stompin Zydeco Band played. I forget the venue, but I think it was in a nearby town, and in an official room at that. The room was carpeted, wood paneled, and the Seal of the City was in the background, behind the band.
BEALE STREET ZYDECO 2006
Here is a list of the bands.
The merchants of Beale Street in Memphis have gotten together and indulged a cousin of the Blues, and put together a zydeco festival every year. It's one night, with a usual dance the night before by one of the bands.
THE WEATHER
This year, the weather was the worst. Penni & Don, who happen to live in Memphis, were very gracious hosts, and my 'before hand' contacts regarding the festival. Penni had said that they usually only get one bad storm for the season, and that the one the weekend before should have been it. Unfortunately, the weather from Minnesota seemed to follow us down, because the weekend of the Zydeco festival the weather was cold and icy. Many people didn't come because of the weather. My dance partner (Deb) & I were pretty amused when we heard how local folks reacted to such weather, and I have to say they even made fun of themselves about it. We heard that some folks brought extra clothes and overnight stuff with them in the car in case they got stuck somewhere, and couldn't get back home. Being from Minnesota, we chuckled since weather like this was familiar, and not something we'd worry about getting stuck. First of all, in all fairness, I didn't see many cars stuck or in the ditches. And, since Memphis doesn't get this kind of weather very often, of course folks won't be familiar with how to drive in it. Heck, many Minnesotans still have trouble driving in winter weather, to the dismay of others.
THE NIGHT BEFORE DANCE
The night before the Beale Street festivities, at least one dance is held at a local venue. This dance seems to be for all those that are anticipating all the zydeco on Beale Street, and for those coming into town a day or so early. This year Thomas 'Big Hat' Fields and his Foot Stompin Zydeco Band played. I forget the venue, but I think it was in a nearby town, and in an official room at that. The room was carpeted, wood paneled, and the Seal of the City was in the background, behind the band.
BEALE STREET ZYDECO 2006
Here is a list of the bands.
- Roy Carrier & the Night Rockers
- Thomas Fields & his Foot Stompin Zydeco Band
- Dora & the Zydeco Bad Boys
- Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express
- T Broussard & the Zydeco Hotsteppers
- Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble
- Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha's
- Corey Ledet & Zydeco Embrace
- Terry & the Zydeco Bad Boys
Sunday, February 12, 2006
"Sweat" by Chris Ardoin & NuStep
Once again Chris and his band has put out a zydeco CD that is full of talent, beat, dedication, and creativity.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Welcome Everyone!
Welcome to "The Bayou Dancer Post." I started this blog (web log) as an outlet for my own comments, opinions, news, reviews, and interviews of the people I meet along the Creole and Cajun, music & dance trail. Cajun & Creole culture, music and dance originating from SW Louisiana and SE Texas, but reaching all over the world.
*For more information, see the links I've provided along the right hand side of this blog. If you'd like to offer your own, additional links not listed, or comments you'd like to make directly to me, email me at david@bayoudancer.com, thanks.
NEWEST DATES ON TOP
The latest, or most recent posting date will show up at the top of the list. At the left there is a list of archive articles, from which you can choose, is in the same (newest first) order. Comments are also listed and more easily viewed when you select and read the articles one at a time, by clicking on the title as well. Click on 'home' and this will bring you back to the full list.
MY WRITING, MY OPINIONS
I hope to write to this often. Please understand that these are my comments, and my opinions. I will be as honest as I can, with out being rude. And for those times that you find the need to respond, say "here, here," object, reply, add your two cents, correct, etc., there is the comment area.
ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS
I welcome comments , even if it's to say "Hi, I thought I'd stop by and say hello." and/or especially to added your experience regarding a given subject, or correct something that I've written. Just go to the end of the article and find the "comment" link. You're welcome to be honest, but please do not be rude. I will moderate comments as necessary and directed. To comment directly to me, email me at david@bayoudancer.com, thanks.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions, you're welcome to add those to the comment area as well. I will reply directly to you, if you leave contact information. Or, I'll add a comment of my own to respond to your question. Then, you can check back to see my answer. Or, if you need to, email me direct at david@bayoudancer.com
David, a bayou dancer...
*For more information, see the links I've provided along the right hand side of this blog. If you'd like to offer your own, additional links not listed, or comments you'd like to make directly to me, email me at david@bayoudancer.com, thanks.
NEWEST DATES ON TOP
The latest, or most recent posting date will show up at the top of the list. At the left there is a list of archive articles, from which you can choose, is in the same (newest first) order. Comments are also listed and more easily viewed when you select and read the articles one at a time, by clicking on the title as well. Click on 'home' and this will bring you back to the full list.
MY WRITING, MY OPINIONS
I hope to write to this often. Please understand that these are my comments, and my opinions. I will be as honest as I can, with out being rude. And for those times that you find the need to respond, say "here, here," object, reply, add your two cents, correct, etc., there is the comment area.
ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS
I welcome comments , even if it's to say "Hi, I thought I'd stop by and say hello." and/or especially to added your experience regarding a given subject, or correct something that I've written. Just go to the end of the article and find the "comment" link. You're welcome to be honest, but please do not be rude. I will moderate comments as necessary and directed. To comment directly to me, email me at david@bayoudancer.com, thanks.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions, you're welcome to add those to the comment area as well. I will reply directly to you, if you leave contact information. Or, I'll add a comment of my own to respond to your question. Then, you can check back to see my answer. Or, if you need to, email me direct at david@bayoudancer.com
David, a bayou dancer...
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Step 'n' Strutt Trail Ride 2004, Prairie Larent, LA
2004 LOUISIANA TRIP - PART II
ONE OF THE LARGEST
The Step 'n' Strutt Trail ride is one of the biggest trail rides around. Over the course of the 3 day weekend, about 600 horses and their owners, along with the other dancers and party goers attend the Step 'n' Strutt Trailride. Upwards of 7-8 bands play for hundreds of primarily Black Creoles, and African Americans.
BEFORE THE TRIP
I had been planning to go on this trip and wanted to make some connections before hand, so I got the name & number of the organizer of the trailride, Dave Lamelle.
BEFORE THE TRAILRIDE
This particular trip, we flew into New Orleans, and went to the Pre-Zydeco Cruise fest dances Thursday & Friday. Thursday, Keith Frank & the Soileil Zydeco band played, and Friday it was Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, and Chris Ardoin & Nu Step.
TO THE COUNTRY
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