Curley Taylor is living up to his band’s name, Zydeco Trouble. Taylor’s recently released sophomore CD, Free Your Mind, is a two-disc set filled with his trademark zydeco with a strong R&B flavor. But the second CD of the set has already caused trouble for Taylor’s polite, guy-I-would-let-my-daughter-date image. Titled “Close to Midnight,” the mellow [...]
The Last Dance
If you’ve ever been to Lewisburg, chances are good you were lost. Not even Google can find it without a struggle. Do a search for this tiny St. Landry Parish village tucked between Opelousas and Church Point and the first link is a map of the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain that is only off [...]
The Life of Riley
Steve Riley talks about Burke Guillory the way many young men talk about LeBron James, Tom Brady or Eminem. Words like “cool,” “powerful” and “influence” slide off Riley’s tongue. But Guillory isn’t a famous athlete, actor or rapper. He was Riley’s grandfather, who taught him how to speak French, cherish music and enjoy life. “I [...]
Still Winning Awards
When someone says “with all due respect,” brace yourself. An insult is about to follow. But I don’t mean it as a putdown when I say to zydeco accordion players, with all due respect, you are no Clifton Chenier. I’m only telling the truth. As an accordionist, you are worthy of respect and admiration. But [...]
The Little Easy
The arrival of thier New Orleans neighbors (in Lafayette) has sparked a number of ventures to help displaced entertainers remain healthy and employed Lafayette could be called the Little Easy or New Orleans West. Since Hurricane Katrina, the city of 110,000 in the Cajun music and zydeco cradle of southwest Louisiana has been featured in [...]
Playing Right
With no members under the age of 50, the Creole Zydeco Farmers reign as zydeco’s elder statesmen. Drummer Clarence “Jockey” Etienne has some senior wisdom for the flood of young musicians in zydeco today. Etienne advises the youngsters to learn a variety of music and take it slow. “Sometimes, some of the records they play [...]
The End of Zydeco Dancehalls
Zydeco music is enjoying the best of times and worst of times. Today, the music has more bands that ever in its history. Cajun bands, who once refused to touch the music with a ten-foot pole, are playing the music, sometimes exclusively. Bands, who are willing to travel, are finding gigs from Long Beach, California [...]
The Prince of Zydeco
If a crowd isn’t dancing at a zydeco dancehall, one of two things is usually happening: the band is terrible or something bigger is capturing their attention. On May 27 at the legendary Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki dancehall in Opelousas, the crowd stopped dancing because they were captured by the smallest guy in the place. Guyland Leday, [...]
Keith Frank Gets Fresh
A little five-year-old voice jumps out at the beginning of cut number five of Keith Frank’s new CD, Going To See Keith Frank, on Soulwood Records. The tiny voice belongs to Zion, the bright-eyed, curly haired son of Jennifer Frank, Keith’s sister and bass player in the Soileau Zydeco Band. Fans at fairs and festivals [...]
The Donkey Show
In classic literature, a lovesick Romeo once told his beloved Juliet “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But would that rose smell as sweet if it was a donkey? Don Fontenot, leader of the Cajun band Les Amis de la Louisiane (Friends of Louisiana) answers with an emphatic “yes.” Everything’s coming [...]
