Jacquesimomo
02-16-2007, 11:21 AM
As we gear up for our Mardi Gras Grand parade and festivities---snow and 28F when the parade steps off at 11 a.m. Saturday---here's a little article featuring our very own Gumbohead... laissez les bon temps roulez!
wish it spoke better of some St. Louisans... but I take pride that at least we have some zydeco...
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St. Louis is home to more blues bands than stop signs, but when it comes to zydeco music, there are two biggies: Gumbohead and Zydeco Crawdaddys. They boast different styles — Gumbohead brings in the funk, Zydeco Crawdaddys keeps it country. Both will perform today and Saturday as part of Mardi Gras.
And both acts share a passion for Louisiana music matched only by their mutual disdain for "Mustang Sally."
"That was a founding principal of the band — never playing 'Mustang Sally' again," said Gumbohead bassist Andy Coco.
"Or 'Brown Eyed Girl' or 'What I Like About You,'" added singer Tim Halpin.
Zydeco is "rump-shaking music," says Coco, an irresistible mix of rhythm and blues, jazz and folk music. Still, life is not always a party for these party bands. Gigs can be hard to find, and the uninitiated are perplexed by the accordions and washboards.
"We can play a whole hour of Louisiana stuff, and then we'll just pull 'Brown Eyed Girl' out of a hat and the dance floor is packed. Then they'll all go sit down" afterward, said Paul Jarvis, the daddy of Zydeco Crawdaddys.
"But every song we do is danceable. I tell ya, it's been a struggle."
Except during Mardi Gras.
The band will play more dates and make more money this month than it will all the rest of the winter. Both bands booked shows for the Mardi Gras celebration in Soulard months ago.
"It's our bread-and-butter time," said Jarvis. "People want to hear real Mardi Gras music. They want to party, and they are geared for it when they leave the house."
Well, not everyone. Most revelers like Mardi Gras for the booze, beads and red beans and rice, not necessarily the beats. That's why the bulk of Soulard's bars will have DJs and cover bands on Saturday.
"It's appalling that you go down to the Mardi Gras and have to search to hear 'Saints Go Marching In,'" said Jarvis. "The bars ask why they should pay a lot of money to bring up someone from Louisiana when they can have Joe Blow and make a lot of money."
Gumbohead took particular offense to last year's headliner, Mini Kiss, a KISS cover band composed entirely of little people. This year's headliner on Saturday is alternative act They Might Be Giants.
"It was more of a sideshow than a celebration of that tradition and heritage," said Halpin. "It was a real missed opportunity to make a gesture to a community hurt by Katrina."
Gumbohead drummer Benet Schaeffer noted: "The French heritage is almost as thick here as it is in New Orleans. Soulard is our French Quarter. We can't replicate New Orleans Mardi Gras, but can we at least not book Mini Kiss?"
Organizers answer that they simply served the audience's taste. Even John Johnson, owner of the Broadway Oyster Bar and the city's leading promoter of Louisiana music, acknowledges that St. Louisans can't relate to New Orleans' musical traditions the way they embrace, for instance, the blues of Memphis.
"I will see a band in New Orleans that I really enjoy, and there are literally thousands of people all up on their feet," said Johnson. "Then I'll bring them up to St. Louis and the typical response is, 'Entertain me and I might get up in the second set after I've had a few drinks.'"
What's not to like? Johnson wonders.
"It's not about the lyrics. Some songs maybe have two lines. It's all about the feeling good," said Johnson. "But people aren't familiar with it, so they are afraid to try it. I tell people, give it a half-hour, and if you don't like it I'll give you your cover back."
Still, Johnson has met St. Louis halfway by booking bands that temper traditional zydeco with funk. That means Gumbohead is in, the more traditional Zydeco Crawdaddys is out. So is Buckwheat Zydeco, among the genre's few household names.
"I've lost money every time I had him," said Johnson. "It's simply unbelievable that I can't get people to come see him."
Same but different
Zydeco music is, in simplest terms, blues music with an accordion and a washboard. It was created by Louisiana's Creole population in the early 20th century. Legends include Clifton Chenier and BooZoo Chavis.
Cajun music, by contrast, was pioneered by French-speaking Acadians who settled in Louisiana. Think of it as bluegrass music with an accordion and triangle.
Though the Zydeco Crawdaddys and Gumbohead cover many of the same artists, they approach zydeco from, literally, different places.
Jarvis has never been to Mardi Gras, nor has he spent much time in Louisiana. He grew playing tuba and drums. Then he heard C.J. Chenier, Clifton's son, on community radio station KDHX (88.1 FM) and decided to pick up the accordion. Hoist actually. His accordion weighs 25 pounds.
"It can be hard on your back when you're pumping and squeezing and trying to hold that thing up as you sing," said Jarvis. "Try to imagine a sack of dog food hanging around your neck."
Though a lot of contemporary zydeco music incorporates funk and hip-hop, Jarvis' original songs reflect his roots. The band has recorded two albums.
"We do more of the country sound," said Jarvis, a taxidermist by trade. "I'm from Illinois, so when I write a song it's got that rural flavor to it."
Gumbohead, however, considers the Big Easy its second home. Most members make an annual pilgrimage to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a mecca for zydeco artists. There Halpin and Coco, once colleagues at an ad agency, first conceived of Gumbohead.
The band has recently released a self-titled album of covers and originals and will play a fundraiser for New Orleans musicians during Jazz Fest in New Orleans this spring. Coco acknowledges he is nervous about playing before New Orleans' best, but he has faced tougher crowds.
"We've played some wedding receptions where the bride and groom really like the band but they have neglected to tell the rest of the wedding party what we do," said Halpin. "So in the middle of the set we'll get a request for 'Brown Eyed Girl' and we'll have to say, 'No, that's not really what we do.'"
Join the club, says New Orleans banjo player Don Vappie. Even in New Orleans, New Orleans musicians don't always feel the love, especially during Mardi Gras.
"Mardi Gras is not about having a lot of New Orleans bands," said Vappie, who will perform Saturday at Sheldon Concert Hall as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this spring.
"The young people don't want to hear a banjo and a clarinet. They're going to go to some karaoke place. Even Jazz Fest — I'm not knocking it, but look who the headliners are."
They include Rod Stewart, Brad Paisley, Jill Scott. And Van Morrison who, wanna bet, will play "Brown Eyed Girl."
dkeaggy@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8343
wish it spoke better of some St. Louisans... but I take pride that at least we have some zydeco...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
St. Louis is home to more blues bands than stop signs, but when it comes to zydeco music, there are two biggies: Gumbohead and Zydeco Crawdaddys. They boast different styles — Gumbohead brings in the funk, Zydeco Crawdaddys keeps it country. Both will perform today and Saturday as part of Mardi Gras.
And both acts share a passion for Louisiana music matched only by their mutual disdain for "Mustang Sally."
"That was a founding principal of the band — never playing 'Mustang Sally' again," said Gumbohead bassist Andy Coco.
"Or 'Brown Eyed Girl' or 'What I Like About You,'" added singer Tim Halpin.
Zydeco is "rump-shaking music," says Coco, an irresistible mix of rhythm and blues, jazz and folk music. Still, life is not always a party for these party bands. Gigs can be hard to find, and the uninitiated are perplexed by the accordions and washboards.
"We can play a whole hour of Louisiana stuff, and then we'll just pull 'Brown Eyed Girl' out of a hat and the dance floor is packed. Then they'll all go sit down" afterward, said Paul Jarvis, the daddy of Zydeco Crawdaddys.
"But every song we do is danceable. I tell ya, it's been a struggle."
Except during Mardi Gras.
The band will play more dates and make more money this month than it will all the rest of the winter. Both bands booked shows for the Mardi Gras celebration in Soulard months ago.
"It's our bread-and-butter time," said Jarvis. "People want to hear real Mardi Gras music. They want to party, and they are geared for it when they leave the house."
Well, not everyone. Most revelers like Mardi Gras for the booze, beads and red beans and rice, not necessarily the beats. That's why the bulk of Soulard's bars will have DJs and cover bands on Saturday.
"It's appalling that you go down to the Mardi Gras and have to search to hear 'Saints Go Marching In,'" said Jarvis. "The bars ask why they should pay a lot of money to bring up someone from Louisiana when they can have Joe Blow and make a lot of money."
Gumbohead took particular offense to last year's headliner, Mini Kiss, a KISS cover band composed entirely of little people. This year's headliner on Saturday is alternative act They Might Be Giants.
"It was more of a sideshow than a celebration of that tradition and heritage," said Halpin. "It was a real missed opportunity to make a gesture to a community hurt by Katrina."
Gumbohead drummer Benet Schaeffer noted: "The French heritage is almost as thick here as it is in New Orleans. Soulard is our French Quarter. We can't replicate New Orleans Mardi Gras, but can we at least not book Mini Kiss?"
Organizers answer that they simply served the audience's taste. Even John Johnson, owner of the Broadway Oyster Bar and the city's leading promoter of Louisiana music, acknowledges that St. Louisans can't relate to New Orleans' musical traditions the way they embrace, for instance, the blues of Memphis.
"I will see a band in New Orleans that I really enjoy, and there are literally thousands of people all up on their feet," said Johnson. "Then I'll bring them up to St. Louis and the typical response is, 'Entertain me and I might get up in the second set after I've had a few drinks.'"
What's not to like? Johnson wonders.
"It's not about the lyrics. Some songs maybe have two lines. It's all about the feeling good," said Johnson. "But people aren't familiar with it, so they are afraid to try it. I tell people, give it a half-hour, and if you don't like it I'll give you your cover back."
Still, Johnson has met St. Louis halfway by booking bands that temper traditional zydeco with funk. That means Gumbohead is in, the more traditional Zydeco Crawdaddys is out. So is Buckwheat Zydeco, among the genre's few household names.
"I've lost money every time I had him," said Johnson. "It's simply unbelievable that I can't get people to come see him."
Same but different
Zydeco music is, in simplest terms, blues music with an accordion and a washboard. It was created by Louisiana's Creole population in the early 20th century. Legends include Clifton Chenier and BooZoo Chavis.
Cajun music, by contrast, was pioneered by French-speaking Acadians who settled in Louisiana. Think of it as bluegrass music with an accordion and triangle.
Though the Zydeco Crawdaddys and Gumbohead cover many of the same artists, they approach zydeco from, literally, different places.
Jarvis has never been to Mardi Gras, nor has he spent much time in Louisiana. He grew playing tuba and drums. Then he heard C.J. Chenier, Clifton's son, on community radio station KDHX (88.1 FM) and decided to pick up the accordion. Hoist actually. His accordion weighs 25 pounds.
"It can be hard on your back when you're pumping and squeezing and trying to hold that thing up as you sing," said Jarvis. "Try to imagine a sack of dog food hanging around your neck."
Though a lot of contemporary zydeco music incorporates funk and hip-hop, Jarvis' original songs reflect his roots. The band has recorded two albums.
"We do more of the country sound," said Jarvis, a taxidermist by trade. "I'm from Illinois, so when I write a song it's got that rural flavor to it."
Gumbohead, however, considers the Big Easy its second home. Most members make an annual pilgrimage to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a mecca for zydeco artists. There Halpin and Coco, once colleagues at an ad agency, first conceived of Gumbohead.
The band has recently released a self-titled album of covers and originals and will play a fundraiser for New Orleans musicians during Jazz Fest in New Orleans this spring. Coco acknowledges he is nervous about playing before New Orleans' best, but he has faced tougher crowds.
"We've played some wedding receptions where the bride and groom really like the band but they have neglected to tell the rest of the wedding party what we do," said Halpin. "So in the middle of the set we'll get a request for 'Brown Eyed Girl' and we'll have to say, 'No, that's not really what we do.'"
Join the club, says New Orleans banjo player Don Vappie. Even in New Orleans, New Orleans musicians don't always feel the love, especially during Mardi Gras.
"Mardi Gras is not about having a lot of New Orleans bands," said Vappie, who will perform Saturday at Sheldon Concert Hall as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this spring.
"The young people don't want to hear a banjo and a clarinet. They're going to go to some karaoke place. Even Jazz Fest — I'm not knocking it, but look who the headliners are."
They include Rod Stewart, Brad Paisley, Jill Scott. And Van Morrison who, wanna bet, will play "Brown Eyed Girl."
dkeaggy@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8343