The World Accordion to Buckwheat Zydeco
August 27, 2009
by ROBERT LOERZEL Contributor
Evanston-Review.com
Buckwheat Zydeco, one of Louisiana's best-known zydeco musicians, is recording now for a Chicago label.
Earlier this year, Alligator Records released "Lay Your Burden Down" the latest CD by Buckwheat Zydeco, a.k.a. Stanley Dural. And this Sunday, he'll play at Evanston's SPACE venue. Dural talked about his career in a phone interview from his home near Lafayette, Louisiana.
Buckwheat Zydeco
8 p.m. Aug. 30 at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
$25 in advance, $30 day of show, $36.50 reserved tables.
(847) 492-8860 or www.evanstonspace.com
Q: Your new CD includes "When the Levee Breaks," a song made famous by Led Zeppelin. Did the song have new meaning for you after Hurricane Katrina?
A: That song was done many years ago and many levees in the past came apart and people suffered. It's sort of like telling you: Don't let the levee break. In other words, if something looks strange, fix it, so you can be secure. Like the song says, "If it keep on raining, the levee gonna break. And if the levee break, you got no place to stay." And that's what happened during Katrina. People today still don't have a place to stay because of the levee, man. You dig it? That's reality.
Q: You didn't like zydeco music when you were a kid?
A: My dad played accordion only for family entertainment, with only two instruments, the accordion and the original wooden-frame washboard -- that I used to wash clothes with, man, in a big No. 3 tub, you know what I'm talking about? On weekends, that washboard had a second job -- called music, man. I heard this 24/7, and that was enough for me. I couldn't stand my dad's music, and he hated mine.
Q: So you played organ in an R&B band, but then you started playing zydeco with Clifton Chenier?
A: I got an invitation from Clifton to perform as an organist in his group. To satisfy my dad, I said, "OK, I'm going to take my organ, put it in my van, go up to the venue, put it onstage, play, put it back in the van, bring it home and say, 'Now, I played zydeco music, and I still don't like it.'" I was very stubborn. Man, I got on the stage that first night, and I ended up staying with Clifton over two years.
Q: What finally hit you about zydeco that night?
A: The energy. This cat got onstage, with this big old accordion. And his brother was onstage with a washboard, with things in his fingers -- old bottle openers, man. I'd never seen a washboard like that, wrapped around his shoulders like a bulletproof vest. The sound that came out of this thing! This man got onstage and played for four hours nonstop. No intermission. He didn't know nothing about no intermission.
So I said, "I'm going to give it a shot." And guess what? Me and my dad became best of friends. He played his accordion, and I played my accordion, and we had a great time.
Q: You'd played organ before that. What was different about playing accordion?
A: Being experienced with the piano and organ, I could have handled that right side, but guess what? You have some little rascals on the left side. That's the bass side. That's what gave me the blues.
Q: Someone told me you used to bring a pet raccoon along with you on tour.
A: The one I had before, her name was Tina. She's deceased. She dug into the ground and got the wires and got electrocuted. That's a sad thing to say. I have a new one now, Mika. They're fun to be with.
Q: Would you say zydceo's more popular now than ever before?
A: My music, zydeco, it's pretty rare. People know the music, don't get me wrong. But back in the day, it was pretty rare. People would say, 'Washboard -- what in the hell is that? What are you going to do with these things?' People are playing it now and that's a blessing to me.
August 27, 2009
by ROBERT LOERZEL Contributor
Evanston-Review.com
 |
| www.BuckWheatZydeco.com |
Earlier this year, Alligator Records released "Lay Your Burden Down" the latest CD by Buckwheat Zydeco, a.k.a. Stanley Dural. And this Sunday, he'll play at Evanston's SPACE venue. Dural talked about his career in a phone interview from his home near Lafayette, Louisiana.
Buckwheat Zydeco
8 p.m. Aug. 30 at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
$25 in advance, $30 day of show, $36.50 reserved tables.
(847) 492-8860 or www.evanstonspace.com
Q: Your new CD includes "When the Levee Breaks," a song made famous by Led Zeppelin. Did the song have new meaning for you after Hurricane Katrina?
A: That song was done many years ago and many levees in the past came apart and people suffered. It's sort of like telling you: Don't let the levee break. In other words, if something looks strange, fix it, so you can be secure. Like the song says, "If it keep on raining, the levee gonna break. And if the levee break, you got no place to stay." And that's what happened during Katrina. People today still don't have a place to stay because of the levee, man. You dig it? That's reality.
Q: You didn't like zydeco music when you were a kid?
A: My dad played accordion only for family entertainment, with only two instruments, the accordion and the original wooden-frame washboard -- that I used to wash clothes with, man, in a big No. 3 tub, you know what I'm talking about? On weekends, that washboard had a second job -- called music, man. I heard this 24/7, and that was enough for me. I couldn't stand my dad's music, and he hated mine.
Buckwheat Zydeco is a first round
2009 Grammy Nominee with the
release his of new CD
Lay Down Your Burden.
A: I got an invitation from Clifton to perform as an organist in his group. To satisfy my dad, I said, "OK, I'm going to take my organ, put it in my van, go up to the venue, put it onstage, play, put it back in the van, bring it home and say, 'Now, I played zydeco music, and I still don't like it.'" I was very stubborn. Man, I got on the stage that first night, and I ended up staying with Clifton over two years.
Q: What finally hit you about zydeco that night?
A: The energy. This cat got onstage, with this big old accordion. And his brother was onstage with a washboard, with things in his fingers -- old bottle openers, man. I'd never seen a washboard like that, wrapped around his shoulders like a bulletproof vest. The sound that came out of this thing! This man got onstage and played for four hours nonstop. No intermission. He didn't know nothing about no intermission.
So I said, "I'm going to give it a shot." And guess what? Me and my dad became best of friends. He played his accordion, and I played my accordion, and we had a great time.
Q: You'd played organ before that. What was different about playing accordion?
A: Being experienced with the piano and organ, I could have handled that right side, but guess what? You have some little rascals on the left side. That's the bass side. That's what gave me the blues.
Q: Someone told me you used to bring a pet raccoon along with you on tour.
A: The one I had before, her name was Tina. She's deceased. She dug into the ground and got the wires and got electrocuted. That's a sad thing to say. I have a new one now, Mika. They're fun to be with.
Q: Would you say zydceo's more popular now than ever before?
A: My music, zydeco, it's pretty rare. People know the music, don't get me wrong. But back in the day, it was pretty rare. People would say, 'Washboard -- what in the hell is that? What are you going to do with these things?' People are playing it now and that's a blessing to me.
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