A Cowboy At Heart
Delafose Just as Comfortable on the Ranch, as He is Performing on Stage
August 18, 2016
by Raymond Partsch III
EvangelineToday.com
As a child growing up in rural Evangeline Parish, Geno Delafose always imagined himself becoming a rodeo cowboy, and not a famed zydeco musician.
The Grammy-nominated accordionist and singer grew up in a household filled with the music long associated with Creole culture, also known as “La La” as his late father John Delafose was a famous zydeco accordion player.
As much as Geno loved the sounds, and stories, that his father and his band the Eunice Playboys played on a weekly basis, Geno’s dream was to grow up bucking broncos and not singing in French Cajun.
“My plan was really to be around horses and cattle,” Delafose said. “I always wanted to be a cowboy. Mamou High didn’t have a rodeo team but Eunice High did. I was thinking of transferring over there but right when I decided to join the rodeo, my older brother joined the Armed Forces. My dad needed a rubboard player and the rest is history.”
Delafose played in his father’s band until the elder Delafose’s passed away in 1994. Delafose would form his own band, French Rockin’ Boogie, record five studio albums, earned a Grammy nomination for 2007’s “Le Cowboy Creole,” and with his brand of zydeco (known as nouveau zydeco) has become one of the most visible and popular acts of the genre.
Delafose will be performing at this Saturday’s 34th Annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, held this year at the Yambilee Building in downtown Opelousas instead of Zydeco Park in Plaisance due to the severe weather the region has experienced.
Taking part in the festival holds special meaning for Delafose.
“My dad played such a major role and helped get it started,” Delafose said. “That is one of the reasons I always want to play in it. I remember that festival as a young boy. They would have like 20,000 people come out to the festival. Thank God it is still there.”
Early in his career, Delafose would play roughly 250 shows per year, which had him traveling from Louisiana to California, New York and Florida and everywhere in between. Yet, Delafose never moved away from the parish he called home growing up, and he currently as two homes in the parish once in Duralde and another in Point Blue.
“This is where my heart is,” said Delafose, who graduated from Mamou High in 1989. “I never really wanted to live anywhere else. I love it. I got two houses that are 14 miles apart and I got all my cattle in between. I can stop off on the side of the road and check on my cows whenever I want.”
The 45-year-old may have time to check on his cows but that doesn’t mean he’s not busy playing his classics like “Gotta Find My Woman,” “Les flammes d’enfer” or “Slow Motion Zydeco” for his die-hard fans. Delafose has dates lined up nearly every weekend for the remainder of the year, which includes playing club dates like Mojo’s at Evangeline Downs to The Louisiana Cotton Festival in Ville Platte to playing on a Carnival Dream Cruise.
When it comes to performing, Delafose still remembers the sound advice his late father gave him decades ago.
“My daddy always told me to give the people what they want,” Delafose said. “You are there for the people. You are not there for yourself, you are there for them. We take great pride in being consistent. We are like a mailman. Once we get there we deliver.”
What about changing things up with the structure or tempo of a song to help freshen things up on stage? Not likely says Delafose.
“We always play the songs in the same way,” Delafose said. “If you go to a place that cooks a rice and gravy that you love the same away every time, and then if you go back and it tastes different you are going to be upset.”
Delafose loves performing but he could do without spending time in a studio recording another album. It has been nine years since “Le Cowboy Creole” was released, and Delafose currently has no plans to enter the studio anytime soon.
“A lot of musicians ask me how I stay so busy without putting out an album,” Delafose said. “I love to play but I don’t spend my downtime in the studio coming up with new songs. I love to perform and when I am done playing on Sunday nights I don’t pick up my accordion until the following Friday night.”
Delafose may not be planning on creating any new material anytime soon but he still loves to perform for his fans, and he is grateful to having the chance to still live at least part of his childhood dream.
“Thank all of my fans for letting me do what I do,” Delafose said. “I really am living my childhood dream right now. I still never rodeo but I can ride horses whenever I want and that is special for me.”
Delafose Just as Comfortable on the Ranch, as He is Performing on Stage
August 18, 2016
by Raymond Partsch III
EvangelineToday.com
 |
| Delafose will be taking the stage this Saturday for the 34th Annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival. The event, which is normally held at Zydeco Park in Plaisance, has been moved to the Yambilee Building in downtown Opelousas due to the recent historic floods. (LSN file photos) |
As a child growing up in rural Evangeline Parish, Geno Delafose always imagined himself becoming a rodeo cowboy, and not a famed zydeco musician.
The Grammy-nominated accordionist and singer grew up in a household filled with the music long associated with Creole culture, also known as “La La” as his late father John Delafose was a famous zydeco accordion player.
As much as Geno loved the sounds, and stories, that his father and his band the Eunice Playboys played on a weekly basis, Geno’s dream was to grow up bucking broncos and not singing in French Cajun.
“My plan was really to be around horses and cattle,” Delafose said. “I always wanted to be a cowboy. Mamou High didn’t have a rodeo team but Eunice High did. I was thinking of transferring over there but right when I decided to join the rodeo, my older brother joined the Armed Forces. My dad needed a rubboard player and the rest is history.”
Delafose played in his father’s band until the elder Delafose’s passed away in 1994. Delafose would form his own band, French Rockin’ Boogie, record five studio albums, earned a Grammy nomination for 2007’s “Le Cowboy Creole,” and with his brand of zydeco (known as nouveau zydeco) has become one of the most visible and popular acts of the genre.
Delafose will be performing at this Saturday’s 34th Annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, held this year at the Yambilee Building in downtown Opelousas instead of Zydeco Park in Plaisance due to the severe weather the region has experienced.
Taking part in the festival holds special meaning for Delafose.
“My dad played such a major role and helped get it started,” Delafose said. “That is one of the reasons I always want to play in it. I remember that festival as a young boy. They would have like 20,000 people come out to the festival. Thank God it is still there.”
Early in his career, Delafose would play roughly 250 shows per year, which had him traveling from Louisiana to California, New York and Florida and everywhere in between. Yet, Delafose never moved away from the parish he called home growing up, and he currently as two homes in the parish once in Duralde and another in Point Blue.
“This is where my heart is,” said Delafose, who graduated from Mamou High in 1989. “I never really wanted to live anywhere else. I love it. I got two houses that are 14 miles apart and I got all my cattle in between. I can stop off on the side of the road and check on my cows whenever I want.”
The 45-year-old may have time to check on his cows but that doesn’t mean he’s not busy playing his classics like “Gotta Find My Woman,” “Les flammes d’enfer” or “Slow Motion Zydeco” for his die-hard fans. Delafose has dates lined up nearly every weekend for the remainder of the year, which includes playing club dates like Mojo’s at Evangeline Downs to The Louisiana Cotton Festival in Ville Platte to playing on a Carnival Dream Cruise.
When it comes to performing, Delafose still remembers the sound advice his late father gave him decades ago.
“My daddy always told me to give the people what they want,” Delafose said. “You are there for the people. You are not there for yourself, you are there for them. We take great pride in being consistent. We are like a mailman. Once we get there we deliver.”
What about changing things up with the structure or tempo of a song to help freshen things up on stage? Not likely says Delafose.
“We always play the songs in the same way,” Delafose said. “If you go to a place that cooks a rice and gravy that you love the same away every time, and then if you go back and it tastes different you are going to be upset.”
Delafose loves performing but he could do without spending time in a studio recording another album. It has been nine years since “Le Cowboy Creole” was released, and Delafose currently has no plans to enter the studio anytime soon.
“A lot of musicians ask me how I stay so busy without putting out an album,” Delafose said. “I love to play but I don’t spend my downtime in the studio coming up with new songs. I love to perform and when I am done playing on Sunday nights I don’t pick up my accordion until the following Friday night.”
Delafose may not be planning on creating any new material anytime soon but he still loves to perform for his fans, and he is grateful to having the chance to still live at least part of his childhood dream.
“Thank all of my fans for letting me do what I do,” Delafose said. “I really am living my childhood dream right now. I still never rodeo but I can ride horses whenever I want and that is special for me.”
#GenoDelafose #ZOL #ZydecoOnline #ZydecoNation
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