This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2009) |
Red Stick Ramblers | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Louisiana, United States |
Genres | Cajun |
Members | Linzay Young Daniel Coolik Chas Justus Eric Frey Glenn Fields Blake Miller |
Past members | Josh Caffery Joel Savoy Richard Burgess Ricky Rees Kevin Wimmer |
The Red Stick Ramblers were a Cajun Music and Western Swing band formed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1999 while some of the members were attending Louisiana State University. Their name comes from a translation of Baton Rouge, which means "red stick" in French. The most recent line-up consisted of Linzay Young (fiddle, lead vocals), Daniel Coolik (fiddle, mandolin, electric guitar), Chas Justus (guitar, vocals), Eric Frey (Upright Bass, Vocals), Blake Miller (accordion and acoustic guitar) and Glenn Fields (drums). Past members include Josh Caffery, Joel Savoy, Oliver Swain, Kevin Wimmer, Wilson Savoy and Ricky Rees.
The band played a combination of traditional Cajun songs (sung in Cajun French), as well as covers of Western Swing classics (particularly the songs of Bob Wills), early American jazz and blues covers (Stuff Smith, Count Basie, Fats Waller and more), and honky tonk and dance-hall music, as well as dozens of tradition-inspired original songs.
The Red Stick Ramblers have appeared in a season finale of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations", with chef Anthony Bourdain, entitled "Cajun Country". Following this appearance the band scored a role in the third season of HBO's Treme , starring as Lucia Micarelli's character Annie's band the "Bayou St. John Playboys" and later "Annie T's Bayou Cadillac." Three Red Stick Rambler original songs, Made in the Shade, Katrina, and Morning Blues, are featured in season three of Treme. The band also returned to appear in the final abbreviated 4th season of Treme.
The rhythm section of the Ramblers performed as the backing band on several tracks of Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy's 2007 release Adieu False Heart.
On 26 October 2013 at the Black Pot Festival in Lafayette, LA, a festival started by the Red Stick Ramblers in 2006, the band announced that this would be their last show as The Red Stick Ramblers. 5/6th of the members of the most recent personnel of the band have gone on to form The Revelers, which is currently active.
The music of Louisiana can be divided into three general regions: rural south Louisiana, home to Creole Zydeco and Old French, New Orleans, and north Louisiana. The region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The music of the northern portion of the state starting at Baton Rouge and reaching Shreveport has similarities to that of the rest of the US South.
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based zydeco music. Both are from southwest Louisiana and share French and African origins. These French Louisiana sounds have influenced American popular music for many decades, especially country music, and have influenced pop culture through mass media, such as television commercials.
The Hackberry Ramblers, a Grammy Award-nominated Cajun music band based in Hackberry, Louisiana, formed in 1933. Since its heyday in the late 1930s it has become one of the most recognized names and influential groups in Cajun music.
Al Berard (1960–2014) was a Cajun musician, recording artist, and composer in addition to being considered a world-renowned cajun fiddler.
Lost Bayou Ramblers is a Cajun music band from Pilette, Louisiana.
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys are an American Cajun band from southern Louisiana. The band formed in 1988 and has since recorded 10 albums, nine of which are on Rounder Records.
Adieu False Heart is a collaborative album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Ronstadt featuring Cajun music singer Ann Savoy. It peaked at #146 on the Billboard album chart and nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. This was Ronstadt's final studio album before her retirement in 2011 and the revelation of her affliction with Parkinson's disease in 2013, leaving her unable to perform or sing.
Cajun music has its roots based in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada, and in country music.
The Pine Leaf Boys is an American Cajun and Creole band from South Louisiana, United States. Members include Wilson Savoy, Chris Segura, Drew Simon, Jean Bertrand (guitars), and Thomas David (bass).
Valcour Records is an independent record label based in Eunice, Louisiana. Valcour was founded in 2006 by Joel Savoy, with friends Phillip LaFargue II and Lucius Fontenot. Valcour Records' first release in 2006 was Goin' Down to Louisiana by fiddle player Cedric Watson and accordionist Corey Ledet.
Wilson Allen Savoy is a Grammy winning accordionist, keyboard player, fiddler and singer with the Cajun bands Pine Leaf Boys and The Band Courtbouillon, as well as a local filmmaker in Lafayette, LA. His father Marc Savoy, famous accordion builder and musician, and his mother, Ann Savoy, musician, author and music producer, are well known ambassadors and supporters of preserving the Cajun culture.
The culture of Louisiana involves its music, food, religion, clothing, language, architecture, art, literature, games, and sports. Often, these elements are the basis for one of the many festivals in the state. Louisiana, while sharing many similarities to its neighbors along the Gulf Coast, is unique in the influence of Louisiana French culture, due to the historical waves of immigration of French-speaking settlers to Louisiana. Likewise, African-American culture plays a prominent role. While New Orleans, as the largest city, has had an outsize influence on Louisiana throughout its history, other regions both rural and urban have contributed their shared histories and identities to the culture of the state.
Luderin Lawrence Darbone, was a Cajun-Western swing fiddle player for the band Hackberry Ramblers.
Cedric Watson is an American musician. He has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards.
If Dreams Come True is an album by American singer and musician Ann Savoy, released in 2007.
Joel Savoy is a Cajun musician and music producer from Southwest Louisiana. His father Marc Savoy, famous accordion builder and musician, and his mother, Ann Savoy, author and music producer, are well known ambassadors and supporters of preserving the Cajun culture.
David Greely is a professional fiddler from south Louisiana.
The Revelers are a Louisiana music group, composed of founding members of the Red Stick Ramblers and the Pine Leaf Boys. They are unique in that they play all styles of Cajun, zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Americana equally well. There is no leader and everyone sings and writes music. Blake Miller is currently one of the most prolific composers of original French Cajun music.