A vest frottoir or rubboard is a percussion instrument used in zydeco music similar to a washboard. It is usually made from pressed, corrugated stainless steel and is worn over the shoulders.
It is played as a rhythm instrument by stroking either bottle openers or spoons down it. [1] Many of these instruments are home-made, but Don Landry of Louisiana is one professional maker, making them for Clifton Chenier's band and Elvis Fontenot and the Sugar Bees, amongst others.
In The Amazing Race 32 , racers played the vest frottoir during the season's final leg in New Orleans. [2]
The washboard and frottoir are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument. As traditionally used in jazz, zydeco, skiffle, jug band, and old-time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping, but also scraping the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals.
The güiro is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet sound.
The bones, also known as rhythm bones, are a folk instrument that, in their original form, consists of a pair of animal bones, but may also be played on pieces of wood or similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used bones, although wooden sticks shaped like true bones are now more often used. Metal spoons may be used instead, as is common in the United States, known as "playing the spoons". The technique probably arrived in the U.S. via Irish and other European immigrants, and has a history stretching back to ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have contributed to many music genres, including 19th century minstrel shows, traditional Irish and Scottish music, the blues, bluegrass, zydeco, French-Canadian music, and music from Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. The clacking of the loose rib bones produces a much sharper sound than the zydeco washboard or frottoir, which mimics rattling a bone up and down a fixed ribcage.
Zydeco is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles, such as la la and juré. Musicians use the French accordion and a Creole washboard instrument called the frottoir.
Clifton Chenier, was an American musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music that arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion. Chenier won a Grammy Award in 1983.
The Amazing Race is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The Amazing Race is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, and perform physical and mental challenges that often highlight aspects of a location's culture, history, or economy. Over the course of the Race, teams travel by airplanes, helicopters, trucks, bicycles, taxicabs, cars, trains, buses, boats and by foot. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs for being the last to arrive at designated Pit Stops, until only three remain. The first team to arrive at the finish line is awarded the grand prize.
Robert Carlo Mariano, known by the nickname Boston Rob, is an American television personality, known for appearing in the CBS reality show Survivor. He placed tenth in the show's fourth season Survivor: Marquesas, finished as the runner-up to his eventual wife Amber Brkich in the show's eighth season Survivor: All-Stars, came in 13th place in the show's 20th season Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, won the show's 22nd season Survivor: Redemption Island, returned for the show's 39th season Survivor: Island of the Idols as a mentor for the new players alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine, and came in 17th place in the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War. Mariano is the first contestant to appear on Survivor six times, and play five times. He also competed on The Amazing Race twice alongside his wife, where they placed second and eighth.
The octobass is an extremely large and rare bowed string instrument first built around 1850 in Paris by the French luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875). It has three strings and is essentially a larger version of the double bass – the specimen in the collection of the Musée de la Musique in Paris measures 3.48 metres in length, whereas a full-size double bass is generally approximately 2 m in length.
The Amazing Race is an American reality competition show in which teams of two race around the world. Each season is split into legs, with each leg requiring teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel by airplane, boat, taxi, and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs, while the first team to arrive at the end of the final leg wins the grand prize of US$1 million. As the original version of The Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since September 5, 2001. Numerous international versions have been developed following the same core structure, while the American version is also broadcast to several other countries.
Jerry Lee Eaves is an American head college basketball coach and athletic director at Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville. He is the former head men's basketball coach at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Prior to the start of his coaching career, Eaves played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for parts of four seasons.
The 2009 Grand National was the 162nd running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 2009.
Kellie Wells-Brinkley is an American track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles. She won an Olympic bronze medal at the London 2012, setting a personal best in the process.
Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton is an American basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters. He and his fellow Globetrotter Herbert "Flight Time" Lang are known for their participation in three seasons of The Amazing Race.
Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson are American television personalities and twins, most commonly known as "The Twinnies". They appeared on The Amazing Race and Survivor: San Juan del Sur. Nadiya was the first contestant to be voted out, while Natalie was crowned Sole Survivor, winning the show's $1 million prize. Natalie also competed on Survivor: Winners at War, an all winners season. After being voted out first, she battled her way back into the game from the Edge of Extinction and finished runner-up on the season.
Meghan Channing Camarena, known by her online pseudonym Strawburry17, is an American YouTube personality, television host, actress and comic book writer. She has worked on a number of videos, web series, and films, gaining popularity as a YouTube star, and participating as a contestant with fellow YouTuber Joey Graceffa on The Amazing Race 22 and The Amazing Race: All-Stars. She was an on-screen host for video content at Teen.com and was the backstage correspondent for season 2 of the TruTV talent contest Fake Off. In 2017, she and fellow YouTuber Jimmy Wong co-hosted the video game themed variety show Polaris Primetime which was part of Disney's inaugural "D | XP" summer programming block on Disney XD. She’s also the co-writer of the Radiant Pink miniseries.
The Amazing Race 32 is the thirty-second season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world in order to win US$1,000,000. This season visited four continents and eleven countries and traveled over 33,000 miles (53,000 km). Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, India, Cambodia, and the Philippines before returning to the United States and finishing in New Orleans. New twists introduced in this season include an elimination during a no-rest leg, a Double Switchback, and the City Sprint. Elements of the show that returned for this season were the Yield and double-length legs, which were renamed Mega Legs. The season premiered on CBS on October 14, 2020, and the season finale aired on December 16, 2020.
The Amazing Race 33 is the thirty-third season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around Europe to win US$1,000,000. Though filming started in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused production to be placed on hold for over a year and a half. The race resumed in September 2021 with most of the original teams and a modified route. This season visited two continents and seven countries and traveled over 22,000 miles (35,000 km) during eleven legs. Starting from the racers' homes in the United States, racers traveled through England and Scotland before production was suspended. After reuniting in St. Gallen, racers traveled through Switzerland, France, Greece, and Portugal before returning to the United States and finishing in Greater Los Angeles. An element of the show that returned for this season was having teams start from their homes instead of a centralized location. The season premiered on CBS on January 5, 2022, and the season finale aired on March 2, 2022.
The Amazing Race 34 is the thirty-fourth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured twelve teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the Euro-Mediterranean region to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and eight countries and traveled over 11,000 miles (18,000 km) during ten legs. Starting in Munich, racers traveled through Germany, Austria, Italy, Jordan, France, Spain, and Iceland before returning to the United States and finishing in Nashville. Much like the previous season, this season also used a chartered plane rather than commercial airlines to facilitate travel between countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New twists introduced in this season include the Scramble, where teams could perform the first leg's tasks in any order, and eliminating a team in every leg. The season premiered on CBS on September 21, 2022, and concluded on December 7, 2022.
The Amazing Race 35 is the thirty-fifth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured thirteen teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and nine countries and traveled over 23,800 miles (38,300 km) during twelve legs. Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Thailand, Vietnam, India, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ireland before returning to the United States and finishing in Greater Seattle. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the use of commercial flights, the Express Pass, and the U-Turn. In addition, the U-Turn Vote returned with a private vote rather than a public vote, and the U-Turn was a Blind U-Turn. Unlike past seasons, the 35th season featured 90-minute-long episodes. The season aired on Wednesday nights on CBS beginning on September 27, 2023 and concluding on December 13, 2023.