The Lost Bayou Ramblers

The Lost Bayou Ramblers

Members playing at the Blue Moon Saloon

Members playing at the Blue Moon Saloon
Background information
Origin Pilette, Louisiana, USA
Genres Cajun
Labels Swallow, Bayou Perdu Records
Associated acts GIVERS, Soul Creole, Les Frères Michot, Gordon Gano
Website http://www.lostbayouramblers.com/
Members Louis Michot, Andre Michot, Korey Richey, Eric Heigle, Johnny Campos
Past members Chris Courville, Alan LaFleur, Cavan Carruth, Paul Etheredge

Lost Bayou Ramblers is a Grammy-nominated[1] Cajun music band from Broussard, Louisiana, Arnaudville, Louisiana, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Career

Lost Bayou Ramblers was born deep in South Louisiana performing old style, predominantly acoustic Cajun music at clubs and festivals across the US, Europe, and Canada. They were formed in 1999 by Louis Michot (fiddle and vocals) and his brother Andre Michot (cajun accordion and lap steel guitar) and grew to include producer Korey Richey (electric bass), Johnny Campos (electric guitar) and Eric Heigle (drums).[2] With 15 years of touring, recording, and collaborating under their belt, the band has continually integrated new sonic elements to its live performances, always experimenting and growing the show to what it's become today, an eclectic mix of modern sounds and rhythms with ancient Cajun melodies and lyrics.

The Lost Bayou Ramblers have toured through much of the United States and Canada, including performances at the (Celebrate Brooklyn) in Brooklyn, New York, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and at the historic Preservation Hall. The Ramblers had their first international performance in Lyon, France in November 2004, and have since toured through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Sweden. Their debut release, Pilette Breakdown (Swallow Records) received critical acclaim across North America and Europe. In 2008, the Ramblers were nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Zydeco or Cajun Music category (a new category for that year) for their album Live: A La Blue Moon.[1]

Lost Bayou Ramblers have also played a series of shows with Violent Femmes vocalist and fiddle player Gordon Gano and collaborated with him on Bastille, a song written by Louis Michot looking back 221 years from the Gulf Oil Spill in Louisiana to the Bastille . Lost Bayou Ramblers and Gordon Gano met at d.b.a. one night about five years ago, "we had been doing ‘O Bye’ from our first album (Pilette Breakdown). When we’d get to the breakdown part we’d do different songs, like this one White Stripes song and sometimes ‘Blister in the Sun’. We were doin’ that, and suddenly this guy climbs up on stage and he’s like, ‘You mind?’ and I said, ‘I guess not.’ Enter Gordon Gano.[3]

Gordon Gano was also featured on the Lost Bayou Ramblers' 2012 release, Mammoth Waltz, along with guest artists Scarlett Johansson and Dr. John. Besides the diverse list of guests, Mammoth Waltz was a muisical breakthrough for LBR and the genre as a whole, drawing on influences from the modern soundscape beyond the genre. The result was a passport to play for audiences who may not have known Cajun music, but who appreciated Lost Bayou Ramblers for their music, not their genre. Although Mammoth Waltz is 100% in Cajun French, it acted as an invitation for all music lovers to tune in to the hypnotic Cajun rhythms Lost Bayou Ramblers have been known for since their inception in 1999.

2012 also brought the Ramblers' musical collaboration with the Oscar nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild in which the band laid down the base track to "Bathtub" and other parts of the score. The film went on to win the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Lost Bayou Ramblers have been performing the score to live screenings of the film with Wordless Music Orchestra.

2014 presented Lost Bayou Ramblers with the chance to play on their biggest bill to date, opening for Arcade Fire on two dates of their Reflektor tour. The invitation came after the Montreal based band saw Lost Bayou Ramblers perform to 30,000 fans at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2013, at a rare performance in which most of the audience understood the depth of the Cajun French lyrics which make up almost their entire repertoire. The release of the Ramblers' second live album also came in 2014, with Gasa Gasa Live, which was recorded at the club on Freret St in New Orleans, and released in September and accompanied by a tour from New York to Chicago.

Musical style

Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette, 2008
“ “After Mammoth Waltz drops, critics will be hard-pressed to put the Lost Bayou Ramblers in any box.” ”
— – Alison Fensterstock, The Times-Picayune (Aug 18, 2011)

The band typically plays traditional Cajun music but draws stylistically from Western swing, rockabilly, and punk rock.[3] They have remained a traditional Cajun band, reviving forgotten classics of the genre, singing almost entirely in Cajun French, and maintaining smooth, moderate tempos suitable for dancing two-steps and waltzes.[4] Their high energy live shows include antics more common to rock or punk bands, such as fiddler Michot climbing atop the upright bass of LaFleur as both musicians continue to play or the sporting of hipster Mohawks and prominent tattoos.[5]

Guest Artists

Lost Bayou Ramblers have attracted a number of musical guests to both their live shows and their recorded albums. Their 2012 Mammoth Waltz featured cameos by Scarlett Johansson, Dr. John, Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes), Nora Arnezeder, members of Givers, and more. Gordon Gano often appears as a guest at their live shows.[3]

Discography

Compilations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Grammy Awards Website". Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  2. ↑ "LostBayouRamblers:Info".
  3. 1 2 3 Cook, Alex V. (2011-04-01). "Blister in le soleil: The Lost Bayou Ramblers and Gordon Gano". OffBeat Magazine. Retrieved 2011-04-05. We were at d.b.a. one night about three years ago, we had been doing ‘O Bye’ from our first album (Pilette Breakdown). When we’d get to the breakdown part we’d do different songs, like this one White Stripes song and sometimes ‘Blister in the Sun’. We were doin’ that, and suddenly this guy climbs up on stage and he’s like, ‘You mind?’ and I said, ‘I guess not.’ Enter Gordon Gano.
  4. ↑ Geoffrey Himes (March 4, 2007). "Cajun Sound, Rock ’n’ Roll Energy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  5. ↑ McKnight, Laura (2011-05-08). "Lost Bayou Ramblers find enthusiastic crowd at New Orleans Jazz Fest". The Times-Picayune.

External links

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