Back From the Bayou with Carolina Gator Gumbo
Carole Outwater

Jammin' at Nick's in Eunice

At the end of one evening when everyone's heart was hammering with the thrill of playing with so many of our "heroes", Dave, band percussionist, voiced what we were all feeling by saying over and over again with a kind of silly grin on his face, "I don't know when I've ever had so much fun . . . I don't know when I've ever had so much fun."

Carolina Gator Gumbo Band dreamed of going together to Louisiana where we could immerse ourselves in the Cajun and Creole culture and its music. Acceptance from the Arts & Science Council for a 2003-2004 Regional Artist Project Grant provided a healthy share of our expenses and we spent October 16 through October 24 in the prairies and bayous of Southwest Louisiana.

Who are we and why did we take this trip together? We are Carolina Gator Gumbo, a Cajun and Creole band formed about a dozen years ago. We are Jean Prewitt, accordion, lead vocals; Don Cowan, guitar; Carole Outwater, bass, vocals; Dave Conlin, drums, frottoire (scrubboard), triangle; and Beth Al-Rawi, fiddle, vocals. (Raed Al-Rawi often joins us on triangle)

We thrive on playing Cajun and Creole music together, appreciate its unique heritage and want to honor the cultural traditions with respect, integrity and heart. Some of us have studied with Cajun and Creole masters in Louisiana or at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV.   We practice regularly and collectively must own every Cajun and Creole recording that exists. Yes, it was time to take the next step. A band trip to Louisiana . . . That's what we did.

Liberty Theatre, Center for Performing Arts, in Eunice hosts a live radio show with Cajun bands every Saturday night. Pick it up on the internet at KRVS.ORG

There are many cultural and music sites to visit if you had lots of time. We visited these; The Liberty Theatre, The Acadian Cultural Center, The African American Cultural Center in St. Martinville, The Acadian Museum and Whiskey River Landing where we saw Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys, Randols where we saw The Lucky Playboys in Lafayette, Café Des Amis in Breaux Bridge with Jeffrey Broussard and Zydeco Force, Club 307 for Corey "Lil Pop: Ledet & his Zydeco Band and the Eunice Folklife Festival where we saw Geno Delofose and also Blake Miller & the Pine Grove Boys. We went to jam sessions at The Blue Moon Saloon, at Mitch and Lisa Reed's Heritage Shop in Lafayette, Bubba's and Nick's in Eunice.

We were constantly on the go and about midweek, we all began to realize that this was unfolding to be one of those golden times; a time against which many experiences will be measured.

For us, these things were significant

If you've heard that Cajun people have hearts of gold, it's true.

Our Cajun friends, Larry and Jackie Miller and their several generations of family live in the prairie town of Iota. All the Millers helped us become immersed in the Cajun and Creole culture. Reflecting on the Miller's generosity, we all realize that the best gifts of our trip were the intangible ones.

Larry Miller, accordion builder, just built this lake!

When we went to area jam sessions with Larry, he told people why we were in Louisiana and the next thing we knew, we were being asked to play for them! The Miller home was our home away from home. Part of our group was staying with them and the rest of us were right down the road. This usually meant that their kitchen was a gathering place where daily plans took shape. There was always a grandchild or two in the house; kittens, dogs, frogs and even snakes were part of the scene. Best of all was Jackie's cooking. If you're there, just expect snowy rice in the cooker, coffee in the pot, fresh rolls baking, gumbo on the stove, Coleman's sausage, strange looking persimmons and kumquats off the trees.

The Millers had a music party soon after we arrived. Jackie asked who we wanted to come to the party and sure enough, the next evening, the house and gazebo were filled with old and new friends, young and old friends. Me,   I had a good time....oh, talk about!

We went to church on Sunday where Jackie Miller leads the choir. The choir sings in Cajun French and they have guitars, accordion, fiddle and a few other folk instruments accompanying them. Cajun rhythms on hymns and responses sounded wonderful to our ears.

We also watched the progress of Larry's new one-acre pond develop from what looked like a large crater in the middle of a rice and crawfish field to a silvery cool and wet refuge for hot grandchildren and family dogs!

That the whole band was getting to share this experience together was an amazing gift.

Bois Sec Ardoin

To everyone who knows Cajun and Creole music at its roots, the legendary name of Bois Sec Ardoin brings a warm smile to their faces. Bois Sec is known as a keeper of traditional old-time French and Creole music. Not many others remain who were playing Creole and Cajun music as it was rhythmically shaped by his cousin,   Amede Ardoin back in the twenties. We are so thankful that we were able to schedule a visit with Bois Sec Ardoin. He was in the hospital right before our trip began.

Carole & Don playing with Bois Sec Ardoin during a veille

The community of L'Anse de Prien Noir where Bois Sec lives isn't too far from Iota. What we didn't realize was just how deep into the flat countryside west of Mamou it was. It felt like we were going back in time as we pulled into a narrow lane that led past a few small, tidy homes inhabited by Ardoin family members. A man later identified as probably "Nonc Bob" pointed to the end of the road... Bois Sec's house. Peaceful, quiet, a little glade surrounded by acres of flat fields and prairie. Situated next to the road in the side yard sat the fenced quarters of quite a few honking, quacking ducks. A band of colorful rusty red roosters were annoying a kitten trapped on a fallen ladder nearby.

Bois Sec was sitting on a chair under the awning of his carport. He's always a snappy, neat dresser and in spite of the swarm of mosquitoes that were attacking us right and left and all around, he looked wonderful. Bois Sec was one of Jean's early accordion instructors at Augusta. In his heavy Creole French accent, he told us stories from his past and we laughed along with him as he shared several funny incidents. We "passed a good time" as they say in that area. After we visited for a while, we played music for Bois Sec. He wasn't supposed to play music for extended periods since his hospital visit, but he wanted to try out Jean's accordion and ended up playing music with us for a treasured amount of time. Playing music with Bois Sec was a rhythmic delight! That's the key, I thought. The key to playing Creole music is all about the rhythm. Playing with Bois Sec lets you feel all the rhythmic nuances.

When we saw Bois Sec later in the week, along with his sons, Russell and Lawrence, he was in Eunice for the Folklife Festival, signing autographs for Ching Veillon's book, Creole Music man; Bois Sec Ardoin.

Cajun and Creole Mentors

The band set many goals as we planned our trip and we were strongly driven by the following ones. We wanted to expand our knowledge and repertoire of Creole music and we wanted to dig a little deeper into each instrument's role in a band setting. We were fortunate indeed to spend informal and formal sessions with many musicians.

Jammin' @ Mitch & Lisa's shop with D'Jalma & Drew

You've read about Bois Sec Ardoin. It would be easy to write about other mentors too, but for now there's space for only one stroke of the brush.  

Goldman Tibodeaux , accordion player, continues the Lawtell Playboys Creole traditional style and has shared many of the old songs from his heritage and association with Calvin Carriere. Preston Frank is a Creole accordion player who shared his song, "Born in the Country" with Jean and Don at a Folk Roots camp a year or so ago and their friendship continues. Preston's smile of encouragement when we played his song said it all. Cedric Watson is a rising young fiddler (and accordion player) who sings powerful French vocals and is carrying on the Creole traditions of the late Canray Fontenot, Bois Sec's playing partner for many years. Cedric never knew Canray but our mentor, D'Jalma Garnier studied fiddle with Canray and is the first to work on a book of Creole songs and tunes. Blake Miller and Brandon Moreau came through Charlotte a number of years ago, traveling with the Millers to Augusta where they would begin studying with Cajun and Creole teachers for their first of numerous intensive week there. Now, outstanding and respected traditional Cajun musicians, they are inspiring new generations of musicians.

Many others had an impact on us; Mitch Reed, for sure. Known as a "master of the fiddle", Mitch has been on the teaching staffs of numerous fiddle and music camps all over the country.

The Incredible Jam at Nick's in Eunice

The fantastic music party at the Millers was drawing to a close. Many of the younger musicians talked about a jam at Nick's in Eunice. This was a must on our list. A jam at Nick's means that there is one accordion player on stage at a time and others, including a couple of fiddlers, kind of rotate in and out, depending on songs, tunes, and some unknown protocol.

Beth fiddling with the bands at Nick's!

It was an impromptu kind of arrangement, but Larry managed to sign up our band for a special jam towards the end of the evening. At first it was only our band plus a guy playing harmonica who asked if it was OK to sit in with us. The longer we played, the more friends kept joining us onstage until we were giddy with "who was actually playing with us". There was Jeffrey Broussard from Zydeco Force doing some fiddle seconding, Brandon Moreau and Cedric Watson fiddling along, Corey Ledet, playing zydeco accordion on the sidelines, James Adams, our friend and emcee for a Creole and Zydeco radio show from Houston, TX, warming up his guitar. Blake Miller, Wilson Savoy, our new friend Drew, Paul Delafoss and Larry Miller were right in there or playing along next to the stage. Jean ended our set by dedicating "Baby, Please Don't Go" to the late Delton Broussard, Lawtell Playboys accordion player and one of her first teachers at Augusta. Delton was Jeffrey Broussard's father. It meant a lot that Jeffrey was playing with us.   Jeffrey's band, Zydeco Force, was a featured dance band at Augusta last summer.

Some of the Creole musicians that rarely get the opportunity to play together since they are in bands of their own, kicked off the final session.......a Creole and Zydeco jam. Our own Dave was up there playing rubboard with   them! Now, this was awesome...rocking...so rhythmic and grooving that it simply knocked your socks off..........and I wondered,"Do the people in this town have any idea that there is something really amazing happening right here in this nightspot?!!"

That night, we knew that this band trip together was one of the most fun and inspiring experiences of a lifetime.

Yes, we did "pass a good time" in Louisiana. The Cajun and Creole people do value family, fun, good food, music, friendship, love, laughter, dancing, traditions that matter and a whole bunch of other things that you'll discover when take your own visit there. In closing, in case you do go, we probably need to tell you about the mosquitoes.

The Mosquitoes

The mosquitoes met us in swarms every evening if we left our outside light on. One night, they were so numerous that we swatted them for at least 30 minutes before one of us got the portable vacuum cleaner out and sucked them all up. This is true.

C'mon out and "pass a good time" with us. We're back from the bayou and have some new music for you!

"This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, The Blumenthal Foundation, the arts councils of Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, York, Rowan, Rutherford counties in partnership with the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc."