Over the past 300 years, a cultural amalgam has been percolating in south Louisiana. The resulting cultural distillate gave rise to both Bayou Country's world famous cuisine and a musical concentrate that conveys the passions, tribulations, and elations of the Cajun people. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the Lost Bayou Ramblers are the keepers of the flame, champions of Cajun music's cultural past.
Growing up in Pilette, Louisiana (between Broussard and Lafayette), Louis (fiddle and vocals) and Andre (accordion) Michot were immersed in roots Cajun music from birth, primarily since their father and uncles were already touring the world playing traditional songs as the band Les Freres Michot. After a decade of "initiation" on triangle, guitar, and bass, Andre and Louis felt they were prepared to take on the lead instruments - accordion and violin - and pick up the torch as the next generation in the evolution of their musical heritage.
When the brothers matched up with Chris "Oscar" Courville's bass-stomp centered drumming, Alan LeFleur's heavy-thumping upright bass and Cavan Carruth's hard-chocking rhythm guitar, the band began to play their "deep swamp beat" around Acadiana and eventually all over the United States. Since starting out in 1999 they have added dozens of original songs to compliment their vast Cajun repertoire of hundreds of early accordion dancehall tunes, pre-century fiddle tunes, and Cajun swing. It all mixes together to form a definitive sound - capturing the "roots" spirit of their culture's unique music while initiating a renewed cultural identity and pride among their generation.
The Lost Bayou Ramblers have toured through much of the United States, including performances at the International Country Music Conference in Nashville, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens' Chile Pepper Fiesta, and the New Orleans Jazz Fest and historic Preservation Hall. The Ramblers had their first international performance in Lyon, France in November 04', and their most recent releases, Bayou Perdu and Une Tasse Cafe:Mellow Joy Boys(Swallow Records) are receiving critical acclaim across North America and Europe.
Whether performing in their native Louisiana or abroad, the Lost Bayou Ramblers passionately embrace their cultural and musical heritage, playing music intimately linked to the agrarian, working class lifestyle. Their music stems from a time before electricity, when the Gulf Coast's incapacitating heat only amplified the backbreaking stresses associated with the toil necessary to sustain a successful farm. Indeed, south Louisiana's work ethic was the natural force that ground through the Cajun ego, liberating in song the fervor and spirit of a people. The Lost Bayou Ramblers are like a snapshot of a bygone era. Their music is emotionally raw, intense - in a word, authentically Cajun. |
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