How I Became Interested In Cajun Music

Cajun music has been a passion of mine since January of 1998, when I was introduced to Cajun music when my Uncle Nick bought a used CD of Beausoleil's "Vintage Beausoleil". for my Dad. Uncle Nick and his family had lived near New Orleans for several years where he had first become introduced to the music. My parents had also visited several times where they enjoyed the food and the culture.

I heard my Dad listening to the CD, and immediately became very interested, so I borrowed it from him. I must have listened to it hundreds of times in a row. The song that really struck me as being interesting was Parlez Nous A Boire (Let's Talk About Drinking), but it is important to remember that I didn't speak one word of French at this point, so it was purely the music itself that attracted me to the music. I also knew next to nothing about Cajun music or culture, and as such didn't even realize that they spoke French there.

After listening to "Vintage Beausoleil" a couple of hundred times and wearing out the liner notes, I received two other Beausoleil CD's as gifts, "L'Amour ou la Folie" and "Cajun Conja", which succeeded in whetting my appetite even further. After I had worn these two CDs out, I began acquiring more and more CD's, and now I have quite a collection.

Loving the music and being dependant on the liner notes for translations drove me crazy. As a result, I began taking lessons in standard French (no courses in Cajun French being offered) at the Dallas International School, which really helped me a lot. Since then, I have moved to Strasbourg, France, where I am continuing to study the French language.

Living in Dallas, I had several opportunities to actually visit Southwest Louisiana. In 2000, my parents, my sister and I went to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival (see pictures here), the largest crawfish festival in the world which has three days of Cajun and Zydeco music on two stages. We ate well and listened to some great music, including D.L. Menard and "Bois Sec" Ardoin", who was over 80 at the time!

My wife, Mandi, and I have also visited Eunice a couple of times, a city in the heart of Cajun country, where we've listened to some great music, ate wonderful food, and joined in some great conversation. We would definitely recommend a visit. If you go, be sure to go to the Savoy Music Center on Saturday mornings from 8 to noon for the Cajun music jam session, the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame , which has some great memoribilia from the masters of Cajun music, the Liberty Theater for a great show every Saturday night from 6 to 7:30, D.I.'s restaurant south of Basile on 97 for some great food and music (it is a little hard to find), and the Roadhouse in Basile for some inexpensive beer and great conversation with Dolan, the owner and bartender, and Ferrel, one of the regulars. If you have the chance and feel adventurous, search out Bourque's Club in Lewisburg (see some pictures), one of the last old dancehalls where people still speak French with each other. Of course Mandi and I were just about the only two people under 50.

I've really enjoyed my trips to Cajun Country, and I feel like it has brought me closer to the music. At least I have become familiar with some of the place names that are in the songs: Basile, Mamou, Iota, and Church Pointe, and at best, I have gotten a better understanding of where the songs may be coming from.