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Archive Files of Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Musicians |
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Ulysse Poirrier Sr. and The Bayou Teche Cajun Band |
| Click here for hi res photos posted on Flickr. | |
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2008 Update: Ulysse Poirrier has been performing with Howard Noel and Cajun Boogie.Bayou Teche Cajun Band in 2003Here are a few photos of the Bayou Teche Cajun Band performing January 4, 2003, at the Liberty Theater. The band returned to the Liberty June 28. For more information on the band, see the section below. The band's CD has received a Le Cajun nomination as "Best First Recording of the Year" by the Cajun French Music Association. Shown doing an excellent job on accordion in the 2003 performance is young Seth Guidry of Arnaudville, who also handled the vocals on songs like "Heritage Waltz," "Cajun from Church Point," and "Quand j'étais pauvre." Ulysse Poirrier Sr. is on steel guitar, and Joe Lopez is shown on fiddle. Also performing with the band in 2003 were Jack LeBlanc on bass and on drums Barry Cormier, who sang as well. |
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The Bayou Teche Cajun Band is composed of some old-time Cajun musicians who first got together a couple of years before the photos on this page were taken at the Liberty Theater August 3, 2002. The band plays traditional dance hall music, featuring a sound that shows the influence of old style country and western songs on Cajun music.
The group is led by Ulysse Poirrier Sr. on steel guitar. Accordionist Pat Thibodeaux handles the majority of the vocals, but Poirrier, fiddler Joe Lopez, and drummer George Prejean also sing. Poirrier, Thibodeaux, and Lopez wrote original songs or lyrics that are included on the CD. The other veteran Cajun musician in the group is Smiling Jack LeBlanc on bass guitar.
On the slow tunes, Poirrier displays his mastery of the musical nuances that can be coaxed from a crying steel guitar. The raw heartache expressed in Lopez's fiddling blends in nicely on songs like "Together Again," sung by Pat Thibodeaux in French and English. The CD also includes Cajun standards like "Jolie blonde," "Grand Texas/Jambalaya," "Les flammes d'enfer," and, appropriately enough, "Bayou Teche Waltz."
The original songs all describe forsaken love or a life in ruins.
Ulysse Poirrier Sr. performs and wrote the words to the opening number, "I Want My Shoes." Sung to the tune of J.D. Miller's "I Made a Big Mistake" (made famous by Iry LeJeune), Poirrier describes a woman who not only left him but departed with his shoes. The last song on the CD, "Stop Running Around with My Shoes," takes up the same sad story. Poirrier also composed "O' Mon Tee Bébé," in which neither drinking whiskey nor dreaming of the woman he loves will overcome his loneliness. His "Musician with a Broken Heart" (recorded more recently by the Pine Leaf Boys) is Poirrier's version of the lament by a musician whose woman has left him.
In "The Story of a Gambler," Pat Thibodeaux describes the sad consequences of losing all he had gambling (he wants to see gambling shut down in Louisiana) and warns against being as foolish as he was.
In his song, Joe Lopez can find no consolation as he sits in a bar after "The Only Thing I Want Just Went Home."
The CD, which was released by the band, was recorded at the Windmill Studio in New Iberia. According to the CD notes, for booking information or to order the CD, contact Ulysse Poirrier Sr, (337) 367-3340 or (337) 519-4361.
Pictured in the left column are Ulysse Poirrier Sr. on steel guitar, Pat Thibodeaux on accordion, and Joe Lopez on fiddle. Poirrier is shown below. The bottom photo shows the entire band, which includes George Prejean on drums and Smiling Jack LeBlanc on bass guitar. The photos were taken at the Liberty Theater in Eunice August 3, 2002.
Posted 8-4-02
All photographs and text by David Simpson.