Click on the thumbnail to view full resolution
version. Kira's smile in the second photo is
her response to the way the crowd of dancers
at the Liberty managed to keep up with the
band's unexpected shift from the traditional
waltz tempo of "Grand Mamou" into a
quick two-step (also featured on the CD).
Click here to go to LSUE's page on Kira Viator's
first two CD's with the band Liquid Lace. |
Click here to go to Kira Viator's Official
Web Site. Kira Viator's third CD introduces a
new name for her band, Bayou Beat, but the CD
title describes her determination that she will
continue Stickin' to My Roots. In notes to
an earlier CD, she explained,
"I am one in a long line of musicians dedicated to keeping alive the
traditional style of Cajun music." In the title song to her new
CD, she acknowledges that she sometimes listens
to rap, but finally agrees with her mother's
belief that it's best to "stick to ya roots."
That's the way the CD begins: Crowley native
Kira Viator performing "Le Duex Pas de Crowley."
In addition to the title track, which has
English lyrics, Kira sings four songs in French.
"Ca Me Fait Envie de Grouviller" is by another
female accordionist, Sheryl Cormier, describes
the power of that instrument to make people feel
like moving. Kira performs Nathan Abshire's
French version of Joe South's "Games People
Play," accompanied by a host of friends
contributing a Cajun "la-la" (ironically,
folklorist Barry Ancelet and others believe Joe
South got the tune for his song from "Ti Galop à
Mamou"). She also sings "Bayou Noir" and ends
the CD with Iry LeJeune beautiful "Valse de 'Cadien."
All of those songs are excellent performances,
but the most significant example on the CD of "stickin'
to my roots" is "Le Dernier Respect," a new song
written in collaboration with Ivy Dugas. It is
based on Kira's memory of playing at the funeral
of Albert J. Dupre. The lyrics describe the
funeral procession, with the mourners paying
their last respects, while, in the Cajun
tradition, cars stop at the side of the road
while the procession passes.
The CD also includes vocals by Barry Cormier
on "La Valse à Tolan,"
Belton Richard's "Je Va M'ennuyer,"
"Jambalaya-Grand Texas" (Hank Williams' song and
the Cajun original), "Grand Mamou," and "Gone,
Gone, Gone" (with Kira doing harmony). Robert
Sonnier sings and plays guitar on three swamp
pop classics: "Jukebox Song," "Before I Grow Too
Old," and "Flip, Flop, and Fly."
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Congratulations to
Kira Viator, R.N., who received the
Cajun French Music Association's Le
Cajun Awards as Accordionist of the Year
and Female Vocalist of the Year and
whose album Sticking to My Roots
was named Best CD of the Year. The
awards were announced August 15, 2008.
Earlier that week, Kira, who is a May
2008 LSUE graduate with an associate
degree in nursing, passed her nursing
registry exam. 
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