TAB BENOIT
 Tab Benoit is a Cajun man who’s definitely got the blues. Born
November 17, 1967, he grew up in Houma, Louisiana. A guitar player since
his teenage years, he hung out at the Blues Box, a ramshackle music club
and cultural center in nearby Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas.
Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray and other high-profile
regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues first-hand from a faculty
of living blues legends.
The nightly impromptu gigs were enough to inspire Benoit to assemble
his own band—a stripped down bass-and-drums unit propelled by his
solid guitar skills and leathery, Cajun-spiced vocal attack. He took
his show on the road in the early ‘90s and hasn’t stopped
since.
Benoit landed a recording contract with the tiny, Texas-based Justice
Records and released a series of well-received recordings, beginning
in 1992 with Nice and Warm, an album that prompted comparisons to blues
guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix.
Despite the hype, Benoit has done his best over the years to maintain
a commitment to his Cajun roots—a goal that often eluded him when
past producers and promoters tried to turn him and his recordings in
a rock direction, often against his better instincts. These Blues Are
All Mine, released on Vanguard in 1999 after Justice folded, marked a
return to the rootsy sound that he’d been steered away from for
several years.
That same year, he appeared on Homesick for the Road, a collaborative
album on the Telarc label with fellow guitarists Kenny Neal and Debbie
Davies. Homesick not only served as a showcase for three relatively young
but clearly rising stars in the blues constellation, but also launched
Benoit’s relationship with Telarc that came to fruition in 2002
with the release of Wetlands—arguably the most authentically Cajun
installment in his entire ten-year discography.
On Wetlands, Benoit mixes original material like the autobiographical “When
a Cajun Man Gets the Blues” and the driving “Fast and Free” with
little-known classics like Li’l Bob & the Lollipops’ “I
Got Loaded,” Professor Longhair’s “Her Mind Is Gone” and
Otis Redding’s timeless “These Arms of Mine” (Tab’s
vocal style has long been influenced by Redding).
Later in 2002, Benoit released Whiskey Store, a collaborative recording
with fellow axemaster and Telarc labelmate Jimmy Thackery. Also along
for the ride on Whiskey Store are harpist Charlie Musselwhite and Double
Trouble—the two-man rhythm section of bassist Tommy Shannon and
drummer Chris Layton that backed Stevie Ray Vaughn on his brief but luminous
blues career.
After a prolific first year with Telarc, Benoit continued to explore
the bayou backbeat in 2003 with the June release of Sea Saint Sessions,
a collection of gritty, cajun-flavored tracks recorded at Big Easy Recording
Studio (better known among musicians in the region as Sea Saint Studio)
in New Orleans. In addition to Benoit and his regular crew—bassist
Carl Dufrene and drummer Darryl White—Sea Saint Sessions includes
numerous guest appearances by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville,
Brian Stoltz and George Porter.
That same year, Benoit and Thackery took their dueling guitar show on
the road and recorded a March 2003 performance at the Unity Centre for
Performing Arts in Unity, Maine. The result was Whiskey Store Live, a
high-energy guitar fest released in February 2004.
Benoit returned in 2005 with Fever for the Bayou, a straightahed Louisiana
blues recording that seamlessly merges his own songcraft with that of
Elmore James, Buddy Guy and other masters. Fever for the Bayou also includes
guest appearances by Cyril Neville (vocals and percussion) and Big Chief
Monk Boudreaux (vocals).
Benoit continues to dig the roots in 2006 with the April release of
Brother to the Blues, a recording that encompasses not only his trademark
cajun blues but also traditional country and vintage R&B. Joining
him on the project are members of the cult blues/R&B/rock combo Louisiaina
LeRoux, veteran country songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, Americana pioneer
Jim Lauderdale and cajun fiddler Waylon Thibodeaux.
Tab Benoit is a living Blues icon………
CHUBBY CARRIER & THE BAYOU SWAMP BAND
 Chubby Carrier is undeniably "The World's Premier Zydeco Showman." Born
on July 1, 1967 in Churchpoint, Louisiana, Chubby is the third generation
of Zydeco artists with such famous relatives as Roy Carrier (father),
Warren Carrier (grandfather), and cousins Bebe and Calvin Carrier who
are also considered legends in Zydeco history.
Chubby began his musical career at the age of 12 by playing drums with
his father's band. He began playing the accordian at the age of 15. By
age 17, Chubby had begun to play with Terrance Siemien and toured the
world for 2 1/2 years, before forming his own band in 1989.
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band have recorded five CDs over
the past ten years of Chubby's professional career. His band has traveled
all over the world, performing to audiences in all parts of the United
States, including Alaska and Hawaii, Canada. North Africa and Europe.
Chubby and the band travel 150-175 days a year, taking his act to big
festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Chicago Blues Fest.
Summerfest (Milwaukee), Memphis in May, and several festivals in Europe.
Chubby has also done guest appearances on recordings for Tab Benoit,
6Was9, and Jimmy Thackery. Ann Wilson of the group Heart encourages Chubby
to "continue the great sound that you have. This sound will take
you places."
One word to describe the swampdelic sounds of Chubby Carrier and Bayou
Swamp Band? Fun. Pure Louisiana Zydeco fun with a hot sauce chaser. Anybody
who has doubts about the accordion as an instrument will be swayed the
right way with Carrier's passion and fire on the instrument.
Chubby Carrier started out as twinkle in Roy Carrier's eye (Roy looks
more like Chubby's older brother than his dad). The Carriers are one
of the great musical families in Louisiana. There's Poppa Roy, Chubby,
Chubby's brother Troy (AKA Dikki Du and The Zydeco Krewe), Roy's nephew
Dwight Carrier and The Zydeco Ro Dogs. There's also Chubby's Aunt Laura
Maria Doolittle (AKA Zydeco-T) who plays with Mojo and the Bayou Gypsies.
Now if we can organize a basketball tournament between the Carriers,
the Neals and the Nevilles to settle it once and for all. (Just kidding).
A documentary about the family has been filmed (Not kidding) and will
hopefully be shown at a theatre near you (Or look for in on DVD if you
movie houses are documentary-challenged).
There's traditional roots in Chubby's Zydeco, but expands the sound
for all ages. Live and in studio he's taken songs like B.B. King's "Rock
Me Baby," Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles," The
Who's "Squeeze Box", War's "Cisco Kid" and the Grateful
Dead's "Fire On The Mountain" and dragged them through the
swamp with beautiful results. It's adding Louisiana spice to popular
tunes that help Carrier build the bridge between Zydeco and the rest
of the world. Mardi Gras can happen 365 days a year and you don't have
to flash anything to enjoy the band (Unless you REALLY want to).
Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band are one of the most energetic
groups around. An evening or an afternoon with these guys will result
in an uncontrollable need to hear them again and again and again.
In the post-Katrina world there has been a newfound awareness of the
music of Louisiana. It's awareness that shouldn't be paid to these artists
out of pity over what happened. It should be paid because the music of
Louisiana is one big stewpot of many flavors and it's really damn tasty.
It was tasty before Katrina and it's still tasty now. Chubby Carrier
and The Bayou Swamp Band is the musical part in the stewpot where the
gumbo meets the rice and you want to sop it up with some French bread.
Prepare to be Funkified, Zydecofied and the pleasant victim of a Chubby
party.
WAYLON THIBODEAUX
 Waylon Thibodeaux is a young Cajun with an innate musical talent that
can be seen in the performance of his Louisiana, Cajun and Zydeco music.
His style of high-energy, toe-tapping music has been thrilling audiences
all over the world for many years.
Many of Cajun music's best known performers are from the rural prairies
of southwest Louisiana. Cajun recording artist Waylon Thibodeaux, dubbed "Louisiana's
Rockin' Fiddler," is a native of the Bayou Country just a few miles
southwest of New Orleans. Born and raised in Houma, Louisiana, he speaks
French and English. He began playing music at the age of 8 and has been
performing professionally since he was 13 years old. In 1984, at the
age of 16, he was named Louisiana's State Fiddle Champion. That same
year he accompanied the Dusenberry Family Singers on a tour of France
as their lead fiddler. He plays not only the fiddle but also bass, guitar,
triangle, scrubboard, and drums.
He regularly entertains capacity crowds in New Orleans' famous Bourbon
Street clubs as well as at festivals and dances. He says of his music, "It's
a mixture--it's Cajun, but not too traditional, it's Zydeco with a pinch
of New Orleans sound, a small pinch of South Louisiana swamp pop, and
a little rock-and-roll, that's sure to get you on your feet and dancing."
SEAN CARNEY
 Sean Carney
Band Sweeps 2007 International Blues Challenge!
Representing The Columbus Blues Alliance of Ohio, The Sean Carney Band - Sean
Carney, Eric Blume and Steve Perakis - swept The 23rd Annual Blues Challenge,
held in February in Memphis, TN, taking home not only first place honors, but
also The Albert King Most Promising Guitarist Award and even Best Dressed! Photo
by Robert Hughes
“A one-man ambassador for the blues, Sean Carney
has brought his music to such far flung locales as France, Ecuador,
and Costa Rica. He has
served three terms as President of The Columbus Ohio Blues Alliance,
and he promotes concerts as musical director of The Island Arts Foundation
in Ft. Myers Beach, Florida. He plays a mean hollow-bodied guitar,
too.” - Blues Revue Magazine April/May 2007
"
Ever had the feeling that you've been in the presence of greatness?
That was the way I felt after watching and listening to the SEAN CARNEY
BAND perform last weekend. Those who joined us were witness to one
of the finest blues players to hit the Onion, who combined great style
and musical talent with a real ability to entertain. I was left thinking
that 'this guy
is going to be very successful.'” - Ric Kalef - The Red Onion,
Calgary, Alberta Canada.
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