Above are some photos from past Mardi Gras dances, with the Aux Cajunals dressed in traditional Cajun Mardi Gras costumes.
photo by Lori Eanes
The Aux Cajunals, featuring the fiddle and vocals of Suzy Thompson, are a 6 piece band that mixes old-fashioned Cajun and Creole dancehall music with a bit of old-style blues (a la Memphis Minnie or Freddie King) for a down-home Southern style roadhouse sound. Suzy (who apprenticed with Cajun master fiddler Dewey Balfa) rocks the fiddle with a blues-drenched sound, whether it’s on a Cajun two-step or a blues, and she brings the Cajun-Creole and classic blues to life with her powerful vocals. Eric Thompson's lead guitar evokes a steel guitar on the Cajun songs and Freddie King on the R&B numbers. Agi Ban’s fiddle duets with Suzy are a hallmark of the Aux Cajunals, and she switches to froittoir (vest rubboard) for the blues and zydeco numbers. Allegra Thompson(daughter of Eric and Suzy) adds her strong lead singing and solid upright bass playing to anchor the sound of the band. Karen Celia Heil's powerful rhythm guitar and Michaelle Goerlitz's drumming combine to underpin the groove, and sometimes Karen adds a third fiddle to the mix when the band performs 150-year-old archaic tunes learned from Dennis McGee.
Members of the Aux Cajunals have performed and recorded with a “who’s who” of Cajun music including Marc and Ann Savoy, D.L. Menard, Queen Ida, Michael Doucet & Beausoleil, Jesse Lege & Joel Savoy, Steve Riley, David Greely and many others. Suzy & Eric were founding members of the California Cajun Orchestra, featuring the late Danny Poullard, with 2 award-winning albums on the Arhoolie label.
The Aux Cajunals' repertoire is designed for partying and dancing -- it's the original old-time dancehall music of southwest Louisiana! In addition to all of the Cajun standards, the Aux Cajunals repertoire includes many unusual songs and tunes learned from rare 78's, field recordings, and directly from master musicians: heart-breaking waltzes like "La Bague Qui Brillent", twosteps from the 1920's like "Waxia Special", and proto-Zydeco songs like "Blues A Voyage". Using three fiddles, they resurrect reels and onesteps from the 19th century, learned first-hand from legendary fiddler Dennis McGee. In a concert setting, the Aux Cajunals also perform unaccompanied ballads, some of which go all the way back to 17th century France!
Eric, Suzy and Agi have performed and recorded with many of the most respected names in Cajun and zydeco music, including Michael Doucet and Beausoleil, Marc & Ann Savoy, and Queen Ida. In the early 1980s, Suzy apprenticed with master fiddler Dewey Balfa in Louisiana (under an NEA Fellowship) and was also mentored by Cheese Read and Dennis McGee. Later, she learned to play Cajun accordion while playing her fiddle alongside the late, great Danny Poullard in the California Cajun Orchestra. In addition to working with the musicians mentioned above, Suzy has also performed and/or recorded with Ann Savoy, with Joel Savoy and Jesse Lege, with Ray Abshire, with David Greeley, and many other major Cajun artists. She appears in the film "J'Ai Etais Au Bal" (on PBS as "French Dance Tonight") with D.L. Menard and with Queen Ida. Eric and Suzy spent 18 years as mainstays of the California Cajun Orchestra; the band's two CDs on the Arhoolie label both won national awards.
Here are some samples of the Aux Cajunals' music:
Members of the Aux Cajunals have performed and recorded with a “who’s who” of Cajun music including Marc and Ann Savoy, D.L. Menard, Queen Ida, Michael Doucet & Beausoleil, Jesse Lege & Joel Savoy, Steve Riley, David Greely and many others. Suzy & Eric were founding members of the California Cajun Orchestra, featuring the late Danny Poullard, with 2 award-winning albums on the Arhoolie label.
The Aux Cajunals' repertoire is designed for partying and dancing -- it's the original old-time dancehall music of southwest Louisiana! In addition to all of the Cajun standards, the Aux Cajunals repertoire includes many unusual songs and tunes learned from rare 78's, field recordings, and directly from master musicians: heart-breaking waltzes like "La Bague Qui Brillent", twosteps from the 1920's like "Waxia Special", and proto-Zydeco songs like "Blues A Voyage". Using three fiddles, they resurrect reels and onesteps from the 19th century, learned first-hand from legendary fiddler Dennis McGee. In a concert setting, the Aux Cajunals also perform unaccompanied ballads, some of which go all the way back to 17th century France!
Eric, Suzy and Agi have performed and recorded with many of the most respected names in Cajun and zydeco music, including Michael Doucet and Beausoleil, Marc & Ann Savoy, and Queen Ida. In the early 1980s, Suzy apprenticed with master fiddler Dewey Balfa in Louisiana (under an NEA Fellowship) and was also mentored by Cheese Read and Dennis McGee. Later, she learned to play Cajun accordion while playing her fiddle alongside the late, great Danny Poullard in the California Cajun Orchestra. In addition to working with the musicians mentioned above, Suzy has also performed and/or recorded with Ann Savoy, with Joel Savoy and Jesse Lege, with Ray Abshire, with David Greeley, and many other major Cajun artists. She appears in the film "J'Ai Etais Au Bal" (on PBS as "French Dance Tonight") with D.L. Menard and with Queen Ida. Eric and Suzy spent 18 years as mainstays of the California Cajun Orchestra; the band's two CDs on the Arhoolie label both won national awards.
Here are some samples of the Aux Cajunals' music:
Here's what the East Bay Express says about the Aux Cajunals:
"Why has dancing to Cajun music skyrocketed in popularity? Eric and Suzy Thompson, two of the East Bay's most talented musicians, should know. They've enlisted a couple of acoustic music friends and formed the Aux Cajunals, playing to packed clubs throughout the Bay Area. (If you remember your high school French, you'll notice that the pronunciation of the band's name is significantly similar to the word occasional.)"
"Why has dancing to Cajun music skyrocketed in popularity? Eric and Suzy Thompson, two of the East Bay's most talented musicians, should know. They've enlisted a couple of acoustic music friends and formed the Aux Cajunals, playing to packed clubs throughout the Bay Area. (If you remember your high school French, you'll notice that the pronunciation of the band's name is significantly similar to the word occasional.)"
