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There is
this other way of life in the south; a musical ethnicity
that has simmered itself to a uniquely homespun flavor.
Immersed in the culture since birth, Geno Delafose has
lived the life of a true cowboy. He relies on his
traditional Creole sensibility for guidance in music,
and divides his time between touring and operating his
Double D Ranch outside of Eunice, deep in Southwest
Louisiana’s bayou country, where he breeds cattle and
raises quarter horses.
Unbeknownst
to many northerners, who often reserve the image of a
cowboy for white Anglo-Saxons, Creoles (African-American
Francophones) also share in the rural roots of hard work
and dedication to the land. Geno epitomizes this
cultural tradition. Born into a family of Zydeco
musicians, at the ripe age of seven, Geno picked up the
rubboard and joined his father John Delafose’s band
the Eunice Playboys, an ensemble that Geno would one day
lead. John Delafose was key in re-launching the current
upsurge of Zydeco, and Geno is poised to crossover
Zydeco to a wider country music audience with his
charismatic cowboy spirit and lively presentation.
To this
day, Geno still performs in many of the same dancehalls
and churches that he visited as a child in his
father’s group. Geno Delafose and French Rockin’
Boogie are no strangers to the stage. Performing a
rigorous one hundred fifty shows each year has left the
band in a rigid state of exactness. Cut after cut the
group is right there, turning on a dime with each spicy
lick emitted from Geno’s squeezebox.
Geno
fuses his Creole roots and modern voice through his
multi-accordion attack. Germans introduced the accordion
to Louisiana, and, ever since, it has been a popular
instrument thanks to its distinctive ability to speak
above the hum in a crowded room of dancers. Geno plays
the single-row and triple-row diatonic button accordions
for more traditional “French style” tunes, and
changes to piano accordion for pounding out contemporary
Zydeco. Piano accordions were adopted for their
chromatic versatility and ability to play “blue
notes.” Up until the 1980s only the most sophisticated
players could incorporate them into Zydeco.
Everybody’s
Dancin’ released May 13, 2003 on Times Square
Records, is Geno’s fourth release. A significant
portion of the release is dedicated to reinterpreting
Creole standards like “Le Bluerunner” and “He-Haw
Breakdown”, in the band’s modern Zydeco vernacular.
Fiddle--player Michael Doucet of
BeauSoleil—America’s most-popular Cajun group—is
featured on three tracks. Geno—who was just awarded
Best Zydeco Artist at the 2003 Big Easy Awards in New
Orleans—is not afraid to share his recipe for Zydeco
with other approaches. Receiving the same progressive
musical attention as the Creole standards are the
old-fashioned waltzes, two-steps, blues, and soul
numbers that decorate the album. The fact that each cut
was recorded in one or two takes is further evidence of
the band’s unyielding proficiency.
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