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MUSICAL TRADITIONS INTERVIEW, 25 Nov 2003
A very complete interview with Bayou Seco that covers much of their history. Interviewed by Vic Smith
DIRTY LINEN INTERVIEW
Review by Dan Willging from the June/July Issue of Dirty Linen Magazine
Bayou Seco
20 Years Happy in The Bewilderness
Zerx - Zerx51 [(2002)]
Bayou Seco Trio
Home on the Great Divide
Zerx - Zerx36 [(2001)]
Twenty years is a long time for anything but in the case of New Mexico's
Bayou Seco, it seems bewildering that two decades have indeed flown by. Led
by the husband-and-wife team of Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, the
Cajun-Centric/New Mexican music group has traveled down many a dirt road to
learn the indigenous music of their locale. The couple became proficient in
Cajun-Creole music while residing in Louisiana, playing with such masters
as Dennis McGee, Canray Fontenot, "Bois Sec" Ardoin and others. When it was
time to leave, they did, putting down stakes in the Land of Enchantment and
subsequently absorbing the traditions of violinista Cleofes Ortiz,
guitarist/accordionist Antonia Apodaca and Native American Tohono O'odham
fiddler Elliot Johnson.
This beautifully, ecologically-packaged 21-track disc commemorates their
first 20 years together and like their 'spiritual millionaire' career, this
one too is rendered with a novel approach. Instead of featuring cuts from
currently available recordings, Bayou Seco opts for out-of-print studio
selections, live gigs and radio shows for a loose, uninhibited feel. Over
the years, 26 musicians have embraced the Bayou Seco family, playing
everything from traditional Cajun, original Cajun, greasy garage band
zydeco, hypnotic Hungarian to Tohono O'odham tunes, folksy numbers, French
Canadian, zyde-Calypso and of course, aboriginal New Mexican music.
Overall, it's a dense listen with aural treats abounding throughout. Their
C-Z selections are often rawer than the bayou thing itself with clashing
accordion squeals, wild fiddling and hard chugging rhythms. Equally
enrapturing are the interpretations of "Valse de Jose Y Raphaelita," an
Apodaca staple, "El Quelite," a New Mexican accordion-led classic, and "Una
Noche Serena Y Obscura," a live Ortiz-McLerie fiddle performance from the
Port Townsend Fiddle Tunes festival.
Home On The Great Divide symbolizes many things such as McLerie and
Keppeler's abode that's only a only a mile away from the geographical
formation that extends from Western Canada to South America. It also
symbolizes how nothing can separate the couple's multi-culturalism that's
comparable in size to the Great Divide. Here, they indoctrinate their
latest member, Appalachian transplant, guitarist/violinist Mark Mueller
into the Bayou Seco ideology. While there are tunes from Cajun fiddler
McGee, NM fiddler Ortiz and accordionist Apodaca, there are also four
pristinely rendered Elliot Johnson tunes whom McLerie and Keppeler have
been instrumental in keeping the Tono O'odham fiddler's legacy alive and
burning. Another prevailing theme here is a western one with selections
attributed to Jack Thorpe who published the first collection of cowboy
songs. As expected with any Bayou Seco outing, there's guaranteed to be
surprises along the way and this one's no exception. "Polka de Gascogne" is
a polka hailing from Southwestern France cast here in a southwestern motif
while elsewhere Keppeler occasionally tosses in clawhammer banjo for a
startling old-time effect. Whoever coined the terms 'roots music' must have
had the uncanny Bayou Seco in mind.
-- Dan Willging, Denver, CO
ALBUQUERQUE WEEKLY ALIBI
ALBUQUERQUE WEEKLY ALIBI- Michael Henningsen
"Their ongoing music education has afforded them a unique insight into the
traditional folk music of many of the cultures scattered about the
Southwestern United States, in turn allowing them to enrich the lives of
others through a rich repetoire of song and dance. While it is convenient to
call BAYOU SECO a cajun band, anyone who has experienced their live sets or
recordings know there's much more to it than that. Their music is an amalgam
of strikingly different styles that coalesces into a musical blend for which
there is neither name nor substitute. In unison, they inspire childlike magic
and curiosity with music that can, in many cases, be traced several
generations into the past. It's no surprise then, that Bayou Seco's soon to
be released album, Use It Again, is a family record, geared specifically
toward children.
But regardless of whether you're four or 84, Bayou Seco always manage to have
something up their collective sleeve for you. Their music is exceedingly
joyous, dance inspiring and a respectful preservation of tradition."
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL -Dan Hyatt
"When they spin out their tunes, magically a time is conjured up when people
instinctively got up and danced because they were moved to, because it felt
good, not because it was some kind of bizarre bar room mating ritual...There
is something instantly recognizable in the songs of BAYOU SECO. It's as if
you can hear the foundation that modern music is built upon, singing from underneath."
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
ARIZONA DAILY STAR- Gene Armstrong
"BAYOU SECO emphasizes the rich cross cultural nature of music in general - a
little from here, a touch from there... Divergent musical styles, so well
cross-pollinated, they have become hybrids."
SANTA FE REPORTER
SANTA FE REPORTER- Steve Terrell
"The common element of their music is the sheer happiness each song projects."
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
David Steinberg picked our newest CD, "20 Yrs
Happy" as one of the years best.
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