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Bonne Musique Zydeco doing a telivision promotion for the 2010 Long Beach Crawfish Festival. This was shot live in the parking lot of channel 11 studio in Santa Monica, CA. The segment on the Long Beach Crawfish Festival starts at 4 minutes and 10 seconds and the band starts at 5 minutes and 35 seconds of the 8 minutes segment.
Louisiana among the pines
Bonne Musique Zydeco may be from Southern California but their music is pure Louisiana Creole style.
A little bit of Louisiana is coming to the Big Bear Marathon after party Saturday, Sept. 6.
Bonne Musique Zydeco, a Southern California-based band, plays at the corner of Village Drive and Pine Knot Avenue in the Village at the conclusion of the marathon, from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
BJ Deculus, band founder, said his five-piece band plays solely zydeco music. Those who don’t know what that means need not fear.
“Zydeco is the music of Black Creoles in southwestern Louisiana,” Deculus said. “It’s a mix of rock ’n roll, blues, Caribbean and R&B music. But it’s not rock ’n roll or blues music, it’s zydeco.”
Deculus plays bass alongside accordion player Dennis Gurwell, drummer Andre Allen, washboard player Bully Butler and guitarist Patrick Mason. Gurwell and Butler share singing duties, with Mason occasionally taking the lead. Keyboardist Norman Weatherly will be absent, playing a show with Rose Royce, the band made famous with its hit “Car Wash.”
Bonne Musique Zydeco, which translates to “good zydeco music,” has played all over Southern California, but never in Big Bear, though Deculus has visited the Valley. “It’s a real nice place,” Deculus said.
Deculus said he hopes to give Valley residents and visitors a glimpse into the diverse world that is zydeco music. “We have a varied repertoire,” he said. “We’ll play some New Orleans-style zydeco as well as countryside zydeco. New Orleans has a very different sound.”
The band’s goal: to get people out of their seats. “Our goal is to have people dance,” Deculus said. “But also to be captured by a new sound they haven’t heard. A lot of people are amazed at a band led by an accordion and accompanied by a washboard.”
Deculus said people may just forget they’re in California, if only for a while. “We’re gonna give the people a taste of Louisiana,” he said with a chuckle.
Zydeco band rocks Central Park
By Stephen K. Peeples
Signal Online Editor
speeples@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x521
Posted: July 22, 2008 1:54 a.m.
Updated: July 22, 2008 4:55 a.m.
The Creole, Cajun and zydeco sounds and rhythms of southwest Louisiana and east Texas spiced up the warm early evening atmosphere Saturday as the group Bonne Musique Zydeco played for some 2,000 people gathered at Central Park in Saugus.
While most of the crowd kicked back on the park's grassy field, a couple dozen fans including cast members of the Santa Clarita Regional Theatre production of "Grease" (opening July 26 at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center) and toddlers barely old enough to walk crowded the area in front of the stage, dancing, grinning and grooving throughout the set.
The six-member Los Angeles-based group, founded in 1991 by Louisiana-born bassist B.J. Deculus, served up spirited versions of originals from their three albums, plus choice classics including zydeco king Clifton Chenier's immortal "I'm a Hog for You."
It was the third event in the city of Santa Clarita's summer 2008 Concerts in the Park series. Next Saturday night: Hollywood U2, whose performance there two years ago earned high praise even from die-hard U2 fans.
Concerts in the Park takes place every Saturday at 7 p.m. through Aug. 23 at Central Park, located at 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road.