August 27, 2003
One hot number
Cajun and Zydeco band throws party for CD recording
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Live from L.A, it's K. Jones and the Benzie Playboyz.
The area's hottest Cajun and Zydeco band threw a party Saturday night at the Lake Ann Town Hall to record their first compact disc. Playing to a packed dance floor, with energy reverberating from dancers to band and back to dancers again, the nine-member group laid down the tracks for "Live in L.A.," which is scheduled for release around Thanksgiving.
The three-year-old band decided to record a live disc because the format highlights their strengths and their passion: making people dance.
"We're best live with people dancing and getting their energy going," said Marty Jablonski of Benzonia, who plays the triangle and rub board in the band. "This is fun music because the people are dancing."
Keeping the dance floor packed and happy is a Cajun music tradition, originating in the genre's birthplace of Louisiana.
"In Louisiana, people don't applaud with their hands," Jablonski noted. "If they don't like the band, they don't dance."
Hiring a recording and sound outfit from Kalamazoo, the band played until midnight Saturday, going over some numbers a couple of times for the engineers. They also cooked up a Louisiana feast to thank their fans as well as newcomers for helping them record the disc.
Band members gathered back at the hall Sunday morning to listen to the tapes, planning to fill in any low spots or redo mistakes at that time. However, after hearing the tapes, they all decided to leave them as they were, letting small imperfections stand as part of the recording's authenticity.
"At first we were going to dub stuff in and fix some mistakes but we took a vote not to do so and the little mistakes are the little mistakes," Jablonski said. "There was a lot of hootin' and hollerin' from the crowd and even listening to the same numbers we did earlier and later, the crowd was way into it later. Those were the better takes because of the energy."
The band recorded numerous classic Cajun and Zydeco tunes as well as one original song written by John Phillips, the fiddle player. The lyrics for the song tell the story of the French-speaking Arcadian people's exile from what is now Nova Scotia, Canada, to Louisiana in the 1750s.
The Cajun connection spawns from band's namesake, Kirk Jones of Beulah, who has Arcadian roots. He plays the Cajun accordion in the band and sings. In addition, guitar and harmonica player Stephen Fernand hails from French-Canadian and Arcadian stock. Both sing many Cajun songs in their original French or Arcadian patois.
"This is my folk music," said Fernand, who has also played professionally on the blues and jazz circuits. "I used to play the Blues and Bob Dylan but that was not my kind of folk music and the first time I played Cajun music up here, people leaned forward and tapped their feet."
Other members of the band are Gary Warden on accordion and piano, Scott Scholten on drums, Tim McKay on bass, Ron Harrison on electric guitar and Mark Stoltz on rubboard.
Stoltz is also the band's dance teacher, an indefatigable instructor who almost single-footedly brought Cajun and Zydeco dancing to the area's folk dance scene. Teaching classes at Northwestern Michigan College and before each of the band's 30 performances a year, Stoltz is happiest when dancing til dawn or playing with the band.
During his lessons he guides students on the nuances of Cajun steps, with the men leading their partner on a straight path around the dance floor. He drilled the basics of the Cajun waltz and two-step and then told the assembled they were free to take his advice and run with it.
"I'm teaching you the basics and giving you room to make your own gumbo," he told the prospective dancers during Saturday's lesson.