by FiFi, October 1995
I had never been to a zydeco La La, and I wasn't even sure what one was (we don't have many here in the Northwest). But thanks to Laura Taylor, the Mercer Island VFW hosted a zydeco La La on Sunday, September 17th, 1995. And if you weren't there you sure missed it.
Now I'm told that, in Louisiana, a La La used to be a house party where friends would gather on Sunday after church. There would be music and dance and lots of food and friends. I can tell you that we had all of the right ingredients. At the door, I was greeted by the smells of gumbo and cornbread. Ooh, I knew this was the place. I didn't know that Clyde cooked in the kitchen as well as on the dance floor.
The La La began with dance lessons, then Captain Leroy and the Culture Pirates put everyone in the zydeco spirit. They sounded very good and were full of zydeco energy. Next, Motordude played all my favorite songs, some old standards, and some tunes from their new album, Big Oakland. Billy was up there dancin' while he played the accordion. Lloyd, scratch-scratchin' away on the board and singin' with that voice of his, made me unable to sit still! Linda, John, and Dennis added just the right amount of drums, guitar, and bass, as well as their voices. It was the best! And it was so hot I thought I might be in Louisiana. The band played with such high energy, I was sad to know that this was the last gig before they left to go back to California. From my bird's eye view of the party, it looked as if everyone was having a good time. Et toi!
by Fifi, October 1995
I knew I was at the right dance the moment I walked into the Tractor Tavern and saw all those pretty feathers swishing about on the stage. I knew in a glance these must be friends from the Bay Area, the band Tee Fee. They were here over Labor Day Weekend to play a dance at the Tractor and to perform at Bumbershoot. Did you hear those lively tunes the musicians played? That new drummer sure made dancing easy and fun.
Sometimes the music sounded country-flavored, sometimes blues-y, and lots of times zydeco! But no matter what was played, there was no question that this was shake your feathers DANCE music, and dance we did! Did you happen to notice how much the fun those ladies were having on stage? They seemed to enjoy having us as much as we enjoyed them. I hope I will hear this band in Seattle again soon.