Cajun Spotlight 

Cajun and Zydeco Music and Dance in the Upper Midwest
 November 2004

CAJUN STRANGERS

The Cajun Strangers play for a dance in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin on Friday, November 19 (Cottage Grove is close to Madison).  The venue is Flynn Hall located at 116 West Reynolds Street.  There will be a dance lesson at 7:30 pm and dancing from 8:00 to 11 pm. More information is available at cajunstrangers.com
 

NEXT DALBO DANCE NOVEMBER 13

The next dance at the Dalbo Town Hall is Saturday, November 13. Performing will be The Cajun Hot Soles and Skandilous. The Cajun Hot Soles perform traditional Cajun and Creole music plus some great original tunes. Skandilous is known for their fine Nordic dance music and being snappy dressers. Dalbo is located about an hour north of the Twin Cities between Cambridge and Princeton.  From Dalbo, take Highway 47 north approx. 3.3 miles to County 16.  Go west (left) 1.8 miles to Jaspar St.  Go left 0.2 mile to 399th Ave.  Go right 0.2 mile to Nacre St. Go left to the Town Hall. For more information call Amy at 763-389-1536 or email asabrina@ecenet.com. Additional dances are slated for January and February at the same venue.
 

CAJUN HOT SOLES: SOLE MUSIC

The new CD by the Cajun Hot Soles is out and it’s great!  Sole Music features 16 great songs in the old-style Cajun and Creole style the Hot Soles are known for. We plan to have a more in-depth review in an upcoming issue. The recording is available at    their gigs as well as their Web site at  cajunhotsoles.com. The official CD Release Party is slated for Sunday, November 7 at the Half Time Rec in Saint Paul. 
 

BUFFALO GALS AT TAPESTRY

The Buffalo Gals play for a Halloween Dance Party at Tapestry Folkdance Center on Saturday, October 30. Costumes are encouraged! The Gals play a wide variety of great dance music, including Cajun, country and swing. There will be a Cajun two-step lesson at 7:30 pm and dancing from 8 to 11. Don’t forget to check out the just-released second CD from the group, See You in the Morning.  It is available at their performances as well as Homestead Pickin’ Parlor and on cdbaby.com.
 

BALFA TOUJOURS

One of the finest traditional Cajun bands performing today is Balfa Toujours. They make a brief swing through the Midwest in early November. There are no stops planned in Minnesota, unfortunately. Here’s where you can see them:
  • November 5: Focal Point, St. Louis, MO, 8:00 PM
  • November 6: Opera House, Green Lake, WI, 7:30 PM
  • November 7: Old Town School, Chicago, IL, 7:00 PM
  • November 9: CSPS, Cedar Rapids, IA, 8:00 PM
  • November 11: Creole Gallery, Lansing, MI, 7:30 PM

DEWEY BALFA HERITAGE WEEK 2005

The next Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week is April 10-16 at Chicot State Park in Louisiana. For complete details and registration information go to lafolkroots.org.
 

CAJUN WEEKEND AT FOLKLORE VILLAGE 

For those interested in advanced planning, the dates for the 2005 Cajun Music & Dance Weekend at Folklore Village are March 18-20. More information in a few months on this great event.
 

DANCE LESSONS WITH DAVID JORDAHL

2004 Zydeco Beginning/Intermediate levels.  Sundays at Four Season's Dance Studio, $12 per lesson, $30 for 3 lessons, $40 for 4 lessons.  Check www.bayoudancer.com for possible changes.
October 31
     4-5:30 pm-Intermediate 3 of 3
     5:30-7  pm-Beginning 3 of 3
November 7
     No Lessons
November 14
     4-5:30pm-Beginning (1 of 3)
November 21
      4-5:30 pm-Beginning (2 of 3)
     5:30-7 pm-Intermediate (1 of 3)
November 28
     4-5:30 pm - Beginning (3 of 3)
     5:30-7 pm Intermediate (2 of 3)
December 5
     4-5:30 pm- Intermediate (1 of 3)
     5:30-7 pm -Intermediate (3 of 3)
December 12
     4-5:30 pm-Intermediate 2 of 3
December 19
     4-5:30 pm-Intermediate 3 of 3
December 26
          No Lessons

UPCOMING CAJUN AND ZYDECO EVENTS

  • October 30 - Halloween Dance w/ The Buffalo Gals: TAPESTRY FOLKDANCE CENTER, MPLS (7:30 PM)
  • October 31 - Krewe Potluck and Rockin’ Pinecones: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • November 06 - Balfa Toujours: THRASHER’S OPERA HOUSE, GREEN LAKE, WI
  • November 07 - Cajun Hot Soles CD Release Party: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • November 07 - Balfa Toujours: OLD TOWN SCHOOL, CHICAGO, IL
  • November 09 - Balfa Toujours: CSPS HALL, CEDAR RAPIDS, IA 
  • November 10 - Cajun Jam: HOMESTEAD PICKIN’ PARLOR, RICHFIELD, MN (7:00-9:00 PM)
  • November 13 - Cajun Hot Soles, Skandilous: DALBO TOWN HALL, DALBO, MN (7:00 PM)
  • November 14 - New Riverside Ramblers: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • November 19 - The Cajun Strangers: FLYNN HALL, COTTAGE GROVE, WI (7:30 PM)
  • November 19 - New Riverside Ramblers: CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER (8:00 PM) 
  • November 21 - Jumbo Ya Ya: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • November 26,27 - The Everett Smithson Band: FLAHERTY’S BOWL, ARDEN HILLS (9:00 PM)
  • November 28 - JJ’s Zydeco Paydirt: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM)
  • December 01 - The Everett Smithson Band: LEGENDS, HOLIDAY INN, ST. CLOUD (7-11 PM)
  • December 04 - The Everett Smithson Band: HILLTOP, WOODVILLE, MN  (9:00 PM)
  • December 05 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • December 08 - Cajun Jam: HOMESTEAD PICKIN’ PARLOR, RICHFIELD, MN (7:00-9:00 PM)
  • December 11 - The Everett Smithson Band: BLUES, CHATFIELD, MN (9:00 PM)
  • December 11 - New Riverside Ramblers: CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER (7:30 PM) 
  • December 12 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • December 19 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • December 26 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • December 31 - The Everett Smithson Band: RUSTIC INN, PALLISADE, MN (9:00 PM)
  • January 02 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • January 08 - New Riverside Ramblers: CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER (7:30 PM) 
  • January 09 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • January 16 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • January 22 - New Riverside Ramblers: KC HALL, SIOUX FALLS, SD (7;30 PM)
  • January 23 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • January 30 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • February 05 - Bal Masque w/ New Riverside Ramblers: CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER (8:00 PM) 
  • February 06 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • February 13 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • February 19 - Mardi Gras w/ Cajun Hot Soles, Black Bear Bayou: TOWN HALL, DALBO, MN
  • February 20 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • February 26 - Krewe de Walleye Mardi Gras: MEDINA ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
  • February 27 - TBA: HALF TIME REC, ST. PAUL (8:00 PM) 
  • March 18-20 - Cajun Music/Dance Weekend: FOLKLORE VILLAGE, DODGEVILLE, WI
NOTE: Please call to confirm events more than four weeks from first item on calendar.
 
 

BRILL BUILDING, PART THREE

Our next look at the Brill Building in Manhattan looks at the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. (in case you missed last month’s quiz, the Brill Building housed over 150 music businesses at the same time, including writers, producers, publishers and small studios. It was a major force in the development of popular music in the ‘60s. Several companies employed full-time songwriting teams). Doc Pomus had a brief career as a blues singer in New York in the ‘40’s, while Mort Shuman studied music at the New York Conservatory and played piano on some of Doc’s recording. They formed a songwriting partnership in 1958 that lasted until 1965. Can you match the performers with the following hits that this hitmaking duo wrote?
 
01) TURN ME LOOSE a) Gary “U.S.” Bonds
02) HUSHABYE   b) Jay & the Americans
03) GO, JIMMY, GO c) Fabian
04) A TEENAGER IN LOVE   d) The Mystics
05) CAN’T GET USED TO LOSING YOU  e) Terry Stafford
06) THIS MAGIC MOMENT  f) Jimmy Clanton
07) SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME g) The Drifters
08) LITTLE SISTER h) Dion & the Belmonts
09) SUSPICION i) The Drifters
10) SEVEN DAY WEEKEND  j) Andy Williams
* Special internet bonus question.
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NOTES & STEPS/CAJUN SPOTLIGHT is an independent newsletter about Cajun, zydeco and other traditional music & dance events and news in the upper Midwest and beyond. A one year subscription is $10.00. Email Notessteps@aol.com or NOTES & STEPS/CAJUN SPOTLIGHT, John Tallaksen, 2425 East Franklin, #211 Minneapolis, MN 55406.