BobCajun
Photo by Kyle Griffin, Peterborough This Week
..Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music
Bookings Bio Schedule MP3s Press
When you come to see the phenomenon known as "BobCajun", come prepared for a thoroughly "Canajun" experience.
BobCajun rose in the year 2002 out of the ashes of Y2Cajun, a very popular local outfit that zydeco-ed in the new millennium and then burned up like the fireworks that followed. Taking a more considered and crafty approach than its predecessor, BobCajun is an intriguing group that makes no apology for its political and geographical place on the world map. Brazenly plucking the American Eagle of some its finest plumage, the members of BobCajun impishly flaunt their booty like the thieving rascals that they are. What people find in a performance by BobCajun is not the typical fawning obeisance to a near-static and foreign cultural tradition, but a kind of finders/keepers exultation that gives this old music not just warmth, but that vital element of nose-thumbing sass. While evocative of a warmer climate and a simpler time, the music is not shackled by the burden of its origin- not, at least, after these Canajun renegades have wrenched it loose. This is what makes the music of BobCajun so eminently suited to hip Canadian- it is enjoyable for the elegant pleasure of its hearing, while even sweeter in the knowledge that it has been "liberated" (in the way Huck Finn would "liberate" a chicken) from the Mighty Bumptious Oaf south of the border.
le groupe:
For all its collective sin and sophistication, BobCajun is made up of five very polite and pleasant young people who are entirely law abiding and a credit to their respective parents. Eager to please, and happy to play or talk music for hours, the Bobs are:
Fleur de Bayou (Tina Therrien): guitar & vocals. La belle chanteuse, with a primeval wail that will curdle the blood, and a sob that will swell the heart. Frattoir, 'tit fer and gitarre are but melted beeswax in her hands.
Hector LaFramboise (aka Curtis Driedger): the quintessential Canajun, mangling the French tongue to near-destruction. Plays a slippery fiddle. Nattily dressed, delicately coiffed and elegantly spoken, but crazy as a loon.
Jo P'neu (Jim Gleason) : the token hard workin' family man of the group, but don't let the fatherly image fool you, he is easily the most dangerous and sinister of the lot. Will sing the birds down from the trees, then bite their heads off. Thumps away at the stand up bass.
Maud'lin (Karen Taylor) :The sweetest fiddler this side of the Bayou, our newest fiddler makes each note soar as she saws out harmonies that will melt your heart.
Orphe-lin (Leslie McGrath) : Our new 'tit fer (triangle) player, someone has to keep this motley crew in line. Solid for an orphan, Orphelin doesn't miss a beat!
Dance nights
BobCajun loves to put on dance nights, either for public events or private parties. The night kicks off with dance lessons by Myra Hirschberg and Tom Calwell, who have instructed cajun and contra dance across the world.. If you want to know more about cajun or other types of dance lessons, visit Tom Myra's
website. Dance nights for 2011 to be announced.
BobCajun Schedule, 2011
Stay tuned for more afternoon gigs and evening dances as the year unfolds! Visit us on facebook (BobCajun) to keep in touch.
•April 16: The Spill, 3pm-6pm BobCajun celebrates the return of La Fleur de la Bayou (aka Tina) from her winter long sojourn in Haiti, where she has been active in post earthquake reconstruction. We are curious to see what wild and snaky
rhythms she has absorbed while there---perhaps you are too. Come see us play Saturday afternoon- you'll see the whole fais doodoo gang for the first time since New Year's Eve---Maudie and Orphie Lynn, Hector LaFramboise and Joe Pneu (with possible guest appearance of 'Tit Pneu).BobCajun Schedule, 2010
- April 24: Fundraising dinner for Peterborough Social Planning Council, Peterborough
- July 24: Outdoor concert, Nichol's Oval, Peterborough
- October 1: Afternoon music at The Spill, Peterborough; 2pm-5pm
- November 6: The Spill, 2pm-5pm
- December 31: New Year's Extravaganza at : The Spill, 3pm-6pm
BobCajun Schedule, 2009
- May 4: The Spill, Peterborough
- June 21: Kaffé 1870, Wakefield, Quebec,
- July 18: The Spill
BobCajun Schedule, 2008
- February 2, 2008: One World Dinner, Peterborough
- February 23, 2008: Give a Hoot Dance Night, Millbrook
The Give a Hoot Café and Millbrook/Cavan Environmental Watch presents a 'Caygeon dance with Bob Cajun at 8 p.m. at the King St. Center for the Arts (40 King St. W., Millbrook). Admission is $10 at the door, less for those who sing on the open stage. There will be a spaghetti dinner at St. Thomas Anglican church in support of the Millbrook Family Centre beforehand. For more information call (705) 932-3214.- April 12, 2008: Private birthday party
- May 10, 2008: Private wedding
- June 7, 2008: Windfall Ecology Fair, Newmarket
- June 21, 2008: Gamiing Sustainability Fair
- August 17, 2008: Private wedding
BobCajun Schedule, 2007
- January 13: Give a Hoot Dance night, Millbrook
- May 16: Private birthday party, Wakefield, Quebec
- May 17: Benefit at the Black Sheep Inn, Quebec
- July 21: Winery gala, Warkworth www.oakheights.ca
- August 11: Private anniversary party
- August 26: Peterborough Folk Festival
- October 13: Black Horse Pub, Peterborough, Ont
- November 30/December 1: Waring House Inn, Picton, Ont
MP3: Here's a wee sampling of some of our songs.They were recorded huddled around one microphone at the church in Mount Pleasant by Jay Edmunds.
Peterborough This Week article, text only
link to article in Peterborough This Week
Bookings
If a good time for all is the order of the day, BobCajun is the group to call. Weddings, parties, conventions, festivals and funerals- the Bobs play 'em all. Make your event one that people will praise for years to come! Contact "Tina "at" strawhomes.ca" for more information about BobCajun, or to be added to our mailing list.
Camel's Back
c/o Tina Therrien
P.O. Box 61, Warsaw, ON, K0L 3A0
strawbus@auracom.com