Central California’s Hottest Zydeco and Cajun Band!
Evo Bluestein leads the California Cajun and zydeco band Bad Boys Zydeco, playing button accordions and fiddle. He was inspired by visits with legendary Cajun and zydeco performers in Louisiana. A few of them are pictured here.
Bad Boys Zydeco band includes some of the best talent in Central California.
Dirty Linen Magazine reviewer says “. . . more original than most of the current crop of zydeco groups from Louisiana and half of the songs are in French to boot …better, more distinctive, and even more in keeping with the tradition than much of what is currently being released in the genre.”
Launching in 1986, California Cajun and zydeco band Bad Boys Zydeco was one of the first west coast zydeco bands.
What is Zydeco?–Creole For Rock and Roll?
Zydeco is a peculiar hybrid of French Canadian songs, European instruments, Caribbean and African rhythms, and Creole sensibility. The name is a contraction of the name of a song called “Les Haricots Sont Pas Sales,” which every zydeco band performs in one form or another. “The snap beans aren’t salty” implies poverty too deep for families to afford salt pork for seasoning and it also suggests the rural origins of the music.
The Old-style Zydeco bands would often have a fiddle in the lineup in addition to the accordion and rub board (or frottoir). In the forties and fifties some players introduced rhythm and blues to the mix. Out went the fiddle, too quiet to stand up to the electric guitars, horns and drums. The late Clifton Chenier gets most of the credit for creating this sound and for this reason, he is the acknowledged king of zydeco.
Early Creole Music was often made without instruments since money was scarce. People would make “marches,” rhythmic stomping of the feet for entertainment. Mule jaws, washboards, and sticks rubbed on wood were some other popular early instruments. When instruments became available the black Creoles were among the earliest to master the accordion. The European roots of their music are clearly heard in the mazurkas and contradances that appear in their repertoires. Constant musical interchange took place between blacks and whites.
Cajun & Zydeco Button Accordion video Instruction (video downloads)