alargeLouisianamusicalfamily,andtonight
he squeezes out two sets of his trademark
bluesy zydeco. Themusic seems to coax
the sun to set and the sky to turnawheaty
orange.We leave before the evening ends
because today is also Thierry’s birthday.
He’splaying forhisownparty, atanelegant
OaklandnightspotcalledtheCapriLounge.
TuesdaywevisitAshkenaz,thenonprofit
Berkeleymusicclub that,back in1976, gave
manyCalifornians theirfirst liveexposure
toSouthLouisiana rhythms.Withabar in
back selling tofu sandwiches andorganic
pale ales, Ashkenaz has a completely dif-
ferent vibe from theNoNameRanch. But
themusical energy is similar. Accordionist
AndrewCarriere, the74-year-oldsonofthe
renownedCreole fiddler “Bébé”Carrière,
has a radiant smile and themostmassive
biceps Ihave ever seen.He andhis band—
playingamixtureof zydeco, Creole, Cajun
and country— turn thedance floor into a
spiralofmotion.
We end our week at John’s woodshop,
where there is yet another birthdayparty
for Thierry. (This time the cake is deco-
ratedwith a bottle of CrownRoyal.) This
iswhere Imeet Semien, the retired transit
worker.Semientellsmethatzydecoparties
are “sacred” tohim— and looking around,
I understandwhat hemeans. For all the
laughter, there is alsoa reverence, both for
themusicandforthecomingtogetherofold
friends, Creole andotherwise. Admission
to thewoodshopparties is free, yetnoone
has tobe reminded to tip theband. (There
are$100bills in the tipbucket.)And in the
sweatingandspinningofbodies, it’seasyto
feel thetranscendence.
Somanypeoplehavedescribedthedanc-
ing as having a power over them that bor-
dersonthereligious.AwomannamedBetty
LeBlanc, who is also at John’swoodshop,
describes it best. LeBlanc, who is Creole,
movedhere in 1960.Nowsheorganizes the
dancesat23Club.Duringoneof ourmany
conversations, LeBlanc talksabout getting
lost in themusic and themovement. “It’s
oneofthehighestfeversyoucouldeverwish
tohave insideof yourbody,” she tellsme in
EnglishinflectedbytheCreoleFrenchofher
childhood. “You can’t control it. It control
you. Just like you go into church—you’ve
heardof theHolyGhost spirit?That’swhat
comes over you: theHolyGhost spirit. It’s
justapartofyoushakingandyoudon’tknow
whyyou shaking, andyoudon’t knowwhy
you can’t help yourself. That’swhat good
zydecodo.”
Journalist
BARRY YEOMAN
is a producer of
Zydeco
Nation
, a radiodocumentaryabout theCreolemigration.
His research is supported by the California Council for
theHumanities.
Forallthelaughter,
thereisalsoareverence,
bothforthemusicand
forthecomingtogether
ofoldfriends.
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
59
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