Music & Dance
LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS
Broussard, Louisiana
Cajun
At the heart of the Lost Bayou Ramblers are brothers, Louis and André Michot, who have been immersed in the roots of Cajun music practically from birth. Sons of Tommy Michot (of the ‘80s all-brothers Cajun band Les Frères Michot), Louis and André trace their musical heritage back five generations to their grandfather’s grandmother, Laura Normand, who played the French accordion in Avoyelles Parish, Lousiana. Their grandfather and great-grandfather played what they call “old-time music,” or what might be called big band music, or swing.
The Michot family has been in Louisiana since 1802 (Louis’s son, Julien, is the 8th generation) and the brothers’ grandfather is the only one in the line who doesn’t speak French. Michot is French Creole, not Acadian, but as Louisiana’s diverse background goes, it is on the Michots’ Spanish/Anglo-protestant grandmother’s side that their lineage traces back directly to Jean-Baptiste Broussard, brother of the Acadian resistance leader known as “Beausoleil.”
Growing up in Pilette, Louisiana, Louis’s (fiddle and vocals) and André’s (accordion) "initiation" meant ten years of playing triangle, guitar, and bass with Les Frères, eventually moving up to the “lead” instruments, fiddle and accordion, from family members and other musicians at Louisiana’s oldest record store, Floyd's Record Shop in Ville Platte.
Apart from the influences of Les Frères, Andre learned his accordion style with Ray Abshire, who learned from his late uncle, Nathan Abshire, who gave the Balfa Brothers their start. One of Louis’s primary influences came via recordings by Harry Choates, the Cajun King of Fiddle Swing.
When the Michotbrothers matched up with Chris "Oscar" Courville (drums), Alan LaFleur (upright bass) and Cavan Carruth (guitar), the band began to play their "deep swamp beat" around Acadiana and eventually all over the United States. Since starting out in 1999 they have added dozens of original songs to complement their vast Cajun repertoire of hundreds of early accordion dancehall tunes, pre-century fiddle tunes, and Cajun swing.
Links
Return to Music and Dance page
Go to Next Artist- Shotgun Party
