Routes to Roots
Fiddle Fare Workshop
Where:
Louisiana Folk Roots
118 W. Vermilion, downtown Lafayette
Fee:
Admission is $20.00 ($15.00 for Friends of LFR)
Lagniappe presentation only $6.00 ($4.00 for Friends of LFR)
When:
Saturday, August 26, 2006
1:30pm - 5:30pm (Check in 1:00 PM)
Preregistration is required.
Description
The second annual FIDDLE FARE instructional workshop and Lagniappe
Presentation features instructors Cedric Watson and Courtney Granger.
The workshop is open to beginning and intermediate/advanced fiddle
players. A special lagniappe presentation will follow the instruction
sessions, featuring Cedric and Courtney along with a special appearance
by master fiddler Milton Vanicor (Mr. Vanicor's health permitting).
Cajun fiddler Mitch Reed will facilitate this presentation.
> 1:00-1:30 p.m. Check-in
> 1:30-2:45 p.m. Class session I
> Cedric - Beginning
> Courtney - Int/Advanced
> 2:45-3:00 p.m. Break
> 3:00-4:15 p.m. Class session II
> Courtney - Beginning
> Cedric - Int/Advanced
> 4:15-4:30 p.m. Break
> 4:30-5:30 p.m. Lagniappe presentation
For non-Folk Roots members, the fee for the entire afternoon including
the lagniappe presentation is $20; for Folk Roots members, the fee is
$15. For those who wish to attend only the lagniappe presentation, the
fee for non-members is $6, and $4 for members. Fiddle Fare will be held
at Louisiana Folk Roots, 118 W. Vermilion in downtown Lafayette.
Preregistration is required. For more information and to register,
please contact Louisiana Folk Roots at 337-234-8360 or email
info@lafolkroots.org .
Bios:
Courtney Granger, a great-nephew of the Balfa Brothers, is one of the
most talented of the younger generation of Cajun musicians in Louisiana.
He was born in 1982 and began playing the fiddle in the early 1990s. His
soulful style on the instrument and his evocative singing style earned
him the chance to make his first solo recording for Rounder Records at
the age of 16. He is literally the next generation in the Cajun
tradition. Courtney currently is a member of Balfa Toujours, and can
also be seen playing with several other ensembles of fine Cajun
musicians.
Cedric Watson began playing music as a teenager when he was introduced
to the Creole and Cajun music of his grandfather's family. He started
out playing guitar and was soon playing the fiddle and accordion at jam
sessions in the Houston area. With the fiddle as his main instrument,
Cedric sang the old Creole music regularly at clubs and restaurants in
Houston and the surrounding areas. He currently lives in Lafayette,
Louisiana, and is a member of the popular Pine Leaf Boys, who have
recently signed with Arhoolie Records. To witness one of Cedric's
performances is to have the rare opportunity to hear one of the few
young Creole fiddlers playing the old Creole style music, reminiscent of
the great Canray Fontenot.
Mitch Reed is one of the finest Cajun fiddlers in Louisiana. Though
classically trained on cello and bass, he decided to learn fiddle the
old way, and began studying the masters: Dennis McGee, Calvin Carriere,
Canray Fontenot, and Dewey Balfa, to name a few. His style draws on the
sounds of these legendary heroes, yet finds its own original, bluesy
expression that is instantly recognizable. A chance meeting with Randy
"Frisson" Vidrine at one of Marc Savoy's jam sessions in Eunice led to a
creative partnership that has lasted for over 15 years. These young
traditionalists formed the first version of their current band Charivari
with Cory McCauley in the late 1980's. They have also been members of
Tasso and the Mamou Prairie Band. In addition to playing with
Charivari, Mitch is currently a member of the Cajun band Racines, and is
the newest member of the world-renowned Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet.
The multi-talented Mitch Reed is an accomplished studio musician on many
instruments, as well as a master storyteller.
Milton Vanicor grew up on a farm in the Church Point, Louisiana, area.
When he was a young boy, his father was too poor to purchase a violin,
so Milton made his own with a single string and a wooden plank. He was a
young man when Amedee Ardoin was playing "les bals de maison" in
Milton's home and neighborhood. It was during this time that Milton met
Odile Bellard, a first cousin of the legendary Cajun musician, Iry
LeJeune. Milton and Odile were married in 1937. During the Depression,
Milton moved to Lake Charles, where he farmed cotton and worked for
local rice farmers. He eventually moved south of Lacassine where he
continued to farm cotton until he was drafted into the U.S. Navy in
WWII. After the war, Iry LeJeune lived with the Vanicor family for two
years, and Milton became instrumental in the formation of the Lacassine
Playboys Band which helped launch Iry Lejeune's short musical career.
The Lacassine Playboys Band consisted of bandleader, accordionist and
vocalist Iry, and several members of the Vanicor family: Milton and his
brother Ellis on fiddle; Ivy Vanicor, another brother, on rhythm guitar;
nephew Orsy on the steel guitar; and Asa LeJeune, a brother-in-law, on
drums. Cajun music and tradition have been a strong part of Milton
Vanicor's life, and he continues to make contributions to his cultural
heritage. Presently, Milton resides in Welsh, Louisiana, and entertains
with other Cajun musicians in nursing homes and schools. Young musicians
come to him for lessons in Cajun fiddling in the old traditional style
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