REVIEWS
Times of Acadiana - (Lafayette, LA)
August 2016
Article by Herman Fuselier
Photo by Dr. David Simpson
Lisa Trahan was looking to turn a few heads with her first solo CD. A longtime member of the Grammy-nominated Magnolia Sisters, Trahan collaborated with veteran Cajun French songwriter Bobby Michot, of Les Freres Michot fame, on three songs. Her band members include ace drummer Kenny Alleman, guitarist Shannon Aucoin and Henry Hample, a New York native with a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from Brown University. But Trahan believes her edge is bass player Louie Aucoin’s creation — a tub bass. It’s a plastic wash tub, turned upside down and topped with a long wooden handle and wiring for a speaker and amp. “I think it gives it a unique rhythm that you don’t hear in a lot of Cajun stuff,” said Trahan, a financial adviser by day. “It’s a conversation piece. “We can’t play a gig without someone coming up and saying, ‘What the hell is that?’ That’s our secret weapon.”
Aucoin’s tub bass has Lisa Trahan et L’esprit Cadien among the nominees for the Le Cajun Awards, Grammy-style trophies issued by the Cajun French Music Association.
(Click here to read full article.)
Le Canard Folk - a monthly folk music magazine (Belgium, France)
January 2016 by MARC BAUDUIN
Lisa Trahan et L’esprit cadien : If those shoes could talk
Autoproduit et enregistré àLafayette, voici du cajun bien gras, avec une rythmique bien gras et un excellent choix de mélodies
porteuses, par des musiciens qui sont dans le jus depuis leur plus tendre enfance. Paroles et accent savoureux sont au rendez-vous avec des chansons comme “Je peux pas t’oublier”, “Je suis après m’ennuyer”, “Si ces souliers pouvais parler” (plage titulaire, composée par Lisa Trahan) ou la lente “Evangeline Waltz” (avec une voix grave étonnante, du plus belle effet), parsemées de quelques instrumentaux comme la pétillante “Polka à ma vieille tante”. Ce sont principalement des comp
ositions (de Lisa Trahan ou d’autres artistes), avec aussi quelques traditionnels, dans un fort sentiment d’unité créé par Lisa Trahan (mélodéon, triangle, rubboard, chant), Shannon Comeaux Aucoin (guitare, chant), Louie Aucoin (basse folklorique, chant), Henry Hample (violon, chant) et Kenny Alleman (batterie). En voyage !
Offbeat Magazine
August 2015 by DAN WILLGING
Though Lisa Trahan was practically incubated in Cajun music and a Magnolia Sister since 1996, only now does she step out with her own ensemble and a debut CD. And like the band namesake implies, this group has plenty of spirit.
But rather than go for the gusto of a slick dancehall sound, the group prefers it on the folky side, especially given Louie Aucoin’s thumpy washtub bass. With four of the five members (two gals and two guys) contributing at least one vocal track, the feeling is one of community and balance.
Trahan plays with a knuckle-busting drive on accordion with a draft wind of trills and honks; fiddler Henry Hample bows with gorgeous tonality. In between bluesy shuffles, waltzes and swinging numbers, it’s exceedingly dance friendly without necessarily being pure dancehall.
Song-wise, it’s obvious the group chooses the material it likes, such as Louie’s graceful rendition of DL Menard’s “Je peux pas t’oublier” while Shannon, Louie’s guitar-playing wife, comes close to how Adam Hebert sounded on “Je suis après m’ennuyer.” Two songs have rarely been covered—Cleveland Crochet’s “Telephone Port Arthur” and Octa Clark’s whirling dervish “Polka à ma vieille tante” that’s quite the galloping tune.
But what are the most amazing are Trahan’s three originals that are also her very first songs and deal with family memories, personal stories and inside jokes. If these shoes could talk, they’d say there’s plenty of life in these soles..
Times of Acadiana - (Lafayette, LA)
August 2016
Article by Herman Fuselier
Photo by Dr. David Simpson
Lisa Trahan was looking to turn a few heads with her first solo CD. A longtime member of the Grammy-nominated Magnolia Sisters, Trahan collaborated with veteran Cajun French songwriter Bobby Michot, of Les Freres Michot fame, on three songs. Her band members include ace drummer Kenny Alleman, guitarist Shannon Aucoin and Henry Hample, a New York native with a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from Brown University. But Trahan believes her edge is bass player Louie Aucoin’s creation — a tub bass. It’s a plastic wash tub, turned upside down and topped with a long wooden handle and wiring for a speaker and amp. “I think it gives it a unique rhythm that you don’t hear in a lot of Cajun stuff,” said Trahan, a financial adviser by day. “It’s a conversation piece. “We can’t play a gig without someone coming up and saying, ‘What the hell is that?’ That’s our secret weapon.”
Aucoin’s tub bass has Lisa Trahan et L’esprit Cadien among the nominees for the Le Cajun Awards, Grammy-style trophies issued by the Cajun French Music Association.
(Click here to read full article.)
Le Canard Folk - a monthly folk music magazine (Belgium, France)
January 2016 by MARC BAUDUIN
Lisa Trahan et L’esprit cadien : If those shoes could talk
Autoproduit et enregistré àLafayette, voici du cajun bien gras, avec une rythmique bien gras et un excellent choix de mélodies
porteuses, par des musiciens qui sont dans le jus depuis leur plus tendre enfance. Paroles et accent savoureux sont au rendez-vous avec des chansons comme “Je peux pas t’oublier”, “Je suis après m’ennuyer”, “Si ces souliers pouvais parler” (plage titulaire, composée par Lisa Trahan) ou la lente “Evangeline Waltz” (avec une voix grave étonnante, du plus belle effet), parsemées de quelques instrumentaux comme la pétillante “Polka à ma vieille tante”. Ce sont principalement des comp
ositions (de Lisa Trahan ou d’autres artistes), avec aussi quelques traditionnels, dans un fort sentiment d’unité créé par Lisa Trahan (mélodéon, triangle, rubboard, chant), Shannon Comeaux Aucoin (guitare, chant), Louie Aucoin (basse folklorique, chant), Henry Hample (violon, chant) et Kenny Alleman (batterie). En voyage !
Offbeat Magazine
August 2015 by DAN WILLGING
Though Lisa Trahan was practically incubated in Cajun music and a Magnolia Sister since 1996, only now does she step out with her own ensemble and a debut CD. And like the band namesake implies, this group has plenty of spirit.
But rather than go for the gusto of a slick dancehall sound, the group prefers it on the folky side, especially given Louie Aucoin’s thumpy washtub bass. With four of the five members (two gals and two guys) contributing at least one vocal track, the feeling is one of community and balance.
Trahan plays with a knuckle-busting drive on accordion with a draft wind of trills and honks; fiddler Henry Hample bows with gorgeous tonality. In between bluesy shuffles, waltzes and swinging numbers, it’s exceedingly dance friendly without necessarily being pure dancehall.
Song-wise, it’s obvious the group chooses the material it likes, such as Louie’s graceful rendition of DL Menard’s “Je peux pas t’oublier” while Shannon, Louie’s guitar-playing wife, comes close to how Adam Hebert sounded on “Je suis après m’ennuyer.” Two songs have rarely been covered—Cleveland Crochet’s “Telephone Port Arthur” and Octa Clark’s whirling dervish “Polka à ma vieille tante” that’s quite the galloping tune.
But what are the most amazing are Trahan’s three originals that are also her very first songs and deal with family memories, personal stories and inside jokes. If these shoes could talk, they’d say there’s plenty of life in these soles..
