Spotlight

Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band featured on tonight’s episode of Jubilee—Summertime Blues

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The fourth episode of KET’s summer program Jubilee—Summertime Blues airs tonight, with perennial Henderson blues fest favorite Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band bringing pure Louisiana zydeco fun. The series was recorded at the 2010 W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival in Henderson.

Carrier’s roots in zydeco reach back to his father and grandfather, who both played this type of music native to southwest Louisiana. Carrier was eight years old when he first heard his father’s band practicing at their house.

“I was floored by it, it seemed unbelievable,” Carrier says. “For me as a kid to see that, it was an honor. I wanted to know more about it.”

Carrier’s father and grandfather were accordion players, and he followed in that family tradition. Carrier points out that some people get zydeco and Cajun music confused: zydeco contains more blues, rhythm and blues, soul and gospel; Cajun is more folk, waltz and two-step.

“The fiddle is big in Cajun music,” Carrier says. “The life of the party in zydeco is the accordion and the washboard.”

In this energetic 2010 performance in Henderson, band members traverse the large crowd to interact, while audience members ascend the stage and join the band dancing, singing and playing instruments.

“They’re invited to play in the band, and they’re invited to sing along,” Carrier says, speaking of his audience. “We put on a show.”

Indeed they do. During “Who Stole The Hot Sauce?” a band member walks through the crowd, putting a drop of hot sauce on the tongue of anyone who wants it while Carrier sings, “Who stole my hot sauce? When I catch that crook, he’s gonna drink every drop he took.”

This episode of Jubilee—Summertime Blues airs Tuesday, June 28 at 10/9 pm CT on KET.