A heart-warming closing performance in the “Valcour Chapel” by this lovely couple!
Archive for the 'News' Category
Please go download the new Lakeview Park Theme song, written by Linzay Young, and performed by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, at iTunes! All proceeds benefit the park!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lakeview-park-theme-song/id386672520
Hey Y’all! Check out this moving set from the little Valcour chapel in ’08! Dirk dedicated this set to the late Bois Sec Ardoin and he and Christine and Eddie Poullard played his tunes and told stories about their adventures with him. Enjoy!
Hey y’all! Just got back from my summer adventures and things are in full swing here in Valcour land! Not only do we have three awesome CDs coming out this fall, but we have a fantastic fall/winter season ahead with great new Artits of the Month and Podcasts! Be sure to keep your eye on us! Yesterday I went to my folks house to celebrate my 30th birthday (yikes!) with the fam. Among the fabulous gifts I received was this image. As some of you know, Valcour Records was named after my triple-great grandfather, that is my GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDPA, Mr. Pierre Valcour Savoy. My mom and dad found his signature from an OLD ledger, so I wanted to share it with you! Voilà! From August 16, 1848, the handwritten name that started it all. 1848 folks! That’s 162 years old!
-Joel
Figs are as much a part of Louisiana as crawfish. The Spanish were the fist to introduce the fig to what is now the United States in 1575. You can’t find someone from here, young or old that hasn’t been exposed to figs and fig preserves.
This past week I have been up to my elbows in figs -making preserves. It is super easy but a bit messy.
1 gallon figs
12 cups sugar
1 quart water
4 lemon slices
In a large pot, place all ingredients in except figs and bring to a boil. Then place the figs in the pot (carefully -the syurp you just made is like napalm.) Reduce heat and cook for 2.5 hours or until transparent. Let rest over night (they plump.) Then you are ready to place all this goodness into sterilized mason jars. Put the covers on tightly and place the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes or so. The remove & store for later (if you can manage to wait.) Et voila -c’est fini.
For a twist, add a packet of strawberry gelatin mix in with the fig to make strawberry-fig preserves.
-Lucius
Boudin being made at a boucherie
In South Louisiana there are certain topics that will assuredly cause hours long debate, possible loss of friendships and in some rare cases, physical confrontation. Boudin is one of those topics. We will argue over the proper ingredients, and what are the correct proportions of those ingredients (mainly this is about liver). We will debate the right way to eat boudin (do you eat the casing or not). And the most hotly discussed topic is, of course, who has the best boudin.
For those that don’t know, boudin form South Louisiana is pork, pork liver, onions, spices and rice, ground up and stuffed into a sausage casing. It is hardy, spicy and earthy. It is mostly eaten by itself but some do eat it with crackers or pickles or with spicy mustard. Boudin is best acquired from local butcher shops that dot the country side of South Louisana. And this may be one of the reasons why people are so loyal and defensive of the favorite boudin and the place where it comes from – local tatses and local pride.
Boudin will differ from town to town and geographical location. I have found that In the northern most part of Acadiana boudin contains a more liver than boudin in the more Southern parts of Acadiana. But there are many other ways that people tweak their boudin recipe -how course the grind, rice to meat ratio…etc. These regional tastes and traditions make the ‘who has the best boudin’ debate so subjective that it could be impossible to find the ‘best’ boudin – but it is fun to try.
For more information on boudin, how its made, who makes it and what it tastes like you can visit:
The Boudin Trail http://www.southernboudintrail.com/
Boudin Link http://www.boudinlink.com/
-Lucius
Do y’all remember this set?! Woody came in there and just took over that chapel!
Lots of great guests and wonderful performances!
A big fat congratulations to Tom Krueger and Emily Neustrom for knocking out a beautiful tune in just three hours at the Lafayette Tipitina’s co-op in May! They are the grand-prize winners of our second annual Tipitina’s/Valcour three hour song contest.
Learn more about the duo and hear the winning track (along with a couple of extras) in our June Artist of the Month feature!
Tip's contest winners Tom Krueger and Emily Neustrom
It is refreshing when, from time to time, critics and connoisseurs see through the commoditized version of any culture, especially Cajun culture, which has been victimized by cajun fries, gumbo parties, and crawfish-hawaiian shirts for decades now. At Valcour, we have been lucky enough to work with many artists who ooze both originality and authenticity in their representation of Louisiana culture. In this blog post, American Standard Time recognizes the value of artists reviving the authentic aspects of “Cajun” through language, playing style, and creative production:
“While the rest of the country wallowed in cheap Louisiana souvenirs and over-simplified Cajun songs, the true Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana have kept their music close to their hearts, tucked away in their homes, and bouncing out of their packed dancehalls. Don’t blame them for the watered down soup we’ve all been fed. But do check out today’s Cajun/Creole music renaissance. You’ll find that the rough-and-tumble songs of the Louisiana’s Cajun country echo the heartbreak and blues of other American hillbilly music traditions like Southern old-time music, honky-tonk, old-school bluegrass and roots country. It’s music from the heartland of the old, weird America.”
Read the whole article here.
More great tracks from Black Pot 2008: A very memorable performance by The fabulous Kristen Andreassen!
