Louisiana. Music. Culture.
Baton Rouge scenester Kevin Hurstell has established himself as a part of Louisiana’s indie music foundation – from hosting the Indie Show on KLSU to contributing to bands such as Slobot and Otasco. His latest project is inspired by a wordperfect spellcheck correction… and the rest is history.
Check out his prowess in our latest Artist of the Month feature!
Calvin Hairstyle
Valcour’s Joel Savoy recently appeared on the soundtrack and in the film for Mary Sweeney’s first solo film project, Baraboo. Mary Sweeney, long time collaborator with David Lynch, has worked variously as editor and producer on many of his films, including Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, winning a British Academy Award for her work on the latter.
Sweeney, a Madison, Wisconsin native, returns to her roots in this Midwestern landscape in Baraboo. Originally titled Motel, Gas Station, the film was shot late last summer in various locations around Madison, including Cambridge, Utica, and Devil’s Lake. Its synopsis reads: “Set in bountiful rural Wisconsin, Baraboo follows six people who have each carved a life out for themselves at Petersens Cabins, a rundown motel/resort. Some are there by choice, and others by circumstance. They circle one another with caution, desire, anger, confusion and compassion, inching their way toward understanding.”
Links
Official Baraboo website
Baraboo on Facebook
Trailer on Youtube
Update: Deadline extended to Saturday, May 15th!
It is time for our second annual Tipscour song contest!
Valcour Records and the Lafayette location of the Tipitina’s Music Office Co-op (at 510 Johnston Street) are joining forces once again to present a songwriting and production contest during the month of April.
Tipitina’s Co-op, a tech access center providing business development and job skills training for local musicians, filmmakers and other digital media professionals, will serve as host to the contest, in which artists are allowed only 3 hours to record a song as an entry. The artist submitting the winning track will be awarded $200, an Artist of the Month feature on the Valcour Records website, and a full year membership at the Tipitina’s co-op!
To schedule an appointment to create your entry, please contact Rachel Nederveld at the
Lafayette Tipitina’s Music Office Co-op:
(337) 234-5137
510 Johnston St
Lafayette, LA 70501
Here are the rules & guidelines:
Continue reading ‘Tipitina’s Song Contest Time Again!’
Part Acadiana, part jazz, many parts harmony and 100% sheer creativity. The Picardy Birds grace our Artist of the Month page for March and we think you’ll be pleasantly overwhelmed with what you hear!
Give them a listen on our March Artist of the Month Feature!
March Artist of the Month, the Picardy Birds
Thank you for for keeping our heritage alive!
Click here to read about his contributions.
Continue reading ‘Dr. Feelgood… In Loving Memory’
Joel fraternizes with Weird Al
Joel Savoy took off for Los Angeles last Friday to represent Valcour at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY awards. After nearly an entire day of airport delays, he settled in at the Figueroa Hotel in downtown LA late Friday night and began the celebration with a glass of cognac at the hotel bar with nominees Ann Savoy (mom) and Jane Vidrine. Joel had two CDs he produced/co-produced nominated for GRAMMY awards this year: Valcour’s L’esprit Creole (Cedric Watson) and Arhoolie Records’ Stripped Down (Magnolia Sisters). This was his third trip to the GRAMMYs, but the development of the Cajun/Zydeco Category brought new hope for taking home the gold! Though defeated by the legendary Buckwheat Zydeco, it was a fantastic trip where he got to socialize with the who’s who of the music industry and spread the word about Valcour Records. After a weekend of non-stop parties, endless drink and food and celebrating, he came home Monday feeling inspired by what he had seen, and proposed these 10 thoughts for the new year:
Continue reading ‘Valcour Represented at GRAMMYs’
Louisiana is really becoming a hot scene for young indie acts, and it is probably safe to say these guys are leading the pack. The Generationals out of New Orleans (a project by former members of Baton Rouge’s Eames Era) are making a splash nation-wide and have legitimized Louisiana’s place among geographies producing true independent music innovators.
But see for yourself in our February 2010 Artist of the Month Feature…
February Artist of the Month: Generationals
Everybody’s favorite Afro-pop Indie band from Lafayette, GIVERS, continue to get noticed on the national scene. In addition to having their song, Ceiling of Plankton, featured on the Oxford American’s Editors’ Picks page, the band’s song, Saw you First, has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered. Now, just as they get ready to kick off their Northeast/Southeast/Texas/Louisiana Spring tour, GIVERS has been invited to perform for a Daytrotter session on February 9th! It’s hard to keep track of it all, but in a futile attempt, here are some useful links for all you crazy GIVERS fans:
GIVERS on All Songs Considered
GIVERS on the Oxford American site
Daytrotter site (this link will become more useful after February 9th, but they have a fantastic collection of recordings that you can enjoy at any time!)
GIVERS tour dates on Myspace
Photo courtesy of Piotr Redlinski, The New York Times
Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole’s recent performance at Globalfest in Manhattan has not gone unnoticed. Johnn Pareles at The New York Times says Cedric “reconfigures new and old Cajun music with guts and smarts” and NPR decided to feature Cedric and the band as stand out artists on All Songs Considered. Cedric’s rigorous touring schedule and his second GRAMMY nomination are paying off in the form of exposure and media coverage. We expect this trend to continue as his album is now officially nationally released and airplay and promotions have ramped up.
Read the New York Times review here
Listen to the live performance from All Songs Considered here
And if you haven’t caught the Music Voyager webisode featuring Cedric, watch it here
Yes, the Savoys are all over the Cajun and Zydeco GRAMMYs – Wilson and the Pine Leaf Boys, Ann and the Magnolia Sisters, and Joel, who produced the Magnolia Sisters’ and Cedric Watson and Bijou Créole’s GRAMMY nominated albums. Steve Hochman recounts the scene at the Savoy’s latest boucherie and discusses the family’s internal competition in his Spinner writeup, Will the Savoy Family Hog the Cajun/Zydeco GRAMMY?
Check out the article, or at least watch this video of the boucherie by Gloria Maso:
