CPI Archive 2009: Andrew Hamilton talks to Linzay Young, fiddler and head vocalist in Louisiana Cajun and swing band, The Red Stick Ramblers.
Along the clay banks of the Mississippi River, just south of Baton Rouge, the catfish still burrow in the mud. Encased in their silt-walled fortress, four sets of razor teeth await anyone - opportunist fisherman or farmer - who fancies a cheap meal. Yet for those who get lucky, the taste of the catfish is sublime. In an odd way, this treacherous standoff between man and beast is analogous to the world of Cajun music. Both wild and beautiful, comforting and dangerous, it’s something even the most experienced of musician can’t quite control, even if she wanted to. “I grew up in the Cajun area of Louisiana and I was instilled with a pride and an appreciation for the culture and the music since I was very young. It’s not just the music, it’s the whole way of life - the hunting, the cooking, the family, all of it. My folks were all country people, very very traditional and everywhere we go we try and instil a feeling of that into people. We try to let people know that it’s not just the music - it’s a whole way of life that we life,” says Linzay.
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