[From the Ithaca Times] To say that the Red Stick Ramblers are simply a Cajun band would be to do them a grave injustice. And while they do excel in the genre — they’re practically peerless — it’s their inventive, audacious combination of Cajun, zydeco, two-step, Western swing and honky-tonk that sets them a notch above most other contemporary roots bands working today.
As one of the three original founders of the Red Stick Ramblers, lead vocalist and fiddler Linzay Young (the Ramblers boast a fine dual fiddle attack, thanks to Kevin Wimmer) has been refining their sound for nearly a decade. Along with Wimmer, Chas Justus (guitar, vocals), Eric Frey (upright bass, vocals) and Glenn Fields (drums), the Red Stick Ramblers — inspired by the French meaning of their hometown Baton Rouge, which translates to “red stick” — represent one of the most vibrant and energetic cultural sectors of modern Southwest Louisiana living.
For the Red Stick Ramblers, their music is a way of life. “It’s a whole lifestyle. There’s such a community aspect to [the music that we play], with the food and dancing and live music. It’s about family and friends getting together. It’s about a celebration of life at its most primitive,” Young explains.
Although a bulk of their repertoire represents traditional songs beloved by multiple generations, the Red Stick Ramblers now pen most of their own songs, setting them far apart from other likeminded groups. Most notably, with the release of their fifth full-length album — and second for label home, Sugar Hill Records — My Suitcase is Always Packed, the Red Stick Ramblers consciously moved almost entirely away from traditionals, and showcased their own material instead.
“It’s a big change that we’re really proud of, ” Young says. “Being pegged as ‘Cajun’ or a ‘roots’ band often means you end up recording a lot of other people’s songs. But we wanted to put our own music out there, even though we still really love traditional music. Being so heavily steeped in traditional material does affect our writing, and colors how we hear things.”
The results are striking. Recorded in Nashville, the album seamlessly flits between genres, decades and style, with plenty of nods to Louisiana history and tradition. “There is a tradition of Louisiana bands that takes music from other genres and really makes it their own,” Young explains. “The Hackberry Ramblers, for example, took Western Swing and made it their own by singing in French. It’s a Louisiana tradition to find different things in what you think you know.” And like the Lost Bayou Ramblers or the Pine Leaf Boys — two other young bands that choose to combine string band, avant-garde, or rock ‘n’ roll elements with what is nominally known as ‘Cajun’ music — the Red Stick Ramblers are part of a growing contingent that’s finding the new in the old.
Indeed, My Suitcase is Always Packed races from triangle-driven Cajun jams to honky-tonk drinking songs to lonesome country waltzes, and back again — all while sounding remarkably like themselves. Evocations of the 1920s and 30s are strong — in particular, early American jazz, gypsy jazz, and honky-tonk — and the production is clean and bright, thanks to Sugar Hill Records A&R man and engineer Gary Paczosa. “His studio is attached to his house; after recording, we’d cook up a big pot of gumbo. Gary was a laid-back guy, but also very professional and focused,” Young says.
They’re not looking for a crossover, but the potential is there. “We all had our hearts set on making the best record that we’ve made to date,” Young says. “In the past, we had sort of gone into the studio still arranging, and sometimes still even choosing tunes. Because our past records had been done a little more casually, this time around we wanted to be really prepared. It had been a couple of years since we last recorded, and we had more original material from being on the road. It was a big change from the past.”
Young, who grew up in Southern Louisiana, has been steeped in Cajun culture his entire life. “My grandfather spoke Cajun French, and my grandmother was very proud of the music, the language and the food. My grandfather would always throw these parties at the family farm, and he would cook for everyone and people would sit around and jam all night. Music was always around,” Young recalls.
Their hard work is paying off. With upcoming tours in Europe, their annual Black Pot Festival (held every Halloween weekend in Lafayette) just around the corner, and building momentum from this year’s earlier CD release, the Ramblers are shining brightly. “We’ve definitely improved as a band. We spend so much time together [that] we’re this unit onstage,” Young laughs. “We’re definitely tighter, a lot better at communication, than we were 10 years ago. We’ve grown in a lot of ways.”
“What makes us ‘roots music’ is that we do it for the heart and soul of it, and we’re not going to change, or jump on a bandwagon. We’ve always stuck with what we’ve done.” Their love affair with Louisiana music is certainly one that we hope doesn’t fizzle out anytime soon.
The Red Stick Ramblers play Castaways this Saturday, Aug. 22. The show begins at 8pm.