the hum / By Bob Doran

Plus ça change

BeauSoleil’s ever-evolving Cajun folk, 1,000 Funks and Another Hangover

(Jan. 17, 2008)  By capitalizing the “S” in the middle of BeauSoleil, the Cajun band’s name becomes beautiful sun, but the truth is the band is named for an Acadian resistance fighter. Joseph Broussard Beausoleil fought the English in the mid-1700s during what is known as The Great Upheaval (or Le Grand Dérangement), when a British governor removed 10,000 French Acadians living in Nova Scotia from their homes by force. A number of them ended up in Louisiana. Living in the backwoods and bayous, they managed to hold onto at least some of their Acadian/Cajun culture through the years.

You could describe BeauSoleil fiddler Michael Doucet as a keeper of the Cajun flame, but he’s more than that. Doucet’s name came up in a story by Joel Selvin in last Sunday’s San FranciscoChronicle “Pink Section” about East Bay record store/record company owner Chris Strachwitz. Doucet recorded a number of albums for Strachwitz’ label, Arhoolie, some with accordionist Marc Savoy as the Savoy/Doucet Cajun Band, and some under the BeauSoleil name. “He’s really a folk artist,” said Strachwitz, describing Doucet. “I know he’s trying to be a zydeco musician, but I think his real tour-de-force is being a folk singer … He’s an amazing guy.”

BeauSoleil

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Strachwitz calls BeauSoleil his “rock band” because what they do is not always strictly Cajun folk music. While he’s maintaining a tradition, Doucet is not some traditionalist resistance fighter. He also embraces change and you hear it in his music. As Strachwitz noted, the band includes zydeco elements, but also tasty bits of jazz, blues, funk, calypso — whatever fits. Doucet put it this way in the liner notes to the band’s latest, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet: Live in Louisiana: “Cajun music will continue and continue to influence other forms of music while being influenced by the passage of time and trends. I look forward to the changes.”

As they say in France,”Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” Personally, I’m looking forward to hearing BeauSoleil at the Van Duzer on Sunday, Jan. 20.

I would not have seen the Arhoolie story without Charles Horn, aka blues deejay Chas Lewis , who sent me an e-mail link to the Chronicle story. Fans of Chas’ show The South Side will be happy to hear it now runs three hours Friday nights on KHUM, with a new 7 p.m. start time.

I guessing Chas is happy that KHUM’s computer Hal will be there to run things this Friday, Jan. 18. He’ll be down at the Riverwood Inn watching Janiva Magness , the hot blues vocalist du jour. She took home the Blues Foundation award as “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year” last year and the year before. This year she’s nominated for “Entertainer of the Year.” Might be a good idea to call the Riverwood and reserve a ticket. This one will sell out.

Greg Camphuis started The Bump Foundation four years ago, but he’s the only one remaining from the original lineup — pretty much everyone else moved out of town. Drummer Tommy Fitzmaurice joined about three years back, then John Murdock took over the bass slot. Leah Crenshaw came onboard as vocalist two years ago, shifting things in a new direction. Some time last year Brian Swizlo , a former bandmate of Camphuis from the days of Spank, was recruited for the keys chair (when he’s not playing with The Nucleus or Sub/Sab). Add a couple of horn players and you’ve got a ton o’ funk.

Recording for a “full-on album” is in progress, says Camphuis. In the meantime the band is releasing TheBump Foundation: Just for Freaks Limited Edition Jamtacular. “It’s really jammy and sort of psychedelic, something done live in the studio. I’m putting it out for the fans,” he explained. “I’m just pressing a hundred. It’s truly just for the freaks.”

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