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Have accordion, will entertain: Buckwheat Zydeco brings fun

His Louisiana roots and audience energy make for a rocking good time.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published October 22, 2006

Buckwheat Zydeco and his party have landed in Clearwater and will take the stage tonight at the annual Jazz Holiday.

Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., arguably zydeco's biggest name, uses the accordion, washboard and other instruments to get his sound, which is inspired by his Louisiana roots.

With an energetic, audience-inclusive show, Buckwheat leads "one of the best party bands in America," according to the New York Times.

We managed to catch up with Buckwheat for 15 minutes Friday, where he shared his thoughts on his music, his audience and zydeco's instruments.

On his music:

"The music that I perform is very energetic music ... People seem to get into the energy and feed off of me and I feed off of them, and wherever my audience wants to go that's where we go. Whatever mood that they're in, that's where we take it."

On bringing audience members on stag during shows:

"It might have been in Texas, I'm not too sure ... This guy comes up and got to dancing and singing, and I couldn't get my mike back. It wasn't the Buckwheat Zydeco show. He said, 'Man, you did the wrong thing bringing me up here.'

"I think it happened again, but the kid was about 6 years old. A little girl somewhere in the country ... She got the mike and I couldn't end the song. Every time I got ready to end the song she kept singing. She was singing, 'hey, good looking, what you got cooking.' "

On his audience:

"I love the energy of the people, and it's very inspirational for me because they come out to have a good time with you and that's what Buckwheat Zydeco is about.

"It's amazing when I see a beautiful couple out there and I get them on stage and first they look at me and say, 'What are you doing? I can't sing.' And I say, 'Well, I can't sing either.'

"They don't forget it, you know, and they know that when they come to a Buckwheat Zydeco show anything can happen."

On the instruments:

"You have something like a piano on somebody's chest, and you have the washboard around someone's shoulder, and it looks like a bulletproof vest. And someone brings out two spoons and they think you're from another planet."

On his plans in Clearwater:

"I'm going to have a party with y'all. We're coming to Florida to have a party. My advice to the audience there is, just bring two pairs of shoes."

Tamara El-Khoury can be reached at 727 445-4181 or telkhoury@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 22, 2006, 08:45:44]