ABOUT THE BAND


When I think of Racines, I picture not just roots, as the word is translated from Cajun French, but roots specific to Southwest Louisiana. Live Oak roots, which are as strong and heavy as the branches they support, or Cypress roots, which are light but hard and impermeable to water. The first remain hidden, doing all their work in the depths of the soil, while the second have the audacity to rise above the ground themselves, growing through water towards the sky. Racines, the group, has a good dose of both these things. They are undoubtedly grounded in the Louisiana traditions that reach back as far as history can go yet they push forward at the same time, bringing the music new light and air.

Steve Riley has been one of SW Louisiana’s premier musicians for twenty years now, getting his start with Dewey Balfa in the mid-1980s. His group, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, remains one of the world’s most influential Cajun bands.In listening to Racines, one can feel Steve’s desire to relinquish the leadership role. For one thing, he’s set aside the notion of the accordion as the dominant instrument and returned it to its original role as an eager partner to the fiddle. With Racines, he seems more determined than ever to show that music becomes more than the sum of its parts when each of those parts is allowed its full capacity.

In seeking fiddlers for this group, one couldn’t do better than Kevin Wimmer and Mitch Reed. Kevin, another musician who got his start in the Cajun tradition with Dewey Balfa, plays with uncommon power and sings with raw, bluesy soul. He is one of few fiddlers who can get as much rhythm out of a fiddle as another musician might get out of a rubboard. Mitch is another such fiddler. His instantly recognizable style draws heavily on the music of Dennis McGee and several Creole players but also exhibits a swarthy funk that comes from internal inspiration alone. Mitch plays solid, full-toned bass, a skill he contributes not only to Racines but also to the well-known group Beausoleil.

Chris Stafford, a founder of the group Feufollet, has been known as a musician’s musician in Southwest Louisiana since before he entered his teenage years. When it comes to guitar, his primary instrument in Racines, he combines the skill and musicality of a Nashville cat with the pulse and laid-back soul of a bayou boy. His playing on both electric and acoustic guitars adds depth and heat to the music.

Glenn Fields is a highly musical drummer who, like Kevin, spends much of his time on stage with the Redstick Ramblers. He gives back meaning to the term “skins,” getting tone and feel from his drums that do more to remind us of their tribal origins than their synthetically sampled counterparts. His drumming is organic, full of dynamics that never lessen the pulse beneath.

If you took all the roots of Southwest Louisiana music and grafted them together, you would end up with Racines. Their music, like the roots they are named after, draws life from the nutrients abundant in the local soil. In this corner of Louisiana, that means Cajun, Zydeco, Creole, Swamp Pop, Blues, and more.

Near Kevin’s house there’s a bent oak, a tree whose trunk was forced into a pointed shape by members of the Chitimacha tribe a few hundred years ago to mark a trail for travelers. The tree still stands and grows, and it still points the way if we can discern the destination. By keeping the roots alive, Racines help us see where to go and bring us what we need to get there.

By: Dirk Powell