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Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > febrUarY 01 > 2011
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an early working title for the album and went with the name of the coastal town that has come to symbolize so many of the ups and downs of Louisiana. “I used to camp out at Grand Isle, romping in the surf, daydreaming about becoming a marine biologist, watching dolphins coming up for air from the old Caminada Bridge,” Greely says. “It was a funky paradise without any Dairy Queens or McDonald’s. I was sad beyond measure when they fouled it up. I kept thinking: ‘Why can’t we have nice things?’” The deal was further sealed after seeing Allison Bohl’s proposed cover art of an oil-covered bird. “Instead of calling the record ‘C’est L’heure Pour Changer,’ which is long, we decided to call it something English and to the point, so people will get it right off the bat,” Riley says. “After seeing several images of the water, coast and birds covered in oil, it stuck with us. It’s simple and powerful.” The intensive sessions, guided by Adcock’s unorthodox orthodoxy yielded some of the most distinctive tunes of the band’s career. “Around here bands think they should just play live and put a mic in front of it or else they’re being fake,” Adcock says. “Cajun music is very much an ’80s music. It came to prominence in the ’80s and crossed over into a pop consciousness where teenagers were listening to it and it wasn’t just an old man’s music anymore. I wanted to address that in this record.” Like recent albums by other eminent Cajun/zydeco artists, it’s likely Grand Isle will be nominated for a Grammy Award. The songs, the timing, the collective effort and the historical stature and robust discography of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys are very much in evidence on this album even when they are attempting to deconstruct and/or evade the legacy of their past. “Since the arrival of the zydeco/ Cajun Grammy category, there’s been a lot of unofficial live releases nominated — like these guys that record [at] Jazz Fest and get it nominated — stuff that lowers the bar of what we’re about, just floods the market and attempts to get some Grammy attention. It’s foolish,” Adcock says. “There’s really no reason not to make great records. But lately you can start to slowly see the bar being raised with local bands putting out great records. Feufollet, Lost Bayou Ramblers, BeauSoleil and others — they’re showing the best of what Louisiana musicians have to offer.”