Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 12, 1993 TAG: 9302120292
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SQUEEZE BOX SIZZLE
IT REALLY DIDN'T all come together for veteran Louisiana musician Lynn August until four years ago when he bought an accordion - the best money could buy.That purchase has since changed his life, delivering the 44-year-old August from unnoticed piano lounge singer to notable zydeco newcomer.
Make that red-hot zydeco newcomer.
One listen to "Creole Cruiser," his debut release on Black Top Records, can confirm that. And reportedly, he is no less sizzling live.
August and his band, Hot August Knights, will play the Iroquois Club in Roanoke on Saturday night and the South Main Cafe in Blacksburg on Tuesday.
He bought the accordion for $2,250, marked down from $3,000, August explained in a telephone interview earlier this week from Rochester, N.Y., where he was performing.
His family urged him to buy the best because they figured anything he spent that kind of money on, he would learn to play.
It took him all of two weeks.
Of course, it helped that August has been a professional musician since the age of 12 and knows his way around a keyboard.
But with the accordion, something clicked. August said he finally felt at home after three decades spent dabbling in blues, jazz and gospel, while paying bills on the piano bar circuit.
With the accordion, he came home to the music of his youth in south Louisiana's Creole country - what they now call zydeco.
"Without a doubt, it's me," he said.
Blind since birth, August said music played an important role in his childhood. Some of his earliest memories were of tagging along with his parents to the local church dances on Saturday night.
They were lively outings fueled by the lively backing of an accordion, bass and washboard. The songs were sung in French or a hybrid of French and English. The rhythms came from Africa.
As a youth, August entertained at neighborhood gatherings by singing songs by zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier and beating on an old washtub turned upside down.
August's parents encouraged their son to pursue music after they went to hear Guitar Slim perform and saw that a blind piano player, R.C. Robinson, was backing Slim.
Robinson became better-known as Ray Charles.
At age 12, August filled in one night for a sick drummer with a local bands, and it turned into a regular gig - six nights a week.
Later, he joined up on drums with Esquerita, a flamboyant pianist who was a major influence on Little Richard. Esquerita convinced August to switch to piano in 1963.
The next 25 years saw August play in a variety of bands, many of them straight-ahead blues outfits. Only one of them was a zydeco band.
He also directed the choir for a few years at one of south Louisiana's larger churches. And then there were the endless years playing Ramada and Holiday Inn piano bars.
"Keep in mind, music was my livelihood," he said. Married with four children, he said he did what he had to do.
Finally, tired of the lounge circuit, in 1988 August decided to try accordion and zydeco. Within a year, he had a backing band and was hitting zydeco festivals across the country.
Where August is unique among the zydeco set, however, is that he sings more like a blues singer, and he plays the accordion with two hands. Most play with only one.
"I literally do bass rides on the accordion."
He was a quick study, too. "I used to be very modest with my musicianship, but I can honestly say I've mastered the accordion."
August said he also appeals because he keeps the music simple, rather than going for a bigger sound with a bigger band like some of his zydeco counterparts do.
He travels with a drummer, guitarist, bassist and washboard player. "We're super compact, but dynamite."
August said he is on a mission of sorts to keep it basic - and keep the traditional zydeco alive. His sound is focused around the accordion and washboard, and he said it doesn't stray too far away. Zydeco differs from Cajun music, which is rooted more around the fiddle and guitar.
August even includes some authentic jure shouting, a little-known folk singing style unique to the Creoles who settled in Louisiana.
Not exactly what you would hear at the typical Ramada Inn lounge. "I'm really enjoying what I'm doing now," he said.
LYNN AUGUST AND HOT AUGUST KNIGHTS play The Iroquois Club in Roanoke on Saturday and South Main Cafe in Blacksburg on Tuesday.
Keywords:
PROFILE