Cochon Bleu Cajun music

biography

Cochon Bleu is like an addiction. A few shots and you're hooked. The energy that these five men radiate on stage never fails to register with, and spread across the audience. The catchy tunes, and the combination of tight playing and loose atmosphere turn every gig into a joyful experience. Capturing such a 'You should have been there' kind of act on record is hard, but Cochon Bleu have managed to do just that, on five exceptional albums. The first two mainly contain their take on cajun classics. On the most recent cd's the band members increasingly write their own material. With all members contributing compositions, inspiration is abundant and diversity never a problem. Hundreds of gigs have taken Cochon Bleu to international festivals, theatres, indie clubs, street corners and private homes. If one had been to all of these gigs, one would have been witness to such diverse sights as:

An improvised gig on the boat back from theatre festival Oerol, with a huge crowd of punters singing along on the sun deck. In the harbour on main land, people could hear the boat long before they saw it.

An acoustic performance that turned into an old fashioned 1920-style dance, when the musicians asked the audience to fold up their chairs, and trade in their respectful attention for some carefree two-stepping.

The highly original style of dancing that Cochon Bleu themselves made up called 'The Vicar's Glop', during a weekend of busking on an island.

Opening up for Golden Earring, with the respected rockers standing in the wings, grinning and yelling, and afterward promising Cochon Bleu the world. (They haven't delivered yet.)

Playing in tourist hot spot Albufeira (Portugal) every day for a month, charming the mainly Irish and English visitors, and starting to write their first original songs to diversify the set.

The second set of a performance on the island of Schiermonnikoog. During the intermission Cochon Bleu had found the old uniforms of a local brass band lying around, and put them on. They are currently wearing out their third set of these suits.

Attending a post-gig jam session with members of The Dubliners at a Danish folk festival.

Building up the back line and sound-checking the PA on a big stage in Assen (NL), before discovering that they're expected to play on another square nearby.

A gig at a hard rock festival near a nuclear power plant. Five tiny uniformed men trying to win over a big tent full of metal heads.

A gig at the end of a blues festival. Mainly winning over the girlfriends of the attending blues fans. And thus playing for an all-female, dancing crowd, their husbands generally preferring the blues rock in the attending halls.

All the different and highly original dance styles, by children, clerks, grannies, inhabitants of mental homes, professional dancers, pogo-ers and line dancers, that were inspired by Cochon Bleu music.

The list goes on. If you attend the next Cochon Bleu performances, you will soon be able to make your own list. Cochon Bleu hasn't finished by a long stretch. Indeed, they'll probably be around in a hundred years' time. Five fragile, liver-coloured grampses playing their latest version of rugged cajun, at their own pace. By that time they will have also mastered the tuba, cello, melodion and theremin. Maybe the touring bus will need some adjustments, and instead of motorway junk food, they will probably have started bringing their home made lasagna along. Finally, on their headstone you will read: "They meant well."

All members of Cochon Bleu take turns in singing lead and backup. In addition to that they play the following instruments: