ZYDECO BLANCO​

Leif Oines

 

Leif first noticed Zydeco music while listening to the cajun & zydeco shows of Leo Perron and Rick Reid on KNON, an eclectic community radio station in Dallas, TX.  Soon he found his way to the music festivals of southwest Louisiana--Zydeco ground zero.  At one such festival, among the booths that sold cracklin's and pork steak sandwiches, was a booth that sold cheap toy accordions.  Leif bought one, brought it home, and began learning the music he had heard at the festival.  Leif learned songs by Boozoo Chavis, Willis Prudomme, and Morris Ledet--songs that he still plays with Zydeco Blanco today.  Because Leif had so much fun with his toy accordion, Leif's girlfriend (now his wife), bought him his first real accordion for Christmas.

With a brand new accordion and a growing circle of friends that loved Louisiana music and culture, Leif started his first Zydeco band--Zydeco Faux Pas.  Zydeco Faux Pas made a big splash around Dallas, but Leif and his new wife wanted to move to Austin, TX, and the band couldn't follow.

Leif missed Austin by about fifty miles and landed in the the Blanco River Valley of the Texas Hill Country.  But Leif also missed Dallas and was unwilling to give up the most  fun he had ever had in his life.  Leif kept his eye open for an opportunity to start another Zydeco band.  His friends in the community kept telling him about a six-and-a-half-foot-tall cajun that lived in the valley named Harvey Trahan.  When they finally met, Leif knew it was, 
once again, time to strike up the band!