Rhythm & News: Matte Rides 'Train' of Popularity
Herman Fuselier
Some local bands play for years and never draw more than a handful of family and friends. But a mere nine months after starting his new band, the Zydeco Kingpins, Travis Matte is dealing with some dancehall-packing numbers -- 300 at Wranglers and Ike's, 400 at Whiskey River Landing in Henderson.
"When we first started playing at Wranglers, we were getting 30-something people," says Matte. "Now we get 250, 300 people. That's definitely a good sign."
Matte hopes the good signs continue with his new CD, Zydeco Train, published on his own label, Mhat Productions. The disc contains Matte's new trademark mix of zydeco, Cajun music, swamp pop and old rock 'n' roll.
A four-time fiddler of the year with the Cajun French Music Association, Matte switched to the accordion and scratched the surface of success last year with the CD, Dis Ain'tcha Momma's Zodico.
Matte says the gumbo of music on his old and new CDs reflect his band's personality.
"That's how we play. You'll notice some '60s songs. The other CD had some Canned Heat, Creedence and some original stuff.
"When I was growing up, my mom would say 'You listen in Travis' room, one minute he's got Metallica coming out, then George Strait, Johnnie Allan, Aldus Roger, then Clifton Chenier, Beau Jocque. I really don't know what kind of music that boy likes.'"
Purists are thrown lots of curves in Zydeco Train. But party people are probably too busy dancing to notice.
Matte turns the classic "Eunice Two-Step" into an all-English romp about wine, women and Cadillacs called "Sugar Daddy." His fiddle skills are still sharp on "Your Daddy Don't Want Me Around," an English remake of Canray Fontenot's "Tes Parents Veulent Plus Me Voir."
Saxophone veteran Willie Tee is featured on Matte's swamp pop original, "Shoulda Coulda," along with flashbacks from the '50s like "Jenny, Jenny," "Blue Monday" and "The Twist." There's even more old rock 'n' roll with accordion covers of "La Bamba" and "Bad Moon Rising."
The booty-shaking crowd gets a workout with racy originals like "Vibrator" and "Booty Call."
The most interesting song may be a squeezebox remake of Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69," a Top 10 pop hit from 1985. Matte says the tune has a love-hate relationship.
"We almost dropped that song, but Mark Miller made me keep it on there. But that one song, I'll get people split. One guy will be like, 'Why did you put that on there?'
"But then at my wife's brother's house, he said the guys at work always flip to 'Summer of '69.' He said that was one of his favorites songs on the CD. He didn't care much for the original, but he liked this version.
"I liked the original. Anytime you're going to do a cover song, it's touchy because if a person really likes the original, they're used to hearing it that way. They might not like what you do.
"Odds are you can't do it like the original. That's why we did it with a totally different arrangement."
So if Dis Ain'tcha Momma's Zodico wasn't enough, take a ride on Travis Matte's Zydeco Train.
Herman Fuselier reports on the local music scene and its artists. Listen to his Bayou Boogie radio show at 10 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays on KRVS (88.7 FM). His TV show airs at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on KDCG-TV 22 in Opelousas.