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Bassist Peter Consula made the transition in the 1980's from bluegrass (Billing's Gap, Pioneer Valley Bluegrass) to zydeco, playing with Northeast zydeco bands Dirty Rice, Slippery Sneakers and Backroad Zydeco. Louisiana zydeco artists including RoyCarrier, Dikki Du and the Zydeco Crew, Zydeco Creole Farmers, and Lil Pookie have called on Peter to perform with them on their Northeast tours. He lives in Putney, Vt.
Guitarist
Nick Keil
brings a big , old school funk attitude to the band. Raised on James Brown-era
soul, he cut his teeth on guitar and vocals in a number of funk and rhythm
and blues bands. In the '90s, Nick was invited to a zydeco jam that became
the nucleus of Backroad Zydeco, a popular Northeast band that he played
with for several years. Nick brings his soulful vocals and electrifying
guitar playing to Planet
Zydeco. He lives in Westminster West, Vt.
Drummer Paul McTaggart kicks out the groove for Planet Zydeco. Paul's versatility and love for different kinds of music has landed him the drummer's throne in country, rockabilly and roots-music bands currently including Girl Howdy, Donald Saaf String Band, and the Tim Dyer Experimental Blues Project. Paul has also layed down drum tracks for local songwriters in session work over the past 15 years. He lives in Putney, Vt.
Peter Pettengill has been playing zydeco music since the early 1980s. A keyboard player and guitarist, he picked up the piano key accordion after hearing Clifton Chenier in San Francisco Bay Area clubs in the early '80s. From the mid 1980s until 2000 he fronted the Western Massachusetts-based roots-rock band the Barnstormers, playing zydeco-influenced blues, rock and rockabilly all over New England. In 1996 he joined Hot House Zydeco (with fellow planetarian Rose Sinclair,) contributing vocals, guitar, and some accordion to a more traditional zydeco sound that combined old-style zydeco tunes with the younger contemporary styles. He brings his love for Clifton-style blues, New Orleans funk guitar and swamp pop to Planet Zydeco where his duties include singing, rhythm guitar and an occasional accordion number. He lives in Hinsdale, N.H.
Rose Sinclair first heard a tape of Creole accordionist Bois Sec Ardoin in 1982, saved her pennies for a button accordion and headed to Louisiana to find the source. As a multi-instrumentalist (accordion, banjo, steel guitar, bass), Rose has studied, performed and taught different styles of traditional music for 25 years, including a 10-year run with The Heartbeats, an all-woman neo-traditional string band which toured in the U.S., Canada and Europe and was featured on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and Voice of America. During the '90s, Rose also played button accordion with two Northeast-based bands, The Flames and Hot House Zydeco. Today Rose plays single-row, triple-row and piano accordions in Planet Zydeco, and keeps busy with other musical projects, including playing steel guitar with the classic honkytonk outfit Girl Howdy, and upright bass with the New Hampshire-based western swing outfit, the Westernaires, as well as session and sideman work with various artists. She lives in Greenfield, Mass.
Suzanne Wozniak started playing rubboard with Backroad Zydeco in 1996, inspired by her love of zydeco music and dance. She is passionate about the culture of southwest Louisiana, and spends extended time there each year, studying and playing with rubboard players and musicians that she admires. As a dancer herself, she loves to be part of a band that inspires people to get up and move. She also teaches zydeco dance in the Northeast. She lives in Putney, Vt.
WHAT
IS ZYDECO?
Half
a century ago in the rural juke joints of southwest Louisiana, black Creole
accordion players like Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis combined traditional
Cajun tunes with the percussive feeling of the blues, a hint of country
and a good helping of R & B to create a music that kept the patrons
on the dance floor 'til dawn. The term "zydeco" is derived from
the Depression-era saying, "Les haricots sont pas sales," when
people were too poor to afford salt for the snap beans. A truly American
musical form, zydeco continues to grow in popularity throughout the world
with regional festivals devoted to the music and its infectious style
of dance.
Planet Zydeco will be appearing Sept. 4-5 at Rhythm and Roots Festival, Ninigret, RI
For more information, contact planetzydeco@yahoo.com or 802-387-8711.